Prabhat Patnaik, former Professor of Economics at JNU wrote that the substitution of people by one man ‘and the reduction of the people’s role merely to being supporters and cheerleaders … is antithetical to democracy’ (“ Messianism versus democracy”, The Hindu, August 24,2011, p.12).. He was, as most people these days are, writing about the Anna-Lokpal issue. He went some distance to argue that Anna and his supporters were subverting democracy and destabilizing the centre, undermining the supremacy of the Parliament. In effect Anna and his group of mesiaiahs were “holding a gun to the head of the center, and by implication of Parliament, and dictating…” terms to the democratic structure and processes of India.. He agreed, certainly, that the Indian parliament had not exactly won acclaim in the last couple of weeks in dealing with the Anna phenomenon. Nevertheless, the response of the people to Anna’s group and its Jan Lokpal draft, was a cause of serious concern to him. What if this method sets a precedent and the ‘messaiah touches a raw nerve among the people and pressurizes the government to implement his solution (diktat)? What happens to the decades old parliamentary democracy?
No need for such despondence Mr. Patnaik. It won’t happen in India for another 6 decades. Pranab Mukherjee, Kapil Sibal, Chidambaram, Manmohan Singh, and Advani, Yechuri and a motley of that ilk will continue to misrule India through the parliament with utter impunity. The hectic parleys throughout this afternoon and evening ending in a brief unanimous resolution asking Anna to end his fast is ample proof -- that no matter how many messaiahs and supporters turn up, the democratically elected parliament and its procedural dilations, its brownie points, its points of order, its adjournments, its well-rushing, its work-stalling, its pusillanimity, its lack of regard for people and messaiahs, its plain paralysis at the greatest moments of need, its abki-maar-tujhe-dekhloonga view of all forms of external interference and internal strife and subversion, and its tacit approval of exchequer-milking by its MPs and any others who can manage it—these WILL CONTINUE longer than you willingly argue for, Mr.Patnaik.
If a peoples’ parliament disregards people and their voices, their demands, indeed their pleas; if a peoples’ parliament remains silent and the Prime Minister is mute when the issues are crying for quick-fixes; when the wounds bleed and the surgeons wait for police and legal formalities to be completed before opening the Operation Theatre; when people like HKL Bhagat can die of old age despite allegations of crime and conspiracy left uninvestigated because of proximity to powerful men in the parliament ;when emails with all details get circulated that the Summary of All scams of India from Harish Mundhra down to Hasan Ali is Rs. 910603234300000/- (almost 92 thousand crore rupees) ; when I have to contact a high official in the state secretariat to influence the Passport Office to issue my son’s Tatkal passport after 20 days have gone by (Tatkal is 7 days @ Rs. 2500/- or 15 days @Rs. 2000/- as per rule); when my son’s electoral ID card is full of mistakes despite manual filling-up by a graduate; when a nurse in a corporate hospital does not administer Ringer Lactae to my daughter for 4 hours despite the attending doctor’s “immediate” instructions---- well, well, well… something is terribly rotten in the state of Bharat AND A MESSIAH WILL COME.
Whether it is Christ the Tiger; or Kalki on a white stead; Or Anna Hazare.
As Lord Krishna said: Yada yada hi dharmasya glaanirbhavati Bharatah/ Abhyutthaanam adharmasya, sambhavaami yugey yugey.
. Doubt this not, Mr. Patnaik.
And doubt it not, too… that the messiah will come ONLY when the parliaments fail the democratic principle of people’s rule, and become an end in themselves, answerable to none, Supremely disdainful like Sibal and Chidambaram, supremely incompetent and indifferent like Manmohan, and supremely opportunistic like Advani, and supremely glib like Yechuri or Pranab da. Not one moment before.
Crumbling Institutions must be demolished Mr. Patnaik, not shored up by adducing and positing principles. That is what the people are saying today. A temporary revamping will not do. If people have to wait the Pleasure of the Constitutional Head and elect once in five years, without a right to recall, and any criminal with money and men behind him can get elected for 5 years only to nibble away at the public exchequer; then, may be… maybe, its time to do a thorough overhaul of the system. And if a messaiah is needed to galvanize the people into an electric mood.
And the term blackmail used for Anna’s fast and the movement! What is this fasting as a political tool? Well-fed people on a crash diet to reduce weight!! These are some of the comments we hear. Don’t the Jains have methods of self-mortification? Haven’t all systems advocated fasting and prayer and penance? Is Vicarious Suffering good only in Milton and the Bible?
If democracy is only a way of postponing decision-making (the Women’s Bill is another glaring example); if it means ignoring the voice of the people for the next 5 years; if it means letting supporting political parties burrow through the wealth of the nation; if it means messing up the health of the nation, then why, why should there be a democracy in name? Unless it is obligatory for legislators to meet their constituencies regularly in between legislative sessions to acquaint themselves with the views of the people; unless these views are represented and legislation carried out accordingly; unless the governments stop giving routine, lame excuses for not curbing inflation; unless coalition dharma and other such lame phrases are summarily expunged from the diction of law-makers…
Messiahs will come and keep coming. May Anna, Aruna Roy, Kejriwal and others emerge as the conscience –keepers to the nation. May they shake up the foundations of such ‘democratic parliaments’ which are paralyzed for no reason other than the fear of punishment for wrong –doing.
There have been many exposés in the last few days about Anna Hazare and his past and his ‘ideology’. How come there are no such exposés about Kalmadi, and kanimozhi? What about the grand tale of Manmohan’s permanent residence in Assam from where he is a MP of the Rajya Sabha? When reality is such a blatant lie, does it matter that Anna had a past, if he did, in which he did something wrong? A Valmiki was not born a sage. We’ll take Anna as we took Valmiki. Anna’s fast is his penance. That is the stuff of messiahs. Not the weak-kneed behavior of a Manmohan Singh and his democratic, procedurally bogged down parliament. Don’t compare Anna with Hitler and the Nazis. That is blasphemous.
We chose to support Anna, Mr. Patnaik. And Our choice, people’s choice IS DEMOCRACY.
Let no one insult the intelligence and the sensitivity of the people.
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