Dear Anna,
Got to know about your fast unto death for Jan Lokpal Bill through the cacophony of media! Not sure whether you are aware or not, sitting as you are on fast on hot summer days at Jantar-Mantar, your fast has already provided a new ‘breaking news’ to the great Indian media which was eagerly waiting for one in the interregnum between the World Cup and the IPL. In the drawing rooms of the great Indian middle class and in the cyberspace, your fast has already become a new reality show, a sort of ‘Fast [Live]’. We are told that the ‘second freedom struggle’ and even a ‘revolution’ is in the offing. ‘Fight against corruption’ is the latest buzzword and a hottest selling news item in this week. Film stars, celebrities, civil society, NRIs, media personalities, industrialists, opposition parties, Sonia Gandhi and even the government have come out in support of your cause saying that they are on the same side insofar as the fight against corruption is concerned. Anna, I am confused! who is on the other side of this nebulous fight? It is interesting to know that your fast is striking the chord of which section of society. No doubt, the feelings of the well-to-do Indian middle classes are getting resonance in your campaign, who are concerned about corruption because it adversely affects the ‘brand value’ of their otherwise ‘Shining India’ and is a hurdle to their ambition of making India a super power. But, does your fast resonate the cry of the 47 percent children of this country who are malnourished and dying of hunger? Does your campaign strike the chord of the 77 percent of the population of this country who are condemned to live on Rs 20 a day which includes the informal sector’s workers, small peasants and landless labourers. Does your campaign offer any hope to the toiling millions who are suffering from the yoke of capitalism whose inevitable byproduct is the mindboggling corruption which you claim to eradicate within the confines of this system? The answer is certainly NO because if it did, your campaign would have included the issues like the right to life and livelihood, right to food, housing, health and education to every citizen of this country apart from the issue of corruption. But you chose to observe your fast on as narrow an issue as merely the enactment of a legislation to fight corruption and you want us to believe that it would end the corruption!
The ruling classes would be too happy to see a movement like this which could be easily managed and which does not even given them a few sleepless nights. That is why your campaign is nowhere headed towards a real mass movement – a movement whose specter could haunt the ruling classes. The emancipation of masses calls for a broad based movement which is not narrowly focused on one legislative issue. Such a movement would not depend on the plea and prayer before the criminals, exploiters and oppressors but on the assertion of the collective strength of the people for their inalienable rights as human being. May be your campaign would catch millions of middle class eyeballs before TV set and attract millions of mouse click in the cyberspace, but a fast unto death of Gandhian style cannot be a role model for the movement of the emancipation of the toiling masses; instead it calls for the sacrifice and martyrdom like Bhagat Singh and his comrades!
Dear Idiotic author...
ReplyDeleteDo you think it is possible for you to see any good out of any act of sacrifice made in this day and age. Yes India has its problems, must we be compelled to fight all of them at once... and who decides the priority.
Seriously do you think the problems will vanish without have a less corrupt and more transparent government? Furthermore.. If you are so inclined.. why not go on a fast yourself on any of the issues you mentioned... it is after all a free country
Mr Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteYour going out of sense and taking resort to diatribes suggests that you are one of those great Indian middle class who lose their temper when their class nerve is touched.
The priority of the issues is also decided by one's class position. That's why I am not surprised to see that for a middle class person like you the issues of life and livelihood of masses are of lower priority.
If only you had controlled your class instinct while reading this letter and tried to understand the point I was trying to make, you would not have advised me to adopt a Gandhian way of undertaking a fast and plead before the exploiters and oppressors.
Ok Sir.. Let us consider the stance you are taking... In your article you are proposing that we should not have a "narrow" focus, instead you propose that we take on poverty and malnourishment. And since you do not subscribe to a "Gandhian" approach, I am curious to what your approach to finding a solution to these problems would be? Armed rebellion... Maoist style?
ReplyDeleteI apologize if my previous comment had the air of an elitist in dismissing your article, but none of what you have said - either in your article or in your "well considered" comment afterwards, have had anything to do with Anna Hazare's fast against corruption.
