This Too Is Grassroots Democracy

http://www.craigslist.org/about/SOPA.  No fasting involved.

"Team Anna" Still Looking For Elusive Nationwide Support

I asked Where Is The Nationwide Support for "Team Anna"? about 36 hours ago, noting that just 48413 people had registered for his Jail Bharo 'Andolan'.  Time to update that number.  It's a day later.  I expect the thing to have caught on like wild fire.  So let me check.  67070.  

That many could be fit into Eden Gardens. 

And which are the states/regions contributing mainly to that number?  The eight states/regions - Delhi & NCR, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, MP, UP, AP, Rajasthan - together still contribute 75% of the registered people.  The four states/regions - Delhi & NCR, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat - still contribute almost half of them.

Still no nationwide support.

Update: The final figure is, hold your breath, 175220.  No wonder things fizzled out.  

Where Is The Nationwide Support for "Team Anna"?

Anna Hazare's managers have started a website for the Jail Bharo movement, Jail Bharo Andolan, where people who  are willing to fill the jails in his support can register their details.  If they want to register through SMS, the website has the number to which they can send the SMS.

Time hanging a bit heavily on my hands, I ambled across to the website to see what it was about.  It's a simple site with a simple form where you fill in your name, city, state, mobile number to register.  It also shows the current count of how many people have registered so far.

Well, as we all know, the entire country is behind him.  So who'd blame us if we expect the number of registered people to be a few hundred millions?  Or maybe a few millions?  OK, if not that many, a few lakhs at least?  At least a lakh?   But no, it turns out we'd be dead wrong.  The actual total thus far:  48413.  

Click on the graph to enlarge it.

Eight states account for 75% of the supporters: Delhi & NCR, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, MP, UP, AP, Rajasthan.   Four states account for nearly half of the supporters so far: Delhi & NCR, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat.  Where the hell is the nationwide support?  

Maybe it will build up over the New Year weekend.  Wait and watch this space.

Anna Hazare Fast - Satyagraha or Nuisance?

Court raps Team Anna, rejects plea over MMRDA ground:

Earlier in the day, Team Anna came in for scathing criticism by the court for its proposed agitation against the Lokpal Bill with the bench saying it cannot allow “parallel canvassing” when Parliament is seized with debate on the legislation.

“We can’t allow parallel canvassing when Parliament is seized with debate on the bill. You can propagate the bill sitting at home. Till now the bill has not been passed. No one knows what form and what features it will have. Is public debate permissible at this stage?,” the court asked.

Disapproving of the agitation despite the Lokpal Bill being tabled in Parliament, Justice Majmudar asked, “How is country’s interest involved? We are a democratic set up. We have elected a government. Wouldn’t your agitation interfere in the functioning of Parliament? The bill will be debated in Parliament where our elected representatives will plead our case”.

The court further said that as Judges they had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and law. “Under which law are you (petitioner) asking for exemption? It might be Satyagraha for you but for some other factions it might be a nuisance,” it said.

That sounds about right to me.  

So where do Anna Hazare and his team go to next? The Supreme Court?  Or else, can't they just declare victory and propagate the bill sitting at home?  They have antogonised almost every single MP in parliament by abusing them in no uncertain terms.  The HC has rejected the claim that there is anything of national interest involved.  So just who'll deliver the Jan Lok Pal bill for them?

Anna Hazare: Is He All There?

It is difficult not to wonder if this man is all there when he says things like this (link: Anna calls for another ‘jail bharo’ agitation):

Giving a clean chit to Manmohan Singh for the logjam on the Lokpal Bill, he said the Prime Minister is good, but those holding his remote control are corrupt. “It appears, people are creating impediments in clearing the Lokpal Bill for the convenience of some future prime ministers,” the Gandhian said.

PS:  Why on earth does everyone insist on using "Gandhian"  when referring to him?  He may be living a simple life, but that doesn't make him Gandhian.  I'm not the only one thinking this for sure.  For a detailed take down see this: Spare Us the Gandhian Halo

On a Headlines Today programme, the channel head, an enthusiastic Rahul Kanwal, is talking to Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal (a former IRS officer who is now a prominent civil society activist). As he begins discussing ‘Ab iske aage kya’ (What now after this?), he turns to Anna Hazare, and asks in Hindi, “You say that those who are corrupt should be hanged, is that not against Gandhian principles?” Anna answers, again in Hindi, “That is why I have said that, today, in many things, along with Gandhi we have to look towards Shivaji. [Unclear] Patel committed a mistake, and Shivaji had the man’s hands cut off. This policy of Chhatrapati, in many ways, we have to think about. Hundred per cent non-violence is not possible. Sometimes, even this has to be done, and that is why I have been saying that these people should be hanged…” Kiran Bedi interjects, “Anna is not taking away due process… he is going by the due process, the point is [that] economic offences today in our country are bailable, [are punished] by fines, minimum imprisonment; [there’s] no recovery of property, it is a joke.”

This is a perfect example of how the Anna Hazare movement has been operating for a while. There is little confusion about what Anna Hazare means: when he says “hang them”, he means “hang them”; when he says “cut their hands off”, he means “cut their hands off”. Kiran Bedi did interject to put a palatable spin on these words, but what she said was clearly not what Anna meant. The accompanying profile in this issue clearly shows these words are in keeping with his past. As a result of Anna’s reformist zeal, the people of his native village Ralegan Siddhi have witnessed the public flogging of those who dare to drink, a ban on all intoxicants, and restrictions on cable TV. It does not take much to see how closely this resembles the ideals of the Taliban, especially if you factor in the idea of a few hands being chopped off. Which is why it is no surprise that the sympathy he has long displayed for the Hindu Right has culminated in his endorsement of Narendra Modi.

Even his language is filled with violence.  It is difficult to disagree with the author's conclusion: 

Hazare’s pretence to Gandhian values is a large part of his appeal. But Gandhi’s opposition to communal divides and violence are central to any Gandhian position. Hazare is no Gandhian, and if you forget appearances and concentrate on substance, adding enforced vasectomy to the list of requirements necessary for residence in his native village, Sanjay Gandhi is the only Gandhi who comes to mind in this context. The varied set of people who have come under his banner should have known this, but people have invested little or no time in studying Hazare’s past. So many are so caught up in the illusion of change, that they have been willing to forgo the truth about the man.

Anna: Flog The Losers

Hazare wants drinkers flogged.  And they've apparently done it in his village - tied  people to electric poles and administered 'light' beatings.  He mentions it in the NDTV interview (click here).

One is not sure what his definition of drinkers is, but one starts to fear for some loved ones in the near and extended family.  Then the sheepish and slightly blameless face of our cleaning lady's husband comes to mind, in particular.  Not safe times these.  One pictures streets with houses spilling forth the afflicted in ones and twos, there to be flogged in public tied to the nearby electric poles.

Anna should have stayed in Ralegan Siddhi.