A Prayer for the Restoration of the Pride and Glory of India.

                                        A Prayer for the Restoration of the Pride and Glory of India.

It is difficult to give expression to one’s sense of distress and anxiety when one’s active years are far behind and one is hardly in a position to dent a change in the eerie feeling of fear and uneasiness.  Four years to becoming an octogenarian, I can imagine the smirk and derision on my readers’ faces, dismissing my writing as the lachrymosity of the older generation that stubbornly refuses to adapt to modern times. My generation belonging to 70s and 80s cannot dare to express their inexplicable fear without it being labeled as the geriatric whine of the ‘pre-historic’ generation which refuses to break free of the past and move with the present.

Admitting there is a kernel of truth in the reaction of the new generation, I wish to defend myself with the plea that despite being a golden ager, I continue to be young at heart. I am as passionately involved in the World cup matches as my  illustrious colleague in years, Amitabh Bachchan , the erstwhile “angry young man’ and now the “ amiable old man” who was seen waving the Indian flag as India scraped to victory in the match against Bangladesh. I am passionately fond of music like another illustrious person of my group, though senior  to me, the   lilting nightingale of those days- Asha  Bhosle  who is credited for her versatility that includes bhajans, ghazals, dance numbers and   pop music. I love Western music both classical and the pop  as much as  I love Hindustani/carnatic  music and the Bollywood beats.  I love pure dance as well as the modern experiments with dance genres of the world that one watches on the TV channels.I love theatre  - both the stylized classical kind of Sophocles and Shakespeare and  the experimental theatre of the modern times that includes black comedies and kitchen sink school of drama. In short, I love today’s mantra YOLO(You only live once) with as much romantic intensity as I did five decades back . Hence to dismiss my writing as a septuagenarian’s lament is a deliberate attempt to plug ones ears against unpleasant truths that are at the root of the disturbing trends of our times.

We are today in the 70^th year of independence. Barring the aberration of the emergency period that lasted for about 21 months in the mid-70s of the last century, India has enjoyed democratic rights in full measure. There has never been a silencing of our Constitutional  rights to speech, right to express, right to eat what we like, right to live life as we wish, right to love unimpeded by caste, class and religion barriers - in short  our right to be  a human being  with our individual  emotions and thoughts.  What it meant for eveyr Indian during those nearly  68years (leaving the 21 months of emergency and 21 months of Modi’s regime) was that s/he  lived without fear to live, eat, speak  and express. No arm of law would catch anyone of  us if our expression, actions and speeches were critical of those in power, butwell  within the rights given to us by the Constitution. Independent India for the major part of its existence was running true to the script written by Gurudev Tagore:

When the mind is without fear and the head is held high.

When knowledge is free.

When the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.

When words come out from the depth of truth.

When tireless shining stretches its arms towards perfection.

When the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit.

When the mind is led forward by Thee into ever widening thought and action.

 Into that heaven of freedom my Father let my country awake.

The early years of Independence gave impetus to our countrymen and women who had nothing to fear and who could hold their head high to build a new India. While Nehru had the vision of an emerging Modern India levered by Science and Technology, Sardar Patel successfully united the diverse country with diverse population  into one homogeneous  nation. Any talk of secession like the Dravidanadu in the South and separate Sikhland in the West was arrested by the 16^th Constitutional amendment introduced by Ambedkar that permitted the government to rein in freedom of speech that threatened the unity and integrity of the nation. Persons of the middle class origin like me enjoyed the benefit of good education in Universities and IITs that enjoyed the autonomy to devise, design and impart quality education. There was hardly any major tussle between students and authority that required the law enforcement agency to intervene. Tagore’s last line - the prayer to the Lord seemed to have been fully answered when our minds were led to breadth of thought and action and thence to the heaven of freedom. Personally speaking, both during my student days and later as an academic where I had the good fortune to be a teacher, researcher ad administrator, I did not encounter any clash as what we witness today in the Central University of Hyderabad, JNU,FTII, IIT Chennai, Jadhavpur University  and in the prestigious Ferguson College in Pune.  