The absurd premise that you seem to be operating under is that any constructive change in India has to be directed towards India's poverty - nothing else counts!!
Hard to find such posts where basic needs are addressed instead of cacophony! And the mindless comment indicates how we are emotionally charged instead of rational decision. I have similar view in my blog krrisd.blogspot.com
ReplyDelete@Anonymous(1)
ReplyDeleteNow that you concede that your earlier response reflects your elitism, I expect you to shed the same and only then we can have some meaningful conversation.
Yes, I do believe that widespread poverty and rampant malnutrion among masses, particularly
among children and women are far more serious issues and the fight against corruption can be really effective if it is linked with the larger movement of building a society which is based on fulfilling the needs of all members
of the society rather than on the vulger profit of the upper strata. And I firmly believe that Gandhism does not have the potential to build such kind of society based as it is on the pleading before the criminals, exploiters
and oppresors in the false hope that they will change their heart some day.
Moreover Gandhism provides a handy tool to the ruling classes to co-opt any kind of frustration and anger of the masses.After all our ruling party also claims to represent the legacy of Gandhi only.
So, if not Gandhism then what!You seem to be suggesting that impotent pacifism of Gandhism
and mindless violence of Naxalites are the only options available before the people.But I do not think so. I believe that none of these endencies can be effective instrument against the Indian ruling class. We need to scientifically explore various ways of fighting with the exploiters. In Indian history I find Bhagat Singh and his comrades' vision the most suitable and relevant to our times and I strive to spread their revolutionary message in various ways. Obviously I cannot mention everything here as a comment to blog and that too for someone who has yet not disclosed his identity. If you are genuinely interested in knowing and contributing to this movement and not just one of those phoney part time activist, we can have carry on this discussion through email.
my email id is: anand.inqalab@gmail.com
@Krissd
ReplyDeleteHi Kriss, I read your blog. Appreciate that you have the courage to apply your own brain rather
than simply toeing the lines of media celebrities who are there to manufacture opinion. But at the same time, hope you would have noticed that though our stands on the whole Anna issue have some similarities, there are some differences as well.
And now Mr. Singh... with the government (erstwhile oppressors) buckling under the power of people, do you still feel the same way? That nothing can be achieved through peaceful or what you call the "impotent pacifism of Gandhism" ?
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have no problem in finding fault with the self sacrificial act of man like Anna Hazare because he did not fight for what "YOU" seem to think is more important (to "YOU"). We, sir, live in a world shaped by our own perceptions. And allowing people to share theirs is a virtue.
In your rant you propose a fundamental shift of focus without providing an actionable plan or even presenting a fragment of an idea on how poverty can be eradicated in India. Also do inform me on how Bhagat Singh's approach would apply to causes like poverty - The closest example in present day India is the Maoist rebellion - and I am not judging them either. I think we are not in their shoes so we do cannot really dismiss them all under the same brush.
I am beginning to wonder...Is your angst just against the Congress and the Gandhi-Nehru link?
To pick up an isolated incident and some how think that it in not part of the whole and thereby has an independent functioning, one has not then known ones place in the universe of things. There is not a single element which is self-sustaining and of and because of it's own self. All of all incidents are dependent and products of each other. If by stating one Bhagat Singh and assuming that he fought in a vacuum and that he was not inspired and did not inspire anyone else to act is absurd. 'We' are a collective no matter how far you run from it, in your head or on the planet. And this 'we' is all there is, in every shape and form you observe. So it is alright to criticize sometimes the actions of this 'we' thinking that 'you' are separate from it, however know this, 'you' are only criticizing yourself. So my friend...KNOW THYSELF and you will know the world.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI think you are one of those who are swept in this media hype of a 'revolution' and lost their balance of judgement. It is indeed naive to believe that just by agreeing to include few members of the so called civil society for preparing a draft for an anti-corruption legislation, an oppressor becomes an 'earstwhile oppressor'. You just need to learn a little bit of history to be aware that there have been more radical movements in independent India like the JP movement and VP singh's movement against corruption and yet this monster has only increased in proportion over the years.
