What should Anna Hazare do next? Certainly, he should not go on another fast. By overplaying his “fast strategy”, he has unwittingly brought ridicule to the concept of fasting. Even his well-wishers, who approve of his objective, now regard him with suspicion since he didn’t follow Gandhi’s satyagraha strategy in letter and spirit. Indeed some of his actions and words have been very un-Gandhian and that explains why the crowd during his fast in Mumbai thinned out, even as the cause espoused by him continues to be relevant. It is sad that Hazare could not tap the huge support he got from his countrymen. His next plan should be to build a political outfit that could contest in the next parliamentary elections with the objective of enacting a Jan Lok Pal Bill and defeating the corrupt forces in a democratic way. Obviously, for that he has to choose his lieutenants carefully and go for people who are more credible and mature. This move would also help put corruption centre stage in the next general elections.
N S Venkataraman Chennai
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