ANNA HAZARE AND THE CIVIL SOCIETY HYPE

With statements of Anna Hazare occupying space of headlines everyday, it seems we are forced to embrace his civil society hype. Quite unexpectedly tuning across the channels, I happened to see the film ‘ Indian ’ of Kamal Hassan. Really I felt amused on seeing the old man waging a single handed attempt to cleanse the society ; amused in a sense that the persona of Anna Hazare suited the old man’s attire. When I had seen the film in 1997 a sense of rebellion reverbrated my veins, but this time it really gave way to jingoism rather than patriotism – for this Gandhian of sort –challenges the democratic ideals and even the constitutional fabric of this country. Anna Hazare should bear in mind that "All Gandhians are respected but only the Mahtma is revered".