A Mahatma
This is unprecedented. India is seeing the beginnings of a people’s movement, like it has not seen in the recent past.
Two years ago, the reservation furore was turning into a major students movement, but stopped short of transcending students and moving on to become a full-fledged people’s movement.
This time, India is shocked. No-one in the country wants to sit and watch. We are tired of our political establishment, and we want change. The whole country is outraged. Riveting speeches from public personalities, stunned silence from intellectuals, and angst from students and the youth: this is what the last few days have seen.
Yet, I know it will die down. Life will go on as usual. Why do I feel so?
A great movement needs a great leader. Independence had the Mahatma. He will not be back, but do we have anyone who has the moral rectitude to stand up and declare that they will be the people’s voice in this movement?
Never mind Bapu. Do we have one Kripalani, one Vinoda Bhave or one Jaiprakash Narayan who can take these emotions and turn it into a revolution?
I do not believe that we have even one leader who has the courage and strength to change our democracy. Intellectual voices like Arun Shourie and Jairam Ramesh don’t have the mass appeal to connect with the millions. Mass leaders like Narendra Modi, Mayawati and Nitish Kumar, while good leaders in their own right, are not driven by a fervent sense of patriotism and national gain. Further, intellectual voices like MS Swaminathan and Abdul Kalam do not have the faintest idea what politics is all about.
Unfortunately, the last standing great politician of moral standing died before this episode subsided: VP Singh.
It’s sad. Just knowing that this too shall pass, is quite a painful thought.
We all know of our courageous army and a few choice civil servants who are still driven by a need to do public good. The army can even give its life for the country. But they still do not give us that one leader who can change India as we know it. One man, who needs both political acumen and a sense of social justice. Not motivated by the greed of money or power, but just motivated by a vision: to see an India where every Indian is safe, and every successive government works only for the benefit of the people. As Arun Shourie says, “we cannot have a flabby State, a somnolent society and a super-efficient anti-terrorist operation.” The malaise is deep-set, and only a revolution can bring about change.
The stage is set. The podium is ready. But where is that Mahatma?
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