Anna Hazare tops rakhi charts in Bihar
A day ahead of Raksha Bandhan also known as Rakhi celebration, rakhis sporting the face of the 74-year-old Gandhian or named after him are doing brisk business across the state.
And those dedicated to political heroes like chief minister Nitish Kumar or his rival Lalu Prasad
Clearly, the activist, whose fast unto death for an anti-corruption Lokpal bill in April had fired the imagination of many thousands and who embarks on another hunger strike Aug 16, has touched a chord.
"Rakhis named after Anna are selling briskly," said Guddu Singh, a shopkeeper at the wholesale market in Old Patna city.
He said it was the first preference for people. "Anna has a clear edge over Nitish and Lalu in the rakhi market," he said.
Agreed Surender Kumar, another shopkeeper: "The demand for rakhis with a picture of Anna is high among all, including girls, youth and children."
Till last year, said Mohammed Hashib, Nitish Kumar and Lalu reigned.
"The rakhis are in huge demand. Even those who do not purchase these rakhis want to have a look at them."
Interestingly, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh don't really figure in the rakhi markets.
According to theatre activist Aneesh Ankur, Anna Hazare had become a hero figure amongst the people.
This should be good news for the Gandhian, who has rejected the government version of the Lokpal bill as inadequate and reiterated his decision to sit on an indefinite fast from Aug 16 in New Delhi. are lagging behind.
Anna fast now unjustified: PC
In an apparent hardening of stance on the forthcoming fast of social activist Anna Hazare scheduled to begin on August 16, the government on Friday termed it as “unjustified” as the Bill had already been referred to the parliamentary standing committee for further consultation.
“At this stage an extra parliamentary protest seems unjustified,” Union home minister P. Chidambaram said. He also stated that protesting BJYM workers were not lathicharged by the police on August 9 in the capital.
Mr Hazare has threatened to go on an indefinite fast even as the differences amongst the government and the civil society continue. While the government Bill has kept the office of the Prime Minister, judiciary and the actions of MPs inside the House out of the purview of the proposed Lokpal, the civil society has termed the government Bill as toothless. The team Anna has called for the inclusion of PM, judiciary and MPs under its own Jan Lokpal Bill.
However, the home minister pointed out that Mr Hazare’s team’s earlier fast, when the Lokpal Bill was not in place, was perhaps right but not now when a bill has already been introduced in Parliament and the government has “moved forward” on it. “Everybody has a right to protest and the context and circumstances will decide whether the protest was right or not,” Mr Chidamabram said.
Mr Hazare has threatened to even stop taking water if any attempt was made to forcibly feed him or arrest him during his fast against a stronger anti-corruption Lokpal Bill from August 16.
However, the home minister indicated that the government can intervene in case Mr Hazare’s health is affected. “Certainly, if anyone’s life is in danger, the government has not only a duty but a right to intervene,” he said, but quickly added that the statement was not in context of Mr Hazare but a general one.
He also rejected suggestions that there was a delay in permission to Mr Hazare to hold fast. “The matter rests with the Delhi police commissioner and the government was not tackling or pushing any one,” the minister added.
Noted Gandhian and social activist Natwar Thakkar today urged Anna Hazare to "seriously reconsider" his decision to go on fast from August 16 on Lokpal issue.
"I feel worried about the news (of Anna's proposed fast) and as a fellow social worker I feel worried about this," Thakkar said in a statement here.
"I consider Anna Hazare as an esteemed friend and a person dedicated to selfless service, but I would like to mention in all humility that I find it difficult to agree with his decision to go on fast and strongly urge him to change his decision," Thakkar said.
Anna's first fast outside New Delhi's Jantar Mantar in April had earned nation-wide support and forced the Centre to agree to form a joint committee to look into the matter, he said.
The main difference however remained that the Prime Minister and members of judiciary were not brought under the purview of the Lokpal.
The bill has been introduced and all parties will give their opinions according to democratic norms, Thakkar said.
"We must see that the democratic institutions are respected and appeal that the draft bill should be allowed to pass through its prescribed course as even after this there will be scope for amendments," the Gandhian said.
"As a humble student of Gandhian thought, I thought he was most careful before resorting to fast and for him it was a last resort. In one of his writings Gandhiji makes a distinction between a fast and a hunger strike," Thakkar, the founder secretary of the Nagaland Gandhi Ashram said.
Sold on Anna Hazare, cricket & job scene
An eight-city TOI-Synovate survey of young Indians shows that while they cherish the many freedoms our country offers, they also have rather clear-cut concerns about what ails it. The survey also throws up several city-level surprises.For instance, 75% of respondents nationwide agreed that they enjoyed 'enough rights and freedoms in the country today'. In fact 100% of Bangaloreans felt so, while most other cities showed over 60% of respondents agreeing. Except in Mumbai. A shocking 56% of Mubaikars answered 'No' to this question. Answers to subsequent questions perhaps hold the answer to this Mumbai anomaly.
When asked 'Which right/freedom do you enjoy most', 38% nationwide listed 'the right to live and work anywhere in India', with 'free speech' and 'right to vote' garnering 27% and 22% respectively. But the 'right to vote' tops in Delhi (43%), Kolkata (48%) and Jaipur (41%). Only in Mumbai does the 'right to work anywhere' clock a whopping 64%. Seen in conjunction with the results from the next poll question ('Do you think today's India offers great job opportunities?'), it reaffirms young Mumbaikars' distaste for the regional chauvinism preached by a couple of parties there.
