A Brilliant Idea by India Against Corruption

In 2011, 

from the site http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org

• in spite of the majority of ordinary Indians wanting a strong anti-corruption bill
• in spite of India Against Corruption (IAC) and hundreds of thousands of Indians out on the streets demanding one
• in spite of the government promising one if Anna Hazare, the head of IAC, stopped his fasts

the government eventually came up with such a weak version of the bill that the ultimate decision of policing corrupt individuals in government and ensuring their accountability, remained in the hands of ..... you guessed it, the government.

Today, IAC knows exactly what it is up against – the deadly curse of endemic corruption in too many individuals in politics. It is a sobering thought that it won’t be easy to get rid of. But the IAC have come up with a brilliant plan.

They acknowledge they've learnt a lot from last year. For example, they would like the ability to be directly in touch with the masses. Often, last year, ordinary members wanted some of their doubts clarified and questions answered and the core team were dependent on the media to do so. Whilst acknowledging their gratitude to the media for keeping them in the news, IAC also realised that often, the media was unable to write or speak about their reports in their entirety.  These were drip fed to the public losing their impact and often, even the true meaning of what the core team had said was lost. The main issue, therefore, was to find a way to maintain direct contact between the public and the core team. 

This is what IAC have come up with:

• ·       Volunteers to get groups of ordinary Indians together throughout India to listen to one topic a week.

• ·       This topic would be a Youtube discussion between the core team members.

• ·       This discussion would generate a lot of questions from ordinary Indians which would be noted by the organiser of their group.

• ·       These questions would then be passed on to the IAC core team through the helpline 97185 00606 or through the email address, indiaagainstcorruption.2010@gmail.com, by the organiser of each group.

• ·       The core team would then answer the questions they collect, to try and quell our doubts. 

If you'd like to be a volunteer, this is the site to visit:
http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/start-your-discussion-forum.html

All you'd be expected to do would be to get your group together, organise a meeting to watch the current IAC video, facilitate the discussion after and collect the questions that arise out of the discussion to pass on to the core team. You wouldn't be required to answer those questions. Those would be answered by the core team.

Another advantage of getting together with ordinary Indians like ourselves is the obvious one of discussing issues we care about firsthand - with other, like-minded people. Further down the road, we could easily come up with united action plans ourselves. Right now, once our doubts are clarified, the action plan would be decided by the core IAC team. 

Gives "social networking" a whole new meaning. 

.

Credibility of Indian Politicians

What Platform will Indian Politicians Fight on in 2014? What rhetoric will they be able to spew out with conviction? 

The 1993 synchronised bombs in Mumbai left Indians in shock. The feelings uppermost in Indian minds were disbelief that anyone could hate us so much, and fear.  

Indian flag by gsagri04, open clipart

The attacks from gun totting Pakistanis in '98 left us reeling with the same feelings. But added to that was pride in the way Indians helped fellow human beings plus an awareness that our enemies wanted India to descend into chaos and a determination not to let that happen. Indian communities came together in a show of unity and strength. There was also a slow burning anger at the Indian government for taking so long to send help.

When the Zaveri Bazaar bombs went off in July this year, Indian anger at the government reached boiling point. Some government official tried to get a photo op. out of the whole hopeless mess - going to the scene of the bomb and giving a speech, calling Indians brave and suggesting the Indian spirit will survive. That was the final straw. Indian anger boiled over. They said "never mind our spirit, what are the government's plans for our safety?" and more words to that effect. here's one link out of millions - Bombed, Doomed and Living On 

Indians are aware that the first instinctive thought of any politician is to kill the opposition. Indians can live with that. They know leaders of major parties try and ensure that party line are followed. But safety is beyond petty party politics. Indians are angry that their safety and security isn't of paramount importance to our politicians. Political parties in any mature and responsible democracy throughout the world understand it is non-negotiable. This is possible in India too, according to http://ibnlive.in.com/news/devils-advocate-why-has-india-failed-to-combat-terror/183168-3.html 

The next elections are three years away. Can we afford to wait that long to ensure the safety and security of our country is on our politician radar screens? Indians need to see the two major Indian political parties hammer out differences on this vital issue now. Or, the Indian public is willing to look for someone who will - perhaps an independent. 

