New Delhi:
It's tough to believe that the government hadn't anticipated the reaction to Anna Hazare's arrest.
In April, when the 74-year-old began a hunger strike against corruption, even his closest aides seemed surprised by the impact. Housewives, children, office-goers, senior citizens joined his base camp in Delhi, or satellite protests in other cities. They came in thousands, holding candles, wearing Anna topis or caps, chanting "
hum tumhaare saath hain, Anna (we are with you)."
A country upto its ears in financial scandals orchestrated by those in positions of power had found its hero. At 74, Anna became the epicentre of a movement that sprang seamlessly from Twitter and Facebook to the streets of not just the metros, but smaller cities.
When the government arrested Anna yesterday in Delhi for trying to proceed with a second hunger strike, it seemed a desperate attempt at proving it's still in charge. Through the day, as anger was drummed up both in Parliament and outside, it was clear the government was clueless. A series of ministers tried to justify the arrest of Anna and his aides, declaring it was Team Anna that had forced the hand of the Delhi Police by refusing to obey prohibitory orders. The defense sounded hollow and misguided, making a bad situation worse. Legal experts, political parties, and civil society activists - even those who have sought to keep their distance from Mr Hazare's group - said the government had violated a citizen's right to peaceful protest.
The government had in the space of a few hours expanded the dimensions of Mr Hazare's superhero status.
It is correct that many who march in support of Mr Hazare are not aware of the details of his real agenda - the Lokpal Bill that he has developed along with his team that he insists should be introduced and reviewed in Parliament. The Lokpal Bill, debated for decades in different versions, proposes the setting up of an ombudsman committee to investigate charges of corruption among politicians, bureaucrats and judges. After his fast in April established his hold over middle class India, the government asked Anna and four of his nominees to join a committee that would draft the Bill. Five ministers worked with Team Anna. Not with happy results. Both sides were unable to agree on basics - like how the Lokpal members would be selected. Two vastly disparate versions of the Bill were readied by the two sides. Team Anna's version has been virtually discarded by the government.
In Parliament today, the Prime Minister answered the Opposition's demand for an explanation of Mr Hazare's arrest. It fell flat. Dr Manmohan Singh made the point that legislation is the prerogative of Parliament alone. The Opposition said it has vast differences with Mr Hazare's Lokpal Bill, but it cannot condone the activist's arrests, or the government's "lack of will" in tackling corruption.
What should worry the government is that the PM's speech today seemed to reinforce that there is little understanding among those in power of those who are not. Since September last year, India has been staring numbly at a kaleidoscope of scams of unprecedented scale. A swindle in the Telecom department saw licenses for mobile networks being awarded for a pittance to ineligible companies; a building in Mumbai meant for war widows and veterans was coopted by politicians and bureaucrats for their own use; the Commonwealth Games were staged with companies being over-paid by hundreds of crores.
So when Anna raised his war cry against venality, he had a captive audience.
On Facebook, Twitter, T-shirts and caps, he has become a new-age phenomenon against old-school corruption. He even appeared on reality show Saregama Little Champs, breaking down after hearing a patriotic song.
His move from regional activism to national centre-stage was unnaturally accelerated by his emergence at the head of the India Against Corruption campaign. Launched by an NGO, the movement managed to enroll activists like Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal, and found its real momentum when it picked Anna as its face. The man whose footprint was earlier limited to his home state of Maharashtra is now enthusiastically brandished as a national talisman.
After empowering the drought-prone village of Ralegan Siddhi with rain-water harvesting, he campaigned successfully against corruption in his state. In 1995-96, he forced the Shiv Sena-BJP government to drop two corrupt cabinet ministers. From 2003 to 2005, he pushed the Congress-NCP government to investigate four ministers.
His own record was blemished in 2005 when retired judge PM Sawant found that two lakhs donated to the activist's trust had been used to celebrate Anna's birthday.
It is this charge that the government chose unwisely to regurgitate over the weekend against Mr Hazare. Reportedly, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi then asked his party to skip personal attacks against the Gandhian.
And that is what has been characteristic of the government's strategy over the last few days - rushing to combat Mr Hazare at the frontlines, receding in the wake of public and internal dissent, and in general misreading every possible sign in the political landscape of this new crisis.