The revolution has not devoured itself

So they lasted for 49 days. But what are 49 days of unconventional governance compared to 66 years of entrenched corruption? And yet the social media, I find, is full of intelligent urban population proving themselves not just uninformed but also naïve and rather arrogantly stupid. Why else would they call Arvind Kejriwal the ‘item girl of Indian politics’ or ‘farjiwal’ or ‘fakeriwal’ or ‘drama queen’ or ‘mental’ or equate AAP’s 49 days as equivalent to the story of ‘Andher Nagari Chaupat Raja’?

But then let me forget the tacky hoi polloi of Facebook and Twitter for a while and focus on the resignation of Arvind Kejriwal as the Chief Minister of Delhi. Is this some sort of a strategic penetration attack to get a better hold on the political matrix of India? Is this a mere tactical movement designed to surprise the opposition? Is this a master move of a gambler? Is this yet another example silence and opposition of this bill for AAP greenhorns were unwilling to accept? Was this a designed martyrdom? Was the entire episode scripted? Obviously, different minds will choose differently… but one fact is universal… the fact that AAP was indeed serious about rooting out corruption.

So what was this hullaballoo about? It was all about the Jan Lokpal Bill that AAP wanted to table in the Delhi Assembly and the opposition as well as the Congress and a few other members being absolutely and violently opposed to it. Prashant Bhushan informs that tabling a bill in a State Assembly does not imply that it will finally be legally adopted… as this step needs the ratification by the Lok Sabha. So why were BJP and Congress so fearful of its being tabled and laid open for discussion and debate?

Yes, a logical debate is what the political veterans do not want because they can never defend their silence and vehement opposition to this legislation for all these decades. Listen, AAP and Arvind Kejriwal know that turbulence is created when someone decides to fight convention… and the convention in Indian politics has been the firmly entrenched corruption. Yes, these chromosomes of corruption have slept with and infected our Babudom and other institutions as well. Why, even the business houses are very much in house of scripted corruption. We the people need to understand the pages of this scripted corruption and pulp it as fast as we can… and for God’s sake, stop talking about Kejriwal’s scripted exit. It is the former lethal fact that needs attention and not the exit of a person who is actually attempting to rid the nation of corruption.

I agree that Kejriwal and his team are brash and sometimes outspoken and not so careful about their words. I agree that they haven’t been able to transform Delhi into a heaven for us. Let me tell you an interesting fact about MI (Myocardial Infarction). It is takes years of an unhealthy lifestyle or any of the other precipitating factors to lead to a serious build-up of arterial plaques that lead to a heart attack… and the reverse also takes an equal number of years and probably more hard work and dedication. This is exactly what you need to know about corruption. How can corruption that has gone from strength to strength in the past decades be expected to be thrown out in less than 2 months? Those who are blaming the AAP for not knowing what governance is all about need to know that even this is an impossibility in the overwhelming presence of corruption.

So you didn’t like the way Arvind went about adopting his dharna techniques and was responsible for a few traffic snarls and bits of inconvenient moments? Well, you’ve probably forgotten the regular practice of other political parties to organise disorganised rallies and marches. You’ve forgotten the traffic snarls that happen when vvip cavalcades go with their sirens blaring. You’ve chosen not to remember the utter contempt with which people down the hierarchies are treated with. But chill… you have got precisely what you were missing. You are back to the old Delhi where you will pay for even legitimate handling of your work. You are back to times when garbage dhalaos will boast of being filled to the brim. You will happily see drugs being peddled and the trafficking of women happening right under your noses.

Wait, don’t go yet for there is more that I want to tell you. So you feel the political tribe that you’re familiar with have given you world-class airports, a metro to be proud of, bridges, flyovers, and malls… aren’t you conveniently forgetting all the FoBs that crumbled and fell even before they had people walking on them, or the case of renovation of CP that has a bizarre history of errors now trailing it, or that airport that dreads the monsoons, or the metro tracks that are unreliable, or electricity cuts, or the DJB pipes that remain dry, or the police that refuses to register FIRs, or the ghost employees all over the city…?

Listen… stop calling yourself aware and intelligent. Stop thinking you’re better than the rest of the country just because you punch in a few snappy sentences on your Facebook timeline. It is time that you stopped being a dodo and started analysing the real truth in earnest. It is time that anyone who wants to be a real agent of change is allowed to be that… he has made the voice against corruption resonate in all corners of India. This is one revolution that is not going to devour itself.

Arvind Passey
15 February 2014