Things started falling apart in the last quarter of the 20^th century, with corruption, nepotism, crony socialism and crass materialism raising their ugly head. There was no centre to uphold the founding principles of our freedom fighters and our downward slide was fast and furious. The last few years of the UPAII rule was marked by a nexus between officials, elected representatives and corporate leaders of questionable integrity to pace India at the  disreputable lowly rank of 94 among 175 countries. UPAII  was punished by the people  in the last elections and NDA II with BJP on top came to power. Contrary to the expectations from the new Government, there has been a steady erosion of  religious unity and an increase of cultural chauvinism that has brought about a class, caste and religious divide in a nation that had prided itself on its multi- cultural, multi- religious and secular credentials.

In the last year and a half things have changed. It is no longer the same India  that one was born into, the country that gave me freedom to think and act, the  country that enabled me to  understand, appreciate and enjoy the traditions and cultures of other lands, the country  that opened its windows to other faiths and religions to inspire me with the best that had been thought and expressed by great men and women from time immemorial, the country that swelled me with pride as the jewel of the world with its adherence to cardinal principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. Universities have become a place of siege, bedrock of violence. Recently writers in Urdu language have been asked to certify that the content in their writings do not criticize the government. Those who criticize the poilcies of the government are charged with sedition as though it was a criticism against the nation. Those who are suspected of eating beef in their homes or having beef  in their refrigerators are lynched and attacked by mob hysteria. The great icons of the nations are slowly brought down and new ones erected without bestowing a thought that the two can stay parallel.  Today it is a different India best summed by  Veeraivah Subbulakshmi  in her poem My Mind Is Not Without Fear.. -

As my mind is not without fear,
My head can't be held high in pride,
The fear of persecution,
……………………………………….
The fear in me grows slowly with daily experience,
I can't keep my head high with pride,
As the tomorrows always add more fear,
In my strange rooms of fear,
Not visible to anyone, as everyone has their own,

………………………………………………
The divided walls of their own home witness.

I yearn for that  India that Swami Vivekananda was proud of- that was known for its syncretism  to appreciate  various elements of the many spiritual, religious and cultural traditions of the world. I yearn for an India that Gandhi had gifted to us – an India of non violence, peace and harmony. I yearn for the idea of India tha  Nehru had discovered in India’s history  and had envisioned the build-up of  a progressive, liberal, secular India on its historical foundation. I yearn for that India that Sardar Patel forged to secure a united and integrated India. I yearn for  that India that Abdul Kalam attempted to ignite the Indian minds to unleash the power within India. I yearn for an India that has space for everyone born in this land and seeks to cultivate humanity with malice towards none and love towards all. If this cry is the cry of an old and senile person, my idea of India crumbles. If it is seen not as the whine of a septuagenarian but a passionate desire of the modern young generation, the idea of India rises to its full glory.

Patriotism: Symbol or Substantive

                                                 Patriotism: Symbol or Substantive

Nearly four decades back, I was a British Council scholar in a UK university. That was my first visit to UK and I was overwhelmed by the care and support the British council provided each one of us who had been selected to study in the British universities. There was no trace of racism in those times-this was  the 1970s and right from the time I alighted at Heathrow till I got into my room in the University campus, I received  a royal treatment that I had never got back home- and I confess, I was no extraordinary person to be bestowed any special attention.  The University term in UK starts in late September with the season changing from summer to autumn, which is “the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” getting set “to fill all the fruits with ripeness to the core.”  I felt fresh and young, rejuvenated by the bracing weather and experiencing the newfound freedom to do as I wanted to do,  I could hear Wordsworth’s lines “Bliss it was that dawn to be alive/to be young so heavenly” reverberating in my mind.

