The spirit in Hamlet
forebode that there is something rotten in the state of Denmark.
While Shakespeare does tell us about the subsequent shenanigans that
unraveled, even the Bard himself would have been at a loss to
describe what's rotten in the state of affairs of the Government of
India, especially the way it is handling the genuine concerns raised
by Team Anna. Even if the spirit in Hamlet was somehow transported to
today's Delhi, he would be at a loss to fathom the workings of
these august gentlemen in the Cabinet and Parliament and how badly
they could mess up handling the issues (not all were practical too)
of a septuagenarian and some retired cops and lawyers and a
semi-retired social activist.
Leaving aside the question
whether all the demands of Team Anna are valid or practical or
whether the Opposition is fomenting the trouble (not to forget the so
called 'foreign hand'), the moot point is that the Government
messed up big time-no one can deny the levels of corruption
plaguing every sphere of life in this country. And negotiations with
Team Anna should have looked at possible solutions to eradicate this
corruption level or at least reduce them. While Anna has now acquired
a Messiah status and people are comparing the agitation to the Second
battle for Independence, what we really need today is a lot of
smaller Annas who can take up causes in their own areas or
territories. And if most of them succeed even to a small extent, we
will go a long way in clearing the Augean Stables the Indian public
polity has today got mired in. Even our channel community needs its
own Anna. While many of the partners across the country participated
in the agitation or are actively proclaiming their support for
Hazare, it is more crucial for one of them to champion the cause of
the community.
It's true that there are
a host of corruption issues that are plaguing the channel community
today. Delayed payments, delays by the vendor despite several
reminders, resellers extending credit periods beyond all reasonable
limits, or worse, disappearing in some cases without paying-it's
obvious that payments (or rather, non-payments) is the most serious
malaise afflicting our channel partners today. And this malaise does
not know any regional boundaries-be it a partner in Ludhiana or
Secunderabad or Amravati or Bhubaneshwar, delayed payments is a curse
afflicting all. Only a pan-Indian hero like Anna could really lead
the fight against this deep rooted malaise. Are any of partners ready
to don the Anna cap?