On to the next round

It would be simplistic to assume that it is only a matter of time before the country is rid of the scourge of corruption, now that Parliament has unanimously resolved to put in place an effective legislative arrangement or because Anna Hazare is satisfied with the Parliament's good intentions, as reflected in his decision to end the fast. At one level, Anna Hazare's fast was about corruption in public life; yet, at another, subtler level, it was actually about compelling rulers to effect a mid-course correction in their actions by creating a groundswell of public opinion.

Successive governments have long believed that legitimacy in governance is something sought and gained once every five years through the medium of a general election. Once gained, it should never be challenged, except in the genteel ways of Parliamentary democracy. But civil society, led by Anna Hazare, has challenged this notion by mounting a campaign that has, no doubt, been non-violent to the most exemplary degree but nevertheless not bereft of an element of coercion. One can be sure that neither the Government nor, indeed, the entire political class is about to give up its freedom to indulge in the morally degenerate ways of politics the country has been witness to all these years, merely because some citizens object to it. Wars are won by getting the better of opponents in seemingly endless skirmishes and innumerable battles, no matter that a historian at a later date may identify a particular campaign as the most decisive. Anna and his team, no doubt, recognise that, in matters such as these, progress is achieved more by incremental steps than through success in one dramatic encounter. Hence Anna's decision to end his fast, even though he had earlier declared that it would go on until a Bill conforming to his specifications is passed by Parliament.

The establishment, on its part, may be keen to deflect the narrative of political discourse currently centred on corruption into something that it would be more comfortable with. Expect therefore a resurgence in polemics based on caste, religion or some narrow cultural or class divide mouthed by those who see themselves at the receiving end of the current public revulsion against venal politicians and self-serving civil servants. The success in the crusade against corruption that civil society is now engaged in will depend on how it manages to keep the public focus on issues that matter the most.

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