Mera Bharat Mahaan

“Sau mein se assi be-imaan phir bhi mera bharat mahaan” – as I recollect this famous dialog of Nana Patekar from the movie “Yeshwant” which came years ago, it highlights the in-depth levels of unidentified corruption that has crept into our lives.

Today, “India against Corruption” has become almost like a fashion trend and fasting seems to be the flavor of the season. And almost every Indian seems to be considering oneself as a crusader against corruption. Some do so by expressing their solidarity with the fasting masqueraders aka Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, some do so by visiting the Dharnas and shouting slogans and a vast majority of it does by posting links on Facebook/Twitter and attending events virtually.

Astounding as it may sound, but before going ballistic over what Anna or Baba are doing, let’s have a look at the other perspectives of such tactics.

Who knew Anna Hazare before he sat down for fasting? And today, he is being called a Mahatma! Does he really deserve the title, given the fact that he stepped down from the fast merely on being offered a position in the drafting committee of the Jan Lokpal Bill.

1. Did he really fast just to get into the committee?
2. What is the guarantee that Jan Lokpal Bill will eliminate the corrupt and stop corrupt practices?
3. Are the members of the Jan Lokpal Bill even aware of what corruption actually means?
4. Are the likes of Baba and Anna worth investing all hopes and emotions into them pertaining to the issue of corruption?
5. What about the political connections backing Anna?

Even, if we talk about Baba Ramdev, who is he? Someone who just teaches Yoga; what has a yoga teacher got to do with corruption and talk broadly about a politically correct issue unless has personal political aspirations and in such a scenario can Baba Ramdev guarantee that his politics will be corruption free?

Forget the guarantee, other day I was talking to one of my friends and he told me that there is a Baba Ramdev store near his office and he came to know that the store owner has been advised to ‘collect gatherings’ in wake of the increased number of people flocking to the Baba Ramdev stores in the event of his inflated fame. How, is that, not a gimmick to boost sales without any guarantee of outcome?

And if the Baba was so determined in his so called crusade against corruption, was only one so called midnight-swoop enough to deter him from his stand and side with the Government?

These so called Babas and Annas know one thing for sure – The Indian Citizens are very easily fooled. Earlier they fell for vague promises made by politicians and faulty schemes offered by the Government that were ill-conceived by the bureaucrats. Exasperated with that, now the foolish Indian Citizen or the “Stupid Common Man” is being fooled by the so called masqueraders against corruption.

Everyone is saying, “India against Corruption”, without realizing certain key aspects about corruption. Corruption is not limited to black money laundering, scamming, dwindling of public exchequer and bribing. These monetary facets are just one visible measure of the amount of rampant corruption that exists in the attitude of the Indian citizens.

By and large, it’s the Indian citizens that are corrupt for the simple reason that all these corrupt babus and politicians are Indian citizens, elected by Indian citizens, allowed to operate unchallenged and unquestioned by Indian citizens and at times, even worshipped by Indian citizens.

1. Why do most Indians refrain from entering politics citing it as a dirty arena and allow governance to be run by families?
2. Why do most Indians treat the Election Day as just another holiday, do not exercise their voting rights and have their say in the representatives elected?
3. Why do most Indians get ready to cast their vote, the moment they are offered television sets, on cash on vote?
4. Why do most Indians remain ignorant of legal knowledge and allow the legal agents to run the industry they want to?
5. Why are most Indians still unaware of the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) even as it enters 6^th year of its enactment?
6. Why do most Indians believe the media to such an extent that they use it as a medium of education?

The answer to all of the above is very simple – Indians do not want to take responsibility for their own lives; rather they just want a hero who they think will be honest enough to fight selflessly for them while they make hay under the sun. But the key question that arises is, “Are Indians themselves honest?” and the answer is an unfortunate NO.

I have seen instances of people jumping red lights in traffic and offering a Rs. 50 in order to escape full fine or looking for that opportunistic tout/agent for their official documents related woes like passport, ration card, driving license etc.

These citizens got an opportunity and they saved their money/effort by resorting to unnoticed or unidentified corrupt practices. The politicians and the bureaucrats did the same – at a much larger scale albeit – big deal?

Indian citizens need to realize that corruption is not a law and order problem that can be addressed by some magical Jan Lokpal Bill. Corruption is an issue of harboring malicious attitudes for favorable outcomes. Until and unless each and every citizen does not pledge to be honest and non-corrupt, the crusade against corruption be it by the Babas and Annas or by the citizens, is meaningless, hollow and superficial.

1. Why did Baba Ramdev agree to exclude judiciary and the PMO from ambit of the Jan Lokpal Bill?
2. On what basis, was it assumed that these offices are not corrupt?

Indian Judiciary is one of the worst judiciary in the whole world. It loves to sit on pile of cases and then cite the same pile as a reason of delay and ultimately chart out useless orders. Time and again, lack of transparency in the judiciary has been highlighted and I see no reason of exempting the judiciary from the ambit of the magical Jan Lokpal Bill, if it is to be assumed that this magical bill is the ram-baan for all corruption.

And Baba Ramdev supporting the exemption of the judiciary and the PMO casts reasonable doubt on the genuineness of his crusade. And until and unless, one is completely clear of corruption, should one be allowed to ride the chariot in the war against corruption?

It is surprising that Indians, who have performed wonders globally, are allowing such large scale mass-fooling of themselves, when it comes to issues related to law and order, governance, transparency and corruption and one after another, they are ready to invest their hopes and emotions in anyone who is ready to fool them. Indeed, “Mera Bharat Mahaan”.