The War

“Anna’s on a rampage”.

“The Lokpal bill needs to be passed.”

“The corrupt need to be punished.”

 “Congress has made a mess of the situation. They don’t deserve to be in power.”

Well they have made a mess of it, and Anna is the Hero of 2011. After all, getting up one fine day and deciding to rampage against corruption by supporting a bill that existed only in memory is no small feat.

Irrespective of what is proved later ( we all know someone or the other will come up with some conspiracy theory, raise doubts on true intentions maybe prove them as well ) this is no small feat. More the battle of Lokpal is prolonged, more skeptical will the people become of the intentions of Anna. It’s not uncommon for rumors to spread. On top of that people nowadays get bored easily. So if they are bored and they want to back out, they would start believing in one of the rumors and agree that Lokpal bill is a farce.

No matter what the intentions were, the important thing now is that the people should concern them only about the war against corruption and what they want to achieve of it. Of Course Anna is leading the battle, but it’s the army that has thrown government off. I doubt any of them expected a response of this magnitude from the common man, and the steps they took prove it. If you have joined this battle, than make sure you are ready to take it to the end.

But like all good things even this movement has a flaw. With all the cries over Congress misusing power, not being able to handle the situation, being corrupt left, right and centre, it is the government by the people, maybe not of the people and at this point certainly not for the people. Yet it is the government by the people. And this is the flaw with the current campaign.

You are a democracy, biggest in the world, with over a billion people, and yet the percentages of people who vote are around the 50% mark. To make the situation more grim, half the people out there on the roads raising voice in support of Lokpal bill are part of the educated middle class who don’t bother to go to vote as “lamba line hoga”, “abbey chutti hai”, “chor na, ek vote se kya hi kar lega”, and the more reasonable one “bhai, kisko vote de, yeh toh sabhi chor hai”.

A fact: After the recent election in Tamil Nadu, everyone who owns a “Rashan Card” got a free TV. Jaylalita sure knows how to tend the basic needs of people.

Let’s add some simple facts and do little math:-

In India around 30% of the population is below 15.

Suppose 50% of the people vote in election.

Literacy rate in India in latest census is 74%, and 41% of the people are currently below poverty line, fighting for daily needs.

So basically the so called government by the people is being elected by 26 % of the literate population. Of these, half of the people are working in places that are not there native. You can’t expect a person to fly down from Bangalore to Ranchi just to vote. On top of this 9% of the total 35% of the votes can be managed if one of the parties is able to influence the people, which isn’t very hard for the political parties, seeing that half the people have more important things to do today than think of future, like maybe get little food for the night, maybe little saving that can get a roof fixed. And than obviously we are guided by forces of nature, like cast, creed and above all religion. Make any of these an issue, give little incentives to the needy and they will follow, not because they believe in you, but because at that point the incentive shows them a hope of survival.

(The 9% maybe more challenging if both parties are corrupt, and can shell out cash. But in that scenario we are already screwed even before the election)

Hence most of the 9/35 % (25% of votes given) of the votes are already with the corrupt leaders you are protesting against. So among the remaining 26/35% people, the parties need to get mere 9/35% vote more. So basically a minister in our country can be elected if he manages to gain support of 18% of the entire population.

Campaigning for the Lokpal bill is required but the people need to realize one Lokpal against a million corrupt is still not the solution. You need to start using our rights properly. You have been given a choice to make a difference. You can change the way you think. You can spread awareness against the corrupt. You can guide people above social and regional barriers. Punishing the corrupt is one thing, but India still needs, capable non corrupt leaders to guide her.

Lokpal bill is a start of a long journey. The destination is a true democracy, with 0% corruption. To have a government that is truly for the people, rather than existing for the power and money that come along with their posts. So get on the bus only if you want to reach destination. It is not right that you get the bus started with your support and than say “oh I have some work, I need to get down”. If all of us make it to the end, we’ll truly be greatest nation in the world and that my friends is a pretty sight.