Can Channel Have its Anna?

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?