Ms. Roy, it is only when one starts to go under, is the true import of a quagmire felt. Corruption in India has become so institutionalized, endemic and systemic, that it requires nothing less than a revolution to stem the rot. Anna's movement is a reflection of the pain and angst that ordinary citizens go through either experiencing corruption first hand or helplessly watching the wealth of the nation being usurped by the political class with bureaucrats working in tandem and very often with the judiciary also flowing with the tide.
While the JLP bill will not be a panacea curing our nation of all its ills, it will at least provide a force to the much needed cleansing that is necessary for us to sustain as a successful nation. Since you have in the past been a very vocal critic of the Govt and many of its policies, why would you want to object to some others voicing their thoughts and protesting peacefully against their display of smugness and high-handed behavior on issues related to corruption? Let the Govt not succeed in pitting one civil society faction against the others with the ultimate aim of forcing the corruption issue to slip below radar once again (after all they are the biggest beneficiaries of the systemic and all prevailing corruption).
It is a shame that this movement did not come sooner (after all the the LP has been 42 years in the making), but now that the moment of reckoning seems close, let not this kind of squabbling derail the movement. Contribute to it if you can or else give it your blessings.
Now about the points that you have criticized and why you are wrong:-
Anna Hazare: I didn’t know much about him before March 2011; even now I don’t know everything about him. As a person he may not be perfect, maybe he has done some mistakes in his past, who cares? Name one single person who has not committed any mistake in his/ her lifetime. Now he is on a mission to do a greater good. What about you? Are you perfect? Have you not done any mistakes in your past? Let me frame the question in a different way? Did you always support the system? Even though you supported Narmada agitation, why Environmental historian Guha criticized your activism. Why Supreme Court found you guilty? I believe that everyone’s style of fighting is different, it may not please others. Even Supreme Court found you guilty. I support you with my heart. But not now, even you have the right to express any erroneous comments.
Gandhians with gun vs Gandhian: In your essay “Walking with the comrades”, you described Naxals as “Gandhians with gun”. You don’t want to accept Anna’s policy as Gandhian policy. Do you think killing oneself (Anna) is worse than killing thousands for the cause they believe?
Arvind Kejriwal: You are talking about Arvind Kejriwal. Don’t forgot, he is the man behind RTI. I believe that is one of the best things that have happened to millions of Indians. I am neither supporter nor against to anti-reservation. But I think you want to see only the mistakes somebody does. I feel that “support to Kashmiri separatism” is far worse than supporting anti-reservation.
Media: Even I am not a supporter of current media. But I don’t have a choice. They only report which is a hot topic. They don’t want to care about other topics. Yes, I agree with you about media. They have to report other issues. It is their responsibility. Not reporting those issues can’t be illegal only unethical, I think. Why don’t you convince NDTV lead by your cousin to show only other issues? If the media didn’t cover other issues, how come its Anna’s fault? Why are you pointing other issues, when you are commenting Anna?
Perfect timing for anti-corruption agitation: Narmada Bachao Andolan started in 1991 and you joined the movement in 1996. What are you doing all those 5 years? I am not blaming you for joining in 1996 only after your book was published (personal work was finished). Moreover I came to know about that movement only because of you (great speaker and you were my hero at that time). Everyone is motivated at some point of time to do something great. I believe that it’s better if you stay calm if you don’t agree with Anna rather than to criticize him doing well. I feel happy that someone has finally started the anti-corruption movement. May be its late but at least it’s started.
Your opinions are similar to the one of the opposition leader. You always want to criticize someone/something to stay on top of the news. What do you want to say by pointing the time of start of the movement? Don’t you think that pointing the time of starting the movement makes you worst criticizer?
What have you done against corruption? Do you think India is not a corrupted state? If your answer is no, I have nothing to say. If yes, what have you done to stop corruption at country level? Why are you paying attention to what America is doing in Afghanistan or Sri-Lanka with LTTE’s? I am not saying you shouldn’t or you can’t. When you have more important issues within the country, why are you looking outside the country? I think, you want international media to pay attention to you and you succeeded in that. Anna is lot better than you. He is doing some good actions to free India from Corruption rather than commenting others.
P.S.- Definitely Arundhati Roy is not corrupt. But the same is case with Manmohan Singh. They should use their intelligence to improve the country and not otherwise. Sad state of affairs - Bad luck for the country. What is the value of their education, if they are what they are today? An uneducated rickshaw puller is better citizen of India.
