The Jantar Mantar in New Delhi is a hot favourite of the average tourist in the summer. But since 5 April 2011, the astronomical observation site has become a focus of an anti-corruption campaign that has never been seen before, thanks to Anna Hazare. After decades of utter frustration, this one man, a veteran Gandhian, has emerged as the champion for tackling the menace of corruption. His crusade is a measure of the pent-up anger, especially among the young, springing from the manner in which politicians of all hues are taking the country for a ride through misuse of office and naked corruption. With the gap between the haves and have-nots widening, there is a sense of frustration among the diminishing tribe of honest Indians which is ready to explode.
Over the past six decades, the four pillars of democracy, the legislature, judiciary, executive and the press, have all developed serious problems in India. The rule of law stands subverted and moral values seriously eroded. The civil rights of women and children suffer blatant violations. Daily newspapers are replete with news of rape, dowry-deaths, trafficking, abduction and murder. The weak, the elderly and those living alone are robbed and killed every day. The police authorities prefer to look the other way. Attempts to lodge complaints with them are simply stonewalled unless some activist take the cudgels of justice in their hands. Members of the hallowed corridors of the law courts have succumbed to the temptations of underhand deals. Shanti Bhushan, a leading lawyer, claimed that half of the 16 supreme court chief justices before whom he had appeared were corrupt.
Newspaper owners and managers are known to strike deals with corporate bosses to give them favourable coverage through "paid news". Schools openly arm-twist parents to part with hefty sums of money before admitting children to their portals and euphemistically call it a "donation". Indeed no receipt is given for this transaction. While the government feigns helplessness, the practice gains acceptance.
Most of the emerging middle-class's entrepreneurs are blinded by their desire to get rich quickly, by hook or by crook. Their conscience does not prick them when they resort to falsification, telling lies, fraudulent practices, cheating and adulteration. Dodging taxes in the name of tax planning is smart business. Even godly men and religious preachers are embroiled in corruption and scandals of various types. The country has an abysmal record of penalising offenders who have someone to protect.
Hazare, a social worker, has been demanding that the government enact a comprehensive anti-corruption law and draft a citizen's ombudsman bill, or Lokpal bill. He looks to have won his battle, so has announced that he will break his fast on Saturday. India must fully embrace his plan to root out the cancer of corruption. Otherwise, this climate of economic hardship, with high food prices and rising unemployment, could become a catalyst for political turmoil of the sort seen elsewhere in the world, with even more serious consequences not only for India but also for the rest of the world. The Facebook youth of India might just wake up.
