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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Hazaar Hazare Ho!!!

When a 73 year old man refused to eat, a 63 year old democracy found its appetite for expression.

What Anna Hazare did in 5 days is already part of social folklore- it connected with an underlying sense of frustration and helplessness that we citizens feel about the system. But what distinguished this revolution is the solidarity and support that was extended within a matter of hours.

People power woke up in India. People power has toppled governments, as seen with the Jasmine Revolution in the Middle East. India is not new to this phenomenon: the Hazare Revolution proved that the Jessica Lal uprising was not a flash in the pan. People do care. The ‘chaltha hai’ attitude that we are so (in)famously associated with just that- an association, and not our distinction. And now we’ve proved that we can and will take matters in our hands.

Once upon a time, democracy was by the people, of the people and for the people. Today, Indian democracy is largely by the politician, of the politician and for the politician. Can you believe a bunch of states are going to elections this week and we still don’t know who the chief minister designates are for many of the parties - the parties assume that once they are in power, they’ll decide who’s best for us. Is this really democracy?

But the Indian citizen is now shining. I’ve seen people who went out of their comfort zones to be part of the Hazare movement. People do care; all they needed was a platform to unite and channel their support. Hazare was the trigger and we, the common man, have made our move. People expressed support to the movement in various ways. Social media was buzzing with support. Networking sites actively shored up and galvanized support from across the nation and the Media connected more people to this cause. So potent was this new found force of the people that the government agreed to Hazare’s demands in a matter of days. People power triumphed, the common man woke up and democracy scored.

This is only the beginning.

14 comments:

  1. Good point about CM Designate. http://indiareloaded.tv has all the good live updates and articles on this subject with the same viewpoint.

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  2. Yes like you said this is just the beginning! But i hope it doesnt fade away. Does anyone remember IROM SHARMILA....she is on Hungerstrike for 10 yrs nw....police arrests her for attempt to suicide by hunger strike and keep her in jail. Still she hasnt eaten. They have forced nasal food injection on her . Sumthing like tht. Nobody remmebers her.

    I m not saying tht anna hazare will b forgotten. But Indians r capapble f anything n everything.

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  3. Hey Pundit, I agree with u - its ironic.. thanx fr goin thru my post, PC :)

    U're rite Red...tho I think we made a gud start by findin a way to mobilize support...fb, twitter, the net hd their roles 2... if u luk at it, thr r still many who did nt support but were aware of it.. thnk it cn b planned in a more structured way the next time on.. so I'm guessin it'll be better the next time on..I only hope ppl dnt misuse this form of expression...

    Thnx fr goin thru my post, Red!! :)

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  4. Its not the planning i am worried about...its the mindset f our people. They let go of things so fast! Yes they care but its never for long.

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  5. Your blog title is so different from your post topics...Yes the best thing about Annas movement is that middle clases have found their voice.

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  6. The chaltha hai attitute never was in the minds of people ...the media just declared it even after a row of scandals came to light ...people were waiting for the right opportunity...to show off their emotions...Hazare's guided ...the emotions...

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  7. I think the mindset is more helplessness rather than ignorance.. we just needed a channel for an effective response.. n I think we're findin onel that seems to work...I really think the internet will play a huge role in our fight against corruption..

    Yup Alka..I'm working on it....on more posts themed around the title, that is..:) Actually, even I'm kinda surprised that my posts have become a bit too serious of late... I'm not as serious as my posts project me as...I'm more irreverent as my title..nevertheless, thanx fr goin thru my blog, Alka :)

    Hey TrueIndian, I cudnt agree wid u more.. it ws Hazare who was the trigger :)

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  8. Whatever! Raj is getting a high writing this post huh! or you realized that lady readers appreciate this topic? You Womanizer man.. :)

    Just kidding bro. All this movement sh*t is just natak man. Yesterday that Save Tiger movement and today Save Anna Hazare. Youngsters will join the bandwagon just because it is "cool" to do it. For people on the net, they just want to join the buzz thats all. For IT professionals, its just another discussion over coffee. For some of my friends its no change at all, earlier they were behind Anna (Kournikova) and now they are still behind Anna (Hazare). We saw in that movie 'Peepli Live' na - Media sensationalized Anna just to get some TRPs thats all. A few who really fought the movement were the ones who were severely affected by corruption and wanted to give it back. For most of us, corruption is just a shortcut to get our things done man - why lose that advantage. Whatever we say or do.. ultimately life is just fucklove my man... just fucklove. Hic!

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  9. When a 73 year old man refused to eat, a 63 year old democracy found its appetite for expression.

    What a statement!

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  10. Hey Dada, always outspoken as usual, bro!!! I like ut thoughts man...u're in a way right about the "corruption is just a shortcut to get our things done man - why lose that advantage" ...very interesting man :) Thanx V Dada fr goin thru my post :)

    Hey Pooja, thnx fr droppin by.. glad tht u find it cool :)

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  11. The problem with us is not the chalta he attitude.. the problem is that we want everything in our favor. Jst like Vicky Dada.. may be a lot of us take corruption as a shortcut.
    Now Anna Hazare stood for a cause n got too many supporters. I support him too. But I'm not sure about the future of Lokpal bill at all.

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  12. True...just a beginning, but the beginning of the struggle as well.

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  13. Hey thanks Priya for ur thoughts..I agree with u that we have all learnt to tackle corruption ...we all know that a small 'amount' can save us from the inconvenience of waiting in the longer queue or waiting for additional week(s) to get our files cleared.. we all would want to expedite the process so that we can do more important things with our time.. but this is our reaction / adaption to an already corrupt system.. if the system was nt corrupt, we would not grease palms... who really wants to give money away where it is not due?

    Anna Hazare made a legitimate attempt to tackle corruption.. the Lokpal bill might come out in a more subdued way (hope not), but the powers that be now know that they can't take us as lightly as they used to..and that, in my opinion, is Anna Hazare's greatest contribution yet to the fight against corruption... Do keep reading, Priya..nice to have ur thoughts:)

    Yup Sid, nevertheless a beginning for a good cause :)

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