Covering Anna 1

“People like you and me were there at the rally,” I told my boss when I returned to my office after covering the first rally of India Against Corruption (IAC) at Ramlila maidan in January 2011. Little did I expect that this rally would prove to be a turning point, for the society at large and for the media too.

The gathering was pretty impressive but I thought most of them had come due to association with the Art of Living Foundation. And several others were ‘brought in’ by NGOs. When Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal announced the IAC helpline number, I thought when have these kinds of help lines ever helped?

But few weeks later at the Jantar Mantar in April, these reasons and reasoning fell apart. There were more and more of what I had called “people like you and me.” I am sure, no one from the media had expected such overwhelming response for Anna Hazare’s ‘fast unto death’ appeal. I for one had not at all expected it even when I attended the press conference on April 4 announcing team Anna’s ultimatum.

Indeed it was unexpected! The surging crowd at Jantar Mantar was an alarm, a signal loud and clear for the mainstream media. It was the new age media – the SMS service, the missed call service, the IAC website and the Facebook page – that had fuelled people’s imagination and prompted them to reach the venue. Mainstream media had entirely ignored the journey from Ramlila maidan (January) to Jantar Mantar (April). So what if no newspaper printed it, so what if no news channel showed it, people did gather at the designated date and place ... April 5 at Jantar Mantar.

With 24X7 electronic media coverage, people literally poured in at Jantar Mantar. As a reporter, my attention was divided into two clear cut things. One was what was happening on the stage, what did Anna Hazare say, who came to speak et al. And on the other hand, what was happening in front of the stage. There was lot more drama off the stage actually, right on the road in front of the stage.

Contractual teachers thrown out of job came to express support and also demand justice for them. Displaced people due to an industrial project cried horse about their land. Women from interior areas came in numbers to express anger about missing ration cards. Lawyer representatives queued in for “me too” announcements from the stage. And then there were characters of all types, absolute namunas. By the way, they made for good photo op for our pages.

Last but not the least, there were all kinds of Delhiites, or should I say, urbane, suave, necessarily middle class and upper middle class people from Delhi NCR. College students, bank employees, government babus, MNC executives and even housewives who, I suspect, sacrificed their saas bahu serials to be part of the Anna event. It had indeed become an event. Jantar Mantar Live (on the lines of Pipli Live) for the media and equally engaging for the aam janta.

There started the debate about who these people were? Many presume these were velhe log who came there for lack of better things to do. With metro station a few minutes away from the venue, people came in “just like that” to “see” what all the tamasha was going on. “Nope, they are genuinely interested people”; “Yes, they are the ‘common man’ we keep talking of, fed up with systemic corruption!” and “They are the supporters of the IAC campaign,” argued the others.

An elderly neighbor watching the non-stop coverage on television at her home put this madness in perspective: “Agreed, they might have no some important work. But they could have always watched this on TV, they could have always gone to malls or for that matter, to a film. The very fact that they are at Jantar Mantar, may be out of curiosity, means that they ‘are against corruption’.”

As the days progressed and the media frenzy increased, what I found remarkable was the stupendous work by volunteers. There was a method in the madness and that was entirely due to the tireless efforts on part of the volunteers, those associated with PCRF and also those who joined impromptu. That was a unique feature of the agitation, something unheard of in recent times.    

However, even as team Anna upped the ante and government’s desperation was evident, few questions remained unanswered. How will a fast-unto-death end corruption? How will Lokpal end corruption? Most of the people had no clue whatsoever. Only a few said, “This is just a step”.

Another question I asked repeatedly to the aam janta shouting slogans against corruption: “How did they identify with the menace of corruption in their own life? Did they or did they not pay any bribe for any work done in their personal settings?” And repeatedly, I drew a blank. Someone had paid Rs 100 to a traffic cop, someone had paid MCD a paltry sum to get birth certificate, a high profile executive said he had paid bribe to secure admission to a college and the course that his son wanted. Even the coy-looking infant holding housewife admitted to paying a small amount to facilitate LPG gas cylinder for their kitchen.

I wondered, why are they here? Exactly the question, which seeks to address a larger issue, of the systemic corruption that has made deep inroads into our society and majorly eating into our resources, our energies and affecting our psyche!

It was interesting to be part of an important ‘event’ – yes, even though I called it as a movement in my reports, personally, I don’t yet see it as a movement. Interesting and challenging, one, because the crowds were almost infectious and it was increasingly difficult to maintain the objectivity while reporting and second, it was sheer magic to witness how people joined in without anybody forcing them to.

And that is what did the trick. It puzzled the politicians no end as to how can hundreds and thousands of people come without anybody paying for their travel, without any incentive and without any coercion.

April 9, 2011 was by any standards a landmark day. It was for the first time that the Government of India had agreed to ‘involve’ ordinary citizens into law making. Although it was very clear, to the organizers, to the many people gathered that Saturday morning and also to the media that the battle had just begun, the mood was anything but that. The deafening celebration belied any of that. It was total and absolute celebration. On expected lines, team Anna bid good bye to the people with a promise to hit the road after August 15 if needed.