Kejriwal is not just another aam admi!!

RK Laxman's
'The Common Man'

The setting is apt for the rise of the Great Indian Common Man (in our very own RK Laxman ishtyle... or should I say like Naseeruddin Shah's - phata poster, nikla hero!!). Jokes apart, there have been many a 'shool-veers' who had tried to question the incorrigible Indian political system in their own ways, but a very few have actually walked that extra mile the way Arvind Kejriwal, former IRS officer, anti-coruption activist turned politician and leader of India Against Corruption (IAC), have treaded in his short innings so far. He could have continued playing second fiddle (although he was the chief strategist) to his more popular mentor Anna Hazare in mobilising all the hunger strikes till eternity without any assurance of results and that's when he decided otherwise - to become the pied piper himself - quite a daunting and uphill challenge for this 5ft. 5 inch 'short' aam-admi.

His courage, conviction, determination and game-plan, need to be given due credit, if not for anything else but for the character he showed to move out of the shadow of Anna - a Gandhian in true spirit, practitioner of ahimsa and satyagraha and a staunch believer of staying apolitical - and declaring his plunge into active politics. He did realise that to be in Rome, one needs to do the way the Romans do (and in Indian politics, to check mate the king, you need to do that in the garb of a politician only!).

Is Mr. Vadra looking a bit
angry, tensed and perplexed?

And what a better way to start his political campaign, than to reach out to the public at large (this strategy of his needs to be applauded and appreciated - it has been a complete turnaround from his previous satyagraha mode, wherein the target group was pulled towards him; his currently employed push strategy helping him reach out farther) and increasing his connect with the aam-admi. He announced his arrival at the political scene by dropping a huge bomb - more like the US airforce's daisy cutter used in the Afghan war - and created a huge crater full of intimidating political bickering and debate on the nexus between Robert Vadra, DLF and the congress ruled government of Haryana. Whether it was a master-stroke or not, would be left to be seen in the coming days, but undoubtedly, what he has done is that he has opened a Pandora's box which many never dared to (Robert Vadra's ascent financially or otherwise has been seen quite suspiciously by many - opposition, media, aam admi, but no one dared to raise a voice ever, given his political clout). Along with the heavy artillery, he decided to employ light infantry attacks from the flanks, by taking up the cause of the aam admi against the inflated power and water bills in Delhi. He was also seen climbing up the electricity poles to restore power connections, disconnected by discoms after consumers defaulted on the payments (although it's yet another story about how and why the bills got inflated!!) 

His actions in the past couple of weeks have given him a lot of visibility and the much required goodwill among his target votebank for sure, but what needs to be seen in the coming days, months and years are - whether he can create an equal impact pan India or not, whether he can stir up the conscience of people across the length and breadth of the country or not, whether he really wants to achieve utilitarian goals or ride on mere populist agenda like just another aam-admi turned politico and whether he can translate his political mandate into achievable and measurable results. The coming days would be very crucial for Kejriwal, as his every move would be followed closely by political outfits of every shade (red, green, blue, saffron, etc) and by millions of aam admi. He would eat up a lot of air-time and newsprint space for sure, which we can only pray, should not go in vain.

A leader needs to don
different 'thinking hats'!

He should not end up becoming just another archaeologist who digs out prized memorabilia only for the sake of winning recognition for his competence, rather he should act like a good sales man to sell his find to the highest bidder - the aam admi - and then ensure that it has added a value chain for one and all. He should necessarily be as much ruthless as possible to people proved corrupt and should also ensure choosing his friends and colleagues with a lot of caution. Many may start comparing him with the Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, fighting for the cause of dharma, but a Krishna (an avatar of Lord Vishnu, immortal in all the three worlds) was also mortified by many around and was killed by a diminutive, harmless looking arrow shot from the bow of an equally unimportant character, who is introduced in the last chapter of Mahabharata. The bugle has been blown and the arrows have started flying all around hitting targets - newer targets have been promised by Kejriwal (today's newspaper also had Salman Khurshid targeted - ToI, 11th Oct 2012) and many more would be hit by the time you have finished reading this article.

Are we?

I am not very sure of how strong a vote-bank Kejriwal promises to create or whether he can actually uphold himself as an alternative. But a political party cannot be just another one-man show. It has to be democratic to the extent that any decision taken needs to be debated and deliberated among a central committee. We have seen many such politicians who have run a one man political regime (how can we forget the current Mamata government in Bengal or the former Maya regime of UP) and the group of sycophants around them. We, as aam admis can only hope for the best alternatives to govern us, lead us and take care of us, without diluting national interests while framing foreign affairs and defence policies. We probably would not reach the European standard of living in the next 20 years (it may take 2 more generations before it happens), but at least we can aspire for a cleaner, more transparent and intent-driven governance within the next 10-15 years.

