ON CIVIL SOCIETY MOVEMENTS & THEIR OUTCOMES

The past few months have seen a surge in a new form of activism in India called civil society movements. Led by men of an impeccable & honest reputation the main agenda of this movement has been to rid the nation of corruption in public life.

Sitting back and thinking, I found that this kind of movement which has become an eye candy of the middle class is not new in nature. I am not a pro at History but let me just discuss some of these movements to understand & predict the outcomes in the Indian context. I'll start with the most prominent one of modern times - The American Revolution. It was a civil movement to start with when the colonists first rejected the authority of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them from overseas without representation, and then expelled all royal officials. The movement took a violent turn when the GB failed to accept this and sent out a combat force, which was eventually defeated. This movement is analogous to the French Revolution and also to the recent uprisings in the Middle East. The current Indian movements are not so radical - they aim to make some changes in the existing set-up without challenging its existence and are essentially non-violent in nature.

Let us inspect some movements that are more analogous to the ones in question. Suffragette Movement in England that was led mostly by women from middle class backgrounds, frustrated by their social and economic situation and seeking an outlet through which to initiate change. Another very successful mass movement was that of the Indian National Congress's agitation against the British Raj - Led by several great leaders - Tilak, Bipan Chandra, Gokhale, Bose,Gandhi, Nehru amongst others. In both the cases, victory was achieved not just because of these movements but also because of the parallel micro-violent movements and the favourable circumstances. Similar non-violent movements also took place - for the rights of African natives & Afro American population in S.Africa & the US led by Nelson Mandela & Martin Luther King respectively - and succeeded.

The current civil society leaders - Anna Hazare & Baba Ramdev have pledged to use Gandhian principles to coax the Govt of India to agree to their almost similar demand of eliminating widespread graft. The candle-light bearing middle class ( which is irked by inflation, harassment at the hands of Govt officials & wants to see India as a superpower but sometimes doesn't bother to exercise its right & obligation to vote ) came out whole heartedly to support Anna Hazare. The media too made a big issue of it - the same media that has ignored Sharmila Devi's fast against AFSPA & numerous fasts unto death of pro-poor activist Medha Patkar. The Corporate World too pitched in to donate and offer verbal support - the same businesses who's names have figured in numerous scams. Next in the line is Baba Ramdev's fast unto death.

Will these agitations succeed? If yes, then to what extent? Of course, they CAN succeed - if there is sincerity, commitment and wisdom in their moves and the Drama element is taken out. The anger against the government is at its peak owing to unearthing of several infamous Mega-Scams, inability to reign in inflation, poor governance, dynastic politics, cowing to foreign powers, no improvement in basic education and healthcare facilities, ongoing trouble with Maoists with no solution in sight & what not ! If these leaders can harness the anger in a peaceful and constructive manner, its good for them as well as for us and the nation as a whole but if not, these leaders will become the subject of our humor SMSes and Tweets !