The autumn term ended just before Christmas and the weather had become cold and getting out was no longer a pleasant and joyous experience. For many of us –especially those who had come to England from warm climates,- grey winter was weary and depressing. By 2pm it became dark and lights had to be switched on. What I was totally unprepared for was the emptiness around me as all the British students, faculty and staff had gone home for Christmas leaving just a few of us –the overseas students- to stay in the dorms. Even among us, those who were affluent had gone to enjoy Christmas shopping and festivities in London, others on a European tour. I was one of the very few who stayed confined to my room because even the library, the students’ common room which had a TV and all the campus shops were shut for two weeks. It was unnerving to be alone in the room with lights on as the days were dark and depressing.

It was a welcome call in the afternoon before Christmas when a member from the City Rotary club asked me if I would like to join her and her family for Christmas lunch and that she would come and pick me up sharp at eight in the morning.  It was a mighty relief from the loneliness and boredom of being confined to my 10’x10’ room. I was ready by seven and waited at the university gate for nearly an hour. Sharp at eight, a car turned in and the person driving the vehicle cheerfully greeted me and signaled me to get in. Ten minutes later we were home.

 I was warmly welcomed by every member of the family, including the cat that purred and lay at my feet  and after coffee and breakfast( dull, weak and insipid, typical of the British bland food and drinks)we sat down to play scrabble. They were surprised by my extensive English vocabulary and that too, when English was not my mother tongue.  I warmed up with their praise and felt taller at least by a quarter of a centimeter that was added to my measly 145cms.

It was time for lunch and the women laid the table with a variety of dishes specially made for me as I was a vegetarian. Christmas pudding was the last and the one that was prepared specially for me was eggless and looked rich and creamy. Before the cake could be cut, the TV announced the Christmas address by the Queen. Everyone got up from the table and stood up for the national anthem that preceded the queen’s speech. They stood in silence for full twelve minutes till she finished her address before returning to the table for the Christmas pudding.

 I recall this incident today, forty-three years later when we are debating about Patriotism following the RSS suggestion to ask everyone to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai  as a way of infusing patriotism among us. What I had seen in UK that had left an indelible print in my mind was the spontaneous rising from the table at the announcement of the Queens Christmas Day address and standing in silence till the address was over and the national anthem was sung. There was no prying Tom to see if they had got up and no patriotic policing to chastise them if they had continued with eating. The gesture was spontaneous, instinctual and uncompelled. I noticed that respect for the Queen and the National Anthem did not require unilateral imposition of orders from above nor was it demanded of every British citizen. I could even today visualize the pride in their faces as they stood up for the National Anthem while they were at home. Many of us in India also get up at home when we see the flag hoisted on our National days followed by Jana Gana Mana.... We take great pride when our men and women in blue carry the flag and march along the stadium during national and international games. We rejoice when they stand up on the medal podium and kiss the medal they have won for the country. When our cricketers raise the world cup, we stand up in joy and pride. If we win the Davis cup tie even against a not too well known team, we delight in the achievement of our tennis stars. The stadium reverberates with the enthusiastic cry “India, India, India jeethagi, India jeethagi”. All over India, people crowd round the TV sets to watch the matches and the enthusiasm is mind blowing. So have we witnessed Indian forces’ victory during the Kargil and the earlier Bangladesh liberation wars when the entire nation came forward to salute the soldiers.  Are these artificially psyched up responses or are they spontaneous ones?  During the recent Chennai floods, it was our youth force that pitched in strongly to help the flood affected families with food, water and shelter. Many families in high rise buildings opened their doors to let in those who had to flee their homes. There has never been a need for an injunction from the government or our leaders to behave patriotically.

India like Britain that I saw in the 1970s is not lacking in patriotic or nationalistic fervor. For that matter no one of any nationality barring the odd, abnormal,l perverse individual is without the feeling for his motherland / Fatherland. Sir Walter Scott in the 19^th C wrote these lines that stand the test of time.

