HAZARE FANS PLEASE STOP

HAZARE SUPPORTERS PLEASE STOP TO THINK

The people of Ralegam Siddhi—the town where Anna Hazare hails from—spoke to TV and announced something that sent shivers down my spine. They said that if the town’s civic grievances were not attended to within a time frame that they had laid down, they would immolate themselves.

HAZARE SUPPORTERS PLEASE STOP TO THINK

Who can forget the self immolation by Potti Sriramulu that led to the formation of the state of Andhra Pradesh—which state is in for another round of self immolations over the Telangana statehood issue.

To my mind there is something unreasonable , infantile and defeatist about threats to immolate oneself. Such threats also border on blackmail.

What is to prevent others, less enlightened than Anna, to make demands under pain of self immolation or other forms of coercion? Even before I could write this piece comes the news about the political class of Maharashtra. The state assembly has passed a resolution ‘demanding’ that the BHARAT RATNA be conferred on Sachin Tendulkar! If I were Sachin I would be embarrassed to be honoured with the nation’s highest civilian award AFTER implied coercion.

At this rate I can foresee a situation where Anna Hazare suggests names of civil society activists to be nominated to the committee that shapes the Lok Pal bill and some other activists go on a fast unto death if their nominee is not included! The authoritarian tone of this movement is evident in many ways –I am sure these will come out very soon after the over the top emotions are out of our mental ecosystem and saner counsel prevails.

In a strange way the wheel is turning 360*. In the decades past the middle class sneered at trade union leaders ‘ holding to ransom ‘ managements and government with their ’absurd demands’. Now this very class is holding the State to ransom under threat of coercion. Of course one can say that there was no other option in the face of a callous system but you ought to have asked trade union leaders why they behaved the way they did!

I recall a desperate occasion when the 9 year old kid of a friend of mine stood on top of a water tank of a 12 storey building , looked down , moved to the edge of the tank and threatened to jump unless he was given money to go on a Singapore trip with his rich classmates. My friend, by no means well off, had to accede to the unreasonable demand and to fork out money. If we had cared to talk to that kid he might have told us that he had no option in the face of the ‘unreasonable stand’ of his father.

Here are two humble questions.

What other options do people in general and Anna Hazare in particular have ? Have the middle classes ever got worked up on any issue that means life and death to the poor but does not affect the middle class?

K.R.RAVI