Questions that come to mind after Anti-corruption movement lead by

Anna Hazare

Context: Aftermaths of Fast unto death by Anna Hazare and various issues that
emerged after it.

Time period: April 2011

Geographical Location: India

Introduction:

As soon as the joint committee to draft Lokpal Bill has been notified (April 9,
2011) a row of controversy over formation of committee has been initiated. It
may or may not be an attempt to derail the process of anti-corruption measures
being taken but it is certainly to confuse common citizen and take full advantage
of his/her ignorance or the state of inequality of information. This sparked
several questions in minds of common citizens. Some of these questions are
collected here to be answered objectively by nonpartisan persons.

Questions:

1. Who all are against Anna Hazare?

2. Can we trust Anna Hazare?

3. Is there a guarantee that Anna will not betray citizens?

4. Is Anna's past scot free?

5. Are followers of Anna clean?

6. Are followers eyeing something bigger than a place in draft committee?

7. Who all are against notified committee?

8. What is the motive for raising voice against constitution of committee?

9. Who will gain if constitution of committee is changed?

10.Who will gain if the committee remains same?

11.What may go wrong if Bhushan's are removed from the committee?

12.Does it matter to have absolutely clean persons in the draft committee?

13.Was there a point in opposing Sharad Pawar in GoM? If yes, why not
people see case against Bhushans? Can Bhushans and Pawar compared
with each other?

14.Is Indian media partisan?

15.In case media is partisan, who is with whom?

16.Is Hindustan Times (who claimed that CD is genuine) a neutral
newspaper?

17.Is Mr Vinod Sharma of Hindustan Times pro-establishment and eyeing

Rajya Sabha seat?

18.Do political parties know that journalists can do greater service to them by
staying apparently away from party and not joining the party openly? In
that case have political parties discovered ways to compensate journalists
for sacrificing their neutrality?

19.Has neutrality become a salable commodity like virginity that one can
sacrifice once in a life and get big price for it in the time of great crisis?

20.Who should common man believe?

21.Are there journalists who can be relied? Is there really any journalist who
has not been sold or will not be sold in near future?

22.How long a seemingly neutral journalist like Arnab Goswami stay neutral?
Is he really with some political party? If not will he ever succumb to
attempts to buy him? Is his ferocity a maneuver to raise his market price?
What keeps him going?

23.Do ToI (Times of India) and HT (Hindustan Times) present opposing views
on same issue because of their rivalry or due to their loyalty to different
masters or merely for the reason of different viewpoints?

24.Do Indian citizens put too much trust in journalists or have they become
equally cynical about journalists as they are about politicians?

25.Is there a reason behind Open Magazine getting audio tapes that exposed
many journalists, corporate, politicians, etc? Why there are no tapes to
implicate some partners of ruling coalition? Do (i) Open Magazine's getting
leaked tapes, (ii) Hartosh Singh Bhals views against Bhushan's and (iii) no
implication of some parties in these tapes have a common thread? Can we
make a story out of that?

26.Is investigative journalism a farce? Is it true that what we have got till date
as investigative journalism was not result of some brave journalists risking
their lives to get a story but was simply transpired because someone got
fed up with someone and wanted to get rid of him/her.

27.Was Barkha Dutt first used (to negotiate) and then dumped (by leaking
tapes that had her voice)?

28.Was Barkha used because some one knew that his/her telephone was on
vigil so it was safe to use some else to carry the message.

29.Has Barkha Dutt learned her lessons in hard way?

30.Is NDTVs devoting major time on issues like cleaning coastal areas, saving
tigers, women's induction in armed forces a part of its pre-decided
approach (to be balanced and attend all issues) or just an ploy to sideline
certain uneasy issues?

31.What prevented NDTV from removing Barkha especially vis-à-vis Prabhu

Chawla's case.

32.Was Barkha did what she did on her own or was it on behest of
management of NDTV?

33.Has it become difficult for journalists to be neutral in spite of their great

inner desire to be that way?

34.Do journalists see no point or value in staying neutral? Is it a natural

sequence to start career as unknown journalist, raise your stature by
breaking some stories and once you have reached a certain stage
swapping credibility for whatever is valuable to you (money, property,
position, closeness to influential people (remember- jinhi tinhi bhanti ..
paryoon rahoon darbar ).

35.Are journalists who are against Bhushans raising an objective question or

simply justifying their loyalty to their masters?

36.Is it true that some (if not all) journalists become loyal to party whose
government rewards them with Padma awards?

37.What about other journalists like N.Ram, Vinod Mehta, Preetish Nandy?

38.Are some lawyers against Bhushans due to professional rivalry or because

they know Bhushans better than citizens?

39.Is it akin to Mahabharat War that everyone has joined?

40.Yudhishtir's credibility was used very cleverly by Pandava's during

Mahabharat War. Have political parties learned to do the same and that
too with greater efficiency? Do you remember that during early space
explorations a rocket could be used only once but later ingenious minds
devised a space shuttle that could be used again and again. Have
politicians found way to use credibility of old leaders, journalists and
'neutral persons' again and again?

41.Is Baba Ramdev has any hidden agenda? Is he using credibility of Anna or
using anger of citizens against corruption for his personal gains or it is just
the other way round? (Anna and company using his clout).

42. Can any politician afford not to be corrupt? Are there politicians whose
integrity is beyond doubt?

43.Why do we put our trust in persons rather than issues and facts? Do we
get cheated because of this very tendency?
44.Is there a possibility of Anna Hazare being misused by any of his team
members? Is anna clever enough to ward off all such efforts? Is there no
danger eminent as none of the members have ulterior motives?

