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Journalism of Courage
In Ralegan Siddhi,at the first screening of Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai,a movie about the struggle with corruption,Anna Hazare gave voice to his inner rage. Sometimes,he sighed,one tight slap was the only right response,when faced with corruption. When a mans power of tolerance runs out,then whoever is in front of you,if a slap is given,then the brain is put back in place, said Hazare,the standard-bearer of last years movement against corruption. His movement might have heavily referenced Mahatma Gandhi,and tried to package Hazare as an updated Gandhi,but it was obvious Hazare himself had radically different instincts to discipline and punish with a few choice spankings.
For one,Hazare believes public flogging is the best way to cure a drinking habit. He barely concealed his approval of the November assault on Sharad Pawar his first reaction was,just one slap?,before he came up with a bland,PR-conscious statement against it. Later,on his blog,he justified such displays of spontaneous anger,saying that some kinds of violence are for the betterment of society.
Pretty much everyone gets mad,but Hazare elevates his anger to something akin to a political philosophy. His movement was exclusively about popular irritation with corruption,his remedies were about metaphorically wielding the big stick at the government,in the form of a stern Lokpal. What might be a question of Hazares personal temperament an excess of bile,a belief in corporal punishment,is now being pitched as an appropriate response to public corruption. Why this kolaveri?
