Anna Hazare's hollow invitation to Irom Sharmila
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: August 23 2011 -

http://nilankur.wordpress.com/

Anna Hazare the enfant terrible of the crusade against corruption in India has invited, if news reports are to be believed, Irom Chanu Sharmila to join him and his followers in his continued stir against corruption, aimed primarily against the UPA government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

This can only be interpreted as a mischievous, callous and patronizing invitation which smacks of insincerity and a total lack of knowledge of the ground reality of Sharmila's struggle here in Manipur.

Let us face the facts. Anna Hazare, backed by powerful forces, is striving to bring down a government which he believes has institutionalized corruption. He wishes to restore the democratic institutions in the country to that extent that it genuinely serves the interests of the millions and millions of poor Indians.

In other words he is fighting for a cause to defend a system from being eroded by corruption.

Irom Sharmila's case could not be more different. This great lady is fighting to change a system in order to protect the rights of the deprived.

She has seen the futility of believing in the present system and seeks a comprehensive change of that very system which Anna Hazare wishes to protect. It is through this understanding that Anna Hazare's invitation to Sharmila to join his stir needs to be studied.

The first and basic lack of comprehension of facts which is evident in Team Anna is that Irom Sharmila is a detainee under police custody.

Even if their wildest dreams are to come true and Sharmila joins Team Anna in Delhi it would entail that the Government of Manipur will have reneged the constitutional foundations of the Union of India.

This act in itself would be a far more serious crime than either the noble and selfless struggle of Sharmila or the razzmatazz charade of Anna Hazare's sponsored struggle.

Another aspect to be studied is that Anna Hazare’s fight to protect a system, receives lots of support from anti-Congress elements, either openly or from ghost supporters, there is no dearth of financial backing.

Whereas in Sharmila's case, since she seeks to uproot a system which she considers as unjust, she rarely gets any open support. She is a lone crusader who will find it difficult to be in the limelight.

Then again, if Anna Hazare wishes to purify the Indian polity and feels he needs the support of Irom Sharmila, why has he not come to Manipur to show his solidarity to her painful and yet relentless struggle?

Why does he not even consider to conduct his fast in Manipur for at least one month to bolster Sharmila's resolve?

After all Manipur is one of the most corruption riddled states in the country.

The answer is self explanatory. Anna Hazare does not have any time to spare for Irom Sharmila.

Anna Hazare's invitation to Sharmila is not only an insult to the intelligence and resolve of the indomitable lady, but also to the intelligence of the knowing public of this state.

It is a cheap publicity stunt to garner support from any and all quarters. Therefore Anna Hazare should stop bothering Irom Sharmila, their causes are different.

Least of all he should realize that Irom Sharmila has been nose fed forcibly for nearly eleven years. She is hardly in a condition to join his political circus.