I am against corruption. I am also against Anna and his ways..

I am going to take a stand on the issue of corruption, not many are in favour of. I have had very animated discussion whenever I have expressed my views which are against the common views. I was almost scared during August- September 2011 when the movement against corruption was at its peak as being singled out and almost made to look like someone supporting the corruption. However, its not so. I am totally against corruption and I am in favour of tackling the issue by understanding why it exists and what should be done to curb the menace. Policing, to me, is not an answer. It will only create yet another layer of corruption and nepotism.

Corruption is a curse..one of the worst ills of the society. In a country like India, where we take pride in almost any defeat and where the population growth, more as a result of, to use Malthusian phrase, lack of ‘preventive measures’ leads almost 98% of the population to lead in general sense of depravity and always competing for those ‘limited resources’ be it jobs, education, comforts, road space, space in life etc and almost everything, corruption has crept in all walks of life like a shadow. Nothing gets done routinely and timely on its own and one necessarily has to grease the other side who is in a position of authority or decider in order to get things done seems to be the firm belief and almost rightly so. From the smallest of things like getting your child admitted to a school to getting your passport made/renewed, everything revolves around “connections” and “bribe”. And it truly sucks.

I would think that except for those at the top end of the population spectrum constituting less than one percent of the population, everybody is affected with this malaise and has been a victim of it in varying degrees at some point in life. Almost everybody who I have met has an unpleasant personal experience to share.

It is in this regard that Anna’s “India Against Corruption” movement came as a much required relief and brought with it a great hope for all the Indians. It was thus no surprise that there was an instantaneous outpour of emotions and response from a common man when the movement staged its demonstration in August in Delhi. It literally caught the imagination of everybody who has suffered at some point or the other and was ably supported by media-both print and more so by the electronic media by publicising the event 24/7 during its entire duration. The response was unprecedented. Ramlila Maidan, the venue seemed to be a sea of people from all walks of life and it was almost as if anybody who had suffered the wrath the bribery wanted to be present there to show solidarity with the movement against corruption. The response, so huge and unimaginable, caught the organisers (of India Against Corruption) by total surprise.

And this to me was the beginning of the fall of this movement. People’s anger and ire which was instantaneous and which was against corruption, was taken as a symbol of individual grandiose and popularity of those leading the movement. The movement, which was supposed to have been a faceless mass movement – where the sheer force of the masses and the pressure it brings along with could have unshackled any system out of its lethargy and systemic rot, became an exercise of individual glorification of few individuals where they started treating themselves as mass heroes and others with utter contempt. It almost has come to an extent that they have assumed upon themselves the role of being the “sole representatives” on the issue of corruption. Everybody has to necessarily speak their language (basically agree with whatever they say and whichever way they say) and any differing or dissenting voice on the methodology, issues and processes is treated with such hatred that such a voice is almost ostracized and boycotted. Such differing voices are almost made to sound like villains. Its “either Anna way or no other way” or “either Anna way or you are corrupt” philosophy that these individuals manning the “India Against Corruption” have adopted that has taken the steam off the movement. This group is just not willing to listen to any other version of “Lokpal Bill”. Whatever they say is “patthar ki lakeer”! As a result, some of the saner voices , including Aruna Roy & Nikhil Dey have distanced themselves from the so called movement. This is not all, some of the core committee members of IAC including Rajendra Singh, the Raman Magsaysay award winner have distanced themselves from the movement. Does that make them corrupt? The problem lies somewhere else.

Key proponents of IAC, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi have made it look as if their version of “Jan Lokpal Bill” (whats the difference between ‘jan’ and ‘lok’ ?) will be the panacea of all corruption and all the ills that come along with. And thats how they have been projecting throughout. The basic issue is whether it will be the panacea of all corruption? The greatest damage, the trio (Anna, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi) have done is that they are exploiting people’s anger and frustration against corruption, by giving them false and unrealistic hope of the Bill being the solution to contain all the corruption. It will not be the case and nobody knows better than the trio. Worst still is the likely blame they are going to attribute on the bureaucracy and the delivery system on the failure rather than addressing the basic issue of corruption. The problem of corruption lies elsewhere and no amount of policing can contain it. We are ingenious enough to devise newer methods to overcome provisions of any legal provisions.
The answer to me lies in (i) having systemic improvements in delivery mechanisms of the services in a manner that minimizes human interface. The online facilitation of services which does not require any human interface can bring in lot of transparency and thereby minimize corruption. Also (ii) a major answer lies within each of us. As they say, it takes two to clap. Corruption exists because there is a giver, however forced or unwilling. Can we go on justifying corruption on the compulsions of our circumstances? If we all decide to follow rules and be mentally ready to pay the fine/penalties if we flout them, half the battle is won. How many of us look for short cuts whenever we jump the traffic signals and happily bribe the traffic constable for over-speeding, or violation of rules? There might be delays or unnecessary delays initially but if all of us decide to be a part of this cleansing drive, things will ultimately fall in place.
It’s very easy to look elsewhere and blame everything on politicians and babus but is it that simple? Is Politics or Babudom the only breeds that are corrupt? Is there no corruption in corporate sector, among NGOs and in formal and informal sector? If we are talking about removing corruption and holding people accountable, why not talk of all such sectors ? Its like this – we don’t want to talk about ourselves and our acts of omission and commission whenever we are a party to corruption when it suit us but we would like to blame politicians and bureaucracy for all our ills. They are the favorite and most easily available targets waiting to be whipped. Is it fair? Is it not closing our eyes to the reality? I remember when somebody asked Anna as to why he doesnt contest an election, his answer was that he will never win because voters can be purchased. Now, my question is, where lies the answer? Are politicians alone to be blamed? It's much more deep rooted and we cant take as easy route out by blaming everything on politicians. Why arent we willing to look into the societal dynamics and the complex Malthusian perspective on deprivation and resulting desire to seek a short cut in everything we do?

