Return of the J.

[Constancio Rodrigues]

The avalanche of anger and anguish at the assassination of Satyendra
Dubey of NHAI for exposing corruption is taking concrete shape. In a
protest march held at New Delhi a call has been given to start a
nationwide movement against the menace and also a greater role for
individuals in eradicating corruption from society. According to the
protesters, Dubey’s death was a wake-up call for every Indian to come
together and realise his dream of a corruption-free nation.

Calls of this nature given earlier had only little impact. The only
cry against corruption that had nationwide impact was the one by
Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) in the seventies. This call had launched a
movement among the youth across the country, particularly Bihar and
Gujarat. In fact, it was the students who started the movement and
took it to JP for guidance and leadership. But the forces unleashed by
this movement have run out of steam with most of its leadership
enjoying power. State of affairs in these very States — Bihar and
Gujarat — stand testimony to this tragedy.

The current protest also is spearheaded by the youth and with the
participation of several organisations, associations, citizens’ groups
and students, particularly from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, All-
India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi University and IITs, it
could as well turn out to be a revival of the JP movement. A brief
delve into the JP movement therefore is in order.

In the mid seventies JP emerged as an icon for honest and democratic
governance in the country. The firebrand freedom fighter turned
Sarvodaya leader resurfaced in 1974 to lead an uprising and a
movement, which mostly involved the youth. Outlining its raison d’etre
JP wrote: ‘‘The movement was started with certain specific demands,
the chief among them being removal of corruption, solution of the
problem of unemployment and basic changes in the system of
education.’’ Emphasising on the movement’s main thrust JP said: ‘‘As I
diagnose the root cause of the country’s critical state of health, I
identify it unhesitatingly as corruption and precipitous fall in the
moral standards of our politics and public life. We have always raised
our voice against corruption. Prevention of corruption was the main
aim of our movement.’’

Instead of responding positively, the ruling coterie chose to unleash
brutal repressive measures resulting in the strengthening and
spreading of the JP movement. Emergency, that extinguished democracy,
resulted which was defeated by the collective will of the people again
spearheaded by the youth, many of whom had sacrificed their
everything.

The nation and its people have been craving for another JP movement to
root out corruption that has thrived, prospered and triumphed despite
hollow claims made by successive government leaders. On assuming
office Prime Minister Vajpayee made an unequivocal commitment to the
nation: ‘‘In our fight against terrorism, we will be guided by the
principle of zero tolerance. The same principle will apply while
dealing with corruption that has bred contempt for the law.’’
Satyendra Dubey believed his Prime Minister and blew the whistle but
ended up among the dead!

As it happens there is ‘cent per cent’ tolerance to corruption as the
spate of scams and scandals reveal. A politician caught on the video
taking money and venerating it, has been declared a ‘martyr’ to the
cause of power politics! The ‘loot and scoot’ variety of plunder and
corruption is on the rampage and even the highest court in the
country, despite awesome powers, has expressed helplessness in
stemming this rot. The cold-blooded murder of Satyendra Dubey was a
sequel because in the absence of justice and punishment, corruption
kills and kills ruthlessly.

Unbridled corruption is at the root of India’s dismal poverty,
mounting unemployment and escalating violence. Corruption, by breeding
injustice and venaity could become the precursor to India’s democracy
descending to a state of ‘kleptocracy’. Corruption is like the dreaded
AIDS which sucks up and destroys the basic value system on which a
society is founded and has no cure if allowed to go beyond a certain
stage. Ironically, the cry has again come from Bihar, the mystique
land of formidable legacy that ‘‘produced relentless fighters and
exterminators of kings.’’ Do we see hope of the resurgence of JP
Movement and extermination of corruption from this never-never land of
ours?

But what can mere protests do to sustain hopes? The answer lies in the
famous words of Alexander Solzhenetsyn: ‘‘It is infinitely difficult
to begin when mere words must move a block of inert matter. But there
is no other way if none of the material strength is on your side. And
a shout in the mountains has been known to start an avalanche...’’
Among the flood of letters to The Indian Express there was one from T
H Chandrana that was poignant: ‘‘Satyendra Dubey’s whistle has started
a fire in the hearts of like-minded people in the nation. His supreme
sacrifice will be a source of inspiration and courage for patriotic
people across the nation. The sacrifice will be worthwhile if it
ignites a peoples’ movement which is the best solution to eliminate
corruption.’’

With such passion there is still hope and as historian Hiren Mukerjee
puts it, ‘‘the country lives in hope, however, for Hope, till Hope
creates from its own wreck the thing it contemplates.’’