Indian Scenario and Babagiri

Indian Scenario and Babagiri

Every Indian must be very conscious about the current developments vis-à-vis corruption or rather fight against it and more anxious about the outcome. The main player so far had been Anna Hazare and the latest entrant on the scene is Baba Ramdev. The others likely to be drawn into the scene are Sri Sri Ravishankar and the likes of him. There is a misconception that Baba is a godman and therefore a preconceived hatred towards Baba Ramdev like all other godmen. Some so called elitists have started waving verbal black flags before even hearing him out and trying to understand him and they have already concluded that whatever he is fighting for must be a wrong cause. Instead of being subjective, an objective assessment would be better.

Undoubtedly, corruption is the worst malady afflicting the nation acting against our growth and one of the root causes for high cost of living. The ill gotten money is pumped into our system through hawala route. The disposal of the black money is by investment in the land and real estate by the sinners and further inflation is caused by renting out these properties to the SMEs. Further, shares the loot by service tax on the rentals. Rent is one of the main components in the costing of the products.

When Sanju Baba glorified Gandhigiri every one appreciated it. But, when Ramdev Baba adopts Gandhigiri by ‘Bhookh Hartal’ government detests it and labels it ‘Blackmail’, because it is an impediment to their personal growth and aspirations. Like true politicians they gave false promises to Anna, and tried every trick in the books to make it a non-starter. Now they are spreading false propaganda and oppose it by proxy. The main proxy actors who have taken up the cudgel are Vinod Mehta, Arnab Goswami, Sagarika Ghose and the likes of them. One of the arguments is, when government is already talking to Anna, what is the need for Baba’s threat of fasting. Similar argument was put forth for JPC when PAC was already constituted. It is plainly a diversionary ploy and dirty trick.

What is wrong in Baba’s suggestion of demonetization of currency notes, harsh punishments for the corrupt and action for speedy recovery of Indian money stashed in a country that is a tax haven. What is wrong in his joining hands with Anna, after all the causes of are complementary. What is wrong if he agrees with Anna that PM and chief justices should come under the ambit of Lokpal Bill/Act.

During the so called news hour debates, a doubt was raised – what if Baba does a U-turn and joins hands with ruling establishment and abandons his mission. He has created so much image in the public eye that he will not abandon his mission even if it occurs to him momentarily at some stage. I am reminded of ‘guide’ – a picture in the sixties based on a novel by R.K.Narayan when the guide dons a saffron robe accidentally and is thought to be a ‘swami’.

A doubt was raised that a spiritual/yoga guru can not lead the people in matters of national concern. Nobody dared to put forth such argument when Dhirendra Brahmachari , Chandraswami were part of a kitchen cabinet. People readily accepted  views of Swami Vivekananda and Ramana Maharishi.

I am also reminded of Mahatma Gandhi when he said in a Congress session that in the meetings  members made speeches for each other. The masses were untouched. Is Baba Ramdev not doing just that – rallying the masses by direct contact. The cabinet ministers like Chidambaram arrogantly use jargons and talk about GDP etc. which makes no sense to a common man. But they understand the cost of bread, corruption etc. Spiritual gurus are able to touch the masses and give them solace. There are well meaning members of the Civil Society like Kiran Bedi , who are extending able assistance to Baba and Anna. I would go one step further and suggest to both Baba and Anna that they should hire the services of script writers like Javed Akhtar who will write dialogues like ‘paapi pet ka sawal hai’ or ‘garib ke pet mein laath nahin maro saheb’ .  

Kudos to Baba and Anna for taking the cudgels on behalf of ‘aam aadmi’ and I already visualize the politicians and the government in particular shaking.