Breathes there the man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
'This is my own, my native land

Patriotism is not something that we have to demonstrate by symbolic chanting and gestures. Either it is within us or it is not and for most of us, it is ever present.  Artificial stimulation –and that too under duress or compulsion-will make an individual lose that feeling of love and pride for the nation. The child is never tutored to love its parents. Bonding is genetic; it is not based on duty or by imposition in the name of duty. This love for the source of one’s birth and existence is natural, instinctive and immanent in our blood. Similarly love for the mother land is hard-wired in every individual-the exceptions are very few and they do not subscribe to basic human instincts.

Patriotism is often misconstrued as nationalism. While both have the same semantic affinity to love for the country, there is a subtle line of difference between the two. The line of difference is certainly there, though it is more of a nuanced kind that is incomprehensible to the vast majority of unthinking minds. Hence this line lends itself easily for imposition as a government fiat, making it obligatory for the citizen to display his/her patriotism. Patriotism(  now anchored to Bharat Mata Ki Jai) assumes a paternalistic overtone and is often seen to be  intrusive and presumes that the citizens lack a sense of responsibility and a sense of belonging to the nation. It overrides the citizen’s instinctive feeling for their nation. There is always the danger of Nationalism degenerating into jingoism and mob hysteria because it is an extreme form of patriotism implying a feeling of superiority over other countries. History has illustrated the catastrophe of mob hysteria as seen in Stalinism, Hitlerism and North Korean aggressive nationalism. Patriotism or love for the country encourages the citizens to be self critical in order to rectify and develop. Nationalism, on the other hand brooks no criticism or dissent and insists upon self congratulation that breeds complacency, egoism and falsity.  

The argument by the MIM that there is nothing in the Constitution that mandates citizens to chant Bharatmata Ki Jai is precisely because the Constitution believes in the natural bonding between the citizen and the country and therefore sees no need for enforcement . That is why our Constitution is silent on allied issues such as standing up while the National Anthem is sung or while the flag is hoisted. If I am at home and I don’t observe this respect for the flag and the National Anthem, it is to my discredit. There will be no law enforcer forcing his way into my home to see whether I observe these unwritten codes of conduct. The nation is undergoing needless controversies on one issue or the other that undercuts all citizens immanent rights and duties. Why orders have to be issued that the flag has to be daily hoisted in every educational institution, why chanting of Bharatmata Ki Jai is to be made compulsory- for every such imposition betrays a lack of trust between the citizen and the nation.  Bharat Mata Ki Jai is certainly a laudable form of expressing our love for our motherland, but if one chooses other forms such as Jai Hind or Hindustan ZIndabad, they also carry the same degree of patriotism.

In this discussion - to impose or not to impose any single form of worship of  our motherland,-we have forgotten to analyse the genetic psychology of citizens who make a nation. We rejoice with pride over our achievements such as sending Mangalyaan into space or winning a world cup or an Indian honoured with a Nobel prize- just to cite a few examples. We are downcast ad depressed if we fail in any of our attempts to win glory for the country. We write paeans of praise about the winning achievement just as reams of criticism for failing to reach a high and distinguishing watermark in what we set out to achieve.  Hence the effort is not to lay down ‘patriotic display ‘codes, rather, we should strive for excellence that would fill us with pride and joy.  It is in our efforts, in our work, in our values, in our achievements lie our love for our country. We owe an enormous sense of gratitude and love to our motherland which has bestowed on us the birthright and ownership to the space that we call our nation. This sense of belonging is our exclusive privilege and it behoves us as citizens to prove worthy of that exclusivity.    

The editorial from the Times of India has pointed to the dangers of polarization if one form of salutation is  imposed and how anyone who has a different form of expressing his love for his motherland is castigated as being anti-national. Such nationalism is oppressive and counter-productive.  A dangerous attempt has been made to equate proscription of beef with a Hindu majoritarian nationalist identity. Such messaging from the top political leadership has encouraged mob rule and imperiled law and order….By pushing a narrow definition of Nationalism BJP law makers are not only playing with fire  and also doing a huge disservice to the idea of India. Ina  vast country as diverse and vast as  ours, a single slogan or dietary preference can’t be the marker of one’s patriotism”.

