Coming Soon: Attack of Anna Hazare – Part 2

By Rakesh Raman

Nah. Nah. Nah. You didn’t guess it right. “Attack of Anna Hazare – Part 2” is not any sequel to a Hollywood flick or the second part of a gory video game. It’s about a real show that is going to happen again in India.

Those who thought that the anti-corruption movement is dead because its self-styled torchbearer Anna Hazare chickened out a few months ago, should get ready for his reality show once again. Hazare is launching the next version of his attack.

But you must give him time till the IPL-infected cricket fever is over because during cricket days Indians don’t take any interest in any other show.

So, fearing public neglect, Hazare has carefully timed his upcoming drama. It’s scheduled to begin after the IPL games on June 3. This time, he will be accompanied by a popular yoga instructor Ramdev who was earlier ousted by Hazare and his team from the Part 1 of the anti-corruption campaign when he said he will raise an “army” of supporters to deal with corrupt Indian government.

Then, Ramdev decided to go alone for his hunger strike against mounting corruption in India. But he was forced by the police to end his protest. (Read: One-day Protest of Baba Ramdev Ends)

However, the sadhu has not given up. He has again jumped in the fight against corruption with greater energy. He has even invited Indian Army Chief, General V. K. Singh, to join his campaign after retirement. (Read: Ramdev Asks Indian Army Chief to Fight Corruption)

Although Hazare, supported by Ramdev and a handful of other assistants, is launching the second version of his attack against the government, he knows that he can’t bring even an iota of change in the corrupt Indian governance, which is stubbornly powerful.

The only hope for Hazare and his team to win is on a totally irrelevant turf. As it happened last year, they can expect an award or two from some unprofessional media organizations. It’s a known fact in India that most media companies and their people work in a totally irresponsible manner.

Just to falsely woo the consumers, they bestow awards on people or their actions without using any methodical yardsticks. In fact, so far the contribution of Hazare and his team in stamping out corruption has been zero – nothing less nothing more. Then why awards?

Hazare and his team members are just running after some cheap self-publicity without understanding the real nuances of corruption that has deep-rooted tentacles in India. They don’t have any set strategy to deal with corruption. Their single-tracked method of hunger strikes won’t change the way callous and corrupt politicians of all political parties work.

Moreover, it’s very difficult – perhaps impossible – to win any battle through peaceful means when your opposition is atrociously strong. Only Mahatma Gandhi could do it in India’s freedom struggle with his power of perseverance and intellect. But you can’t expect Gandhi to come in every century. Hazare and his close clique are deliberately living in fool’s paradise if they think they can achieve something with their naive approach.

It’s a war in which the enemy is very strong and cruel. So, you need a perfect war strategy to fight this battle instead of going to these ineffective hunger strikes after every few months. Perhaps, Ramdev understands this better than others. That’s why he is calling Indian Army Chief to help him in this crucial war against corruption.

As the things stand today, public support to Hazare and his campaigns has already started dwindling because his methods are merely limited to sloganeering and lack intellectual element. In the upcoming protest, it’s again going to be a waste of time for Hazare. Fortunately for him, he has plenty of it.

By Rakesh Raman, the managing editor of Raman Media Network.

You can also read: More Articles by the RMN Editor, Rakesh Raman