A tribute to the crusade against corruption

Charles Dickens in his novel A tale of two cities wrote, in 1859, about the uncertain times leading to the French revolution (1789-1799). More than a century and half years later his words seem like prophetic of our times……. 

It is the best of times for Indian economy, it is the worst of times in governance, it is the age of intelligence, it is the epoch of deficient education, it is the age of incredible India, it is the period of incredulous infrastructure, it is the season of light (opportunities), it is the epoch of darkness (vested interests), it is the spring of hope (enthusiastic Gen Y), it is the winter of despair (corruption), we have everything before us, we have nothing before us….

 In the larger context, Anna’s movement today is a message to the Government of India and hopefully to the bureaucracy, that democracy is not just about adult franchise. It is also about morals and people’s participation in the affairs of the state as ordained for a democracy.  Another message is that a popular leader need not necessarily be a politician and conversely a politician is not always a leader. The fact is that a corrupt official or a bureaucrat in India almost always goes unpunished and the swindled cash is never recovered! Here is hoping that this movement that exposes the fallibility of a system that has hijacked democracy for over 60 years is perpetuated and gains strength with each passing day.

Anna is not talking about punishing corrupt individuals. He is talking about instituting a system where individuals are immaterial. He wants a mix of civil society and power centre(s) to work together in drafting a bill that aims to curb corruption in the corridors of power - an excellent thought. I hope this paves the way also for directly inducting experts into governance at the level of bureaucrats.

I unequivocally salute Anna and Kejriwal for the initiative…they have infused in me a new belief in my country and my country(wo)men.