Refusing to heed the advices of his colleagues Anna Hazaare
has once again entered the ‘Fast track’ mode at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi
demanding to enact a strong Lokpal bill to counter widespread corruption
plaguing our country since a long time. Almost 350 members of Team Anna too are
on fast. Even refusing to listen to the advice of medical experts, Anna in spite
of his failing health and hyper- tension has dared to undertake a fast unto
death and has vowed to continue the fast till his demands are met. Still he has
declared firmly that he is ready to die for the cause for which he has been
fighting for from the day he joined the national mainstream as social activist.
He started fighting for noble causes at the very outset from
his home State of Maharashtra and could succeed in his efforts to a certain extent.
Maharashtra, as far as I know, is a State mired in corruption and other immoral
activities like prostitution, child-trafficking, boot-legging, black-marketing,
hoarding, smuggling, robbery, theft, under-world rivalry and assassinations –
the number of vices prevailing there are galore and it is a matter of deep
concern that all these social evils are allegedly perpetrated by the covert as
well as overt support of those in power. Put it mildly, the cleansing process
should have to start from the top.
Hazaare might have partially won the crusade against such
evils but to wipe out these blots which have distorted the image of Maharashtra,
a continuous battle, a do or die battle is essential which is likely to last
for years. This is not to single out Maharashtra , such evils are prevalent in
each State across the nation but the magnitude of which is somewhat in a lesser
degree compared to the former. Maharashtra while producing the number of rich
persons,most of them industrial tycoons and business men a few of them
millionaires and even billionaires, simultaneously is a State where the
poverty-stricken ones outnumber the fat-cats. The gap between the rich and poor
are getting wider and wider. The poor ones dreaming of roofs over their heads
almost come to millions, sanitation facilities too pathetic, scarcity of
safe-drinking water too is alarming, school drop-outs and even children who
have not even entered a school verandah are in thousands and to earn a living
even tiny tots wander thru streets with begging bowls are common sights. Emaciated
women, men and children too are millions with the govt in the saddle, whether
it be of Congress-NCP alliance or Shiv Sena-BJP (Bharathiya Janata Party)
alliance, care too hoots for their plight.
Anna Hazaare, a Maharashtrian must be well aware of such
bitter truths, should have begun his crusade from Maharashtra and try to set
his home State in order first.
Perhaps he may be of the opinion that to root out evils
prevailing across India his first task is to fight for a remedy – a permanent
remedy, he has to start from the extreme top.
This fight for a strong Lokpal began from 2010 or so and
each time the ‘master brains’ who are safely ensconced in the chairs at Mandi
Bhavan could play tricks on him and
appeal to him to desist from the extreme step by handing over him written
assurances. Taking their ‘hollow assurances’ for granted with a ‘V’ sign he withdrew
from the struggle with a smile in his face and returned to his native place
Ralegaon Sidhi in Maharashtra 2-3 three times. The govt under Sardar Man Mohan
Singh even after written assurances deviated from the assurances and prepared a
Lokpal Bill which is contrary to the very spirit of a Lokpal with teeth as
demanded by Team Anna. If the Lokpal in its pure form is enacted it would
naturally affect even the safety of the govt at the Centre starting from the
very person at the top. The govt under no circumstances is likely to sign on
the dotted line thus preparing the ground for its own instability.
It is heard that corruption was very much prevalent in India
even before we achieved Independence and it reached its peak level with the
implementation of neo-liberal reforms under the 1991 govt led by P.V.Narasimha
Rao, whose finance Minister then was none other than Dr.ManMohan Singh, who is
our Prime Minister now.
If the neo-liberal reforms do have its plus points, no
denying that, their negative points overshadow the plus points which we witness
today. Still there is hue and cry from the part of govt to initiate steps to
invite multinational super market giants to invest in India which if
implemented would affect the small-scale retail merchants, thus paving the way
for driving them out from their little sources of earnings. Who cares?
No comments:
Post a Comment