Let us hope our political leadership- both the ruling and the opposition allow the flow of  diverse ideas of India on which rests the Idea of India  and understand the dangers inherent in the idea of Nationalism that will prove disastrous and destructive to the Idea of India.

Oh Krishna, Where are you?

                                                          Oh Krishna, Where are you?

"Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya/Glanirva Bhavathi Bharatha,
Abhyuthanam Adharmaysya/Tadatmanam Srijami Aham'.

Whenever and wherever is decline of righteousness and a predominance of unrighteousness prevails, at that time I manifest myself personally. This is Lord Krishna’s answer as to when he will manifest himself.”

The marked decline in personal and public morals in our nation in the last two years and the charges of corruption during the earlier UPA government have made many of us wonder if Lord Krishna  would keep his word.  All we read and hear in the newspapers and over the TV channels is about rape, murder, loot, violence, predatory business practices, juvenile crimes, sexual perversity, road rage, uncivilized and uncultured speeches and actions… the list is endless.  Even more alarming are the hairsplitting arguments among our lawmakers about nationalism and anti nationalism, tolerance and intolerance, the right to dissent and the state’s duty to stifle it, democracy and anarchy , the esoteric and exoteric aspects of religious beliefs-  driving a wedge in the society, leading to irreconcilable ideological and religious conflicts besides spreading venom and hatred among the contending groups. The principles of democracy that guarantee individual liberty have also come under dispute and the nation is currently in the vicious grip of unrest, disharmony and disquietude. India after Independence has never seen such volatile commotion and unease as is happening in the last year and a half. If one gives credence to Lord Krishna’s words, one feels crying in angst and despair the famous lyric of Pt.Ravi Shankar : “ Krishna! Krishna! I am missing you, Oh Krishna, Where are you? I am missing you, Oh Krishna, Where are you?”

Many political writers have hailed the arrival of Kanhaiya, the jailed and released student leader from JNU. Kanhaiya coincidentally is another name for Lord Krishna.  Leave aside the media hype, it is a fact that this young man, the president of JNU Students’ Union(JNUSU) had struck a sympathetic and spontaneous chord with everyone who heard him and who read his speech.  He was media savvy when he gave his interview to different TV channels.  He had a cheerful smile, he displayed no trace of  rancor even after having been unlawfully kept for  three weeks in custody, spoke eloquently and even if he had slightly erred on historical facts, that did not make his  message one of vitriolic denunciation of his political opponents in and beyond JNU. This was at the opposite extreme of the Parliamentary speeches by the HRD minister and by Rahul Gandhi and by the PM especially in his reply to motion of thanks to the President in the Rajya Sabha.  Kanhaiya came across as a mature, seasoned debator who was well trained in the etiquette of discussion and debate. He did not say anything new that we had not known, but the way he expressed our concerns and anxieties was simple, elegantly worded and followed the trend of the  second inaugural address by Abraham Lincoln: “ With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in…”. His right wing detractors find his ‘right’ as ‘left’ and criticize him as an ultra leftist whose slogan mongering is aimed at whipping up Maoist hysteria and unleashing anarchy. It is inconsequential at this point of time to debate about his ideology, but only see the positives arising out of youthful freshness and idealism that augurs well for the emergence of a decent and alternative political discourse, away from the trite and abusive tenor of the present day discourses. Rather than dividing our young and painting them into corners of “left” and “right”, (in JNU it is between AISU backed by the Left and  ABVP, the junior wing of BJP) Indians would do better by positively nurturing their aspirational dreams unleashed  by Kanhaiya. Salil Tripathi commenting on Kanhaiya’s speech observes: “One thing that emerges from Kumar’s speech, and more tragically, from the suicide note left by Rohith Vemula, the Dalit scholar in the University of Hyderabad, is how thoughtful India’s young are. Vemula wanted to explore the mysteries of the cosmos; Kumar reflected on transforming the Indian universe by looking at two bowls in the jail—one red, one blue; one left, one Dalit; and in seeking to unite the two, he sees hopes of building a new India that fights caste and class. Bliss it is in this dawn to be alive, and to be young, the very heaven.”