Kejriwal tum aagey baaro, aam admi tuhmahe saath hain!! Jain Hind.

Bengal Politics: The Black Days are just there

"Those CPM goons will kill me!" the voice of a tempestuous lady blazed out from the loud-speakers. All the 100 odd minimally clad and parched skinned citizenry who had gathered at the weekly convention of the Trinamool Congress's Save Bengal campaign at the village centre broke into a hushed discussion. "Cholbe na... cholbe na, eta howa cholbe na!" barked another husky voice on the loud-speaker. This time it was that of the local Trinamool dada, who was desperately trying to put forward a resolute intent to show his proximity to the DIDI of the masses. "Amader DIDI amar rahey... pashchim bangla-r DIDI chirojibi hon..." another gush of fanatic cry from the same local political chieftain.

Circa 2010, August 9. Place: Lalgarh - the Maoist war-zone (as referred to by the state and centre government) or the only independent land in West Bengal (independent from what? the atrocities of the ruling Left Front?). Clad in her typical white saree, stood a stone cold 5 ft 1 inch figurine facing a sea of well wishers and poor tribals - most of them ignorant of the great DIDI's purpose of visit in their village but forced to sit there by the "Didi sevaks" - the local level henchmen who have volunteered to "take care" of the law and order situation of the gathering.

"Oi sharkar apnader khun korte chai," a sudden outburst with some dramatized hand and fist movement and the DIDI knew very well she has attracted the attention of the crowd.

"Hain hain... ai sharkar apnader khun korte chai. Aar shudhu apnaderi noy, amakeo khun korte chai."

A section of the poor villagers, unfazed by the remarks suddenly bursted in applause.

"Ai ki holo, haat tali marish kan?" barked a one of the Didi Sevaks nudging at the ribs of two of the village elders.

"Aare, ki shundar jukti dilo DIDI, jemon jatray hoy... bah bah bah... "

"Ai chup chup... tora jatra dekchis naki? Orey murkho dekhe rakh, toder shamne dariye ache banglar bhabi mukhyo mantri... pennam kor bolchi."

"Pennam korbo? kade pennam korbo... oi magi tare? to kan pennom korbo? shono halar katha, je keu amar loge chillai katha bolbo, ki bhagban hoye gelo?? Hala ami pennam kormu ni... ja ki kore nibi?"

"Tobe re buro?? khub shak hoyeche na jamer bari jaoar... ai shon, ai burota nischai lal jhandar lok, niye chal shala-take... aaji buro-ke bhoger bari pathai"

The next few moments went by tugging and pulling at the poor old man, who desperately tried to evade getting pulled out of the hoard of the other old men, sitting in the crowd watching an animated display of insanity on stage and an equally appalling act of barbarism going on alongside. The old man, tried a last desperate attempt to break away from the clutches of the two Didi Sevaks but failing to cut lose, started going limp and finally, with one sudden thump, ended falling on the ground with his face down. He lied there cold, with no movement. The crowd, sitting towards the side where all these actions were going on were too afraid to even look at one of their own men, one of their own - who had been an elderly brother to some or a master-da to some other... they somehow looked away, trying to concentrate on the histrionics going on infront of them.

"Ami shapath niyechi apnader shakaler muktir... ha, ami apnader chiro diner jonno mukti debo!"

The show went on. There were several thousands present that day. Some to see the person who had dared to challenge the 33 year old left fortress in Bengal, some to enjoy an afternoon out from the monotone of life, while some to lament on what lay ahead of them... mukti - or independence. Yes, like the way the 73 year old Karim Chacha got mukti that day for defying the orders of the Didi Bahini...

Author's note: The poor villagers in Bengal cannot see through what is coming, as they are not appropriately educated to analyse and understand the relevance of political power shifts. But what about the so called Bengal intelligentsia? Are they genuinely satisfied to see a new force round the corner, as an alternative to the left rule? If they blindly rest their faith on the Mamata regime, which most likely will find its way to the helm of power in Bengal, days are not far when the state will really break into severe atrocity and political murderings. Mamata, for sure is the only person in the opposition to have a will and some extent of consciousness for the poor - although it is yet to prove how genuine is her feelings. But everything said and done, there is not a single genuine individual in her lines who is ready to make a similar commitment for the people. The congress and the TMC are all waiting to have their say against the Left leaders in avenging everything that they lost in the past 33 years... no one, not a single soul is there in the current opposition to be a torch bearer of change - a true paribartaner kandari. They all want to bask in the glory of their victory - coming to them after 3 decades of wait and once it is there, why should they let go the cream? They will churn the cream out of milk at the cost of the poor citizenry in Bengal and will raise a toast of victory. So just wait and see... the real black days of Bengal is coming our way.