VOICE OF PEOPLE IS VOICE OF GOD

India is economically poor but spiritually rich. India lives in two extreme situations. Some live in palatial houses and some find it difficult to have a thatched roof overhead. Some are clad in Savoy Row suits but most have half a piece of loin cloth to cover the private parts and save the other half for a later day. Nevertheless, the People of India have one aim: DHARMA TO BE FOLLOWED AND PRACTISED. Dharma is much more than Religion. Dharma is not rituals. Dharma is what you do the whole day, nay, the whole life is assessed at the end of the present life. The next life, that is life beyond Death depends on your KARMA - action and inaction. Thus, by and large, most Indians are conscious of the Dharma for guidance.

PHILOSOPHY IN ACTION

The philosophy of life that has been summarised in the lines above guide the day to day life of an average Hindu. It is his belief that this philosophy of life emanates from the most ancient scriptures in the library of MAN and known as VEDAS are not only sacrosanct but also are to be taken as, what the Christians call- the Gospel Truth. That explains why poor people may forego meals but would resist the temptation to Steal.

How does one explain hundreds of cases of crime that are detected by the Police and criminals put in jail after a legal trial? Well, they are the people who have no faith in Dharma or the path of Righteousness. Those law breakers, big and small, are the ones encouraging Corruption, indulging in corruption and looting the government treasury where poor man's money is kept.

There is an unholy nexus between the politician, the police, the bureaucracy and criminals of the underworld to be united together to swindle the public money. Since that money born of corrupt practices cannot be deposited in the Indian banks, the economic criminals, including government ministers and heads of political parties deposit them in Swiss banks and elsewhere. No questions are asked there and they aid corruption to flourish.

ANNA HAZARE MOVEMENT

THE SEPTUAGENARIAN DIMINUTIVE MAN CLAD IN HOME SPUN CLOTH CALLED kHADI HAS PUT HIS LIFE AT STAKE TO CLEANSE THE INDIAN SOCIETY OF CORRUPTION. He was a non-commissioned officer in the Indian Army driving heavy vehicles across the country. He earned his bread honestly and on retirement gave his entire savings in charity to build wells, Dharamshalas or free rest houses for pilgrims and motivated his village people not to grease the palm of govt officials for doing the work of common peasants. He enlarged the scope and encompassed the state of Maharashtra. With People's support he succeeded in uprooting many ministers of the state and having the corrupt governments fall. The success never went into his head. He continued living in a small room in a free public rest house that he had built for peasant travellers.
Anna Hazare came to cleanse New Delhi and is at it now. The entire population of India is fed up of the corrupt practices of govt ministers, bureaucrats, police officials and the rest of the govt paraphernalia due to their making money under the table. If you ask for an honest minister in the government of India, you will draw a blank. These corrupt people stash the ill gotten wealth in foreign banks which are tax havens. Anna Hazare has taken a vow to cleanse the society of the aforesaid corrupt elements and thus make the society corruption-free.

The ultimate beneficiary of a corruption-free society will be the common man.

MODUS OPERANDI

The Anna Hazare Team comprises Arvind Kejariwal, Kiran Bedi and a host of volunteers who support the movement and move with the crusader bag and baggage from place to place. All volunteers spend their own money and time. They do not expect anything in return. This phenomenon is not only surprising but amazing to the corrupt people and they do not believe their eyes when they see the selfless workers. The dishonest govt officials go on an overdrive to defame the Anna Hazare Team and leak out all sorts of uncomplimentary stories and anecdote to defame them. However, the canards fall flat because the mischief mongers cannot face the Anna Team that has the Truth as its support.

Right now the ministers of govt of India are advocating that a Lokpal may oversee investigation of corruption cases but the said Lokpal, as per the govt draft, will have no teeth to implement his own decisions. On the other hand, the draft Lokpal bill submitted by Team Anna has provision for a powerful Lokpal who can arrest criminals, prosecute politicians including ministers and carry the case to the hilt. Team Anna wants to include the Prime Minister, members of parliament, judiciary and so on within the purview and jurisdiction of all kinds of the Lokpal. Thus the new Lokpal will have sufficient tooth to bark and bite and thus root out corruption of allsorts from Bharat.

It is such a wonderful idea; where is the hitch? Well, those who have been corrupt all along in service may find it difficult to forsake that style of life. Hence under the leadership of corrupt ministers, the bureaucrats, police and politicians have united to raise technical objections in the proposals of the representatives of the civil society as the Anna Team is referred to. It is an old game of bureaucracy to ask a number of questions, both relevant and irrelevant, keep the case file pending and gain time hoping that people’s enthusiasm will wane and the mass movement may peter out. That indeed will open the door to corrupt practices wide open for accommodating one and all. The swelling numbers of criminals and law breakers will be awful and thus the corrupt officials and ministers may succeed in intimidating the honest citizens.

The Team Anna is of the opinion that the intentions of the govt of India in getting a bill passed to promote a powerful Lokpal are doubtful. The corrupt ministers and bureaucrats wish to create an institution of a weak Lokpal who would just be a paper tiger without any teeth.

LAST DITCH BATTLE

The ministers of govt of India are adamant in not conceding any point to Team Anna. The Team Anna is determined to deliver the goods for the good of common man. If nothing comes out of this agitation where the masses have given full support to the Team Anna, they would lose faith in protests, agitations and challenging the evil sections of the society.

There is so much bloodshed and corruption in the society not because the Evil is stronger than the Good but because the good people suffer in silence and do not raise their voice in protest. The Good must challenge the Evil and eventually defeat it. The battles in the Ramayan between Ram and Ravan give us that eternal message. The Mahabharat was a major war fought for eighteen days and the entire country was at the battlefield of Kurukshetra. The message of both the Ramayan and theMahabharat is loud and clear. The forces of Good people in the society must challenge the Evil forces and defeat them decisively so that they are silenced for good.

Anna Hazare has made his intention clear. 16th August 2011 onwards he would go on fast unto death to let the government of India see reason. The aim is to have an act of Parliament for establishing the institution of an effective Lokpal who would help eradicate corruption and rein in the corrupt elements in future too. The end result will be COMMON GOOD OF THE COMMON MAN.
BY Chitranjan Sawant