The nation has been waiting for this moment when bitterness, rancour, intolerance, hatred and animus would give way to good will, spirit of accommodation, love, tolerance and geniality, when caste and gender discrimination will give way to equal opportunities for everyone without the caste and gender tag.  Anna Hazare had provided a glimmer of hope five years back when he descended in Delhi’s Ramlila maidan like a cloud burst to wash away the corruption that was widespread in the country at that time. He was hailed as the new messiah, a new Gandhi to fight to bring back honesty, transparency and a corruption-free State through establishment of a Jan Lokpal, an institution to act like an ombudsman with the power to deal with corruption in public places. But his influence waned because he was not ready for an iota of compromise on the rigid stand he had taken that it should be only his version of Jan Lokpal and nothing else. There were other issues such as his insistence on the Dalits of his village to adopt vegetarian food or else to be tied to a post and flogged, alienated him from the politicians of all parties as his attitude appeared more dictatorial and passe’ and  not in sync with the 21^st century India.

Five long years later, the waiting for a new messiah continues with the nation sliding regressively in all aspects, displaying a lack of civility, culture, cultivated speech, politeness, grace and tolerance. The fall in civilized behavior has been the trend that started from the time of the last General elections and continues today. PM’s speeches abroad have a polish (despite his frequent unseemly references to the opposition parties in India) that is distinctly missing in all his election speeches back home( particularly galling , delivered after his massive victory in the general elections). The so called ‘fringe’ group of his Sangh parivar and his own cabinet ministers use crude and coarse language against anyone who dares to oppose them or question their partisan vehemence against other religious followers in their single aim to spread saffronization. The opposition in turn, is taking the cue from the shrill cry of the BJP to orchestrate its shriller outrage and attack on anything and everything the government proposes. Contrary to Modiji’s clarion announcement that he would give India minimum government and maximum governance, we have minimum governance and maximum verbiage ( more of abuse and attack). The new nursery rhyme echoing through the Parliamentary hall sounds as follows:                  

                                         BJP and the Opposition sit in the Parliament,

                                         BJP and the Opposition have a wordy engagement ,

                                         So uncultured and uncivilized is their argument

                                         All the men and women could not bring them together again.

The nation’s waiting for someone to lift it from the morass it had been fallen into seemed to get a respite with Kanhaiya’s unexpected and catapulted arrival. The Media began to fawn upon him “All hail, Kanhaiya, hail to thee/ Thou shalt be the new Messiah” forgetting that for all the adulation he had been given, Kanhaiya is not Lord Krishna. The comparison stops at the tip of that coincidence of the names-Krishna and Kanahiya.

Kanhaiya has a long way to go to grapple with the serious issues plaguing the nation. It is not just economics where the debate revolves around the Left and the Right ideology- about Capitalism and Socialism, about Public and Private enterprise, about taxation and inflation. The more serious issues are about the prevalence of unrighteousness and decline of all values that are essential to sustain and preserve the well being of society. Krishna was known as “Draupadi mana rakshaka”(the  protector of Draupadi’s honour) . What we see today is hundreds of Dussasanas and Duryodhans whose aggressive rapism sends the shivers down our spine. A million policemen cannot equal Krishna the protector and savior of Draupadi. Our society needs a million Kanhaiyas to speak about gender justice. There have been voices against Kanhaiya in the last couple of days and reprehensible statements have been made to tarnish his image in particular with the opposite sex.  What is true and not true in today’s biased media is not easy to arrive at. But it highlights the need for the modern Kanahaiya to articulate and inspire his generation strongly to bring a rape-free India.

When we think of Krishna, we recall the Mahabharat and when we recall the great epic, we recall the one and only Karna, the tragic hero of that magnificent work which is best epitomized by the couplet

What is found here is found elsewhere

What is not found here is found nowhere.

