An open letter to Anna Hazare

AN OPEN LETTER TO ANNA HAZARE

Respected Sri Anna Hazare-ji,

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and express our gratitude to you for leading the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement. We would also like to express our heartfelt appreciation for the sincere efforts of all the IAC volunteers spread all around the nation, without whose selfless labour the movement wouldn't have been possible. We realise that the goal of enacting a strong Lokpal legislation is yet to be realised, hence it is absolutely essential that we sustain, build and further strengthen the movement from where it is today. It is to that end and with best intentions that we make the following observations and submit this petition.

During the course of the agitation the leadership of the movement addressed the nation directly from the Ramlila grounds in New Delhi. Many of the utterances of the leadership team , their rhetoric and symbolism left the volunteers and others present on the ground with many troubling questions. It was with the spirit and interest of the movement that many of us did not press for a response on these issues. However, now we feel is the right time for us to point out - what we would like to believe were mere aberrations, and seek a response from the leadership. During the last few days Sri Arvind Kejriwal and Ms Kiran Bedi have clarified many issues through the press and we are grateful for that. But, we are afraid the below mentioned issues haven't been answered in them. We believe that some amount of self-criticism and course-correction will go a long way in not only strengthening and democratising the movement but will also deny the opportunity to outside forces from using them to hurt the cause of - 'Fight Against Corruption'.

One of the biggest achievements of the IAC movement led by you was that it brought together Indians belonging to various religions, castes and languages together, unifying them under the national flag as Indians. However, it saddened us deeply to witness the explicit pandering to communal and casteist elements on 28th August the day Anna Hazare broke his fast. The young kids who fed Sri Anna Hazare were explicitly identified by their religion and caste and it seemed clear to the viewers that it was being done by design. This turn of events left a sour taste in everyone's mouth even in the midst of all the celebrations and joy. We are aware of the vicious disinformation campaign unleashed by the government machinery, but given that this campaign of calumny was demonstrable falsehood, did those in the vanguard of the movement need to respond to it by resorting to such sham symbolism ?

While the message from the leadership has been clear about the movements fight against corruption. The question of what causes corruption had been left open ended. Eminent IAC leaders like Sri Prashant Bhushan have spoken and written categorically, blaming the partial economic reforms for corruption. While Sri Bhushan can have his views, we feel that the system of an all prevailing scheme of state controls caused and continues to cause as much corruption. The issue of corruption must not be used as a stick to beat the policy of economic reforms which has enhanced the prosperity of Indians, or to forward one's personal views on economic policy from the platform of IAC.

On the last day when Sri Arvind Kejriwal was acknowledging various individuals and organisations one couldn't help but notice that there were some prominent organisations whose names were omitted. Independent of the political affiliations of the organisations we feel that it was discourteous on the part of IAC to completely leave out the names like Baba Ramdev who have consistently stood by the movement. Each and every organisation that threw it's weight and resources behind the movement and took a strong line in support of Jan-Lokpal and against the Government's lokpal bill should be duly and fully recognised.

Finally, we would like to clarify that the intention of this petition is not to create any divisions within the movement but to seek out concrete answers about the future course of the movement and it's vision for the nation. While we are sensitive to the burden on the shoulders of the core committee of IAC, we feel that these issues must be addresses at the earliest. We hope the above concerns will be looked into and responded to and corrective steps will be taken wherever possible. We also request the leadership to engage more with the supporters of the movement and seek feedback not just about the details of the Jan-Lokpal bill but also about the larger posturing and the future course of the movement. We pray to the almighty god to bless us with strength and wisdom so that the vision of a corruption free India could soon be a reality.

Yours Truly,

The Undersigned