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The police crackdown on people
assembled to participate on the anti corruption fast by Baba
Ramdev on the Sunday night, 5th June 2011, needs to be condemned
to no end. As the police methods are, brutal by there nature, in
their effort to evacuate the Ramlila ground, they did resort to
the firing of tear gas shells and lathi (baton) charge leading to
injuries to many, including women and children. The police action
was the culmination of the failure of the negotiations between
Government and Ramdev. Ramdev is continuing his fast in his
Patanjali Yoga Ashram in Haridwar.
A brief run down of the background and few details of the event
are in order. After Anna Hazare started his fast for Lokpal bill
at Jantar Mantar, Baba did join it. The fast by Anna Hazare got a
lot of support from the middle class sections. All over one could
see the hand of well organized machinery trying to crystallize the
spontaneous upsurge of people in support of Anti Corruption
movement led by Hazare. This again, one can see, came in the
backdrop of massive scams, 2G etc. the scale of graft shook the
people and the middle classes spontaneously supported the fast,
and RSS backed up the fast and made the upsurge more organized.
During this fast the whole attention was focused on Anna Hazare
who was labeled as ‘Second Gandhi’! Baba had his differences with
Annaji, as he had his own scheme of things to capitalize on the
issue around his following. This following has been built up
through his very ‘successful’ business of Yoga teaching. This Yoga
is being lapped up in country with new anxieties and to overcome
the new tensions of the globalized era.
Baba claims to have a massive following and after Annaji’s fast he
declared that he too will go on fast with a focus on the illicit
money stashed in foreign countries. He began his mobilizing work
and his advisors included the RSS trained Govindacharya. His
protest hunger strike was well organized, a sort of five star
arrangements were put in place with massive expenditure. The
support base of Ramdev is the section of middle class, including
the trading community and the one’s with organizations like Khaps,
who came in large number. Those who have seen the dharnas and
protests of the deprived sections of society must have been
gripped with shock that such massive funds can be mobilized with
such a huge number participating in a protest, which though
genuine, still just looks at the issue in a superficial way.
One concedes that corruption is one of the major scourges of our
country, but one also knows that corruption is a superficial
manifestation of the deeper rot of the system as a whole. The
attempts to weed out corruption without addressing the gross
inadequacies of the system and massive injustice prevailing it the
society cannot work, as repeatedly demonstrated during the
agitations led by Jaya Praksh Narayan and later V. P. Singh.
Still the section of population which participates in these
protests is those, who are very different from the large suffering
masses of the country. Generally this section is those, based on
whom the BJP slogan of ‘Shining India’ depends. In addition, there
is another following of Baba, whose own source of wealth may have
dubious origin. Coming to Baba himself he is quite a phenomenon, a
successful yoga teacher turned businessman and now on the
threshold of the political ambition, hiding it all under the cover
of saffron garb and religious image.
To pick up the sequence of events, once Baba was close to begin
his fast, the Government got panicky for obvious reasons of
electoral politics. RSS combine has the parallel support base like
that of Baba. Negotiations with RSS were already on, about
starting a new political party or to undertake maneuvers which can
shift away substantial votes in the kitty of RSS politics, to its
progeny BJP; working for a politics aimed at Hindu nation. The
Government was keen to prevent his fast and in that direction they
kneeled in front of Ramdev. The negotiation began and in the
second round of negotiations the agreement was reached that
government will expedite measures to ensure all in the direction
of getting the illicit money from abroad and tighten the noose
around those who have stashed such wealth. Ramdev’s associates
signed the agreement and Ramdev declared that 99% of his demands
have been met. Obviously it meant that there was no need for him
to sit on the hunger strike.
Still once he came to Ramlila maidan (ground), he persisted on the
fast. Now his associate claims that they purposely gave a letter
of approval, as they feared being arrested. At this point of time
the Government felt ditched. Normally these agitations are
undertaken so that your demands are fulfilled and 99% is the
highest success rate possible. So what was the intention in
continuing the agitation? Obviously the fast was a pretext to
ensure that the mobilization done for political goals should be
consolidated and not be allowed to fritter away. The anti
corruption label was just a façade and the goal was to strengthen
the politics for Hindu Nation, something which had led to divisive
tendencies in the country. Interesting things followed. Manmohan
Singh says the crackdown was inevitable; the details are not given
so one cannot say as to what was there in Government’s mind. It is
at this time that the state authorities decided to take Ramdev
away and get the Ramlila maidan cleared of those assembled there.
