Originally posted: 3 October, 2012
Well, I have been away from the blog for a while now. No, I haven’t got a girlfriend who doesn’t like my blog. I started lots of drafts lately with hope that I can be back, but never completed any. I cannot pinpoint a reason though. Let us get serious now.
When the anti-corruption movement started, I was a skeptic (read this ). I did not believe in the methods that the movement adopted. Although they were legal, it somehow did not feel right. I felt anyone could cause a stir and ask the parliament to bend to their demands. It was disrespect for the democracy that we are proud of. Even if Team Anna had won, I would not have enjoyed the victory. I would have been worried about what might follow. That said, I had never hoped that the movement failed. I had been helpless (and choice less) in my support for the movement as I mention in that article. Somehow, Congress (and even others) did not bend to the demands and created a farce in the Rajya Sabha (which was even more humiliating for the democracy). The movement soon lost steam with low turnouts and a failure seemed inevitable. As I point out later, all was not lost though.
An important reason that had added to my disbelief in the methods was the realization that the practical implications of a system are not very well understood by people outside the system. Even if Team Anna had a draft of the Lokpal bill that seemed perfect, it might not have been implementable even by a government that had good intent, just because it was drafted by people who were not governing. I have neither the authority, nor knowledge or understanding to point flaws; but everyone around seemed to believe in the bill without knowing the bill. Like me, the mob had neither knowledge nor understanding to back the bill. The mob was motivated by the will to end corruption and not the bill itself. This made it kind of hard for me not to question the methods.
But, things have changed now. Arvind Kejriwal is all set to form a party. He has decided to enter the system to clean it up. His intent seems clear and well-defined. He will soon face all the practical challenges that (I felt) might have been missing in his understanding. This will definitely give him a deeper understanding of the problem and of their extent. There are still disbelievers(it is strange how the mob which backed him as an activist is questioning him as a politician), but if people assume that his intent is clear and show little trust in him, he looks like the man who can take India through, initiate a transformation that can lead us to a better future. He can set examples for political parties to follow. He has set high ideals for himself and higher goals. The goals might not be achievable by him. He too would know that, but if he can transform words into actions or at least show the intent to do that, he can achieve a lot.
What should we do now? TRUST. For once, let us put faith in a politician. Let us define politics the way it is supposed to be and believe that not all politicians are bad. Why should we trust him? Because no one else has shown the courage to say ‘Challenge accepted’ when repeatedly asked ‘Why don’t you enter politics if you want to change the system?’. Social activists have often decided to ask politicians to change themselves, rather than replacing them. Some, who presented us a choice, failed because we could not trust them enough. Let us not wear those shady goggles anymore and for once, learn to believe in the goodness of people. Now is the time for change and let us make sure when the harbinger of change faces tough challenges on the road ahead, he doesn’t feel alone.
Disclaimer: All the comments made in this post are my feelings and thoughts and might not always be based on facts. Feel free to point out and debate in comments.
P.S: The post somehow seems incomplete, but I did not want a really long comeback post just to make sure that people read it.
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