A nice piece by B Raman on the recent fasting till death by Anna Hazare. I totally agree with what he has to say about the fast. the fact that the government has capitulated to the demands of Anna Hazare is down more to the youth power than to the man himself. Of late, the youth participation in social issues has been very encouraging - the caandle light vigils at India Gate for Jessica, the protests in DU for the broad daylight murder of a girl being two of them. The reason police acted swiftly in the second case was clearly because of the youth power. The politicians realize that the youth today, for all their couldn't-care-attitude, are socially aware. It takes a brazen criminal act to get them to worked up about an issue. Mr Raman rightly points out that the recent success of the agitation has been thanks to the youth rather than because of them.
That said, I do have a point to say, namely the youth, for all their social awareness, are quite fickle minded as youth down the ages has been. The agitation is as much about social awareness for them, as it is about being in the right crowd. Indian history is replete with youth movements that have not amounted to much, the Mandal agitation, being a prime example. This agitation against corruption will be a success if the youth emerge more dedicated to root out corruption.
An asking point among the youth should be about the Lokpal Bill, which is what Anna Hazare has been demanding the implementation of. Do the youngsters taking part in the morchas know what the bill is, and what are its implications? The bill itself lays the onus of removing corruption on the civil society, since the general public can initiate corruption charges against government officers. To do so, the civil society must be aware of the laws to defend it, but we as a society with seniors included may rant against widespread corruption, but at the end of the day, we will settle for a little jugaad.
That said, I do have a point to say, namely the youth, for all their social awareness, are quite fickle minded as youth down the ages has been. The agitation is as much about social awareness for them, as it is about being in the right crowd. Indian history is replete with youth movements that have not amounted to much, the Mandal agitation, being a prime example. This agitation against corruption will be a success if the youth emerge more dedicated to root out corruption.
An asking point among the youth should be about the Lokpal Bill, which is what Anna Hazare has been demanding the implementation of. Do the youngsters taking part in the morchas know what the bill is, and what are its implications? The bill itself lays the onus of removing corruption on the civil society, since the general public can initiate corruption charges against government officers. To do so, the civil society must be aware of the laws to defend it, but we as a society with seniors included may rant against widespread corruption, but at the end of the day, we will settle for a little jugaad.
No comments:
Post a Comment