When it came to job opportunities, 64% of respondents felt that great potential is to be found in India today, with Chennai the most optimistic of metros (96% agreed) and Mumbai the only city where a majority (63%), again, disagree.
About 61% of young Indians also felt corruption is the biggest threat facing India right now. Most also said they would not pay a bribe, but only just. Bangaloreans, strangely, appear not to mind paying up; 96% said they'd pay a bribe, while 40% and 39% of Chennai and Ahmedabad respondents, respectively, said they'd do so too.
Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal campaign is supported by 80% of those surveyed. Some 65% of respondents also support life imprisonment for corrupt officials, with most Delhiites (77%) vehemently agreeing on the measure. Only in Chennai and Jaipur did a large chunk (47%) feel the current five-year prison term was enough.
Cricket is what young India is clearly crazy about. India's 2011 World Cup win was seen by the largest chunk (46%) as our greatest achievement in the last decade. Ahmedabad and Chennai are the only cities that buck this trend; 56% of Ahmedabad respondents vote for economic growth as the big gain, while the majority of Chennai youth plump for India's telecom revolution.
But India's love affair with cricket prevails nationwide and clearly spills over into young India's choice of favourite role model: Sachin Tendulkar. Anna Hazare finishes second, while Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan come in at three and four. Rahul Gandhi is a distant fifth. Only Delhi voted for Hazare (40%) over Sachin, while Chennai is the only city where Rahul Gandhi polls second place. But it is Mumbai, yet again, that saves its biggest surprise for this last question. The city's top choice of role model is not its favourite son, Tendulkar, but that good old Indian ethic - family; 20% of Mumbaikars choose their 'parents/father' over Sachin (19%).
STUDENTS & SOLUTIONS
Wanted: Freedom from corruption
Amogh M
IIM, Lucknow
As the largest democracy in the world, India has a lot to be proud of. Unfortunately, clean governance is not one of them. The malaise of corruption is so all-pervasive that businesses have found innovative names under which to record bribes as business expense, "facilitation fee" being just one!
Why have bribes become an inseparable part of Indian life? The current system of governance gives us some answers. The legislature has members who get elected after very expensive campaigns funded by vested interests that get paid back through favourable policies. The executive implements the mandate of the legislature skimming out part of the gains that are to be had, while the judiciary that should place checks and balances is too overloaded to punish anyone despite the mountain of evidence.
The system incentivizes corruption, and people respond to incentives. Corruption pays in the form of financial gains, favorable relations with superiors among others, and these come at very little cost since the likelihood of punishment is minimal and the worst that can happen is some bad press if there is an expose. The tax placed by an individual's conscience only diminishes as corruption increases.
We need to change the incentives - add to the costs through time-bound investigations and punishment and cap the gains by recovering losses incurred by the country from the guilty individual's estate. These changes will not come without resistance, but some things are worth fighting for!
Karandeep Khanna
Ramjas College, Delhi
The common man has come to believe that the success of the battle against corruption hinges on the outcomes in Parliament - the Lokpal bill, for instance. We forget our own duty to uphold and enforce the laws that already exist. The Prevention of Corruption act, 1988 provides for special judges and a five-year jail term. But no, the Lokpal sounds far more exciting; it cannot possibly fail, right?
Corruption is an ethical issue; it is deeply entrenched in our mindset. We have come to accept it as a completely rational system that gets our work done, even though we are entitled to it.. For some of us, it is also a way of boasting about our fabulous "negotiation" skills, flaunting the money in our pockets as though it was small change. This mentality will have to change for any long-term solution to corruption. In the short term, it seems the only way public officials will stop demanding bribes is by creating adequate supply-side shocks. The use of electronic means to transfer funds is a workable idea that eliminates the cost of effort and time as well. This should be coupled with full public access to information, to avoid the secrecy synonymous with Swiss banks.
Avalokita Dutta
Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi
The government is peddling a Lokpal bill that is merely a recipe for shielding the corrupt in high places and intimidating anti-corruption activists and whistleblowers. This is not surprising considering the bill has been drafted by the very government whose own ministers stand implicated in various scams! We need an effective movement to ensure this toothless bill is rejected and a genuine anti-corruption legislation is passed by Parliament.
As part of a countrywide youth movement, we believe that democratic citizenship must be rejuvenated. Thousands of activists braved police batons to take part in the protests at Jantar Mantar this week. They came to fight against corruption. To fight for the constitutional vision of this country as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. And, to save India.
Aditya Gandhi
IIT-Bombay
All the money involved in the recent scams may seem like small change when compared to the crores quietly siphoned off in the name of welfare. Every year, the central government spends over Rs 3 lakh crore on social safety-net schemes. When this money does not reach the intended beneficiaries, it is a failure of governance at the grassroots.
The Unique ID programme, Aadhaar, is a major step in the government's efforts to curb these leakages. With a unique identification for every individual, and financial inclusion through a corresponding no-frills bank account, these losses could be substantially reduced. Similar schemes in Brazil, South Africa and Argentina have shown dramatic results in reducing corruption.
It is also heartening to see civil society raising its voice to demand solutions. Thanks to the role of the media in creating awareness and the efforts of Team Anna, the Lokpal may soon become a reality. The institution will encourage transparency.
In the long run, however, one needs to create a society which equips its people to earn an honest living. For each person to be gainfully employed, education is a must. The UID project and the Lokpal bill are a good start to a much larger project. True salvation lies in uplifting the masses, educating every Indian and ultimately electing responsible governments.
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