It was perhaps November 2012, I was sitting in my Nursing Home there was a cesarean section about to start and we all were waiting for the anaesthetist of our team to arrive. For some reasons, which were evident when he arrived, an otherwise very punctual man, a very serious and non-political person dedicated to his profession got delayed.
What was more perplexing than his unusual deviation from his normal professional discourse was the attire in which he arrived in the operation theatre. A tricolour band carrying the imprint ‘I support Do You’, around his forehead, a tricolor in his hand and a T-shirt proclaiming
‘ मैं भी Anna’.
Of course, I was curious but as was customary all informal chats were to wait till the time the patient is anaesthetised so I waited and then solicited an explanation.
His voice had a new found agility and enthusiasm when he spoke ” There are only two ways to live either be the weakling and accept the wrong or show the courage to execute the change desired and I am fortunate that my generation will not go down in the history as the archetype of the former.”
After a brief pause, he continued, ” I am coming straight from Jantar-Mantar, some of my local friends from other professions as well as some doctors we all had gone there, in jeep, cars and a mini truck. Thanks to Anna and his team”, his enthusiasm was bubbling as he continued further,” something big is going to happen, fight against corruption and fight for a new India, It’s a revolution”, he said, ” people including youngsters from IIT’s and other academic backgrounds, doctors, lawyers and even the most insignificant common man, they all were there, they are preparing a manifesto for a new India. Finally and thankfully our constitution will have all the desired amendments our perhaps a new constitution altogether”.
The days that followed later made it clear that the intensity of his optimism and exhilaration wasn’t a solitary phenomenon. The spirit of an evolving revolution was palpable across different sectors of the society and nation as a whole.
So, was I to witness a revolutionary change that will break the shackles of corruption and inadequacies plaguing Indian political and administrative system? Was the revolution here to survive?
Thanks to squalid mediocracy of leaders who decided to take over the reins from Anna Hazare and enter into mainstream politics to carry on this fight further, the vision was never accomplished.
Reasons
The reasons for this debacle may be many but I shall highlight here only the ones I consider to be of primal importance.
Their lack of political experience coupled with diffidence they exhibited in showing strength in their own conviction allowed their political opponents to sheer open and expose the inner veneer of their true character bearing the label of doubtful intention as far as bringing the actual change was concerned.
The political greed of one man or a few men far exceeded the founding ideology that got them into existence. This lead to breaking away off their founding friend, an effect that didn’t go well neither with their own cadre nor with the rest of the nation.
The absence of the tactical ability to deal with political situations and decisions they faced and their unwillingness to leave the anarchist ways and plying the victim card lead them into the trap of a deadlock with the centre.
The AAP which originated as the calculated by product of this promising exercise turned out to be just another political party with the same sordid agenda as its competitors a little to the left or little to the right does not matter.
The Impact
The most devastating fallout of this debacle has been not the fact that AAP has turned out to be just another political party or Mr Kejriwal and his friends have displayed tactical incapability to keep even their own house in order what to talk about the entire nation.
The most damaging impact had been in the demolition of hope of a nation waiting for a change towards a cleaner politics. It takes decades for a revolution to take birth and emerge out breaking the mortal shell of the insignificant common man and I guess India will have to wait for another few decades or centuries, who knows, for a Gandhi to arrive and show us the light towards freedom.
