I wish RK Laxman was in his heyday right now.. The 2G/3G scam combined with the Anna Hazare/Baba Ramdev drama would have been excellent fodder for him! I'm sure he'd have come up with something like this, albeit with the ubiquitous common man overlooking the scene...
It is an apt portrayal of times where fasting has become some sort of a business.. an activity to achieve a self-satisfying objective.. a tool for whipping up mass hysteria and emotionally blackmailing a government which is already infested by the white ants of ‘Breaking News’ hungry 24/7 media.
I understand that corruption is indeed the bane of our society and it does seem to have reached a point beyond reasonable tolerance limits. However, it is a cultural issue and can’t be cured overnight by staged dramas in the garb of fasting. This is akin to saying that a dish made wrongly can be set right by just putting some tadka. Issues like this require extensive public debate and a considered, rational approach. Not the emotionally-charged, quick-fixing that fasts like these can at best yield. Fasts blind the public to one approach without logical reasoning or awareness. How many of us who supported Anna Hazare actually bothered to know what exactly is the lokpal bill? How many amongst the few aware souls pondered upon alternative ways to combat corruption?
We owe our nation a stable and sustainable solution to corruption – one that has been arrived at by a thoughtful and aware public, not a fancy and ambitious plan with so many loopholes that falls flat in the implementation phase!
Having said that, fasts have been a useful political tool from the time of Mahatma Gandhi and should not be overlooked in a hurry! They have their own place in determining the direction of public policy. Going by past experience, they have been turning points for mass-movements that shape history. However, they should not be used as short-cuts to subvert a long-drawn movement. It should be borne in mind that they should not become weapons of lobbying or enforcing one’s point of view. They should just be used to mobilize the people and synergize their energies towards a common public goal of a corruption-free, civic and equitable society.
I understand that corruption is indeed the bane of our society and it does seem to have reached a point beyond reasonable tolerance limits. However, it is a cultural issue and can’t be cured overnight by staged dramas in the garb of fasting. This is akin to saying that a dish made wrongly can be set right by just putting some tadka. Issues like this require extensive public debate and a considered, rational approach. Not the emotionally-charged, quick-fixing that fasts like these can at best yield. Fasts blind the public to one approach without logical reasoning or awareness. How many of us who supported Anna Hazare actually bothered to know what exactly is the lokpal bill? How many amongst the few aware souls pondered upon alternative ways to combat corruption?
We owe our nation a stable and sustainable solution to corruption – one that has been arrived at by a thoughtful and aware public, not a fancy and ambitious plan with so many loopholes that falls flat in the implementation phase!
Having said that, fasts have been a useful political tool from the time of Mahatma Gandhi and should not be overlooked in a hurry! They have their own place in determining the direction of public policy. Going by past experience, they have been turning points for mass-movements that shape history. However, they should not be used as short-cuts to subvert a long-drawn movement. It should be borne in mind that they should not become weapons of lobbying or enforcing one’s point of view. They should just be used to mobilize the people and synergize their energies towards a common public goal of a corruption-free, civic and equitable society.