When police approached to take Ramdev away, he jumped from the
stage in the midst of his women supporters and disappeared. Few
hours later he was spotted wearing the clothes of a women and
hiding his beard with a duppata (scarf), from where he was taken
away.
So far the experience of agitations is that the leader takes the
first blow. The leader is there to protect the followers from the
wrath of the police action. But this is politics of different hue.
Here cowardice is paraded as bravery and honesty is replaced by
tricks! After giving the letter to the Government, Ramdev backed
out from that and like a ‘brave’ leader when the police wanted to
take him away he hid behind the women and ran away wearing women’s
clothes, leaving his followers to face the consequences of his
mobilization! While giving the letter to withdraw the fast and
after this disguise to escape, Ramdev justifies it by saying that
these are the tactics followed by Shivaji. This argument lacks all
the understanding of a democratic society. Shivaji was a king,
battling with other kings for power. In democracy the agitations
and discussions are undertaken to lead the path for pressure on
Government. Leaders’ court arrest in a democracy to make their
point and tricks are a cheap escape route for some. So here
cowardice is being paraded as emulating a King’s methods.
The political aspects of the whole phenomenon are very curious.
The RSS combine has underwritten the whole movement. It seems,
after two defeats at the general elections, this political outfit
is on the lookout for another issue which can give them the
electoral rewards the way communal violence gives or the way Babri
masjid demolition gave them. The present mobilization is the same
which is for the Hindu nation, by and large, which is opposed to
the rights of the Adivasis, Dalits and other marginalized sections
of society. This was the pattern of the mobilization of Babri
masjid demolition as well. The things are not so unclear by now.
All the actors of demolition politics are very much around.
Govindacharya, Sadhvi Ritambhara, Uma Bharti, in overt or covert
manner. The other actors of demolition assault, Advani, Murli
Manohar Joshi have joined in post dispersal protests. RSS
functionaries have been the one’s who are the major backers of
Ramdev. They have so far kept quiet after the atrocities against
marginalized sections, against the violence against farmers or
against minorities. Now the Babri demolition gang is leading the
procession to Rashtrapati Bhavan and having a ‘celebratory dharna’,
dancing and singing, to call for the joint session of parliament.
While the issue of corruption measures against corrupt is to be
supported to the hilt, one has to distinguish the genuine and
deeper efforts to root out the phenomenon of corruption from the
sensational efforts and still bigger sensational presentation of
the same by the large section of media. The glorification of
Ramdev and the efforts around that are aimed to create a mass
hysteria of the pre-Babri Masjid demolition days. The efforts for
rooting out corruption had been on at various levels even earlier.
What adds to the suspicion about the motives of the breast beating
against corruption now is the very timing and the well organized
nature of the protest.
The current protests also should bring our attention to another
part of our democracy. In a democracy whether the Government is to
be seen as less responsible than the civic action groups? While
the civic actions groups play a most valuable part in the
democracy, by putting pressures on the government in a multiple
ways, we need to see that it is still through the elected
government that the programs can be implemented. So where do we
draw the line. If Government accepts 99% of your demands, is there
a need for continuing your agitation. If there are differences in
the joint committee formed by civic action groups and the
government, what should be the weight-age of each group? After all
government is an elected body. The trend of Babas and Swamis
coming to the political arena gives a very dangerous message. Is
it that we want to emulate Pakistan where Mullahs ruled the roost
for long time and even now have a big weight in the political
affairs, and that is one of the major reasons for the problems
through which Pakistan is going through currently. Baba Ramdev,
Sadhvi Ritambhara, Sri Sri Ravishanker have full right as a
citizen, but to dabble in politics with the claims of spiritual
following is to abuse of religious spirituality.
Many a theories will be tumbling out of the whole Ramdev episode,
one of the role it has played is that it has diverted the
attention away form the Sangh terror trails which have ravaged the
country from Malegaon to Ajmer. The deeper links of those involved
in the acts of terrorism with functionaries of affiliated
organizations is out in the open now, one hopes that the
authorities don’t loose sight to ensure that guilty of acts of
terror are given the punishment due to them.
One reiterates that any violation of the peaceful protest for
social issues is condemnable, at the same time the betrayal of
compromises and five star dharnas may be having more to it than
meets the eye is more than clear by now.
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