The setting was perfect: Ramlila Ground, therefore, it had to be high drama by the protagonist along with his protesters! …
The desire for a pie in the Anti-Corruption Movement was so intense inBaba Ramdev that no sooner Anna Hazare wound up at Jantar Mantar, the politically ambitious Baba Ramdev announced his “fast-unto-death” campaign against black money. It was bound to be interesting to see theYoga guru add another chapter to India’s crusade against corruption. There was never any doubt about his ability to mobilize his supporters - he has them in abundance - to force the Indian government to enact laws to bring back the massive amount of ill gotten money stashed away in foreign banks and tax havens abroad. Like Anna, he too was bound to get relentless media coverage. Interesting, however, was also the probable response of the Indian public to a new episode of Dharna-in-Delhi; also important was to see the handling capabilities of the government. (The issue, nevertheless, is that a stubbornly arrogant Indian government does not relent till it is forced to do so – like Anna did.) And the outcome of Baba’s so-called fast turned out to be exactly what I had envisaged!
With great difficulty Anna Hazare had succeeded in waking up the perennially sleeping Indians to stand up for their country; in my living memory it was for the first time that Indians had come out in full force to fight against corruption. It was heartening to see an average Indian - who has been otherwise quite comfortable with his/her corruption surrounded existence – adopt the word“crusade” in his/her vocabulary of daily living.
Then came Baba with a clear mission to hijack people’s platform in order to further his political aspirations – though he vehemently denies this charge. And thus the country witnessed a new look crusade being staged in an air-conditioned ambiance – all with public money snatched forcibly by Baba’s menin name of providing comforts to the congregating protesters in a “hot” Delhi!
More bizarre was the manner in which the government of India attempted to tackle it. First it tried to woo Baba by rushing senior ministers – including the finance minister! - as soon he alighted from his private jet at the Delhi airport. It seemed of be greatly wary of the sheer number of his followers. When the placating policy failed, it tried to strike a secret deal with him in the setting of a plush 5-star hotel and succeeded in getting a hand written assurance from him to stop his agitation. Baba, not satisfied with the attention he had got so far, tried to garner as much political mileage out of the event as possible and thus took au-turn on his words and decided to continue his protest. In response, when the government tried to convince the country of the patch-up by waving his letter in a press conference, Baba levied charges on the government and called it a “liar”which, as we all know by now, did not go down too well with it. Police was sent to chase away the protesters with a midnight crackdown. The scene became hugely chaotic with Media broadcasting live the mayhem. Sleeping people were forcefully evicted and even Baba was forced to flee the ground in disguise. The political theater, famously called the Theatre of the Absurds, was at it best!
By using force on peaceful protesters – though no one was injured with mild lathi-charge and tear gas shells – the government with its highly unimaginative move has inadvertently relinquished its grace and moral rights to be a proponent of aam-aadmi, and has allowed Baba to seize the opportunity to garner unwarranted credence for his campaign. And the scene of drama has shifted to Haridwar for now, with his followers openly supporting “the person” and not “the cause”. In addition, the saffron brigade hooking onto the bandwagon and trying to give it a communal hue is the most disturbing aspect. If left unchecked, it has the potential to scuttle Anna’s movement and provide chances to unscrupulous to gain undue advantages by exploiting gullible population’s sentiments.
Though in a country where corruption had long back ceased to make any“news” till Team Anna shook them up from their siesta, a hugely popular figure like Baba Ramdev taking up the cause of corruption could have strengthened civil society’s crusade, if only his intentions were genuine. On the contrary, Baba’s 5-star campaign has in fact rendered the term impotent, though temporarily. The legitimacy of the agitation has become doubtful. The seriousness of the purpose which is always the driving force behind all such movements looks to have got diluted in Baba’s case completely.
To say the least, I am happy at the developments.
I was never comfortable with Baba Ramdev’s foray into the “movement” area because his credibility as a serious campaigner for country’s cause was always a big question mark. To me he seemed to be an opportunist who wanted to ride the wave of public support and garner a footing in the political landscape of the country. I never believed him when ever he tried to proclaim his so-called detachment to politics in spite of floating a political party, his so-called philanthropic effort to cleanse the country of corruption. His claim to the cause as a co-crusader seemed illegitimate as he is known to have amassed massive wealth the sources of which are still unknown. And then his attempt at redefining the way to conduct a campaign: 5-star Satyagraha! I am sure Mahatma Gandhi must be amused up there!
The contrast between Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev could not have been starker!
Though I do not believe in public display of sentiments, nevertheless, I pledge my full support to Team Anna and promise to be on fast in solidarity – at home and in office due to professional compulsions – the next time they embark on their fast protest for the Lokpal Bill. …
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P.S.: Let’s not forget that in today’s times of crusades, the one entity which deserves the maximum credit for initializing it in India is the Media, especiallyArnab Goswami at Times Now who with his courageous campaigns against corruption forced the government to relent and act and inspired the activists like Anna Hazare! …