The other big issue is, of course, corruption. We've come to know how Indian MPs have been looting the Indian treasury. In states ruled by both major parties the degree of corruption is mind boggling. It involves lakhs of crores of rupees where 1 lakh crore is 

Sabsey bada Rupaia - Indian rupees by beshra, free clipart

Rs 1,000,000,000,000.
(At the current rate, that is 20,393,596,410 USD) 

And they get away because our anti-corruption agencies are hopelessly under-staffed, under-funded and not independent of the government. Files investigating MPs land on the desks of staff working under those very MPs. Who would investigate their boss? And there's more as explained by "India Against Corruption" or http://nevermindyaar.blogspot.com/p/india-against-corruption.html

The outrage and scorn for our MPs has boiled over. And the irony is that both major parties have declared in almost all their previous party manifestos they will fight ... you guessed it, corruption.

Here are a couple of links to Congress’s "common minimum programme" of 2004. http://pmindia.nic.in/cmp.pdf  straight from the PM’s office or http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3757269.stm from the BBC

A few points covered in the common minimum programme are, no privatisation, abolition of POTA (Prevention of Terrorism) that made the minorities feel threatened, uplifting the poor, education, economic reform and growth, women’s rights and corruption.

The BJP’s agenda in 2009 included life and job security to all citizens, prevent corruption and achieve speedy development. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-04-08/mysore/28057435_1_bjp-leader-l-k-advani-prime-ministerial-candidate
 
Is life any safer in 2011? Has poverty been eradicated? What about the quality of the air Indians breathe, the soil we grow our crops in or the level of pollution in our waters - factors that directly impact our health and our doctors' bills? Our factories to a large extent, know they can easily bribe our politicians to let them continue breaking environment laws instead of ensuring what they spew out or empty out into our rivers and soil as by-products of their cash-making ventures, don't harm the environment. What about electricity grids for our villages? Or pucca roads in India. Are India’s poor any better off, women safer or terrorists less able to execute their anti-human plans in our country? Would the BJP guarantee the safety, security and independence of minorities and women? Would they re-introduce POTA?  Most important of all, are any of our politicians less corrupt or did both parties mean to be the exceptions to their corruption platforms? 

Indians blame most of these issues on weak anti-corruption laws that govern our politicians. Funds for any project are siphoned off by individuals, thereby compromising the said projects. Indians are harassed for bribes at every step. There is determination that a strong anti-corruption bill will be passed to curb the ability of politicians to loot Indian funds and get away with it.

Glib politician rhetoric 

• without a properly spelt out action plan, 
• without a proper budget and 
• without indications where exactly the funds for any glib promise will come from

will not easily take in an enlightened Indian public any more. 

Neither major party will be able to use "corruption and safety-security" as the platforms they fight the 2014 elections on. Indians have openly started heaping scorn and disgust on such speechifying from corrupt and callous politicians.

The only hope Indian politicians have is to put these two issues - corruption in politics and safety-security in India - in order, well before the elections.

.

Indian Public Wary of Copycat Fasts?

Was Anna's fast immoral? Was it illegal? If not, will others try and arm twist the government in the same way to justify any old demand?


On the 14th of August, 2011, Manish Tiwari, Congress spokesperson, had declared the fast illegal. He'd asserted that Anna had "violated basic courtesy" and that he "had a lot to answer for" without substantiating those vague accusations. He'd declared Anna corrupt. Everyone knew that was the politicians' plan A - discredit team Anna and malign their characters.