Kiran Bedi mocking politicians

The sort of adulation and hero-worship that the troika got, it perhaps has got into their head. A situation came that nobody should question their own credentials. Well, it’s a well established principle of leadership that the best leadership is the one which leads by his/her own example. And here, cases of improprieties and corrupt practices against some of these members of troika and those closely associated are blatantly ignored by them and infact laughed over. Such arrogance against the truth can only bring them down- there’s no other way and its happening. Everytime I saw it on television the way Anna said "inquilab zindabad" or "bharat Mata ki jai", I got scared..there was so much violence and threat in the tone. What was so gandhian about it? Or the way Kiran Bedi mocked politicians on stage in Ramlila Maidan. The entire issue got so trivialized in the process.



What's Gandhian about it?



The IAC movement has always prided itself in advocating a transparent system in whatever we do in public. I really wonder why one of the IAC members, Mufti Shamum Kazmi, was thrown out of the IAC when he was recording the proceedings of the IAC ? where’s the internal transparency gone? I wonder why this issue has not been raised in the press? Somehow, the majority of media has been subdued to subjugation with the self perceived belief that they have taken up the right cause however illogical or autocratic it might be. In any case, media goes by TRP ratings and all said and done, Anna makes news and sells.



The movement, with its new found popularity , has ventured into newer areas of reforms such as electoral practices. It has also taken up, riding on its popularity, some of the most ridiculous issue such as alcoholism etc. This is totally weird and a complete digression from the very purpose for which people had identified themselves with the drive against corruption.

Anna, as also the media, revels in giving the impression that he is a Gandhian. Anna, basically has been, in my opinion, a village simpleton with very simplistic views on life. For him, everything seems to be black and white. I remember having him as chief guest in one of our functions in Vijaywada in early 2000 when I was Municipal Commissioner. He is a man of principles and lives a simple life.

But I feel, exposure to media and instant stardom and publicity has had its debilitating affect on him and he seems to have lost his sense of balance. Notice some of his recent statements – that somebody



who consumes alcohol should be asked to give it up and if he doesn’t, he should be tied to an electric pole and flogged!! Or that Singhavi “should be hanged if found guilty”. There are umpteen examples of his autocratic violent utterances. Wonder whether Anna+Talibanish statements = Gandhi ? or merely, wearing khadi kurta dhoti and a Gandhian cap make anybody Gandhian? The rate at which Anna is going, the day is not far off unfortunately when he will be a totally discredited figure. His comments regarding Ashok Singhavi that he should be hanged if he is indeed the person in a controversial CD, represents yet another instance of Anna letting his tongue loose, with complete disregard for propriety or good sense. Such remarks , as pointed out in Mail Today, betray Anna as a man with a medieval mindset and narrow vision who has through accident or force of circumstances, been catapulted to the national stage. Somebody needs to tell him that leading an austere existence and seeking

change alone is not enough to qualify as a Gandhian. He is surrounded by sycophants who are using him as a ladder to climb on their own personal glories and gains and he needs to realise how he is being used (abused) by those surrounding him. It’s a pity that Anna doesn’t realise that showing his intemperate side will soon leave him with few options or supporters. The movement off late has become media driven and hardly a people’s movement. The movement, in its last few phases, has become a huntin

g ground of lampoon elements and hooligans who, drunk on “people’s power” and alcohol, go around menacingly on bikes, without helmets and flouting all saner rules. Time for authorities to act tough and time for people to realise whether their frustrations are being used by selected few for their very selfish motives.