When hunger strikes!

India, yes the land of miracles! My India! It is full of drama, struggle and hunger. Hunger to get! Hunger to achieve! Back in the days of freedom fighting, Bhagat Singh went on a strike, demanding good food and basic things in the Lahore jail. He and the revolutionaries fasted for more than 2 months to achieve what they wanted. And eventually, they got it.


But we are no longer in the era of British rule. We have been divided. We now have people in our own country, who probably are not physically cruel towards us like the British. But morally are.

Indian politics has always been my thing. I remember discussing with my ‘revolutionary’ theatre gang about how keen we are to step into it and make this world a cleaner place! I have promised myself, if ever I become a politician, I will be a pure, non-corrupt person who is on that chair to make the area around a better place.

But on second thought, do I really need to be on that chair to make my world cleaner? I read somewhere ‘anti-corruption begins at home’. Corruption is nothing but dishonesty towards ethics, morals and self. If you live in a place like India, to fight against corruption becomes all the more difficult! To fight against corruption here means, fight against your want of getting a work done or at least get it done any sooner.

“Rishwat lena hi nai, rishwat dena bhi corruption hai”

Anna Hazare, 2011. A 72 year old man who is sitting at Jantar Mantar today to tell the Government that its silence is not acceptable anymore, that corruption is not acceptable anymore. And yes, he is on a ‘fast-unto-death’ strike or ‘Satyagrah’ as Gandhi-wadis may call it. Firstly, I salute his courage to afford a protest like this at such an old age, only for his fellow Indians. And to people of my India, I’m glad that such a great gesture and support has been shown by them too.

India has over 6, 00,000 villages, more than a million towns and countless districts. Can you imagine the number of government offices and staff in these places? Can you imagine the amount of corruption? I bet you can’t!

Okay, forget the rural. A very simple example. Ask yourself, if tomorrow you are coming back from a party, late in the night and are stopped by a local ‘thulla’ who can give you a ticket with the powers vested in him, will you accept the ticket for drunk driving? In fact, will you even be ready to take the alcohol test? It is obviously easy to give him 100 bucks and get rid of it! That is corruption.

Anna Hazare’s act of courage is well appreciated. But picture this: you go to Jantar Mantar, scream at the top of your voice ‘ek-do-teen-chaar, band karo yeh atyachaar!’ The protest becomes a hit! After one week (or less), everything said and done, will this make ANY difference to the lives of those countless people who have to give ‘chai-paani’ to every government official they come across in those villages and towns? Will you stop giving those ‘100 ki patti’ to the cops that come your way?

No, I am not trying to be a pessimist. I am not saying that this won’t help at all! The ‘corrupt’ might get blacklisted and fired. Society boycott, bad mouth, bitching, awareness, beware-ness and more. But it is going to be restricted at the level of Central government or maybe some main offices that are branched in Delhi or big cites. I believe corruption is stronger and in power at a much lower level of the hierarchy. The level that you and I deal with, everyday. Will this morally shake those officers from within? Can we guarantee that ‘we will get rid of corruption’?

I hope it was that simple. I hope that any act, of any kind could bring immediate development to the heart and brains of this country. Anti- corruption does begin at home.

And this does not make me any less patriotic. I am still proud to be an Indian.“100 mein se 90 bayimaan, fir bhi mera Bharat mahaan!”  

P.S. - Of course, I support Anna Hazare.