The Anna wave: real or imaginary?

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Frustration and anger among voting classes against the ruling party has surely never been more vocalised, more bitter. The cross-section of people coming to Azad Maidan in Mumbai, the focal point of protests, continues to amaze me with their diversity and conviction. People who have never been to jail have gone in and out of a police 'lock-up' (in this case, the parking lot at Azad Maidan police station!) four times in one day, a Rolex-wielding south Mumbaikar attending the gathering saying he's 'desperate' for change, elderly diamond merchants from the Pancharatna diamond hub at Opera House, losing their characteristic geniality when they talk about an arrogant government, senior city doctors walking (albeit awkwardly) closely behind. All of them saying one thing.. We're not here for Anna alone. We're here because we don't know what else do. We'd rather follow an Anna blindly, because he's stirring an ineffectual, Kumbhakarna-like government whose economic policies, political hypocrisy, and puerile ploys in the media ('Rahul wanted Anna released: govt sources') are almost as embarrassing for us as for itself. The microcosm of Azad Maidan seems to suggest that the 'system' has successfully united the country's classes in one aspect: desperation, like never before.

Still, one can't help but wonder: Is the Anna movement, almost purely buoyed by sentiment, rhetoric and media coverage, manufactured? An Art of Living teacher, when I asked for her opinion on the Lokpal Bill, said, "don't ask me about all that. I'm just here to join the fight against corruption." A minority of voices, always in danger of being drowned out by the sea of 'second revolution/freedom struggle' sloganeers, tries timidly to suggest that while the catalyst is Anna Hazare, the wave is greater than him, and dare we say it, desultory and dangerous - whipping up civil unrest for a partly media-manufactured revolution. Is that too strong a view? It's a question certainly worth considering, given the news coverage that sometimes borders on the excessive, and not quite commensurate to the numbers of people on the street, especially in cities other than Delhi, where the movement seems admittedly unprecedented.

But we're only on Day 3 yet, with Anna Hazare's fast finally on in full public view. The crowds are pouring in, the govt is trembling under their weight, Mumbai's dabbawallas on strike, BEST buses on strike (for reasons unrelated to Anna), and as I write this, Western Railway motormen have also just announced a strike (again, unrelated to Anna). Let's hope this great churning leads to better butter, that we can all benefit from.