& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

SUNDAY POUCH

Hazare's fast: Are there lessons?

Ashfaqur Rahman
Anna Hazare, a frail 74-year old man from a village called Ralegan Siddhi in Maharastra has recentiy rattied India and democracies around the world.
Single handedly, he has raised the conscience of the middle class throughout the length and breadth of that country. He has challenged the government of India and its 545 members of the lower house of Parliament to reconsider an anti-corruption bill and to adhere to the idea of terminating corruption.
He has humbled an entire political class and brought corruption there under a dazzling spotlight. He has finally made the prime minister of India concede to his way of thinking.
But first of all, who is Anna Hazari? Baburao Hazare is an Indian social activist who is known for the Indian movement against corruption, using non-violent methods, in line with what Mahtama Gandhi pursued.
In 1962, despite not meeting the physical requirements, he was selected as a vehicle driver in the Indian army. During the 1965 war with Pakistan he was assigned to the Indo-Pak border. In November of that year, he was the only survivor of a convoy when Pakistan launched air attacks on Indian bases.
Since then he engaged himself to study the purpose and meaning of life and death. He read books written by Swami Vivekenanda, Gandhi and Vinoba Bhabe and began dedicating himself to the service of suffering humanity.
In 1978, when he left the army, he returned to his village which was plagued with poverty, a fragile ecosystem and hopelessness. He identified the key problem there as alcoholism and organised the youth in the village temple, which he had earlier built himself, to close down the liquor shops
and ban alcohol.
Hazare then used Gram Sabha (village meeting) for a collective decision making process to discuss welfare of villagers. The decisions were taken in a simple majority consensus and accepted as final.
He then introduced Grain Bank for food security. Rich farmers were allowed to donate surplus "quintal" to the bank. Subsequentiy, he solved several other problems in the village, like meeting irrigation needs, replen-
ishing ground water, improvement of education, removal of the curse of untouchability, etc.
In 1991, Hazare started a People's Movement against corruption by forest officers and timber merchants. He went on to strike against the governor of Maharastra for alleged malpractices in the purchase of power looms. In 2003, he raised his voice against four ministers of the government. In August 2003, he started his fast unto death. This made the government appoint a one man commission, which forced the ministers to resign.
But in 2011, Hazare began Satyagraha (fasting for a noble cause) for passing a tougher anti-corruption Ombudsman bill, in line with the Jan Lokpal Bill which his team had earlier drafted. This attracted millions. People showed their support through Twitter and Facebook and on line signature campaigns. Thus, he could gather 10,00,000 signatures in 36 hours. He was taken to Tihar Jail but released after a few hours. He refused to come out until he was permitted to fast without any conditions attached.
He went on a fast unto death based on his ideology of non-violence till the government capitulated to his three demands. The Parliament debated them and announced that
the "sense in the Parliament" is to accept these demands.
Today, Hazare is an acclaimed activist and the most powerful influencer of political issues in India. As a result, a large number of Indians now seem to hate politicians even though they love democracy.
So can we list the lessons which Hazare has taught democrats in India?
Hazare is an honest and humble man. He is unmarried and lives in a single room in a temple. So the people
around him believe in him and trust him. Millions in India are attracted to him because of his honesty and humility. He is a natural leader of people.
Hazare is also a keen observer of any situation. He has the habit of thinking deeply both in and outside the box. He identifies the root problem and sets out to solve it. He tends to choose the right policy and gets the right people involved to set the thing right. But then he does not hesitate to adjust his policies if required.
The man is a great communicator. He shares precise information consis-tentiy. He is aware which information motivates his followers and guides them with clear direction towards his political goal.
Hazare's anti-corruption campaign has spawned many more lessons for his adherents.
Take the matter of his uncanny sense of what and when a change is needed in society. He knows that when people are sick and tired of matters like corruption or poverty then it is the time to jump in and champion the cause. He then triggers action that brings change.
To Hazare there are two ways to face an issue. Either you alter the issue or you alter yourself and embrace the solution. He usually urges people to
change themselves. In his campaign he looks to include all sections of society, from the prime minister to the ordinary bureaucrat, to stop corruption.
An important lesson learned from his campaigns is that democracy is not something you believe in only. Democracy is something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles. Hence, if parliament members who have been elected to solve people's problem do not have the gumption to do it, the people have the right to jump in to either make them perform or let the people do it in a non-violent way.
Hazare has also shown that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change a country. Indeed, it is the only way that Hazare and others think changes take place.
The most striking lesson learned is that a gentie hand may lead even an elephant by a single hair. Hazare, with no arsenal at his disposal and with only his wit and courage, led the Indian government including the Prime Minister ever so gently to reconsider the Lokpal Bill and agree to discuss his Jan Lokpal Bill. His most potent weapon was his fast unto death, which produced its own timeline for an elephantine government to act.
Finally, Hazare has shown to everyone that a lie has speed but truth has endurance. When rumours were spread that Hazare was himself steeped in corruption, the truth that he is honest endured.
Hazare's campaign was magnified by the media well before it was seen as a mass movement. His dramatic fast shot up the TV channels rating. The government became queasy about Anna Hazare. But it was damn scared about the media.
Thus, Hazare has introduced a fresh approach to initiate change in a society, and that also in India which boasts the largest democracy in the world.
Could there be more lessons? Maybe.
The writer is a former Ambassador and Chairman
of the Centre for Foreign Affairs Studies. E-Mail: ashfaq303@hotmail.com
***Hazare has introduced afresh approach to initiate change in a society, and that also in India which boasts the largest democracy in the world. Could there be more lessons? Maybe.***