Is it Apolitical Politics or it is just Politics?

India has been witnessing a phenomenal change in how today’s youth perceives politics and ideology of political parties. The Anna movement has been instrumental in awakening the people of country and in inducing a belief in them that they are strong enough to speak against corruption and against their representatives.  You will agree that two reasons, inter alia, that  Anna  successfully touched people’s sentiments was that he managed to generate faith in people for himself and that people felt challenged that if an old man can dare to fight why can’t they do the same. It was a movement which did not have any name and was not organized by a political party, perhaps this was one fact which generated more enthusiasm among people and gave a feeling that the nation is rising. If we imagine same kind of fast unto death by same Anna Hazare for any political party, do we see the same energy and zeal and same number of people at Jantar Mantar? The answer is NO, and that’s because we are SHY of expressing our political affiliation. Nobody wishes to be seen participating in an activity organized by a political party unless one is a cadre.

The recent Delhi elections and the AAP campaign would be a perfect case study for management schools. The Anna movement and birth of a political party in no time reminds me of train running on a track. When we travel in train, the train changes track a number of times but we feel that it’s running on the same track until it reaches the destination. The smooth transition of people who supported Anna movement as an individual, into an AAP cadre is similar.  It has led to a state where the intellectual supporters now cannot see what is there in disguise. People who will never deny the principle- “One should get what one deserves” are now vehemently defending the principle of “One should get what he requires irrespective of whether he deserves it or not”. One of the examples is the policy of 667 Lit free water /day. Policy states that if one uses more than the prescribed limit, ENTIRE CONSUMPTION will be charged with an ADDITIONAL 10% surcharge. If one sees it in perspective, it means that people who have washing machine, a good bathroom and sanitary provision etc. will pay not only for their consumption but will be punished with additional 10% increase in the tariff  for earning the living standard that he possesses. And the amount he pays is used by the Government for paying on behalf of the people, as a subsidy, who have not achieved that standard of living by their own hard work. This is what COMMUNISM means!

The conversion of an amazing movement into a political party has caused some damage which must not be ignored. The movement and the activism could have done much more benefit to the nation by forcing the existing political parties to mend their ways. The movement could have become a religion and anyone could have felt free to adopt it for the sake of the Nation. This will not happen now because like any other party it has also become a ‘package’ of good and bad where one can only choose all or nothing at all. It is a very general argument that one needs to dirty his hand to clean the dirt, not one political party denies that. Not one party supports corruption or justifies it. The question is whether everyone who is joining AAP is INCORRUPTIBLE? The question is whether everyone supporting this party is HONEST? How many people who are supporting the new party have NEVER tried to save income tax? How many of us have NOT unwillingly made investments in insurance plans, just to save income tax? Being lawful does not always mean honest. The question is of moral. The question is whether everyone who is joining the new party, including Congress leaders, becomes a real SAINT as soon as they pay ten rupees and wear a cap? The question is whether new leaders will be brought from another planet or will be inducted from this society itself?  Forming a political party immediately to convert the appreciation gained into votes and the supporters into cadre, for seats in Legislative Assembly has only raised questions.  An individual  who supported the Anna Movement and could not be converted into a cadre is bound to ask- Did you have plans to form a party when you protested at Jantar Mantar and asked people to join Anna Hazare ? It is difficult to believe if one says ‘No, we didn’t have plans at that time’. Can a party that speaks the language of SEASONED political parties be so naïve and so spontaneous? It’s challenging to believe. The extent of the damage is that if another Anna someday stands up to fight, one will ask first of all- Are you going to form a political party and fight for power? It will be difficult to believe! The assessment of performance of a government is not the purpose here, the question is whether it is a sacrosanct APOLITICAL POLITICS or it's just POLITICS? 

No matter how the government performs, some damage has been certainly caused to the faith of Aam Aadmi.