India’s notoriously corrupt Congress-led government today thwarted anti-corruption protests by arresting Gandhian and national icon Anna Hazare.
Anna’s arrest has triggered protests across the country.
The 73-year-old Gandhian leader has been leading a valiant fight for a strong Lok Pal Bill to tackle corruption, the scourge of the nation.
Anticipating his arrest, Anna asked Indians to fill jails in an echo of the freedom struggle when people of all walks of life were imprisoned for protesting against the colonial British government:
Time has come my countrymen when there should be no place left in jails in India to accommodate any more persons….I once again request my fellow countrymen that peace should be maintained and there must be no violence…Crores of people have joined this movement and second line of leaders are standing to lead this movement.
Anna is fasting in police custody.
Given the Congress leaders’ abiding love for corruption, Anna Hazare’s battle will most likely be a futile struggle unless the masses can be galvanized to follow his lead and fill the jails.
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Battered and bruised after receiving knock out punches from all quarters, it seems they’ve just delivered a killer blow to themselves this time.
This might possibly trigger a chain of events by which we could see the congress dethroned……
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: This might possibly trigger a chain of events by which we could see the congress dethroned.
The alternatives are no better.
They are scumbags as well.
True, the opposition are rotten scumbags as well but tthe Congress must be made to pay for their ad infinitum mistakes…
I admire the zeal for eradicating corruption, but this Gandhian methodology of “give me what I want or I kill myself slowly” is inherently flawed.
One needs to take a page from the Tea Baggers’ (no matter how reprehensible they may be) book and solve the corruption issue by means of political maneuvering. Such an overwhelming support for a movement would be waste if influential people involved in this movement, don’t have the foresight to create a 3rd front and get voted into power. Getting a Cong or BJP government to buy into their agenda is circulating the same cycle of abuse and misuse.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Such an overwhelming support for a movement would be waste if influential people involved in this movement, don’t have the foresight to create a 3rd front and get voted into power.
True. Very true.
We suspect and fear that in the end Anna’s anti-corruption crusade, well meaning and noble as it is, will be just, as the bard would say, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing (Macbeth, Act V, Scene V).
But hard to create a Third Front and ride to power in India because at the end of the day standing for and winning elections still costs money. A lot of money, as a matter of fact.
Neither the wealthy nor the poor are part of Anna’s entourage. It’s only the Indian middle class and their media friends that have hopped on. Getting the Indian Middle Class chutiyas to invest more than a single candle (it seems, candle-lit marches is their favorite mode of protest) is very hard!
Au contraire, Tea Party here has the blessings and support of wealthy individuals and their large businesses/corporations. The Koch brothers, for instance.
yeah, once I voted for an independent candidate, who had some good intentions and no money or power backing, the guy was a washout in the elections. When I asked people why they didnt vote for him, as they know whtever he was doing.. They said it wouldn’t workout and I was like if we don’t give the power, how can we know what will work out, and how can the guy get a bigger arena to do something worthy.
I think Anna, knows the people better, He’s not going to contest the elections, But I do hope the protests leave a lasting effect on the govt and the people.
@SI: “Getting the Indian Middle Class chutiyas to invest more than a single candle (it seems, candle-lit marches is their favorite mode of protest) is very hard!”
I agree money is a big issue to float a 3rd front, but one needs to keep trying in a young republic like ours. It may require the brazen attitude of someone like Shabana Azmi who once during an AIDS march drive in the 90’s basically bullied (for a lack of a better word) onlookers into donating your usual 5 rupees or 10 rupees. With the Bollywood brigade trying to buy publicity by molly-coddling with Anna, there’s no better time to exploit them financially. It won’t be a tall order to ask them to donate for a worthy cause for people suffering through their movies.
@vjcool: “yeah, once I voted for an independent candidate, who had some good intentions and no money or power backing, the guy was a washout in the elections.”
Congrats, mate! You did the right thing. Don’t ever give up, no matter what! People here who vote for the Libertarian party may also seem like they’re wasting their votes, but these processes take a long time….and the wheel must keep turning.
“I think Anna, knows the people better, He’s not going to contest the elections, But I do hope the protests leave a lasting effect on the govt and the people.”
I’ll say right out that I’m not a big fan of Anna, the person. The guy once agreed with Raj Thackeray and his MNS initiative and I’ll be glad if he never gets voted into power (and there’s him being 75 y.o.).
Also, I don’t think the protests will have a lasting effect on people unless there is a stable movement in terms of a political party with focused political agenda. There is a party floated by IIT-graduates (Bharat Punarnirman Dal) that is soldiering on and filing nominations despite being largely sidelined during elections past. I say it’s time to bring them and other independent candidates with similar agenda on board and create a strong front that hopefully leads to something better.
That said, hey SI, maybe it’s time for you guys who’re filthy-rich by now from kickbacks via endorsing Apple products to the extent that one cannot discern their asses from your lips, to donate to a worthy cause such as political movements like these, eh? 😀 Or are you the same middle-class chutiyas you abhor? 😉
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: With the Bollywood brigade trying to buy publicity by molly-coddling with Anna, there’s no better time to exploit them financially. It won’t be a tall order to ask them to donate for a worthy cause for people suffering through their movies.
Bollywood is in bed with the Congress. At least, the big names like that murderous scumbag Salman Khan (Rahul Gandhi recently went to his house. Yes, no kidding).
2. You write: That said, hey SI, maybe it’s time for you guys who’re filthy-rich by now from kickbacks via endorsing Apple products to the extent that one cannot discern their asses from your lips, to donate to a worthy cause such as political movements like these, eh?
Forgot your Ritalin pills today? No wonder, your AADHD is acting up.
Seriously, having used a lot of electronic widgetry over several decades we’d say Apple products (iPhone 4 & iPad 2) are fairly decent. Bet you have them too.
We’re planning to jettison our PC and get one of those new Mac Minis.
Donating to India is always a pain because you never know where it’s gonna end up. That’s why we’ve stuck to donating books to small libraries there.