Gandhiji's words making it clear what fighting anyone in power entails

Besides Mr. Tiwari, many Indians had written in the papers declaring the fast illegal. They blithely ignored the fact that most Indians felt

• cornered, angry and helpless by the daily harrassment they faced from the municipality;
• by huge amounts of tax payer money disappearing into the abyss of individual politician pockets; 
• that it was the result of sixty years of rule by all parties in power at various times in those sixty years and none bringing in the anti-corruption bill as it did not benefit them personally - just India and the common Indians. 

To want an anti-corruption bill with teeth that benefitted India and knowing that the only people who had the power to make it into law were against it, was a very hard place to be. Team Anna knew what they were up against. The fast was the only way to bring the issue of wanting strong anti-corruption laws to the fore. They did not know for sure how many Indians would support them but there was a groundswell of support for Anna's fast. If they ensured the protest was peaceful and non-violent, they were within the law to protest by fasting. It was perfectly legal.

Deciding to take on this machine of greed was hardly immoral. Team Anna was obviously not doing it for themselves, for glory or for power. They were doing it for a better, less corrupt India. Team Anna had the backing of so many Indians because of their impeccable reputations. Indians felt they could trust team Anna and came out in their droves to support the fast. The common Indian's desire for noncorruption in government might not be in the interest of individual MPs greedily slurping up tax-payer money, but whether politicians like it or not, Indians have, once again, realised

• the power of uniting for a common cause, 
• for laying themselves on the line, to be counted for and 
• for ensuring, through well organised groups, that tax payer money is spent by the government on India - not on themselves. 

After all, whose voice is clearly heard? A billion lone individuals or a billion strong force?

As for fasting to arm twist the government to bring in a law that benefits all of India except the corrupt few who won't allow it to happen for sixty years, you tell me if that isn't justified. Besides, the government has only allowed for it to be discussed and sent to its standing committee for final approval. Their decision will be made on the 24th of September, 2011. All of India and Indians the world over are waiting and watching closely to see whether they still try to get away with bringing in anti-corruption laws with no teeth so they can continue looting the country. 

One word of caution - only exceptional, well organised people of high moral fibre are able to get away with such "arm twisting" - if you'd like to call it that! It happened after sixty years of various individuals trying through the normal channels. It shouldn't be tried by lesser mortals unless they don't mind being the butt of amused jokes and light hearted ridicule. People aren't fools. They are wary of someone fasting for their own individual benefit and not for the common good of all Indians and of India. Don't expect them to come out from all corners of our country in support.They did this time because  team Anna's cause was their cause too and the team had impeccable credentials.

Julian Hanton about India

Julian is a travel reporter who travelled to India. His closing comments on his video on India were,

The ever widening gap between the rich and the poor and the blurring lines between religion and business is what India will have to contend with in the very near future.

Why did he say that? When he travelled through India every poor person wanted his money which happens in all countries. But there are too many poor in India. The volume compounds the issue. Till people in power stop looting Indian tax payer money and instead spend it for the benefit of India and Indians poverty in India will never be addressed.

We've heard of scam after scam where huge sums of tax-payer money have been siphoned off by individuals; The newspapers and TV report it is lakhs of crores of rupees where 1 lakh crore=Rs 1,000,000,000,000.
we've heard how the Indian anti-corruption laws need changing so that a case against a corrupt person isn't addressed by people under the very person who has been charged with corruption;
we've heard of people demanding that every rupee illegally swallowed up by individuals should be returned;
we've started hearing of Indians, fed up of the level of corruption that is endemic in the country, starting to speak up;
we've heard of a huge movement, gathering momentum in India against corruption. We've started hoping again;
and of course, we've heard the government is fighting the ordinary people's desire to bring in the strong anti-corruption bill tooth and nail.

If you haven't heard of this movement - "India Against Corruption" and their action plan, here's the link: http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/

On a lighter note, this movement has gone viral. Here's a comment after the song "Mother" by Pink Floyd.
"Mother can I trust the government?" sing Pink Floyd, "Hell no!" says helen11937, "Just ask an INDIAN!"