I never said that the impotent pacifism of Gandhi cannot achieve anything. My stand is that it cannot bring any fundamental change in the socio-economic structure of the country and surely cannot bring about a society which is just and fair to all and which fulfills the need of everyone and not just few. And I stand by this even after the so called 'revolution' by Anna. And if you would have noticed, even though Anna adopted Gandhian method of Satyagrah, he did not take the the name of Gandhi after breaking his fast; instead he chose the names of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. I think he and his followers like you must better study what Bhagat Singh and his comrades of HSRA stood for and how strongly they differed with Gandhi.
You have used the terms such as 'YOU' and 'WE' which trivialises the debate. In my view we all represent not an individual's interest but that of a class. 'You' represent the interests of a well-to-do middle class and 'I' represent the interest of the working class which is in majority.That's why your priority is to fight corruption through Gandhian way and I give higher priority to the issues of poverty and malnutrion in revolutionary manner.
I hope we both have expressed our points of view. So better we stop this debate now on this blog as it has its own limitation. If you have something more to say,you are welcome to send me a mail. But pls do indtroduce yourself before carrying this forward.
@Kris..
ReplyDeleteThese leftists have this problem of opposing any mobilization which is against their ideology.They are so rigid irrespective of their Marxist ideology, that they can't even see the positive side of the mobilization and can join it to give a broader sense.They want to lead and want to have the sense of achievement through their mobilization.They can't come out of their self-imposed cocoon.Anna Hazare's movement has it's own limitations but what these liberal leftists are doing, they are criticizing without participation because they live in a fancy world..They are not Indians, they are either Russians or Chinese, so they will go by either Russian or Chinese ways..
Mr. Anonymous(2)
ReplyDeleteWould appreciate if you first introduce yourself and then instead of taking resort to empty propaganda,address the issues raised here. Not sure what led you to believe that I am a liberal leftist. To give you a surprise,I am critical of the liberal left than you could ever imagine but not on the basis of hollow propaganda but I have substative arguments to prove that they are the betrayer of the cause of emancipation of the working class in particular and of the humanity in general which lies at the heart of Marxism. Perhaps you need to learn to counter an argument by providing logically consistent argument and not by branding someone with your convenient brush and pour all your prejudices against him. I know this is not how we are brought up and educated but in order to have any meaningful discourse the least which is expected is to be logical and addressing the issues raised.
Just visit the following link to enlighten yourself that there is something called revolutionary left in this country and Marxism is not a monopoly of few countries or few self proclaimed communist party.The issues raised by any genuine revolutionary leftist transcend the
man created divides of nationality, region, race, relgion, caste etc.
http://www.workerscharter.in/
I have looked the comments by first Anonymous said... said on April 8, 2011 2:08 AM
ReplyDeleteI was thinking not to say anything on it, but after reading the comments I would like to share few lines regarding Media created middle class movement of Anna Hazare:
When most of the middle class people protest [ An experience from TV watch of Lokpal Bill Protest ]:
As most of the middle class people don't get respect at most of the times and most of the places in their normal life. So they search for any chance to get some of it at any place. It was the reason why these people, mostly politically unaware, join only those demonstrations where,
Some higher class people are present,
Some cameras are present so that their photograph get captured on TV, or at least for newspaper.
Some celebrities should be there, so that they can "watch" them, and if get chance they have a photograph and shake hands with them.
But, in spite of all this, they also keep in deep fear from unknown.
Conclusion:
This is worst impact of the bourgeoisie superstructure on the thinking and life of middle class of the society.
(Some people can argue on it, They will say, "How I can draw a conclusion?"; it is really sad that it is true, and I can not hide the truth.
But I hope that it will change in the future)
I support the article, since a one man protest or a protest without the backing of an orgainsed mass can be tied to any post the capitalist wish. It is going to happen, the are many examples like this in history.
ReplyDeleteI think that Anna's party should first resolve there initial internal isssues before giving any such statements as the public is still having some trust and soon they will loose if such things comes.
ReplyDelete