 Let us study the case of Karna- the tragic character of the  Mahabharat and who  is today represented by the Dalits and the most underprivileged classes of our society. Karna though unaware of his Kshatriya credentials and  brought up as Sutputra (son of a charioteer)shows his extraordinary prowess as a skilful wielder of the bow, a man known for his  loyalty, gratitude and friendship towards the wily and envy-filled Duryodhan (who had made  him the king of Anga), for his truthfulness and filial  duty  by promising his mother that he would not  engage in any battle with his Pandava brothers and  kill them except Arjun,  for his generosity as he gives away his protective armour and earrings( that guaranteed him immortality)  to Indra who comes to him disguised as a Brahmin.  Karna triumphs over the casteist prejudice through his sadharna dharma(Eternal or Universal dharma)  of truth, loyalty, honesty and commitment. One Kanhaiya and before him one Rohith Vemula  cannot help in establishing Sadharana dharma  just by continuously  questioning the eons of unjustness heaped on the underprivileged classes. We need a lot more Karnas to bring up a new social order where everyone is given the platform to rise up irrespective of his caste and religion.  Kanhaiya cannot and should not repeatedly express anxiety over his social position based on his caste but rise above to make a casteless society that encourages all classes of men and women to realize the Sadharana dharma i.e. the ethical principles common to all.

 It is true in the Mahabharat, Krishna’s cleverness brought Karna down and when Karna laments that he had always followed Dharma, but Dharma failed to protect him, Krishna answers that Dharma cannot be a one- time principle to be adhered and asks Karna where was his dharma when Draupadi was shamed, when Duryodhan usurped the kingdom of the Pandavas or when Abhimanyu was encircled and killed by the Kauravas. Will Kanhaiya rise up in stature and protest against the heinous killings and maimings of civilians and law protectors by the Maoists? Will he be able to articulate the subtle distinction between individual democratic right and constitutional obligation for every citizen to be law abiding? Will he speak about the freedom of expression which when unchecked may lead to anarchy? Will he be able to inspire the youth not to rest content with just protests against casteist discrimination but rise above them  to realize their potential? If he fails to do so, all his magnificent speech will be empty words.

The most important aspect of Krishna’s attempt at restoring righteousness was the art of diplomacy-often mistakenly cited as guile or trickery.  Anna Hazare’ s attempts to weed out corruption  have failed to stop corruption at all levels of governance. Because mere preaching without practical efforts is akin to letting go of a wounded tiger or a hurt snake. His disciple   Kejrewal for all his antics is to be lauded for taking up the responsibility to govern Delhi, which is not even a mini state.  His constant battle with the Centre have made him out to be a constant fighter and a whiner, nevertheless he has succeeded in taking a few small steps towards fulfilling his major poll promises. Success comes to those who dare and act and seldom to the deserter or in modern parlance to the armchair philosopher. Anna Hazare exited from mainstream dissent as a disappointed man as his movement was not structured and his  12 day fast was not followed by any follow up action.  Now Kanhaiya is trying to take the crusader’s path but without any thought about the shape it will take. His brilliant speech has been applauded for its candor, its lack of rancor, its new found spirit to take the fight to the ruling party that had jailed him. But then in the last one week he has made some startling charges against the Indian army, that has evaporated all the euphoria his earlier speech had generated. Krishna went into the battlefield not by listing criminal charges against the Kauravas but only after all his reconciliation efforts failed when Duryodhan refused to yield even five villages to the Pandavas.  If he inspired the Pandavas to fight, it was to restore justice and righteousness. His inspirational advice to Arjun  - the Bhagavad Gita- is an exhortation to Arjuna to fulfill his duty as a warrior to re-establish Dharma.   Kanhaiya is not Krishna and he should realize that mere speech, however well delivered will end as an empty vessel that makes noise and nothing beyond.

We need many Kanhaiyas who can articulate a new political testament, a new set of belief that is practical, implementable and is well within the framework of the Indian Constitution. Till such time let us not exalt Kanhaiya as the new Krishna; he has to prove that his life and preaching, his eloquence and exhortation, his criticism and constructive actions complement each other.

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