Wow!!! Democracy Rocks!!! That was the only feeling in my mind 10 pm last night after I finished with the Anna rally on Juhu Beach!! The Anna Tsunami has literally submerged the nation and I for one am glad to have been swept away in its growing tides!
Anna Hazare, 74, a veteran Gandhian, an ex-army man, a social activist and the Face of the Entire Nation since almost a month now! I did not know who he was till the whole issue of Lokpal Bill came under media scrutiny. To give credit where it is deserved, for once I'm proud of the role our media is playing in spreading the movement and bringing more and more people closer to Anna's protest against Corruption..
As I became more aware of the issue, I felt good there was someone who was taking the initiative to stop the autocratic behavior of the current Government which is steeped in corruption and controversies since a couple of years now. And it felt doubly good to see someone taking the route of Gandhigiri and making it work in the present time!!
I did my bit of armchair evangelism through facebook status messages, shared links, videos; twitter updates; forwarding texts and e-mails to all my friends.. and I'm sure quite a lot of them must be still pissed with me for this continuous bombardment :o)
Those who still do not know abt the issue... get out of your respective comfort zones and get a taste of REAL LIFE guys! You can go through this link if you wanna know about the Jan Lokpal Bill:
I did my bit of armchair evangelism through facebook status messages, shared links, videos; twitter updates; forwarding texts and e-mails to all my friends.. and I'm sure quite a lot of them must be still pissed with me for this continuous bombardment :o)
Those who still do not know abt the issue... get out of your respective comfort zones and get a taste of REAL LIFE guys! You can go through this link if you wanna know about the Jan Lokpal Bill:
However, even after providing my bit of online support for Anna's movement, I was not really satisfied. Luckily, I got to know from one of my friends that he was working part-time with India Against Corruption after office and even on holidays!!
This galvanized me into action and I decided to plunge into the movement physically as well with the rally yesterday! With Mashals (Fire-Torches) and the Tiranga (Indian Tricolor) in our hands we marched from Andheri Station to Juhu Beach; twisting and turning through main-roads and by-lanes, spreading the magic of Anna amongst the population and urging more and more people to join us. Needless to say, the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying!
This galvanized me into action and I decided to plunge into the movement physically as well with the rally yesterday! With Mashals (Fire-Torches) and the Tiranga (Indian Tricolor) in our hands we marched from Andheri Station to Juhu Beach; twisting and turning through main-roads and by-lanes, spreading the magic of Anna amongst the population and urging more and more people to join us. Needless to say, the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying!
I felt as if I was a part of the Freedom Struggle once again!! Cries of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bhaarat Mata ki Jai' gave the air a particularly patriotic flavor! We wore Gandhi Topis and sang 'Sare Jahan se Achha' and 'Hum Honge Kamyaab' with gathering gusto.
As the dusk settled on the marchers, the flames of our Mashals, the glow of the Candles and the sound of our chants created a surreal atmosphere all around and we saw more and more people joining the rally!We literally urged others to accompany us shouting in Marathi - 'Baghtos Kaye, Shaamil Ho!!' (What are you looking at? Join Us!).
I saw housewives managing the entire show along with volunteers of IAC; men getting out of their air-conditioned cars, leave their jackets behind and join us in slogan shouting; college kids with banners and bundles of energy and loads of people from all walks of life transform this simple rally into a mass movement by more than 50,000 citizens of Mumbai!
As the dusk settled on the marchers, the flames of our Mashals, the glow of the Candles and the sound of our chants created a surreal atmosphere all around and we saw more and more people joining the rally!We literally urged others to accompany us shouting in Marathi - 'Baghtos Kaye, Shaamil Ho!!' (What are you looking at? Join Us!).
I saw housewives managing the entire show along with volunteers of IAC; men getting out of their air-conditioned cars, leave their jackets behind and join us in slogan shouting; college kids with banners and bundles of energy and loads of people from all walks of life transform this simple rally into a mass movement by more than 50,000 citizens of Mumbai!
The chants kept getting more innovative and I'm sharing some of the gems with you! You can use them or devise your own to spearhead the rallies in your own city -
Ek Jalebi Tel Mein, Saare Neta Jail Mein!
Paisa Paisa Karti Hai, Janlokpal Se Darti Hai!
Pehli ladai Goron Se, Dusri Desh Ke Choron Se!
Pehli ladai Goron Se, Dusri Desh Ke Choron Se!
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Anna is a Superstar!
Baki sab chewing-gum hain, Anna hi Singham hain!
Baki sab chewing-gum hain, Anna hi Singham hain!
Anna Hazare Aage Badho, Hum Tumhare Saath Hain!
Main bhi Anna, Tu Bhi Anna; Ab To Sara Desh Hai Anna!
Anna Nahin Hai, Aandhi Hai; Desh Ka Dusra Gandhi Hai!
Even the police were roped in albeit unwillingly when we chanted -
Ye Andar Ki Baat Hai, Police Hamare Saath Hai!
It was a very mature and sensible strategy to keep them on our side unlike what we have seen earlier in protests in different parts of the country. The same strategy was followed in Delhi earlier and I believe that is the reason our protests have been successful till now. Police is content with just a show of presence in these rallies without interfering much in its conduction.
In contrast, the protests in Kashmir specially come to my mind where the Tricolor was burnt, stones thrown on forces and the situation rapidly escalated from bad to worse. Hats off to the organizers to have the presence of mind NOT to repeat the same mistake here.
If anything, protests all over the country are rather more about Saving India from the rot of Corruption than being Anti-establishment! More and more people have come forward to show the Govt. that even if they locked Anna away, they will not be able to control the situation as each and every one of the protesters yesterday was ready to become another Anna! It is indeed the time of Hazaron Hazare...
And as I came home last night, physically exhausted with the three hour march; voice hoarse; throat parched; hands burnt with the oil dripping from the Mashal; mind spinning with excitement; I confess, I have never felt MORE ALIVE in my Life! Looking forward to more meaningful contribution to this fight against Corruption in the days to come..
May the Force be with All of Us!
Vande Mataram!
