Citizens Marched Against Corruption.

30th Jan.2011

New Delhi.

On the 63rd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, thousands of people assembled at historic Ramlila Maidan to take a call against corruption menace that is weakening the roots of the country. The main motive of this event lead by Dr. Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal, Mr. Ramjethmalani, Swami Agnivesh and many other renowned personalities was to push forward a new "Jan Lokpal" bill. It was organised by the forum 'India Against corruption' and is intended to spread across 55 cities.

The event started off with chanting patriotic songs to realize the power of unity. Mahatma Gandhi, the great Martyrs and the RTI Activists who were killed by Mafia were also commemorated. Labourers from Faridabad, houswives from Dwarka and some ex army men from Gurgaon had just one thing in common and that was their outcry against corruption. Whether students, old men & women, and even kids stood up shouting the slogans "Gandhi hum sharminda hain, bhrashtrachari zinda hain" (Gandhi, we are ashamed that corrupt are still alive). 

Among the speakers were first woman IPS officer of India Dr. Kiran Bedi, senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani, Archbishop of Delhi Rev Vincent , apex lawyers Prashant Bhushan and Shanti Bhushan and Mehmood Madani. All these leaders joined hands with civil society and made the people to understand that Lokpal bill presented by the Government is just an eye wash, we have to push forward an effective Lokpal bill chosen by the citizens.

Mr. Mehmood Madani said : "I don't find any difference between corruption and terrorism. We have to fight against it as we fought against terrorism"

Activist Arvind Kejriwal said, " We have to create a vote bank against corrupts and pressurize the government to enact the Jan lokpal bill".

Swami Agnivesh whole heartedly praised Supreme Court judges who have been recently giving a tough time to the Government and straightforwardly asked Mr. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resign if he can't publicize the names of the people who have accounts in Swiss Banks.

Citizens also took oath that they won't vote anyone who is corrupt. Around 4:30 PM , this crowd of thousands of people then took a march from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar where the event ended with singing Rasthragaan.

Penned by-

Anubha Shukla

Be Vigilant, Break the Silence!

In the midst of the various scams, food inflation and corruption in almost each and every department, India is going through an ordeal from where everything seems so dark and hopeless. A condition in which 25% population struggles for food under below poverty line status and crores of money is engulfed in scams. It's adequately clear that we don't lack money, what we lack is clarity of intentions of the incumbents . "Nothing will change" notion has so deep rooted in the minds of the people that they see no way out. It's true that dawn of prosperity and hope is yet to come but no one stops you to light a candle in  the middle of the darkness. Youth encompassing 47%of the total population  of India can prove to be one of the greatest assets to streamline the corruption menace within the country. Lets talk about light rather than cursing darkness. Lets try to find out how a common youth can  intensify anti-corruption  movements and bring more transparency in the system.

-Constitutional literacy, a much needed and a much ignored part of our education system. Presence of Preamble of Constitution on the very first page of most of the CBSE course books explains its vitality. How many of us really know the first line of the preamble? Constitution for a country is what character means to a person. It forms the ideals the country believes in. How can you  believe and implement the ideas which you don't even  know? Atleast learning the preamble of the constitution should not be seen as just a protocol rather than a necessity. Constitutional literacy is indispensable to bridge the gap between legal system and the people.

-Be the part of the system by entering into the politics. Blaming the politics by calling it dirty will not work now. In spite of the fact that majority of Indian population is under the age of 35, our political parties are flooded with old men & women who look more like pensioners rather than leaders.Active participation of the youth in political system is the need of the hour. Being the part of the system you can put forward your voice more effectively and make it heard. You can be the voice of those who don't have voice.

-Learn to ask questions. Raise your voices because your silence is weakening the roots of the democracy. Our constitution gives us the right to ask questions through RTI Act and the government is bound to answer us. Remember, nobody gives you a glass of water if you don't ask then how could you expect your government to show accountability without even asking? If you think parliament logjam should be addressed, then ask for it.If you think there should be set accountability for a particular corruption case, then ask. Write letters to the officials and the governing bodies.Recollect the fact that those were merely 2% of total population of India who fought for us and brought us freedom. We need another 2% active participants of  present population of India who are dedicated enough to bring out the change for the good of the people.Surely, Government can ignore a single letter but it can't afford to ignore 2Crore letters in the present scenario.

-Last but not the least, be conscious while you vote. Don't vote just for the sake of voting. Despite of all political turmoils, make yourself believe that your vote can make a difference. So, use it sensibly. Collect certain information about the people you are going to vote. What's their educational qualification? What is the current status of their personal assets? Do they have any criminal background? When you are equipped with the above information then you can vote for a better candidate and make a difference too by choosing good governance.

If we can't stand for our country who else will ? If we are not vigilant enough, who else will be? We all fathom that absolute transparency in the system is required. It will happen for sure when we make the ruling realize that each of their steps is been scrutinized by the ruled, the people. 

-Penned by 

Anubha.


This article has been published in the Magazine B' Cogzinance of IIIT-Allahabad in Jan- Feb Edition. You can follow the link to see the article--http://bcognizance.iiita.ac.in/Jan-Feb2011/
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