CORRUPTION..............................NOT TO BE CONTINUED.

Well before the commencement of 19th commonwealth games in October 2010 , an obnoxious and detrimental plume of smoke surfaced the horizon and soon engulfed the nation which nauseated people and chocked them completely. By the time it was another mega event of the cricket world cup , the height and width of smoke had unimaginably acquired a proportion that could be called nothing but perilous and inexorable. In a span of six months covering two different years , the country witnessed some of the mega scams of crores of rupees involving big ministers , bureaucrats and corporate houses. We have commonwealth , Adarsh society , 2-G spectrum , to name a few , apart from a number of cases of corruption emanating from different states of the country. The amount involved in aggregate in all these notorious scams is so gargantuan that they could have transformed the economic and social facade of the nation drastically. However , while the poor people faced double-edged sword of runaway inflation and corruption, those rapaciously involved in embezzlement of public money are yet to put behind bars , thanks to the lack of any stringent piece of legislation dealing with corrupt politicians and ministers. It is not that that the cases of scams and corruptions in India are new. Independent India saw several cases of corruptions and nepotism in almost all the previous decades and during all political regimes. What has changed over the period of time is the extent and magnitude of corrupt practices impacting all the section of society some way or the other. What has not changed over the period of time is a legislative and judicial padding which has always obstructed wrong men to be put behind bars and prosecute them in an unbiased manner. It is in this backdrop, the veteran social activist Anna Hazare launched a campaign and decided to go without food till the time government concede his demand of a joint committee for drafting an anti-corruption legislation. He pressed his demand for a Lokpal bill against corruption which has been hanging fire for over almost 40 years. But Annaji was not happy with the provisions of the bill drafted by the union law minister, Moili, and vetted by a GOM under Pranab Mukharjee. He was of the view that the bill in its present form lacks teeth and independence and presented before the country a model of the bill drafted by some eminent persons like Santosh Hegde, Prashant Bhushan, Arbind Kejriwal and kiran Bedi. He called it Jan Lokpal bill Till now, the successive government have taken only slow and jagged steps and the investigative machineries like CBI AND CVC wilt under pressure from ruling and political parties. Anna called for a joint committee og government and civil society to draft the bill. And with this sacrosanct demand there started a fast unto Death campaign by Annaji which soon snowballed into a nationwide campaign and hundreds of people sat without food with him at jantar mantar. The campaign generated an astonishing groundswells of supports of people from all walks of life and from every nook and corner of the country. Only a few km away from jantar mantar, the government felt something serpent like crawling on its chest with each successive days number of supporters getting manifold. Men and women , rich and poor , popular personalities and common people- all assembled together and tendered an unequivocal support to the cause ans showed a rare piece of solidarity without resorting to any violence. Anna Hazare became a rallying point and people mustered in large number to show a solidarity with him. “ Anna tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hai” became a slogan of solidarity and it echoed day and night just to invigorate this 74 year old social activist. People recited poems , sang songs and delivered speeches. Drama was staged . nooked natak was performed. Slogans were shouted and banners were hung and people held placards with startling words written on them. Candle march were organized. It truly looked like a festival of democracy. Though the medium of expressions were different , what highlighted through them was the very affliction of corruption and poor governance which has made life miserable and wretched . A 24 hour media coverage of the campaign took it far and wide. People staged dharna , observed fast and took out rally country-wide in support of the cause. Even Indians settled abroad came out in full support of the legislation . The campaign had barely entered its 4th day that the government felt a tremendous heat of agitation and sensed some danger. The Anna movement in Maharashtra in the past had already unseated two state governments. Sensing fear, the central government held hectic parleys with the member of civil society and conceded Anna’s demand of joint committee for drafting anti- corruption legislation. Anna along with hundreds of protesters called off their fast today only after a notification was issued in this regard and the joint committee wore a legal sanctity.The day is really historic for Indian and all the people who advocates democracy ,justice and equality. Though we have gained the ground to win the trophy , we all must ensure that we do not get a fake one. So , as Anna said, we have to be vigil and active till we come out victorious. The campaign launched by Anna has given a fine opportunity to introspect and cleanse oneself first. Hum badlenge to Desh badlega. The campaign has also inspired millions of people throughout the world and conveyed all the good people to be firmly united so that the evil could be defeated easily. Though Anna expressed his happiness over victory , he said it is just a beginning of a series of movement for a NEW INDIA. TO BE CONTINUED…………………….. VASHISTHA RAY.