The Second Fight of Gandhi against Corruption - Research Paper Example

Anna Hazare: The Second Gandhi’s Fight against Corruption Introduction India is currently facing one of the severest problems any society has ever confronted, corruption. But in every social problem there is always someone who will find the courage fight it. In India’s case, this someone is Anna Hazare. The general topic this paper discusses is how Anna Hazare fights against the serious corruption in India. The discussion then narrows down to how Hazare has been compared to Gandhi in the kinds of practices he has been using to gain supporters and mobilize participants for his anti-corruption campaign. Although it has been said that Hazare and Gandhi are quite similar in their methods of mobilizing social movements, there are those, like Gandhi’s great grandson Tutsar, who claimed that the two have stark differences. In view of these abovementioned subject matters, the paper discusses first the corruption problem India faces and how Anna Hazare is trying to resolve this issue; second section discusses the similarities and differences between Anna Hazare and Mahatma Gandhi; and the last part presents a conclusion on how Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign will help India as a nation in time. The Anti-Corruption Campaign of Anna Hazare Recently, the state of Maharashtra witnessed an outburst in the civic protest against corruption. Kisan Baburao Hazare, or more popularly known as Anna Hazare, originally a social worker involved in rural community support (Govindu 2006), undertook a new incarnation to set off an unrelenting struggle against the rising, universal sin in government and the larger society. An individual of Gandhian philosophy, of immaculate and pure character and of ascetic lifestyle, he rekindled the inert consciousness of the masses. His petite physical appearance and likeness to Lal Bahadur Shastri was in part the source of his remarkable charisma to the masses. For a time, the masses thought that he was a prophet who possesses the power to free society of evils (Govindu 2006). His public speeches and gatherings stirred up a spur-of-the-moment reaction. The public competed with one another to offer donations. Numerous people volunteered to give their generous assistance and support to his crusade. However, the movement is obviously dying out. The name of Hazare has slowly faded out from the headlines. His integrity and trustworthiness have been questioned. More unfortunately, there is a prevalent sense of gloom that the fight against corruption will fail. The Indian government has currently been afflicted by a series of prominent and dreadful corruption controversies and this has encouraged intense disagreement over an inflexible anti-corruption law. Affiliates of civil society headed by Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption militant, have waged a full-blown battle on the government over the anti-corruption bill. The Lokpal bill of the government has been harshly condemned by Hazare and his group (Thakur & Rana 2011). He has initiated a hunger strike to promote his own rendition of the anti-corruption bill. He and his group, calling the anti-corruption bill of the government ‘jokepal’ bill, claim that it is very fragile to combat corruption and mocks the people of India. The core of the debate is on the issue of the involvement of the senior magistrates and the Prime Minister within the domain of the recommended Lokpal bill (Thakur & Rana 2011). The group of Hazare insisted their inclusion. The prime minister, within the current system, can only be questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The group of Hazare claims that the CBI is unreliable because it works under the Prime Minister. The government reacted by claiming that any investigation of the Prime Minister could influence the general integrity of the country. At the time, the judiciary can only be questioned by co-judges (Thakur & Rana 2011). The group of Hazare has proclaimed that India’s Chief Justice has granted approval to file a first information report (FIR) against the incumbent judiciary merely in a few cases in the recent decades (Govindu 2006). According to Govindu (2006), the government would like the accusations of corruptions against the judiciary questioned within the recommended Judicial Accountability Bill. The government and Hazare’s group also disagree on other positions. The government claims the ombudsman should question only higher officers for corruption, and not the officers of the federal government. Hazare’s group demands the investigation of both low and high ranking officers. They want each state to have an independent ombudsman. The government claims states are by now given the power to form their own ombudsmen (Sengupta 2011). They demand that the ombudsman to possess the authority to question members of the parliament charged of accepting bribes to elect or raise issues in the parliament (Dua 2011). But the government disagrees. Hazare and his group will face any obstacles to combat corruption. The government charges Hazare’s group of weakening parliamentary democracy. The unconstitutional imprisonment of Hazare immediately before he started his fasting on behalf of more rigid anti-corruption conditions in the Lokpal Bill drew fierce disapprovals from the government, the public, and the media (Dua 2011). The arrest of Hazare and his subsequent release have fired stronger debates on the abuse of the Indian government of the issue. When the campaign was initiated, every political party and several leaders who desired to promote their own interests, chose to become a member of Hazare’s movement. The Congress immediately reacted. This predictably encouraged the ruling coalition to intensify its guards (Thakur & Rana 2011). It instigated a propaganda offensive to declare that the entire movement was driven by political interests. Hazare immediately proclaimed that his crusade was not politically driven and that political parties and its leaders and advocates would not be allowed to take part (Goenka 2011). The movement was decisively Hazare-centered all the time. As though Hazare’s word was ultimate. Hence, one time, he persevered that working groups, to be assigned at the district, tehsil, and other positions to supervise the operations of the government bureaus, should be made up of only his candidates. He also demanded such working groups to have administrative obligation to make a decision on contract grants, tenders, and others (Thakur & Rana 2011). This was opposed by several individuals who were supportive of the movement. The head of the farmer’s association, Sharad Joshi, openly proclaimed that he would initiate a protest if this request was granted (Dua 2011). Hazare afterward proclaimed that he would not be in any way connected to the government and would consult the problem