Today the movement against
corruption takes a significant step forward. This movement began by
channelizing popular anger against rampant corruption in high places
into a positive demand for a new alternative. Last year Anna-ji went on
three fasts, including the historic fast at the Ramlila Maidan, to
demand a strong, empowered, and independent investigative agency, the
Lokpal. The campaign caught popular imagination because people felt that
they were no longer helpless. However, despite widespread popular
support and parliamentary resolution, the Lokpal was not enacted. We
discovered that the ruling parties as well as the opposition lacked
political will to create the Lokpal. Yet Anna-ji, Arvind, Manish,
Gopal, and hundreds of other krantikaris sat on the current fast in
order to appeal to the government one last time. The result was no
different. The government stonewalled our demands and showed little
interest in bringing those guilty of big scams to book.
This is what brings us to this
next step in our struggle. Yesterday 23 eminent citizens called upon us
to give up on our expectations from the political establishment and
instead focus our energies on creating an alternative political force to
address a historic challenge. We asked you all as to whether this
proposal is something we should pursue. Your answer was an instant and
unequivocal ‘Yes’. That is why we decided to call off our fast and move
positively towards creating an alternative political force. This
latest move is thus a logical culmination of our struggle that began
more than a year ago.
This move is not about capturing
power but about changing the nature of state power. Our objective is to
provide a political alternative that will be realized through an
electoral revolution to democratize and decentralize power, and make the
power structures more transparent and more accountable to the people.
Our existing structures of governance, designed during the British Raj,
are meant to exert control on citizens from the top, rather than provide
a service and be accountable to the people. This needs to change. We
need to accordingly reform and restructure our legislative, executive,
administrative, judicial and policing institutions.
At this stage we begin with no
more than a broad vision and some guiding principles. Some 2300 years
ago Ashokan edicts had called for a moral, social and administrative
revolution through respect for all living beings, compassion for the
less fortunate and public transparency in government. His call has
echoed through the millennia and rings loudest today. The values
enshrined in our Constitution and the dream of Swaraj that was nurtured
by our freedom struggle encapsulates our vision of India.
Specifically we believe in:
- Democracy, where power is proximate to, consultative with and under the final control of the people;
- Freedom from arbitrary use of state or collective power as well as from fear and basic needs;
- Equality of opportunities and key outcomes, so that anyone’s wellbeing is not at the expense of others or nature;
- Social justice, whereby the well being of the last person comes first and life chances are not determined by accidents of birth;
- Secularism, that involves
recognition of and respect for social and religious diversity and
special needs of minority communities; and
- Peace in internal and external relations.
These are valuable but very
general principles. We would like to work these out more fully in terms
of concrete policies and positions in the course of the next few months.
We need to understand the concerns, needs and aspirations of our
citizens and the experience of various movements prior to us before we
formulate a comprehensive policy statement.
Realization of this vision
requires a new kind of political instrument. Usually this instrument is
assumed to be a political party. Yet the prevailing form of a political
party is not suited for this purpose. Almost all existing political
parties are top-down organisations, claiming monopoly of truth,
undemocratic and non-transparent in their functioning, controlled by a
family or a clique and dependent on large amounts of illicit funds. An
alternative political force has to search for an alternative to this
dominant form of a political party. We would strive to learn from the
rich experience of social and political movements that have attempted to
create alternative politics in the electoral and non-electoral domain.
We realize that we have embarked
upon a long, difficult and exciting journey. Since the whole point of
the journey is to change the rules of the game, its outcome cannot be
measured by conventional yardstick of ‘success’ and ‘failure’. We need
to evolve our own measure as we go along.
We plan the following initial
steps in this long journey: a nation-wide ‘Swaraj yatra’, to spread our
message, to learn from the people, to connect to our friends and
well-wishers and discover new allies; youth dialogues across the
country, especially in universities and colleges; and national
consultation with other organizations and movements.
If this movement has advanced
so far, it is only because of your support. The future of this next
phase depends on your participation. This movement needs your ideas,
your time, your energy and your resources. Please contact us by email
at:
indiaagainstcorruption.2010@gmail.com, or by post at: A-119, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, U.P. - 201010.
