Most of the WikiLeaks documents on India carried nothing new or sensational. They merely confirmed that many well-connected Indians are given to talking indiscreetly to Americans. The latest revelations reaffirm what many Indians have heard earlier about Kashmiri separatist leaders like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik receiving “payoffs done by intelligence agencies of India and Pakistan” and about how “Indian and Pakistani money has made all Kashmiri political leaders dependent on handouts”. The contempt of the Americans is evident from US Ambassador David Mulford’s scathing remark that “Kashmiri politics is as filthy as the Dal Lake”. There is little doubt that the cables from diplomatic missions in New Delhi to their capitals, on the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement, will carry similar assessments about corruption across India.
The international media coverage of the recent movement against rampant corruption eroding public confidence in the ruling classes and bureaucracy has been highly critical of the Government’s handling of the issue of corruption. It has graphically reflected public anger on the issue. The Washington Post reported: “Hazare, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, is the face of a nationwide movement against corruption that has gathered pace this year after a string of high profile scandals.” The Daily Mail averred that Mr Hazare’s hunger-strike “was certain to embarrass India’s scandal plagued Government. Hazare’s demand for tougher anti-corruption laws has galvanised Indians, fed up with the bribery and favouritism that has infested Government at all levels”. The Washington Times wrote: “Mr Hazare, a 73-year-old activist has become an anti-corruption icon by channelling the tactics of freedom fighter Mohandas K Gandhi.”
The media in Pakistan devoted substantial attention on the anti-corruption movement. The Lahore-based daily The News noted that “corruption has become a key issue of public discontent in India, and Hazare has emerged as a prominent national figure for this campaign”. An editorial in the influential newspaper, Dawn, said: “Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should realise that many in his country are beginning to rise peacefully against corruption.” The Dawn editorial significantly added: “The time may come for the same sort of dissent in Pakistan.” Like its counterpart in India, the international media has been scathing in its criticism of the extent to which corruption is eroding the moral fibre of our society and polity. While the international media showed sympathy and understanding for Mr Hazare and the thousands of people who backed his fast, India itself has emerged, with flying colours, being depicted as a country where democratic freedoms determine its destiny and direction.
The media reaction in China has been surprising. The Chinese media routinely claims that “Indian democracy is hindering its development”. There was, however, regular and factual coverage of protests in India. I gave an interview to the Beijing-based Sanlian Weekly which was published unedited at my insistence. Responding to queries on the protest, I made it clear that the movement reflected growing public anger against corruption in high places and explained the constitutional role of the Supreme Court and the Comptroller and Auditor-General. Responding to a query on whether there was any similarity between events in India and the Arab world, I said: “Unlike the Arab world, people in India, which is a parliamentary democracy, are free to demonstrate publicly. Such non-violent public demonstrations are legal and happen routinely and fairly regularly in different parts of India. They have nothing to do with the Arab world where people are demonstrating for democratic freedoms.” Surprisingly, this distinction between democratic and authoritarian societies was published in full. China’s rulers may, in a carefully controlled and gradual manner, be giving more space than hitherto for publication of views that do not correspond to conventional Communist Party thinking.
Mayur Vihar and neighbouring Trilokpuri in east Delhi are localities full of co-operative society apartments. These are localities bereft of palatial residences of the rich and powerful. On August 16, Mr Hazare was suddenly picked up and arrested from a housing society known as Supreme Apartments, just behind the Mayur Vihar apartment complex where I reside. An astonishing series of events followed. My normally calm and law abiding neighbours (primarily journalists, young professionals and lawyers) came out on the streets and virtually blocked the police from taking Mr Hazare away. Within an hour, the citizens of neighbouring localities, irrespective of age, profession, religion and income, came out on the streets and marched towards Rajghat in an orderly manner, without blocking the traffic. Later that evening a group of young college students met me and said: “Uncle please join us tonight for a candlelight vigil for Anna Hazare and those arrested.”
I have lived on and off in Delhi since the 1940s. I have never seen such public outrage in all these years. I could not but sympathise with and admire the peaceful manner in which the entire agitation took place. The predominant view across the capital was that the action of arresting Mr Hazare and his associates and sending them to Tihar Jail, to be in the company of the likes of A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi, were actions of a Government “intoxicated by the arrogance of power” and “out of touch with reality”. A distinguished former Commissioner of Delhi Police remarked that he was shocked how an honest police officer like Kiran Bedi, who was admired by the lower ranks of the force, could be publicly humiliated the way she was on August 16.
We saw our parliamentarians, who unfortunately receive scant credit for the sterling work they often do in the Standing Committees of Parliament, rise to the highest standards of parliamentary debate during the discussion on the proposed Lokpal Bill. It was particularly heartening to see young MPs like Mr Varun Gandhi and Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia speak with such eloquence and conviction. But sadly, the impression remains that with an estimated 153 Members of the Lok Sabha facing criminal charges and with the Government’s credibility lower than ever before, neither our Government nor our parliamentarians will act decisively to end corruption, criminalisation and the influence of muscle and money power in politics. Political life is today seen as the preserve of the rich, corrupt and powerful. It is not surprising that it is people like Mr Hazare, Justice Santosh Hegde and former Chief Election Commissioner James Lyngdoh who are seen as role models by the youth and the public at large.
