by SHIVAM VIJ
My own feelings about the Anna Hazare movement are mixed, or you could say confused. I like the way the movement is bringing an arrogant government to its knees, and though I don’t know if their version of the Lokpal Bill is the best way to fight corruption, I appreciate how they have exposed the UPA’s farce of a bill. I get the point that fellow-travellers Nivedita Menon and Aditya Nigam are making about democracy and political movements, but as one unit of ‘the people’, I don’t see why I should support a movement just because it is popular. Perhaps it is my elitism and naivete and cynicism. Or perhaps I’m just confused by now. The taste of the pudding is in the eating, and I’d like to see where this takes us.
While I sort out my confusion, I see a message on Facebook, attributed to Anu Ramdas, that says:
kafila’s 4 prominent authors write a series of con articles about how valid the media crap fest around baburao hazare is. running away from big media, indeed! don’t look too hard at the caste/religion of these paid ‘public intellectuals’.
Since I don’t see why Anu Ramdas is any more a representative of the Dalit community than Jai Karan, I am taking the liberty of reproducing in full Jai Karan’s interview to The Times of India:
Govt has let us down, Anna is our only hope
Shobhan Saxena, Aug 21
In an indication of the kind of effect Anna Hazare has had on the nation, Jai Karan, a sapera in Badarpur, on the Delhi-Haryana border, who can’t read or write and is jobless most of the time, tells Shobhan Saxena that the anti-corruption crusader is his only hope. Excerpts:
How do you make a living since you are not allowed to keep snakes or perform with them anymore?
Most men here have formed been and dhol parties, and we perform at weddings and birthdays. We get some work for four-five months during the wedding season. The rest of the year we sit here and wait for work. Our situation is hopeless
The government doesn’t allow you to follow your traditional profession, but has it done anything to help you get alternative jobs?
They have done nothing at all, only promises. Five years back, the Delhi government invited us to perform at Central Park in Connaught Place, and Sheila Dikshit promised to give us jobs. We are still waiting. We have been demanding jobs for our children in zoos and forest departments because we can handle snakes, but no one has bothered to call us.
Kafila for more
(Thanks to Robin Khundkar)