Kejriwal's fetish for the <i>topi</i>

Arvind Kejriwal's Gandhi topi is seen as a tool to promote the individual rather than a cause

Anti-corruption crusader Arvind Kejriwal is always seen wearing a cap, especially after he launched the Aam Aadmi Party. What does his cap signify? Although Kejriwal has never explained the significance, it could symbolise all those people who wore a similar cap, say, Gandhi, Nehru, and the entire political creed ever since, while calling it the "Gandhi topi".

It could also symbolise Anna Hazare whose topi inspired many of his supporters to don a cap. For Hazare, it was part of his regular wardrobe, and not an accessory introduced for the media. Some say Kejriwal virtually stole Hazare's topi, and are grateful that the former restricted himself only to the topi. Ironically, none of Anna's supporters now wear a topi.

In Hindi, a popular idiom "topi pehnana" means to take one for a ride. When people wear these topis, are they, too, being taken for a ride? According to his critics, the very fact that no one has ever questioned Kejriwal on his cap is a proof.

There is much appreciation of the work he does. People cannot suppress their glee when he hauls the Delhi government and the capital's private power companies over coal, by pointing at irregularities. Or, when he points an accusing finger at the high and mighty like Robert Vadra or Nitin Gadkari.

And yet, being an enemy's enemy is not a sure formula to win friends from among the aam aadmi, or even those he is supposed to work with.

Most activists abandoned him after working with him for just a year. And he, too, abandoned the targets after launching his one-time guerilla-style attacks on them.

JP movement veteran Purushothaman Mulloli says what Kejriwal is creating is a virtual reality - not a people's campaign. It is one-man show - a soliloquy - in which he is the only actor. And the cap symbolises that.

As for the anti-corruption tirades and attacks, since it is not a people's campaign, there is a question mark as to who benefits from these, says Mulloli. He gives the example of Enron that the Shiv Sena vowed to throw out of Maharashtra. But it did not happen. So, there is no guarantee that he will behave differently with other politicians either, he says.

Now, he is set to go on a fast to mobilise Delhiites to boycott the power bills.

Again, the cap comes in between him and the common man. "If he is interested in people, he must prepare and organise them, collect meters and dump these in the electricity offices. Fasting or wearing caps or media reports would achieve nothing. It would not win the trust of people, and he would still be suspected of being just a broker for unknown vested interests," says Mulloli.

But returning to caps and topis, Gandhiji was not a regular cap-wearer. He wore it initially to identify himself with the masses in Maharashtra and Gujarat where it was commonly worn. Today, barely anyone wears it. So it does not help Kejriwal identify with the aam aadmi at all.

Activist Shabnam Hashmi says the cap has become a saleable product like KFC, and so people are using it to promote themselves.

She believes that Kejriwal - like Hazare - has been propped up by certain forces. This, she says, explains why he is selective about his targets. "While the Comptroller and Auditor General had a report on the Rs 17,000 crore scam in Gujarat, Kejriwal never bothered to talk about it. That he has spared Modi so far is proof that the only intent of the movement is to create anarchy," she says.

Media events need costumes. The cap is just an accessory for a movement that had become a media event, as she points out.