Here's the link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBkTUzKAiXQ&NR=1



.



.

10 things to know about Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal Bill

Did you know Anna introduced solar panels and wind mills in his village 25 years ago? Read on...

Copied and pasted from Danish Aftab’s post on the India Against Corruption Facebook Site.

 ‎

1.      Who is Anna Hazare? An ex-army man. Fought in the 1965 Indo-Pak War.

2.      What's so special about him? He built a village Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahmadnagar district, Maharashtra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralegan_Siddhi.

3.      So what? This village is a self-sustained model village. Energy is produced in the village itself from solar power, biofuel and wind mills. In 1975, it used to be a poverty clad village. Now it is one of the richest villages in India. It has become a model for self-sustained, eco-friendly practices.  

4.      And...? This guy, Anna Hazare was awarded the “Padma Bhushan” and is a known figure for his social activities.

5.      Really? What is he fighting for? He is supporting a cause, the amendment of a law to curb corruption in India. How can that be possible? He is advocating for a Bill, The Jan Lokpal Bill (The Citizen Ombudsman’s Bill), that will form an autonomous authority who will make politicians (ministers), bureaucrats (IAS/IPS) accountable for their deeds. It's an entirely new thing, right..? In 1972, the bill was proposed by the then Law minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan. Since then it has been neglected by the politicians and some are trying to change the bill to suit their theft (corruption).

6.      Oh.. he is going on a hunger strike for the passing of a Bill ! How can that be possible in such a short span of time? The first thing he is asking for is: the government should come forward and announce that the bill is going to be passed.

7.      Next, they should make a joint committee to DRAFT the JAN LOKPAL BILL. 50% goverment participation and 50% public participation - because one can’t trust the government to independently create a bill that doesn’t suit them.

8.      Fine, What will happen when this bill is passed? A LokPal – a committee will be appointed at the centre. It will have autonomous charge, say like the Election Commission of India. In each and every state, a similar committee – the Lokayukta, will be appointed. The job of the Lokpal at the centre and the Lokayukta at the state levels will be to bring all individuals in the government accused of corruption, to trial within 1 year. Within 2 years, the guilty will be punished. Not like the Bofors scam or the Bhopal Gas Tragedy cases, that have been going on for the last 25 years without any result.

9.       Is he alone? Who else is there in the fight with Anna Hazare? Ex. IPS Kiran Bedi, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwalm, and just about every ordinary person. Prominent personalities like Aamir Khan and Shekhar Kapoor are supporting his cause too.  

10.   Ok, got it. What can we do? We can help spread his message.  How? By joining his website and facebook https://www.facebook.com/IndiACor sites, by actively commenting, sharing status messages, links, video, by believing in his cause and spreading the message and by understanding the flaws in the government's weak anti-corruption bill. He is fasting from 16^th August 2011 for a week. We are welcome to join the fast in a public place at any time (and stop at anytime). But he won’t stop until the government agrees to introduce the Jan Lokpal – a strong anti-corruption bill and not their weaker version which allows them to be the exceptions who do not come under the ambit of the bill.

(For a comparision of the government Lokpal Bill and the IAC's Jan Lokpal bills see

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0Bwgjs_Sh0LjJOGVkYTM3ZmQtODg4Mi00NjhkLTg0NGUtZmRlMGJiMDc2MWQ3&hl=en_US 

http://news.indiaagainstcorruption.org/?p=3319 
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-05/india/29854353_1_lokpal-bill-lokpal-law-team-anna 

The government jailed Anna before he could begin his fast but with a public outcry from his followers and others who called the government move unconstitutional, they were forced to relent and free him.

Let us support Anna Hazare and the cause for uprooting corruption from India. Let us hope that his Hunger Strike does not go in vain. Let us hope that he remains safe and well. Power to the people.

Here's what the BBC says about Anna http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14525537



.