Lokpal~IAC~Anna Hazare~Baba Ramdev~MMS~Digvijay Singh~Jantarmantar~Ramlila~ Fasting~Tihar~Kalmadi~Kanimozhi~Raja~DMK - As per Google Zeitgeist, this wordlist constitutes the most typed words by an Indian citizen in the past few months.
All the time, people are busy complaining about rotten politicians, politicians are busy in setting planning(?) commissions, and the fourth estate, media are busy in being the bird watcher, benefiting from disputes between people and politicians. In the mean time, The Sacred House of Parliament has become a warehouse filled with quibblers.
Only few days ago, we celebrated 64th Independence day. What kind of freedom did we achieved? Freedom to democratic rule they say. But, the protectors of the people, the rulers of our country are celebrating independence behind a bullet-proof window with an army of police protection. Freedom to politcal rule they say. But, politicians take commission from the businesspeople and set commissions to overcome the legal disputes! Freedom to media they say. But, Media adding fuel to the fire, focusing on TRP more than facts. Freedom to vote they say. But, votes are traded in Election time with the vote price plotting a parabola, reaching the max at election time and droping at the midtime. What kind of freedom is this? Freedom to loot? Freedom to evade constitution? Freedom to manipulate? Or freedom to take steps for the public welfare?
At the same time, politicians are not to be the only sector to be blamed. It is we who made them to what they are at present. People bribe the officers and politicians for favours and they in turn get bribed by the politicians for the vote! Who is the most corrupt here? A Government formed by the sold public or the people who were bought by the solid politicians?
Public like to follow trends - whether it is ambition or agitation. If the educational trend is to do Engineering, people will follow that, irrespective of the pupil's talent criterion. If the political trend is to fight against corruption, they will follow that. Not to mention the young men and women who witnessed the freedom struggle only in Social Science books, they like to stand for a cause, probably for the first time in their life. But, irrespective of such petty analyses, after emergency, this is the first time people has united for a single cause.
People's power is like a falling apple obeying gravity. Neither you can stop it nor you can reverse it. As people started realize that the guy represented by him is looting his own pocket, hardtime began to politicians. Now that the whole India is fighting against corruption, an ombudsman is left with two options. Whether he can join the struggle or sit in his house imagining nothing is happening outside. If he chooses to fight, then he must remember that the next time he gets stuck in a lengthy bureaucratic process, he must obey the law and he should not try to evade rules for getting favours in the future. Our country's problem is the population, which is so dense such that there is not a single social/bureacratical process which doesn't involve queuing system. People who are on streets right now should not forget that their struggle doesn't end with the Lokpal bill; but it just starts there. Now, we say that it is corruption which destroyed our lives and charge the Government for not passing a strong Lokpal. But the truth is that by fighting corruption, we are fighting against the corrupt mentality which is ruling our ordinary people and businessmen. All those public-turned-reformist must digest the simple fact - 'Corruption is a two way street. Both the giver and taker are equally reprehensible'.
By getting Independence, we have amputated the infectious British arm, only to get a more proliferating cancer called corruption. We sacrificed so much to defeat one East India company, only to get multiple East India companies in the name of political parties, business tycoons, underworld dhadhas and so on. With this year, just like our politicians, even our Independence reached its retirement age of 64yrs! Now is not too late than never.
It all comes down to this - As usual, the requiem to corruption is not inside some bill, but it is in our minds. It is our duty to uproot the corruption and sow honest seeds to our future generations in order to reap the real independence. Let the knot which came down last Monday be the demonic craziness and the flag which went up be the democracy!
The adage goes - "Where there is a will, there is a way!". But, I say, "Where there is evil, there is unity and definitely there is a way!". Vande Maataram :-)
