 |
| Two little kids walking in the sun for a cause they yet don’t understand. |
 |
| We appreciated the shade of these huge trees |
 |
| March on! |
I hear of rallies and protests but normally I feel that someone else will take up the baton for me. This inertia persists in all of us and with our busy schedules often the motivation is lacking as well. But, with regular scams breaking out, and corruption emerging as the single biggest enemy of people, I decided that enough was enough. I joined the India Against Corruption’s initiative and tried my best to publicize this March through my blog and my Facebook account. And when the day came, a Sunday, I was there in the morning to do my bit.
For the first time, I participated in a march of this kind, and I am sure that most of the others who were there fell into the same category. Some of us had placards; we had also made one at home too. It was heartening to see youngsters, men, women, senior citizens and people with kids participate in a peaceful and organized manner in the March. We assembled at Gandhi statue outside Chinnaswamy stadium. There were short speeches, and then we were on our way. We raised slogans against corruption in Kannada, Hindi and English. Some of them were the common Vande Mataram, Bharat Mata ki Jai, Inquilab Zindabad, and others were specifically about corruption. It was hot but not debilitating. We had some policemen walk with us, and a Hoysala (police) van was there too. There were a couple of media channels covering the event, but the marches across the country hardly got any coverage across TV channels. Maybe, a Congress attempt to downplay people’s sentiments was at play. It just shows that unlike the image projected, the media, in fact, is in cohorts with the politicians and does not have the decency to side with a noble cause like this. We were asking for the passing of the amended Lokpal Bill, which would keep agencies for investigation into corruption away from political influence, strengthen Lokayuktas across states, and provide specific time frames and fast-track courts to ensure that the corrupt are punished with jail terms and attachment of property.
There were only 200-250 people attending this March of almost 3 kms. Apparently, thousands came on the streets in Delhi, ably supported by Kiran Bedi, Ram Jethmalani and others. This march was simultaneously held in 40 cities across the country on the day when Mahatma Gandhi laid down his life. What could be a better way to remember him than to fight for his ideals through peaceful satyagraha. We hope that this is the beginning of a people’s revolution. We will not sit quietly, and we hope to spread the message among others till everyone is involved and demands a corruption-free India. The next March will be in April. I hope that all those of us who could not make it this time will participate with our family and friends then. Please make time for your country and your rights! I will see you then. I leave you with some pictures here.
PS: TBTC (Too Busy to Care) is an initiative by Jaago Re and BlogAdda.com, and this post is written to make us aware of this TBTC Syndrome that lurks in all of us.
Rachna says 
Leave a reply to thatandthisinmumbai Cancel reply