Understanding Ramdev

The Baba Ramdev episode bares the idea of government in contemporary India. The average Indian household would be wondering why this man was thrust upon them as a campaigner against black money and corruption. He was fine as yoga instructor. But stepping out of the studio arc lights on to the rough and tumble of tackling corruption, an issue affecting millions of Indians, requires a different approach. It is not that Ramdev cannot address corruption or black money; rather, this subject impacting people irrespective of religion, caste and creed merits a comprehensive solution.

Ramdev has leveraged his media image to be the leader of a crusade. He has no prior experience or track record of such work. Having launched into it, he has played into the hands of the media. In the process, he has transformed an ongoing crusade against corruption founded on debate about legislation into a wishy-washy campaign that was predictably capitalised by political parties.

What the Anna Hazare, Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal put together, he has messed up overnight. One wonders who benefited from that separate gathering at Delhi's Ram Lila ground, when there was already a civil society team addressing the issue of corruption?

Power of media space

Needless to say, the BJP drummed up Ramdev's detention into a national issue, proving once again that India's main Opposition party lacks imagination. In a world of unequal wealth, prominence in the media favours those who acquire media space by whatever means. Which is why our national debates are increasingly between those who manage to grab media space, and not those directly connected with issues. Baba Ramdev is a fine example of this syndrome. Worse, the Ramdev incident has exposed the BJP as incapable of escaping the saffron pool and forever risking engagement with fringe elements for political mileage. Its leaders may compare Ramdev's sacking to the days before Emergency— but who remembers the Emergency now?

‘Smart' game

The government has played its cards smartly, packing off Ramdev from Delhi in a midnight coup , although the moot question is– is this man is such a threat? When one looks at the impact of Ramdev's tryst with fighting black money – Anna Hazare's campaign was overshadowed by the Ram Lila ground incident; an unimaginative Opposition was comparing it to the days preceding Emergency, the government acquired the sheen of being tough – one wonders who the architect may have been.

These are the days of charges, counter charges and brinkmanship. What it does is add layers to perception, creating confusion. This is a tactic the UPA government will be remembered for. Consciously, and in seemingly unconscious ways, the government has distanced itself from the common man's India. The more this administration ignored the common man, the more it desisted from good old-fashioned communication with the electorate, the greater was the need of the voter to seek the support of larger-than-life actors. Visibility, not relevance, has become the name of the game. That's why in the final analysis, the responsibility for what happened at the Ram Lila ground, must lie with the government.

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