45.Was it naive for Anna to praise Modi and Nitish or has he got inclination for
BJP and allies. If so does it make him disqualified for raising voice against
corruption?

46.Does BJPs extending support to Anna discredits the entire movement?

47.Anna sits cross-legged and can do it for long (as reported by Manu
Joseph). Is it unintentional reporting or a reflection of kala-angrez
mentality? Is it a disqualification to be able to sit cross-legged? Are people
who can sit cross-legged not allowed to raise voice against corruption?
(one Shobhan Saxena also got interested in him sitting cross-legged as if it
was something unheard of phenomenon.)

48.Is majority of Indian population naive and can be easily fooled?

49.Have politicians mastered ways to manipulate media and fool public?

50.Are citizen's representatives too naive to counter politicians? Do they

really realize what they are up against?

51.Is it that only politicians who are corrupt? Are citizen's holy cow? Is it that
the politicians get beating for the system that is corrupt to its core?

52.Which one of the civil society representative has ulterior motive?

53.Can a civil society member with ulterior motive harm drafting of effective
Lokpal Bill?

54.Can government do anything to ensure that the bill is passed in Loksabha?

55.Can it be compared to nuclear bill for which congress risked losing support
of allies for getting it through?

56.Are political parties who apparently supporting the bill doing so knowing
full well that some parties may not vote in favour of the bill so why risk
their own reputation by opposing it?

57.Will the committee able to draft the bill in time?

58.How much impact the bill have on arresting corruption if it gets passed by
both houses?

59.What are the hurdles that can be created in way of Lokpal Bill? (apart from
what has been already made).

60.Why Digvijay Singh raising all these issues?

61.Is it true that Digvijaya Singh was involved in liquorgate?

62.Why Amar Singh fuelling controversy? What is he likely to gain?

63.Will Amar Singh soon join congress or does this arrangement suit both the
parties?

64.Is Amar Singh co-victim with Bhushan's as he claims or is fighting a

shadow war.

65.Are Amar and Digvijai working for a common cause?

66.Is it true that one never scolds a pet dog who barks and bites a 'persona
non grata'.

67. Has Amar Singh descended at this time as God given gift (billi ke bhag se
cheenka phoota- is it a mere coincidence) or orchestrated by a master
mind? See the 50 lakh maneuver, if Bhushans were paid this much they
will refute and in turn accept that they have connection with Amar Singh.
Is it a sheer coincidence that by this time Virendra Bhatia, who has been
alleged to have paid money to Bhushan, is dead (may 2010), the person
who claims that 20 Lakh was paid in his presence (Amar Singh himself) is
a party in this, Mulayam Singh is not speaking a word, the money has said
to have been paid in cash (not as cheque) and there may not be any entry
in Party's account regarding this payment! This is all enough to make a
common person disinterested in Lokpal Bill, Bhushans, People's movement
against corruption, etc. Some people have guts to drive people nuts. Is
Amar Singh one of those fortunate ones? Is it true that he secretly admires
his ability to do so and rest of the folks make use of his talent as and when
need arises ( It was really out of the 'world' feeling to see him perform uri
baba and kanta laga before news channel cameras).
 A cartoon in Dainik Bhaskar, Hindi daily on 23 April 2011
regarding surfacing of a CD in connection to Bhushan's

http://epaper.bhaskar.com/Details.aspx?
id=50361&boxid=422223236687

68.Why is Mulayam Singh silent?

69.Is it a well thought of strategy of Congress party to speak in different

voices or is it happening without any conscious effort? Pakistan has used
this strategy against India effectively after 26/11 has made a standard
item in weaponry.

70.Has anyone seen the CFSL report that claims that CD is genuine? Is it true
that CFSL has been sent just a different CD or a CD with only a small
unedited portion?

71.Who has sent the CD to CFSL? Does CFSL heed to requests of private
parties? If no, who from government/bureaucracy/police provided CD to
CFSL?

72.If different CDs were sent to different labs does this show that the
newspapers to behave like naive and idiots by highlighting the wrong
version? In such case either of the two allegations should stick- (i) Media
itself is partisan and hence part in corruption to and also a party in posing
 hurdles (ii) or it lets go things without due verification and does promote
rumour and plays with the sentiments of people.

73.Are we being used by both the 'parties'? Are we cursed of always being
used and cheated?

74.Shall we repent our decisions later on (with whoever we align ourselves)?

Is it a true age of 'Crisis of Credibility'?

75.How long it will take to forget everything and get along with life as usual
(cozy with corruption) or is it decisive battle against corruption?

76.Is corruption backbone of India and removing it will have sever

consequences?

77.Are all these questions linked to each other or to a common problem?

78.Do we have answers to these questions? Shall we ever get all our
answers.. and that too before it is too late?

Compiled by Dhirendra Devarshi धीरेन‍द देविषर

Links to other documents on related issues-

http://www.scribd.com/doc/52311281/Corruption-in-Indian-context (presentation)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/52341429/How-a-Common-Citizen-Can-Fight-
Corruption

http://www.scribd.com/doc/52339831/Why-Be-Afraid-of-Lokpal-Bill

http://www.scribd.com/doc/52497573/Comments-on-Anna-Hazare-s-
movement-for-Lokpal-Bill-against-corruption-in-India