Another Revolution

Iran, Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Syria.. the list keeps growing every day. Media fuels the fire, glamourizing its own power. Sweeping people off their feet pronouncing that "Social Network" is the new-age chain of beacons. Sort of the one that is shown in the last Lord of the Rings movie. The image of a "hobbit" lighting the long line of beacon-signals pops up in the mind. The panoramic scene of mountain tops lighting one after the other is one that spurs you to elation and fills you with belief. The end is nigh; and the underdogs are going to win by pooling their resources. The revolution starts! 

This is certainly as inspiring as it is romantic.

How can India be left far behind? We are after all the largest democracy on this planet. A country of 1.2 billion and counting; with about 50 % of us below 30 years of age. Each one of us wants the glamour. "Move over Egyptians, we really are the cool ones here", seems to be the collective consciousness of Indian youth.

Put in the social network in this mix and you get a revolution! One that you participate in from the luxury of your desktop. Thumping your chest online saying you are spreading the message, doing your own (two) bit. 

The easy way is to just pretend that you are part of the "youth brigade against corruption". Giving missed calls to unknown people, sending requests to join online apps, and becoming members of petition signing websites.

And I am surfing into dangerous waters here. I don't know if I'm playing the devil's advocate or just being seriously hypocritical. I am certainly not part of the "everything goes" section of society. And, it's a different matter that I think it's the online equivalent of teenage peer pressure that is exerted on you in college to succumb to smoking thinking it's cool. If you don't wear a silly badge on your sleeve (inspired aptly from Bollywood) you are a "Chalta-Hai" kind.

Corruption flourishes because we stop asking the right questions. My question is, "Why now, why here?".

Take a moment and reflect on it. The Lokpal (Citizen's Ombudsmen) Bill is not a new topic. It has been brewing for quite some time now, and now we are to stoke up the frenzy. 

I am skeptical of people's motives. Nobody does anything without first thinking about "What's in it for me?"

I mean no disrespect to people like Anna Hazare or Medha Patkar or Arundhati Roy or Syed Ali Shah Gilani. Everybody has their own interest. Sometimes it matches with the interest of the people too. Like it did when Gandhi Ji decided to do the Dandi March.

Is it going to be the case this time around too?

I certainly hope it is. But I am not going to jump onto the online bandwagon because it's the easy thing to do. 

We say we are pressed for time, we have our careers to look after. We don't get leaves to visit our parents. But that's no excuse to shy away from something that you claim you really care for. To have a corruption-resistant (and I say resistant, not corruption-proof or corruption-free) India, joining websites is not a solution. Wearing silly slogans on your arms serves no purpose. It makes a mockery of a (potentially) sincere effort by a senior non-political figure in Indian democracy.

One of my friends swears by the slogan, "There are no accidents". Everything happens by a greater design. It's up to us to decide which cause we serve and how fruitful our efforts are. We should either go full-fledged in our efforts or leave the work to people like the 60-year-old teacher from Dehradun who is fasting unto death with Anna Hazare in Delhi. 

If we really want to do something about it, I think we should organize a relay fast in which we take turns fasting. We can even do it in our workplaces. After all, we do keep skipping meals to meet our deadlines.