As far as the eye can see, the streets are lined with rows of tricolored flags. They’re fluttering in whatever monsoon winds are left. A group of women students from New Delhi walk with construction workers from Bihar. Their voices rise in curious unison: "Long live the revolution".
The "India" of the elite, and the "Bharat" of the masses, seamlessly coming together in one eclectic moment.
It’s almost a carnivalesque atmosphere at Delhi's Ramlila grounds. One could be forgiven for thinking this is another one of India’s colourful festivals. But this time, the young, the old, men, women and even children are speaking in one voice, all for one 74-year-old man. And all against corruption. A bit much you'd think?
The Anna phenomenon
Not so for these Indians. Two words. Anna Hazare. It’s become a synonym for everything that's gone wrong with India - and everything that people now want to do to make it right. Hazare is a social activist who, at the time of this writing, is on his 6th day of a hunger strike, fighting for a strong anti-corruption law for Indians.
And his support is enormous. It seems this is no longer the India filled with an apathetic middle class. The India that sits by the sidelines and watches its corrupt leaders make money off its own people. It’s the beginning of something new, yet strangely nostalgic of a yesteryear struggle for freedom.
"From making an identity card to getting a drivers license, I've got to pay bribes to get my work done. This isn't the India I signed up for,” says Rajiv, who carries a miniature snail on his head, symbolic of the government’s pace to tackle corruption.
In another corner, a young student holds up a poster. It stars (surprise, surprise) superhero Anna Hazare fighting the evils of a corrupt India, freeing the country from all its shackles.
Why are they there?
But as the romanticism dies down, a deeper question arises. How many people actually know why they’re here? I ask nearly a dozen people at Ramlila whether they know about the Hazare version of the Lokpal (Ombudsman) bill, called the Janlokpal (peoples ombudsman). Whether they understand that only nine or 11 people will make up a committee to look after not just the prime minister’s deeds but also corrupt local officials at the village level. I have to admit, much to my own chagrin, more than half have no idea.
Yet, all these people have real convictions on corruption. Ravi travelled for two days to reach Delhi from his home district of Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh. It’s a state notorious for the levels of corruption of its public servants. He tells me he's here to have "darshan" (pay homage) of Anna Hazare, a privilege usually afforded for gods and goddesses. He’s fed up of having to pay off the policeman, the local bureaucrat and even the local district collector for his identity papers.
Such is the frustration of ordinary Indians at their system that any person who embodies a larger fight beyond the individual is instantly embraced with both arms.
Undemocratic?
While Anna's methods at rallying up public support are noteworthy, almost revolutionary as some would say, his means to achieve a strong anti corruption law are being questioned.
"Its undemocratic. You can't force one person's vision for a law that needs serious discussion in parliament,” says Aruna Roy, one of the architects of the revolutionary right to information act in the country. Activists say they fear a centralisation of Anna’s power. He’s demanding the government pass a law by August 30. He’s also demanding that one ombudsman committee looks after corruption at the highest and the lowest levels. Something that is not just unreasonable but impossible to achieve in this country.
On the ground though, it’s a different sentiment. I’ve been covering Anna’s movement since he began his first fast in favour of a strong anti-corruption law in April this year. Since then, the movement and the feelings have grown stronger. But I also realize there’s a bigger danger of ignorance. More people need to know about the Janlokpal bill - what its provisions are and how will it exactly tackle corruption.
Anna Hazare and his camp have united the country like never before. Their challenge will be to give this nation’s people, an anti-corruption law they think they’re fighting for
A real live hero lives in Albuquerque. This hero witnessed something bad happening to a young child and only had seconds to save the child. He did not hesitate to put himself in mortal danger in her rescue.
At the time this happened, there was no way for him to know if he was going to be killed trying to save this child, but he selflessly threw caution to the wind and did a really fine thing that people will remember all of his life.
Like others, I want to say that Antonio Diaz Chacon is a fine human being and an exceptional credit to his country, Mexico. And therein is the problem. Diaz Chacon is not in the United States with legal status even though he is married to an American and has a job as a mechanic. He did not follow our laws of immigration when he came to our country illegally several years ago.
Again, in this case I am ever so happy he came here, and he did the right thing in saving the young child from a kidnapper.
Diaz Chacon probably had some trepidation about his legal status when he decided to take on the kidnapper and rescue the child. For the record, I pledge to help him in any way I can because he is such an inspiration to us all. Also for the record, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that he made the right choice to rescue the child despite the fact that his rescue actually put him in danger because his legal status became known.
Quite a dilemma
Diaz Chacon does leave us with quite a dilemma, because we have very specific laws about our requirements for living legally in our country. Does his good deed, done selflessly, negate the laws of our country?
Also, he is being used by political figures all over the political landscape as the poster boy either for amnesty or enhanced enforcement of immigration laws. I am sorry that these people are so shallow as to use him for their own political agendas.
Oh, he does not have to worry very much about politicians calling for his deportation due to his lack of legal status. There is no one in Congress or the New Mexico government with the nerve to insist that the law of the land be followed. Is it good or bad that the law, which is very specific, cannot and/or will not be followed?
The problem is that our country is full of people who on the one hand proclaim that the United States of America is a nation of laws – it is one of the most said things about our country and in some people’s minds is what separates us from many other nations – but, as soon as some people proclaim that this is a nation of laws, then many of these same people say: But we only follow those laws we want to follow and we flaunt all other laws because we can. The founders of our country envisioned that we would follow the laws or change the laws, but we Americans would not flaunt the laws. That is what happens in most Third World countries.
So how should we proceed? We must always act with our laws in mind, regardless of how much we want to flaunt them. Diaz Chacon has to answer for being in our country without legal status. He must be treated as we treat all other people who want to be part of our great nation. We cannot bend our laws just because of a great Hollywood storyline.
Perhaps he can be pardoned by the president and put to work as an American, taking his place beside everyone else. I would be honored to stand up for him. But I also stand for the laws of our nation, because flaunting the law makes his rescue somehow less. The kidnapping of a child is against the law. The entry into our country is against the law. Change the law, but do not flaunt the exercise of the law.
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