Just the Beginning

India is rising. In April, a man started a movement against corruption & demanded “Jan Lokpal Bill”. A myriad of thousand people joined to support him raising voices against Corruption. People gathered in parks, took part in rallies, forwarded mails & protested via every other form. Being born in 80’s I had never seen any such movement. I live in a Digital age, where people make friends on Facebook & Twitter. It’s an era where one not only gets job online but also gets married through internet. Today, nobody likes to take the pain to go out for playing Sports rather prefers games on the Smartphone. I would go to Malls on the weekend not to buy grocery, it has been ordered online already, but to have Ice Cream only. I have never expected that I would ever experience any revolution or movement. I never thought that our citizen will come out on the streets to protest. But the whole perception changed overnight. I know this is just the beginning.

In an attempt to pretend myself a responsible citizen, I also took active part in the movement. I visited the parks to hear the speeches, joined the march on the streets and wrote articles about the movement, spread awareness to friend, colleagues & relatives. But then, I observed a colossal change within myself over a period of time. I have started watching news, debates on the TV instead of tuning in to MTV or any other entertainment channel. I prefer to read about the political & economical issues rather than directly switching to the sports section of the newspaper. Now, I found the “Current Affairs” section more interesting than the Page 3 masala.    

                During the last 6 months, I also observed a substantial transformation in the professional ambit. During the lunch break colleagues discuss the “Lokpal” & “Current Affairs”. Mates like to confer the ludicrous Political statements rather than discussing Vidya Balan’s bold dialogues in her new movie. (Did some hum she was looking hot?)Guys prefer to converse about Anna Hazare & Arvind Kejriwal vs Rahul Gandhi & Digvijay Singh while sipping Chai & puffing Sutta at the Sukla Ji’s stall (Don’t correct me, its how it is) . I can now see populace taking active part in online polls on subjects such as Lokpal & FDI instead of voting for their favorite Star.

                While watching a news program lately, it gave an indication that finally Government may give its consent to most of the public demands. It definitely gave a huge sigh of relief to me & I feel the whole country would celebrate, the day, the resolution gets passed in the Parliament.

                I have been observing the entire Lokpal issue for quite a long now. I have snoop to myriads of debates & expert’s views on the subject. I have read tons of articles on the same. I understand the points of major conflicts between the Civil Society & the government. Although I don’t understand all the technicalities of the Bill, but, I still wonder if any such mechanism which would only be given rights to enquire, can really put a curb on corruption. We live in a country, where scams worth 1.26 Lakh Crores happen (Could you help me with the number of Zeros). I read news lately of a Peon who has assets worth 10 Crores. The roll of scams is too long to be listed.

Though I am not against Lokpal Bill, in fact I am a huge supporter of it. But still I am unable to understand how this Bill would curtail the corruption. I wonder if I would file a case against a Cop who charged mere 100 bucks for letting me go while I was riding without a helmet (He was so kind to me). Would I make a complaint against a Babu who demanded just Rs. 1000 for getting my passport? (For Chai-Pani only, fortunately he didn’t asked for Tangri Kabab with English Scotch) There would be a minimum of hundred thousand such complaints. Who bothers to file a case if I am asked for a mere Rs 1000 bribe? Anyways, a case has been filed at Lokpal (These people are assumed to be the most honest Species on the Planet Earth. Does this species even survive?). An enquiry is set to investigate the issue. Now what?

If government is seriously determined to curb the Corruption then why no action has been taken against the culprits of 2G scam who are roaming freely? What action has been taken to recover the losses incurred from the perpetrator? Why doesn’t government update people if any action has been taken against the offenders in CWG scam? Why don’t these bureaucrats open their mouth on the Black Money in Swiss Accounts? What actions have been initiated by the government to bring the black money back which will ease down the inflation? OOPS... these are their personal accounts L