Why The 'Anna Movement' Floundered

Veteran social activist Anna Hazare will attend a core committee meeting of ‘Team Anna’ here today to discuss the future strategy of his fight against corruption.Earlier on February 24, he had threatened to start another movement for the passage of a strong Ombudsman (Jan Lokpal) bill to combat graft in the country, before the national polls, which are scheduled to take place in 2014.  Hazare has been at loggerheads with the government over the Ombudsman Bill for which the Gandhian activist went on hunger strikes in April, August and December last year. 

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com, March 5, 2012

"I am Anna."

Fraught with day to day corruption, Indians of all classes identified with the ‘Anna movement’ that took an aggressive stand against the issue. Even the usually placid middle class came out in large hordes to rally behind this frail man willing to die for his beliefs. The movement caught momentum in  April 2011 and reached its peak in August 2011. However, by December 2011, much of the sizzle and fire had dissipated.

Why did the Anna movement, which achieved such huge support initially, flounder in the last leg?

Initially, UPA, grappling with its internal power politics, and a weak prime minister, simply could not fathom how to deal with the groundswell of support generated by the movement. Further, the media made it look very big, causing the government to panic. Strong-arm tactics with Baba Ramdev and the stupid act of arresting Anna just before the August fast added fuel to the already smouldering movement.  

By December, public perception had changed to a certain extent. Three points come to mind as to why this happened.

• Team Anna’s uncompromising stand
  Most people want to see the problem of corruption addressed. The announcement of the December fast, even as the bill was about to be tabled was seen by most people as unnecessary blackmailing, which could lead to an impassé.
• Corruption charges against top aides of Anna
  Top aides of Anna- Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, and the Bhushans came under scrutiny when charges of financial impropriety were levied on them. This loss of credibility was certainly one of the reasons for the movement to weaken.
• Anna’s apparent closeness to BJP
  Anna was seen as ‘above politics’ by the masses. However, his public appearances with leaders of a Hindu-biased opposition probably hurt this image. And the UPA cashed on it, sparing no effort in insinuating Anna’s political motives.

Finally, the political class outwitted Team Anna. Getting its act together, the UPA saved face by masterminding the “Sense of the house” resolution in the Loksabha, making Anna’s fast redundant. Yet, it is quite clear that the political class did not want the ‘Janlokpal’ bill, as Team Anna would have wanted. The bill was effectively scuttled in the Rajyasabha.

This great movement, which addresses the major issue we all are concerned about, seems to have bitten the dust for the moment. Let's hope the fire is re-ignited! As for now, we can only wait and watch how the 'Janlokpal Bill' scenario unfolds.

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

Winning

Winning is a worthy goal. But to win, you must first compete. You must put your heart and soul- your complete focus, energy and skill into the task of competing. Yet, the odds are, you may not win.

Winning is an expectation that can be met, but not exceeded.

Consistent success is accompanied by heightened expectations, and any failure to meet those heightened expectations can be magnified greatly. Losing can have an overwhelming effect on the competitive mind, an effect that can be best described as ‘agony’.  Consequently, the defence mechanism to this intense mental suffering is ‘agony avoidance’.

One of the major psychological ramifications of agony avoidance is the development of a ‘winning at all costs’ mindset. This mindset condones breaking the rules of the game. It is willing to accommodate unfair means and cheating. This, clearly, cannot be a strategy for long-term success. Not only can your game be up any time, you will never feel the exhilaration of a fair win or a boost in your self worth.

The challenge is, therefore, to put it all in the proper perspective. 

Taking a life-long view, the sum of your wins must exceed the sum of your losses, with the endeavour to maximise the wins and minimise the losses. Those who fail to take this long view may miss taking on each challenge with sportsmanship, fair play and personal responsibility, thus, missing out on the process of constant self-improvement, an essential ingredient in formulating long term success.

Long term success calls for being able to deal with losing. A healthy competitive spirit can be developed if you work on cultivating the following:

• Learning: Turn defeat into a positive learning tool. Find where you fell short, work on your weaknesses, get the little things right and, thus, increase the chance for success the next time you compete.
• Self-motivation: Tell yourself, you gave your best shot then, you will continue to do so always. You must refocus, re-energize and rededicate yourself to compete again.
• Resilience: Get accustomed to dealing with adversity and overcoming obstacles. Each experience will equip you to tide over future difficulties in the workplace and in life.Nobody wins all of the time. It’s what you do with these losses and what you can learn from them that will create future wins. So, let there be no room for self-doubt. Cultivate the resilience required to come back stronger.

Finally, it’s all in the mind!

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

Indo-literature: Increasing Global Reach

Marathi sahitya sammelan is a unique event. Today in Chandrapur more than one lakh people will attend this litfest. It’s much better than JLF (Jaipur Lit Fest) !

Source: @waglenikhil on Twitter (Nikhil Wagle, Editior IBN Lokmat), February 04, 2012

Noted litterateur and president of the 85th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan Vasant Dahake defended the increasing use of English language, saying that it has become all the more necessary in the changed global scenario.

Source: TNN, February 05, 2012

Against the backdrop of the much-in-the-news Jaipur Literary Fest, news reports of the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in the English media were few. This hugely successful festival, attracting an audience of over one lakh people from the very grassroots of Maharashtra, was given scant coverage by the media.

Liberal education, through literature, languages, philosophy and history, is meant open our minds to cultures foreign to us. The English literate Indian connoisseur laps up not just English literature, but also translations of great European classics- Greek, French, German, Russian etc. This, no doubt, is a good thing. But, just as we discover foreign cultures through reading, should not Indian regional literature be discovered by global readers?

India has a very rich and varied literary tradition. In the ancient days, Ujjain hosted the Sahitya Parishad under the leadership of Kalidasa, the poet, and the patronage of King Budhagupta Vikramaditya Harsha (476-502 AD). Associations of literary professionals were set up in the capitals of Pandya-Chola-Chera  kingdoms of South India as well as in Anuradhapura in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka). In spite of such an illustrious history, Indian literature still remains to be 'discovered' and enjoyed globally.

All great literature has been propagated by translations, eliciting interest in the original language. Indian classics have strong storylines and excellent narratives. We have a lot to offer to the world starved for original content. But we lack universal reach, because our literature has not been translated abundantly and distributed widely like most European literature has been.

Fortunately, Indians are proficient in English, the language which has emerged as the most widely used global medium of communication. We also have a large number of brilliant Indian exponents of English literature. Translations of great regional Indian literature by these writers, from their mother-tongues to English, will ensure that the original flavour is retained. Moreover, with the kind of cultural diversity that exists in our nation, we Indians will also be able enjoy the rich literature of regions other than our own.

A concerted effort needs to be made to promote Indian literature. The project must have state patronage. Writers need to be commissioned to undertake translations; corporate sponsorships must be sought for funding these commissions; international publishing houses must be roped in for distribution. The endeavour is an uphill task, but it must be undertaken as an essential obligation we have towards our cultures- that of being part of a universal heritage! 

Again quoting Mahatma Gandhi, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive.” 

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.