In 2011, the year of the birth of Social Media in India as a real power, we saw one of the movements questioning the credibility of the Indian Government, backed up by common people through the reach of TV, Journalism, and the Internet media - Anna Hazare 's Janlokpal Bill movement. But little did we know this would turn out to be a war which would end up questing the basis of Democracy as a whole.
The Padma Bhushan awarded ex-Indian Military man turned Social Activist, Mr. Hazare, was a well known name in the rural areas of the Indian Peninsula, mainly in the state of Maharashtra. He was honored at various events and functions with people regarding him as one of the very few true Gandhian who exist today. The onset of summer of 2011, Late-February, suddenly saw this respected man, start a full-fledged battle against corruption.
Anna Hazare's intention then, were simple and clear- bring out a clear bill that will aid in the fight for corruption. But what was stated as such a simple straightforward move, and prophesied all over the social media scene then was not even accepted by the UPA-led Indian Government as even something to focus a little bit of interest on.
Like it is said in a famous proverb "Indifference is a bigger weapon than hatred.", the Government's indifference to the Hazare movement, saw the exponential increase in support for him. Social Media, which the government still thinks of as a very weak, controllable feeble medium of information and ideas, took the front wheel, and what we all saw next was the power of the Online Social Media.
Hazare's supporters used Online medium, like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, ad so on, to spread the word of the JanLokpal Bill and the fight against corruption. This saw, the common thinking folk residing in these online sites to attach their patriotic emotions to it, and thus, an ocean of anti-corruption, with Online Media as it's controlling Tidal Wave hit the Government off-guard when Hazare started his first season of fasting in April.
The ever prominent emotion of the people to better their country, everyone used what little of the huge cannon they had in hand, the internet. Soon TV and Paper media jumped in to lend a hand. The Stage was set. Hazare was unofficially christened the next Gandhi. And the non-violent fight against the Government began.
But like they say "Power corrupts, More power corrupts more." When the people who spearheaded the Hazare movement saw that they have so much power in the amount of people support they have, Janlokpal Bill suddenly became a tool to reach a place where the present Government could be overthrown and a parallel Pseudo-Government could be established. And thus, started the decline of values from the movement.
Humans have this very huge herd-mentality and some of them stand out, to direct people to a common objective. In the process, these outstanding people become Leaders overnight, and soon the people who back them become their subjects. When this power is taken up by a single person or symbol, it soon paves way for Dictatorship. And even being feared and hated by the rest of the world, the Germans still loved Hitler.
Only very few people saw the Hazare movement losing it's original purpose, and turning into a pseudo organization that may turn into a fascist movement, but a non-violent movement at it. By the month of September, the whole concept of Democracy failed to apply to the Hazare supporters. What we saw were riots, hooliganism and total terror against normal people. And it when it was all down, our celebrated "pseudo-Gandhian" would come up on your nearest TV screen like any other politician and state the obvious - this was not expected of his supporters and coolly condemn it. And thus, Democracy is made a mockery about.
As per my observations, my support went into the initial movement which stated it's purpose clearly - "Here are some of the things we want you to do so that we can eradicate Corruption". But then, when it changed to "Your whole ssytem is corrupt, only Janlokpal Bill works and if it doesn't we will make a new system and make it work on our own terms.", which lost not only my support, but also my respect.
What the Hazare supporters fail to understand is the thing that India is a democracy. It has it's flaws, but instead of eradicating it, you do not wipe-out the whole system and plant a new one with your own laws that has an undertone of dictatorship. When power of the people comes to you, one should work for the betterment of them, and the cure the wounds upon them, not cut the wounded leg off and place a robotic one, hoping that it would be good enough because you made that prosthetic leg.
Yes, I think Hazare would have been a leader if he fought the evils by being part of the system, not standing against it. By standing against it, he has become a part of the evil he tried to eradicate in the first place.
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