Hazar Hazares

The Gandhian Anna Hazare's crusade against rampant corruption prevailing in the bureaucratic and political circles of the country, has evoked a response that has stunned the three pillars of our democracy, the media and possibly even the civil society itself. Within a week of the launch of the Jantar-Mantar dharna, the central government was on its knees, and it gave in to the demands of the civil society.

In the euphoria that ensued, some columnists and observers claimed that Hazare's revolution had even surpassed the JP movement of the 70s.The JP movement , I am told, had the youth quitting jobs and universities and sacrificing their lives in response to the Jail bharo calls of the socialist leaders. Hazare's movement in contrast involved facebook virtual events, signature campaigns on online forums and RDB candle light marches. While the JP movement shook the mighty Indira Gandhi, Hazare's movement targeted a government that was led by possibly the weakest PM ever , a government that was already in shambles thanks to ministers like Raja and Pawar.

Hazare's movement might be against what JP movement was all about: “A democratically Elected government”. While there is no denying the fact that the country is in a dire need of a revolution against corruption, the Jan Lok Pal bill proposed by Hazare will change the administrative setup in a manner that is too serious for the bill to be drafted and passed in two months time. At a time when the judiciary seems to be losing credibility, when the armed forces, considered once to be epitomes of patriotism and integrity, have been tainted , and when a politician whose future lies in the hands of Jan Janrdhan is neck deep in corruption, the idea that the many members of the independent Lokpal appointed at the state and central levels, will be Lord Rama personified seems to be naïve.

Morever, who has given the authority to a father-son duo and a retired Judge to decide the future of a country of a more than billion people? Lets be honest, the support on facebook and the candle light marches was an emotional response of the netsavy youth who was already buoyed by the world cup win and was looking for ways to vent out its anger against the corrupt practices of the Manmohan Singh government.Still a vast majority of Indians are undoubtedly unaware of the proposals of the Jan Lokpal bill.

I am not at all against “the fight against corruption”. We have reached a point where the country has to take a radical initiative to reign in corruption.I am just concerned that when we can't find three “spotless clean” Hazares to draft the bill,where will we find Hazar Hazares, who as members of Lokpal will cleanse the country of corruption.