Saturday, April 23, 2011

Battle Against Corruption - A Tough Crusader

In the last few weeks, headlines have been hogged by a frail man in his seventies, who captured the imagination of our country with his anti-corruption crusade. This man found spontaneous support and the government eventually had to bow down to all his demands. A Government bogged down in so many scams did not want to be seen as unwilling to legislate a law against corruption.

Let us look back a little and understand why Anna saheb has a pathalogic dislike towards corruption and contempt for our political class. This will also tell us a little about this crusader.

Anna Hazare, a retired army soldier, a social reformer and one involved in rural development, has seen how corruption at the lowest level placed untold hurdles in his work at his village Ralegaon Siddhi. He sought redressal at the next level only to be horrified at the extent of corruption and shamelessness and impunity with which officials flouted every rule in the book.

Not to be rebuffed, he sought redressal at the political level. What he saw here truly shocked Anna saheb and probably made him wonder whether his mission of social reformation and selfless service were all in vain.The spread of corruption was like cancer that had spread beyond control and had gripped the vitals of our society. Enough to deter any person.

Anna saheb has been a person with a different DNA make-up. He is often under-estimated because of his diminutive physical stature and an apparent lack of sophistication, strategy and guile. But believe me, looks could'nt be more deceptive. He is a tough fighter and the fact that the Government of Maharashtra has initiated more than thirty cases against him in different courts, does not seem to ruffle him in the least.


Speaks volume of the reservoir of inner strength that he has.

This time he has moved to the national arena, a far more complex structure and perhaps far more vicious opponents. The odds stacked against him are very high as the Govt. of India has come out guns blazing on many fronts, determined to frustrate every effort at cleansing.

I still believe that the Govt. should not under-estimate Anna Hazare and get about the task with more sincerity. Anna saheb has no personal axe to grind and has nothing to lose. This is exactly the reason that makes him very dangerous,