with the people. According to Dua (2011), nobody was certain about what he implied. All at once, he kept on pressuring the government to investigate the accusations against a large number of officials which he had presented to the government. Previously, during the Pawar administration, Hazare resorted to fasting to push the termination and trial of some purportedly corrupt officials. With the possibility of Hazare initiating a hunger-strike, the administration terminated several officials and began investigation of several others (Sengupta 2011). But the government never investigated the problem of corruption with any sincerity or determination. Its attempt originally was to appease Hazare and to wait for the controversy to disappear on its own accord. When their expectation did not happen, it resorted to the usual position of rebuffing the issue. When even this maneuver did not work, it fell back on the common strategies of forming an investigation team without any official endorsement of the the Commission of Inquiry Act (Sengupta 2011). A number of government attempts to restructure and evaluate the Act had ebb and flow, but to no avail, in spite of assurances of implementation. A union of NGO adherents carried the campaign of Hazare to the media and coordinated with the government in support of Hazare during the hunger strike. India’s Deputy Prime Minister later addressed the Right to Information Bill, which had been gathering dust for half a year, and immediately after the President officially endorsed it, in a nation infamous for the sluggishness of its bureaucratic procedures, the State Governor had granted his approval and the bill was afterward made public (Thakur & Rana 2011). Anna Hazare just proved that he, with the help of the people, has the power to change things. Anna Hazare’s Use of Gandhi-an Methods to Fight Corruption The hunger strike of Anna Hazare has gained massive public approval for the anti-corruption campaign. Hazare proclaims that he makes use of the Gandhi-an method of demonstration. He has exerted enormous efforts in the growth of Indian communities. His rain harvesting programs made a difference in the lives of people in those communities. His work in the field of development can be viewed as his dedication to Gandhi-an principle which raises independence and growth of the communities (Dua 2011). Also, his ascetic lifestyle mostly resembles that of Gandhi. As Hazare revealed, his only material belongings are a bed, plate, and a plant. Nevertheless, Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, claims that there is dissimilarity between the method of fasting used by Gandhi and Hazare as a form of protest (Thakur & Rana 2011). According to Tushar, the fast of Hazare is distinct because Gandhi’s fast was to transform an enemy into an ally, whereas that of Anna is against an adversary. Not like Gandhi, Hazare is not a rigid supporter of non-violence. Hazare is a resolute adherent of capital punishment for the corrupt. He openly insisted penalties such as mutilation to deal with corruption and his group experiences difficulties in positively conveying his unforgiving messages, to make them more pleasant to the masses. For Gandhi, the Satyagraha was an instrument of self cleansing. He tried to affect the moral judgment of the enemy by performing the fast (Thakur & Rana 2011). He never threw cruel words against his enemies. According to Thakur and Rana (2011), throughout his work in the freedom campaign, he tried to maintain his relationship and communication with the British people. In contrast, Hazare begins by viewing his enemies as scoundrels and thieves. He often uses harsh words and sweeping false allegations against his believed enemies. Lastly, not like Gandhi, Hazare does not have faith in self rectification and introspection. He holds the government entirely blameworthy for corruption (Dua 2011). Even the members of his anti-corruption campaign are not eager to take into account their own mistakes in terms of corruption. They eagerly defend their privilege to take part in corruption under ‘duress’. Due to all this, Tushar Gandhi was compelled to declare that Mahatma would have never permitted his campaign to become a violent one (Thakur & Rana 2011). He would have taken action when corruption was merely emerging and not when it has arrived at a frightening intensity. Nevertheless, one lesson has resurfaced, that is, violence will not resolve anything; non-violent methods remain powerful. Conclusions Corruption has to be restrained, and then completely erased. Not like Hazare and his group, numerous people do understand that corruption is a social, not a political, problem; hence, it cannot be eradicated without a transformation in the social state of mind and constant systemic changes. Hazare, who is opposed to economic liberalization, or his invincible Lokpal are not the only solution to corruption; continued restructuring of governmental practices and abolition of unrestricted powers of government officials are potent strategies for a corruption-ridden country like India. Hazare’s efforts have been given loud and daring headlines in the media, and received the fleeting exposure for the individuals mobilizing the movement. With determined, diverse people forming the top echelons of leadership, bigger disparities of judgment will surface as more complicated problems emerge, such as electoral reforms. Much will also rely on whether the all-powerful media will keep on giving trusting support to Hazare’s campaign. The movement has to soften its inherently anti-political stance and widen its foundation. Whether the movement of Hazare will help India in its pursuit for a trustworthy and transparent government will also rest on whether the attacked and distressed Congress will strive harder to regain its worsening credibility with the people. Anna Hazare should be given credit for succeeding in raising the worsening corruption in India and forcing some ministers and government officials to resign and plead guilty. But emerging victorious in a violent conflict should not be compared to winning an age-old battle. The true war against corruption is yet to be staged. Works Cited Dua, J.C. Anna Hazare: Reformer, Socialist, and Anti-Corruption Leader. New Delhi: Kaveri Books, 2011. Goenka, Harsh. “Corruption: The change we need.” Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, 4 November 2011. Web. 7 November 2011. Govindu, Venu Madhav. “Anna Hazare, The Man and his Philosophy.” Editorial. The Anna Hazare Homepage. World Prout Assembly. 13 June 2006. Web. 1 November 2001. Sengupta, Mitu. “Anna Hazare and the Idea of Gandhi/ The World Around You.” Journal of Foreign Relations/ The World Around You. 30 August 2011. Web. 07 November 2011. . Thakur, Pradeep and Pooja Rana. Anna Hazare: The Face of India’s Fight against Corruption. New York: Pentagon Press, 2011. Read More