yet Annather rant!

This recent uprising against corruption is a very interesting phenomenon.There are both positives and negatives from the movement, its good that middle class in India is able to unite and protest against what is clearly a callous government, it is also sad that they are doing this only in this forum and not during the time it really matters like during elections.

I personally disagree with this method of holding gun to government/Parliament and threatening that fulfill whatever I tell you or else …

How different is this from Naxals or terrorists ? Why do we shun them while we welcome this? If you see in Kashmir Valley there is a considerable anti-India feeling among large sections of society as shown by recent stone throwing incidents. So if tomorrow say Geelani decides to hold a fast unto death unless separate nation is created and 4000 people hold peaceful candle march in Srinagar will media also play along and Parliament pass the resolution?

This drafting resolutions/bills and giving instant deadlines is what makes me keep my distance from this, holding marches and asking Govt to properly consider alternatives would have been the right way, but it is not dramatic enough and perhaps the Govt also may not have paid heed too!

Another thing I can’t understand is how do they expect to create a super efficient lokpal which will monitor corruption in higher and lower levels of bureaucracy?

If it’s a super body which monitors corruption at higher level – like scams etc then can understand, but if it has to monitor corruption at district/ town level then u need a mammoth force and the amount of money to be spent would be huge and if u create such a huge body then u would also have a task of appointing several thousands of ‘honest’ people to run the body. According to this article the cost of such a lokpal would be counter productive to progress of nation.

Is this practical? Do we really think it will happen this way?

This is not to say Anna is bad or that he is a naive man getting manipulated by a set of shrewd people as some critics seem to point out. He has done us all a favor by bringing these topics into limelight and encouraging debates and giving hope that something would transpire from all this. Last Saturday thanks to Anna's efforts everywhere people were following Parliament debate live on TV! There was a lot of interest in social media on the debates and country as a whole seemed clued in this time on a key issue instead of apathy usually displayed by middle class.

He has ensured that middle class who do not bother with the nation and policies etc get united and question what is happening which is very commendable. I would like this movement or whatever it is to play the role of a proper Opposition and question the wasteful policies and mismanagement done by Govt which would bring benefit rather than oppose corruption through some super power body.

It would be interesting to see if the millions who sported the badges, walked on streets, gave missed calls, sent self righteous smses and put up facebook updates etc would actually walk the talk and shun corruption going forward.

Tomorrow if they get stopped by traffic cop for some violation will they pay the actual amount or will they give Rs50 to the guy to let them off? If they are purchasing property will these anti-corruption messiahs pay the full amount in white and not quote a reduced price to evade duty/tax? Even if it sets them back by a lac or so?

Which brings me to why we are doing the above mentioned acts? Is it because there are set of 'bad' people who take bribes and need to be weeded out or because of illogical rules and lax regulation that corruption is able to thrive? Should we not look at why things are like this instead of just jumping up one fine day to say stop all corruption?

A rather harsh, but perhaps correct view would be that the whole country is running because of corruption …. If im buying a property/vehicle, I might need to get a couple of approvals which could take time normally but the agent collects 2-3K from me and hands to these guys and without wasting my time I get all the papers signed.

If we stop this from happening, how will it affect me? If I decide not to bribe, the govt officer probably has no incentive to attend to me quickly I might have to spend a day waiting for his approvals in his office which means loss of productivity for me and no gain for him too – loss loss finally! This is not to say that corruption needs to continue, but just to emphasize the point that 'Lokpal' is not the one shot cure for all evils plaguing the country and will not transform us dramatically as most people seem to believe. Maybe what we need is more transparency and methods to make the current system work effectively rather than another policeman, but that is a much tougher route to take though.