Is He My Anna Against Corruption?

In Tamil language, Anna means elder brother. So for the past many weeks since the Anna movement began in India, I keep asking myself is he akin to an elder brother who will protect me from all the bad in the world – specifically in this case corruption - that most Indian citizens practice in their daily life without blinking an eye. I don’t seem to have a confident yes as an answer. Why I ask myself? Maybe because the buck stops here – that is with us citizens…. And honestly are we ready to stop corruption? or the bigger question can we get on with life without being a part of it….. We, without questions, buy a house with black money which the builder demands very openly under the eyes of our very government. If we don't, we won't have a home. Baba Ramdev went on a fast to action government to bring back black money hoarded abroad…. Why abroad , it is there in plenty in front of us and we seem oblivious of it. Parents will not even think twice to give donation to get their children a seat in engineering, medical or management schools. What’s the big deal – Children come first and how else to secure their future. I did not get to do an MBA because my father was asked to pay Rs 30,000 under the table, that was 15 years ago (so now you know how long corruption is breathing in India) and my father and me refused to take a management seat by paying that money. So here I am without an MBA.

In fact just yesterday I watched the movie Aarakshan which means Reservation – the movie though is a mix of the debate on whether there should be reservation based on castes in education (read Mandal Commission) and the trend of EDUCATION being transferred to rich money making coaching classes and out of schools and colleges. Well again to cite my own example, my father refused us, his children, coaching classes right up to graduation, in great part because of lack of finances but also because he strongly felt that school and our home work should suffice. Ah maybe I could have got 90% plus in my tenth exam had I gone for coaching against the 73% I got… well that is open to debate!. What the movie brings out beautifully is that if you stay an Upright and Honest individual you stand against the crowd and even many times against your family members who think you are being stupid.

So where does corruption begin and where does it end. I remember my Indian friend from America who visited me in the mid-nineties (and this was in post liberalization India) telling me how his uncle who was setting up business in India had to take N number of licences and pay N number of bribes. And I smiled and did not even look shocked….I said that’s ok, normal. He was furious to see my apathetic attitude. I then did not understand that corruption has become too commonplace for us to even understand that it is corruption.

So I guess the answer lies in changing our mindsets – that of politicians and ourselves too. If only the politicians get themselves to think of citizen welfare rather than 99% concentration on where the millions can be made and put in place systems where corruption is easily detected and stopped….. And If citizens have the courage to say No to bribes, we could move ahead to a cleaner India.

The Jan Lokpal bill is obviously a beginning but with a billion people spread across a large country, I wonder if it will bring the much needed change without change from within ourselves.

To end it on a festive spirit, it is Krishna Janmashtami today, a celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna, marked by human pyramids breaking the Dahi Handi on the roads. The Spirits are high here in Mumbai with many groups sporting white CONGRESS T-shirts, many the saffron SHIV SENA T-shirts and host of such groups ... all sponsored I guess by taxpayers money? ENJOY.