As we watch the Anna Hazare protest on TV in India and the reactions of several politicians it makes me look for Sardar Vallabhai Patel. In the pantheon of India's greatest leaders we have Mohandas Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr Ambedkar. Anna Hazare has played the role of Gandhi. He has called on Indians to protest against what their conscience tells them is wrong. He appeals to our conscience, unlike so many other political protests that appeal to our caste, religion or ethnicity. It was Gandhi's genius that he was able to rouse people by asking them to be true to themselves, to demonstrate moral courage. Anna Hazare has very effectively harnessed moral courage and created a people's movement.
But no leader in India is donning the role of Sardar Patel who was India's first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. During the Partition, India's most painful episode, Sardar Patel swung to action. He galvanized the Government by asking every official within Government to act according to their conscience and not wait for orders from above. He employed Saama, Daana, Bheda, Dhanda to get things done. And when the 565 autonomous princely states had to be convinced or coerced into joining the Indian Union he did not balk. He did not hesitate to use military might where necessary to coerce the princely States into becoming part of the Indian Union. Just as in the Mahabharata, Arjuna responded to the need for action on the battlefield, Sardar Patel acted. He did what he believed was best for the nation and his legacy is this Akhand Bharath, one united India. While his critics have carped, we are fortunate we had a courageous leader who acted decisively, who did not wring his hands and wonder what to do.
But when I see Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram in Parliament, I see an unwillingness to act. Some politicians of the ruling party have the gall to say "this protest will not stop corruption". They are deluding themselves because they do not have the courage to act. What they do not realize is that the protesters are protesting to tell the Government to act against corruption. Nobody believes the protest itself will stop corruption. This is not about the Jan Lokpal. This is about the Government with its enormous powers to act, to punish wrong doers, to make systemic changes. Only a fool will say the Government cannot do anything about corruption. The Government is supremely powerful and can do ANYTHING. Since some politicians have asked what can be done to stop corruption here are a few things that leaders of civil society have asked them to do -- implement immediately through government orders and introduce it into Parliament later -- administrative reforms, Police reforms, judicial reforms, land and registry reforms and watch corruption die. If you are in Government and want to be seen as a leader introduce all these Bills in Parliament this week. There are so many things that only need a Government Order, not an Act of Parliament. Do it. Now. Seize the moment.
It is tragic to see Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram in Parliament looking beaten. For those who remember, in 1991, while India was near bankruptcy these same two gentlemen along with PV Narasimha Rao, another extraordinary man who rose to the occasion, swung to action. They did not say "we do not know what to do" or "no one has an answer". They took courageous steps. They were opposed tooth and nail in Parliament by the Leftists. But they persisted. In 11 months, they wrote Bills, repealed Acts, introduced new Acts, and issued Government Orders that today has transformed India economically. They did not balk, they did not hesitate.
When World War II loomed over Europe, when the Nazis had occupied all of Europe except Britain, when the Nazis looked invincible, Winston Churchill stood up, rallied people and went to war, because he believed that freedom was worth more than anything else. He was the Prime Minister of a democratically elected coalition Government at the time. He had all the political pressures that Manmohan Singh and the UPA have. But he pulled it off.
Here is your chance Dr Manmohan Singh.
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