Jail Bharo..Rasta Roko..Uske Baad..!

Why not demand a National Referendum and ask the people of India to vote directly? Does anybody have the guts/political will to go for this option?

Shobhaa De

Anna is the messenger. Not the message. The cause is far bigger than the individual. Take away those TV cameras, and front page coverage, and see what happens. Everybody is jumping onto the Anna bandwagon, even those who don't quite know what this is all about. Let's not confuse issues and personalities.

Let's leave Mahatma Gandhi out of this protest. Why not demand a National Referendum and ask the people of India to vote directly? Does anybody have the guts/political will to go for this option? Of course, not! Dramabaazi gets more eyeballs. And which person today is above and beyond encouraging a personality cult?

Corruption is a national evil. That's a given. But a politician by any other name, is still a politician. Let us resist the temptation to deify an individual and bestow instant sainthood on the person, because it makes us feel more virtuous. Millions of our people starve... yes, starve! What stops us from giving up a meal for them? Candle light vigils look good on TV - they don't fill those hungry stomachs.

(Shobhaa De is a famous writer and novelist. Catch her on shobhaade.blogspot.com)