On the very next day of the 64th anniversary of India’s Independence Day that is August 16, the septuagenarian veteran social activist Anna Hazare made up his mind to go for fast on the issue of Jan Lokpal Bill in Delhi as it is the seat of Union Government. First the venue was changed from Jantar Mantar to JP Park and then ultimately to Ramleela Maidan. After Anna’s firm stand and on the back of vociferous mass support, the Govt nodded for his 15 day fast beginning August 19. The strong support that Anna got during his previous fast at Jantar Mantar and even greater support that he is getting this time not only from all over India but also from Indians living abroad especially in USA and UK, it is likely that the strong wave of support will change the destiny of our country. The way the corruption has flourished in leaps and bounds, naturally, Indians are in deep distress and agony. The dream of an Independent nation as envisioned by the freedom fighters sixty four years ago remains totally shattered as corruption has bludgeoned all avenues of growth and all round development of the country.

It seems in the name of democracy, every citizen of this country has been given freedom to fill up their coffers whether by just of unjust means. The growing notion that wiping off corruption is almost impossible has literally crippled the nation’s inherent potential for development. If we flip the pages of our history and revert to the era of freedom struggle, we would find that nation was gripped with the same thought that it was almost impossible to drive away the British and make our country free from foreign rule as it was said that the sun never sees the dusk under British Empire. Though our father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi through his non-violence movement and Satyagrah wanted to root  out the British, however, people were reluctant in believing that India could achieve independence through the weapon of non-violence. But Gandhi’s strong belief in his vision and his functioning certainly brought people to his side. There was a mass agitation and ultimately India got freedom.

Similarly, today the Govt at the Centre is casting aspersions on Anna’s movement. They are ridiculing him as is evident in the live proceedings of the august Parliament. We even heard them saying that making laws is the domain of parliament where elected representatives of the people sit in and not Jantar Mantar, JP Park or for that matter Ramaleela Maidan. However, they forget one thing that the fight for a change in system doesn’t start from the parliament galleries but it starts from the roads. There is no denying the fact that while it was a bit easy to dethrone British from India owing to their race, culture and religion which were to totally alien to us, the fight this time is with our own people who think that once they are elected by the people others like Anna Hazare do not have the right to question their credentials with regard to their character.

The problem before the people of this country is that whoever they elect to rule the country, they start filling up their own pockets which have been growing larger and larger with time. Thus, it would be really difficult to remove corruption by way of elections. The money and muscle power that are thought essential today to win lections would never let people like Anna Hazare to fight elections. How can an honest person like him have enormous fund at his disposal to win an election? That’s the reason why Anna and his team is talking about changing the system itself. They, with the support of the general populace have envisaged a political system which has the power to punish the corrupt whether on a high or low post. As I had said earlier, while it’s easy to change power in the centre, it is equally difficult to bring a radical change in the system which breeds corruption and nourishes the corrupt.

Since Independence, people have been electing their representatives for an honest government both at the centre and states. However, all through the years political leaders in power have failed in coming true to the aspirations of the people of India. There is a popular Hindi saying “Hammam Mein Sabhi Nange.” Which literally means all found naked in the bathroom, and this saying befits our today’s political clan! Obviously, in the present scenario people have no other options left before them but to fight for a total change in the administrative system. After Mahatma Gandhi and Jaiprakash Narayan, people, especially the youth have found a ray hope in Anna Hazare who has dreamt of alleviating India from the pangs corruption. People honestly believe that this frail yet a strong old man would salvage them from the present crisis through his unwavering love for the nation and its people without asking for anything in return. However, path for a corruption free system would not be easy as we’ve seen during the televised proceedings that the political fraternity won’t accept a Jan Lokpal Bill that is being imposed from outside even if the bill contains strong elements to check corruption.

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