Anna As President

Not so improbable.

Just yesterday, amidst falling TRP ratings, Anna did something that he should have done long ago....Announce the floating of a Political party, who will then get elected and bring the change from within.

Very commendable, very ambitious and very late.

In the meantime, team Anna has sufferred like no icononic movement leaders have done in my living memory. They have lost face and support...in that order....and are now hoping to cash in on what is left.

A year back, when people were galvanized into a frenzy of support would have been the right time. Now that they have had the time to reflect and listen to varied views, I doubt if Team Anna will have any sort of support at all. At best they may, if all goes well, become a sort of irritant that a Mamta or a Thakerey have been in the next 15 years or so.

What will happen to Corruption till then?

Me believes that the corrupt will see this as a vindication of their stand. A sort of parole for taking money. Electoral politics in this country (as indeed in most of the uncivilized democratic world) is a matter of muscle and money power. Just where does the team intend to get these two anachronistic elements remains to be seen.

Are we still saying that the end justifies the means? If so, then Team Anna will take money. They will take favors. Once elected, they will have to side those that give them the money...and then what?

Someone told me that they will go to the people for money. That housewives and students, Rickshaw Wallas and Office goers, labourers and farmers, purohits and imaams will line up to contribute. That utopia, while not entirely impossible, is immensely improbable.

After all, this is not 1962 and we are not battling the Chinese. We are fighting against ourselves. The enemy within is always more ambiguous. Its a difficult recognition process. Is it clear that Bedi is not the enemy and Salman Khurshid is? Do we really see a difference between a Kejriwal and a Chidambaram? Do we really know these people at all...or were we completely carried away by the jingoistic rhettoric of a movement in ascent.

History is witness to mobs, even admittedly large ones, completely taking over public oppinion, driving rough shod over the larger majority who were more content in preserving their silence, content in perserving the status quo of their humdrum, yet harsh, existence. At the height of the movement, there were perhaps a million, maybe 2 who were ready to come out in total manifested support. This figure while not negligible by any standards constitutes (at the stretched estimate) maybe just 0.17% of the population of India. In comparison let me quote the following

- An estimated 5 million people turned up in a single day in Sabrimala in 2007
- An estimated 6 million people marched through London and Rome in protest against the Iraq War in 2003
- An estimated 2.5 million people marched together in the Sao Paulo Gay Pride parade in 2006
- Around 2 million people turned up in Tripoli in support of Muammar Gaddaffi in 2011 against Western Aggression

Yet another piece of trivia ... More than 70 Million people turned up for the Ardh Kumbha mela in Alahabad in 2007.

Now that is what I call complete support..even in a country of 1.2 Billion people.

At a certain level, personally, I am happy that this is taking a political turn. I am not a person who believes that politics is wrong by deffinition. It is actually the most noble of all professions.

It remains to be seen if the larger objectives are met through this move and if Team Anna preserves their sense of righteous indignation on anything that is remotely corrupt...even when they see the same in themselves....

In the meantime, corruption will continue till there is no comprehensive overhaul of public consciousness.