Jan Lokpal Bill Struggle: Is it just a ‘Protest’ or a ‘Revolution’ in the making?

Having observed the Jan Lokpal bill protest from the very start and having seen the absurd way in which the Government of India, major political parties and consequently Anna Hazare and the India Against Corruption team are behaving I am forced to think that the on-going movement is no longer a simple protest. Some of the demands Anna Hazare and his team have made blatantly ignore the parliamentary process, however, in my view such moves are required. Which makes me think, is this just a protest or is it the beginning of a revolution?

Without the stubborn attitude, can an effective Lokpal bill pass? I would say No! It is also important to keep in mind that, as a member of parliament signing on an anti-corruption bill will be equivalent to signing your own arrest warrant. That’s the level of corrupt politicians we have. The Lokpal bill was first drafted in 1968 and since has been revived in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998 and 2001 and is still to be passed. So the drastic measures taken by Anna Hazare should not come as a surprise, and, at the least have my support. So is this really the beginning of a revolution?

May be! Due to government’s lack of seriousness, Anna Hazare and the India Against Corruption team started a protest. What started as a small campaign has won the support of the previously unconcerned educated class and now has support from almost all parts of the society. This is a classic symptom of a revolution when compared to Protest, it comes from the educated class of people and finds widespread support from everyone else. I am not an expert but the French, Russian & Iranian Revolution had similar widespread support and while there were different reasons in each case, it was the boiled up frustration that led to those revolutions.

However, there are two reasons why I might put this as a protest, for now. First, despite the stubbornness shown by the civic society leaders they have also shown support to the parliamentary process. This is despite the immature attitude of the ruling alliance. Second, as Indians we are very tolerant. We can easily ignore 100 mistakes and probably more.

The question is, can this turn into a revolution? I think, it might!

There are socioeconomic issues i.e. Farmers suicide, Land acquisition, Reservation, Naxalite Protests et al, in India. Government’s lethargy, cold shouldering attitude, on-going multi-million rupee scams and lack of leadership might convert this bunch of protests in a revolution. I mean, think of it, even the peaceful and non-violent Anna Hazare has grown stubborn and adopted a hard-line on some of his requests. The tolerant people are now getting restless, the white-collar educated group are taking notice. Even the Bollywood oriented people hiding under the ‘this is so embarrassing’ curtain have begun to take notice and voice their support.

The way people think is changing and that’s the first step. People are getting impatient, it’s a protest now but if it is not handled properly it will quickly turn into something bigger. As of now apart from Naxalites none of the other protesters have taken up arms. The government needs to act in the right direction, even if it is against the existing set of rules. Delaying decision by saying that 'this is the way a democracy work' or 'parliamentary process takes time' is no longer being accepted. Everyone know, where there is a will there is a way the quicker the government takes note of it the better it.

Systematic reforms are better & peaceful and should be preferred. A revolution might bring a larger change quicker but is a lot more disruptive. Given an option I would not support a revolution, having said that, if political reforms are not achieved it might be the only option.