Source: The Pioneer
The international media coverage of the recent movement against rampant corruption eroding public confidence in the ruling classes and bureaucracy has been highly critical of the Government’s handling of the issue of corruption. It has graphically reflected public anger on the issue. The Washington Post reported: “Hazare, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, is the face of a nationwide movement against corruption that has gathered pace this year after a string of high profile scandals.” The Daily Mail averred that Mr Hazare’s hunger-strike “was certain to embarrass India’s scandal plagued Government. Hazare’s demand for tougher anti-corruption laws has galvanised Indians, fed up with the bribery and favouritism that has infested Government at all levels”. The Washington Times wrote: “Mr Hazare, a 73-year-old activist has become an anti-corruption icon by channelling the tactics of freedom fighter Mohandas K Gandhi.”
The media in Pakistan devoted substantial attention on the anti-corruption movement. The Lahore-based daily The News noted that “corruption has become a key issue of public discontent in India, and Hazare has emerged as a prominent national figure for this campaign”. An editorial in the influential newspaper, Dawn, said: “Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should realise that many in his country are beginning to rise peacefully against corruption.” The Dawn editorial significantly added: “The time may come for the same sort of dissent in Pakistan.” Like its counterpart in India, the international media has been scathing in its criticism of the extent to which corruption is eroding the moral fibre of our society and polity. While the international media showed sympathy and understanding for Mr Hazare and the thousands of people who backed his fast, India itself has emerged, with flying colours, being depicted as a country where democratic freedoms determine its destiny and direction.
The media reaction in China has been surprising. The Chinese media routinely claims that “Indian democracy is hindering its development”. There was, however, regular and factual coverage of protests in India. I gave an interview to the Beijing-based Sanlian Weekly which was published unedited at my insistence. Responding to queries on the protest, I made it clear that the movement reflected growing public anger against corruption in high places and explained the constitutional role of the Supreme Court and the Comptroller and Auditor-General. Responding to a query on whether there was any similarity between events in India and the Arab world, I said: “Unlike the Arab world, people in India, which is a parliamentary democracy, are free to demonstrate publicly. Such non-violent public demonstrations are legal and happen routinely and fairly regularly in different parts of India. They have nothing to do with the Arab world where people are demonstrating for democratic freedoms.” Surprisingly, this distinction between democratic and authoritarian societies was published in full. China’s rulers may, in a carefully controlled and gradual manner, be giving more space than hitherto for publication of views that do not correspond to conventional Communist Party thinking.
Mayur Vihar and neighbouring Trilokpuri in east Delhi are localities full of co-operative society apartments. These are localities bereft of palatial residences of the rich and powerful. On August 16, Mr Hazare was suddenly picked up and arrested from a housing society known as Supreme Apartments, just behind the Mayur Vihar apartment complex where I reside. An astonishing series of events followed. My normally calm and law abiding neighbours (primarily journalists, young professionals and lawyers) came out on the streets and virtually blocked the police from taking Mr Hazare away. Within an hour, the citizens of neighbouring localities, irrespective of age, profession, religion and income, came out on the streets and marched towards Rajghat in an orderly manner, without blocking the traffic. Later that evening a group of young college students met me and said: “Uncle please join us tonight for a candlelight vigil for Anna Hazare and those arrested.”
I have lived on and off in Delhi since the 1940s. I have never seen such public outrage in all these years. I could not but sympathise with and admire the peaceful manner in which the entire agitation took place. The predominant view across the capital was that the action of arresting Mr Hazare and his associates and sending them to Tihar Jail, to be in the company of the likes of A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi, were actions of a Government “intoxicated by the arrogance of power” and “out of touch with reality”. A distinguished former Commissioner of Delhi Police remarked that he was shocked how an honest police officer like Kiran Bedi, who was admired by the lower ranks of the force, could be publicly humiliated the way she was on August 16.
We saw our parliamentarians, who unfortunately receive scant credit for the sterling work they often do in the Standing Committees of Parliament, rise to the highest standards of parliamentary debate during the discussion on the proposed Lokpal Bill. It was particularly heartening to see young MPs like Mr Varun Gandhi and Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia speak with such eloquence and conviction. But sadly, the impression remains that with an estimated 153 Members of the Lok Sabha facing criminal charges and with the Government’s credibility lower than ever before, neither our Government nor our parliamentarians will act decisively to end corruption, criminalisation and the influence of muscle and money power in politics. Political life is today seen as the preserve of the rich, corrupt and powerful. It is not surprising that it is people like Mr Hazare, Justice Santosh Hegde and former Chief Election Commissioner James Lyngdoh who are seen as role models by the youth and the public at large.
Source: The Pioneer
