The ‘success’ of Anna’s fast has had an interesting collateral damage – the near complete decimation of Baba Ramdev’s credibility as a crusader against corruption. While Anna has certainly been hugely successful in mobilizing public opinion against one of the most effete and corrupt Governments India has seen (that sadly, is not saying much), it will be too much for even the most optimistic of souls to proclaim that the struggle for Jan Lokpal succeeded. While we will analyze and certainly defend Anna’s struggle separately, it will be more worthwhile to dwell a little on Baba Ramdev’s struggle and failure.
Compared to the campaign run for Jan Lokpal, which was more of an instant cause, Baba Ramdev’s campaign against Black Money had been on for the last two years with the Baba using his country wide yoga camps and televised shows to disseminate his message. It was Baba Ramdev who had been the moving force behind India Against Corruption and it was in the Baba’s Ramlila Maidan Rally earlier this year, that overwhelmed by the large gathering, Anna had touched Baba’s feet, proclaimed that he now believes that corruption would be eliminated in India and had declared his support for the fast. Baba Ramdev was among the prime financers of the April fast by Anna and had a significant role in crowd mobilization and in all probability being the force behind the ‘communal’ Bharat Mata portrait on the stage.
Yet, while Anna moved from relative obscurity to becoming a National icon in course of his four days April fast, a more organized and powerful Baba Ramdev found himself pushed to the corner in spite of mobilizing a huge crowd, right on day one of his fast unto death. While the build up to Baba Ramdev’s fast had seen Team Anna extend its support to him and the brutal crackdown did elicit strong reaction from them, very soon, it became clear that with the Baba tying himself in knots, he was to be more of a liability than an asset to Team Anna. Hence, from being its patron financier mobilizer, he was reduced to a mere by stander, not allowed to even meet Anna, when the latter was incarcerated at Tihar Jail.
The countdown to Ramdev’s political oblivion begun, ironically, with his meetings with Kapil Sibal. Having given a routine undertaking, the Baba found little maneuvering space once the Government declared that he had reneged on his promises. While the brutal and unwarranted crackdown of police temporarily did give the halo of a martyr to Ramdev, his call for a trained army of volunteers and inability to carry on the fast showed him to be an unworthy leader. While the political immaturity of Baba Ramdev has certainly played a huge role in his humiliation; just watch him fumble and get aggressive and defensive by turns, when asked probing questions, there can be little doubt that the hostile role played by the media has served to undercut Baba Ramdev more than he actually deserved. While the media, particularly the English news channels had always been openly contemptuous of this rustic, saffron clad mendicant from rural Haryana, the fact of his dressing in a salwar to flee the police crackdown were replayed again and again to forcefully reinforce the point on Baba’s cowardice. Semi-celebrities like Sonam Kapoor declared him a bigot for his anti-homosexuality views while the Shabnam Hashmis of the world managed to snoop out a Godhra in his designs. Compared to the crescendo of well-deserved condemnation of the Government’s attempt to muffle voice of protest, when Anna was arrested, the outrage following the Ramlila Maidan crackdown was certainly more muted and the ELM condemnation was tinged with glee at the saffronite being shown his rightful place.
Yet, while criticizing both Baba Ramdev’s immaturity and the role of the media, one should not lose sight of the fact the Baba Ramdev’s chief advisor, Shri Govindacharya made himself absent when the crackdown happened and was not to be seen when Ramdev was further tying himself up in knots the coming days. While only the inner circle will know on what exactly, whether hints of megalomania in Baba Ramdev’s conduct, his probable disregard for advice or any other factor prompted Govindacharya to disassociate himself with the fast post crackdown, it cannot be denied that after having guided and mentored the Bharat Swabhiman movement for greater part of the last two years, Govindacharya owed it to its followers to have presented himself to steady the rocky boat of the movement. However, if Govindacharya did indeed move away on account of controversies associated with Ramdev, he would have played true to his upbringing in the RSS ideology where even the slightest stain on honour or association with trouble makes you a person-non-grata in the parivar.
Coming back to Anna’s recent fast, the parliament’s ‘sense of the house’ has given an honourable cloak of retreat to Team Anna, something which was made to resemble a victory over Jan Lokpal by our spin doctors. However, this has meant that the Baba comes out all the more poor compared to Anna – a fortyish yoga guru unable to fast for seven days vis-à-vis a septuagenarian fasting for 12 days and more critically a loser as compared to a winner. Had Team Anna had to withdraw without a modicum of victory, there would still have been a decent number of people who would have placed their bets on Baba Ramdev’s movement against black money. But now that we have a ready winner in Anna, few, other than his personal followers would want to side with him in his crusade. A discernible indicator to this is media and public reaction to Government actions against him vis-à-vis the former’s reaction to Government actions against Team Anna. While Baba Ramdev has been declared guilty before even crimes being identified, (just like how the Kanchi Shankaracharya’s guilt was established), allegations against the Bhushans’ and Arvind Kejriwal have been trashed without analysis of their merits, if any.
Finally, while Team Anna’s intent to fight corruption is noble, the tool of Jan Lokpal is more akin to Gandhi taking up the Salt Tax issue to fight colonialism! Salt tax was not repealed in spite of the Salt Satyagrah’s success in mobilizing people. Likewise, the Jan Lokpal, an envisioned by Anna’s team is unlikely to see the day, if for nothing else, on account of the glaring drawbacks of the said proposal. Compared to the Jan Lokpal, it can be argued that the demands put forth by Baba Ramdev, i.e., Declaring accounts of Indians in tax havens as national property; Declaring stashing away black money in tax havens as national crime; Setting up of fast track courts in all states to deal specially with corruption issues; Removal of high denomination currency notes from the economy; Enactment of a strong Public Service Delivery Guarantee Act and Removing the Land Acquisition Act; will have a more profound and long lasting impact on the public life in country.
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