Why Anna Hazare can save Indian Democracy

Anna Hazare

Last week, a 73 year old frail man came out of a small Indian village and galvanized a nation together. Citizens across castes, creeds, religions, social strata came together under Anna Hazare to shake the Indian Government into agreeing a joint committee to draft a Jan Lok Pal Bill. A Bill which has been pending for the past 42 years without getting passed.

There are many in the elite intellectual strata that were shocked by this. This mainly middle-class movement had by-passed the elected representatives and made them-selves heard and forced the Indian Government to finally move. They said, Middle class Indians are not supposed to change Government policy. This is a dangerous precedent. We are tearing the roots of our Indian Democracy. This is "blackmail". We had numerous blogs about this. Many of these used so much of verbal acrobatics instead of plain words that most couldn't understand what they were writing. But, it was plain to read - They preferred a status quo. None of these people advocated any solution to the rampant and brazen corruption. They would rather live with this corruption than see a pure Democracy being subverted by this "Anarchy" and this "draconian law" (Yes, it was called that too).

Today, around 30% of India is under Maoists and Naxalites control. These people preach a violent end to the Indian Government and Indian Democracy. Their main grouse is that the Indian administration is totally corrupt and the poor never get any benefit of development. The Indian Government has no preview here.

The ordinary citizens of India have lost faith in Politicians. Around 30% of the elected representatives in any State and Central legislature have criminal cases against them, many of them for heinous crimes like murder and rape. 35% of these representatives are from dynastic political families.  Politicians have perfected an art of winning elections through vote bank politics, dividing the people on basis of caste, region, religion, rabble-rousing the electorate, bribing, muscle power and intimidation amongst other fine election winning arts.  Politics has become a family business instead of a platform to do good for the people. Politicians behave like "rulers" and "kings" instead of public-servants. People have got disillusioned by the democratic process. Many don't even bother to vote.

Once a Politician wins the election, his main aim is to "recover his investment" 1000 times over. Blatant and brazen corruption in every level of government and government administration has turned governance into a joke. Decisions are based on the highest bribe received. Tens of thousands of crores of subsidies for the poor never reach them, they are eaten up by unscrupulous Politicians and Government officials. Quoting our ex-PM Mr.Rajiv Gandhi "Only 15% of  subsidies reach the real people....". That was 20 years ago. Now its probably even lower.

These corrupt people never get caught. If they get caught, they never get prosecuted. If they get prosecuted they never get punished or their ill-gotten wealth confiscated. They use every trick in their book, their powerful political connections, money power and draconian laws to protect themselves and subvert all. Can anyone name 10 corrupt politicians who were punished and their wealth confiscated? I can't name even ONE.

Enough Indian wealth lies hidden in Swiss Bank accounts and offshore account enough to fund the Indian Economy for 10 or more years!! Thousands of schools, colleges, hospitals can be built with this money.  Still a huge percentage of Indian villages don't have clean water, electricity, roads, medical facilities. This is after 64 year of Independence. Indirectly corruption kills millions more Indians than any terrorist ever did. Yet, there are no laws against these people. The Lok Pal already exists in 18 Indian states but it has no effect cause it is a toothless body at the present.

There is so much anger in the people about this blatant corruption and the unaccountability of these corrupt politicians, that it took just one spark to en-flame this hatred and for the first time in a free India, people came on the streets in Delhi under Anna Hazare.  They were not paid and  herded in buses and trucks. They came on their own free will.

We are lucky that we had a man like Anna Hazare leading this movement. A man preaching a non-violent movement. All the people of India are now waiting and watching for the Jan Lok Pal Bill to get enacted. If there isn't a strong Jan Lok Pal bill enacted and the guilty punished,  this anger and frustration of the Indian people can erupt into a volcano and burn down our great Democracy.

Corrupt Indian Politicians need to be severely punished and all their wealth confiscated. The new generation of politicians need to fear the people and not the other way around. "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty" - Thomas Jefferson. Public money needs to go back into the public instead of finding its way into Swiss Bank accounts.

Why should a strong Jan Lok Pal Bill be feared by honest Politicians? How can you ensure that this Jan Lok Pal doesn't become another center of corruption itself? How? The Indian people will ensure it.

Nana Hazare has given us hope. Hope to the people of India that they count for something. Hope that this status quo of corruption can end and they can make a difference for the better.  Hope that honestly and integrity can win. Therefore supporting Anna Hazare and a very strong Jan Lok Pal bill is only the first step to mitigating the anger and frustration of the people of India. And this is only a first important step on the road to strengthen and save our great Indian Democracy.

Thanks to the courage of this great man, Anna Hazare, our Indian Democracy may live for another hundred years.

Jai Hind!