Who is the real Baba Ramdev ? Does it really matter ?
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 07, 2011 -

Who is Baba Ramdev ? What are his credentials ? Is he just a Yoga guru or is he a wannabe politician, waiting in the wings to piggy ride his way into centre stage on some popular issue ? Is he a fake Baba ?

More importantly do these questions have any bearing on his stated objective of taking the fight against corruption to its logical conclusion ?

We need to be very sure about the issue at hand for ever since the Yoga guru made his intentions clear that he was going on a fast to demand the incorporations of certain points in the proposed Lok Pal Bill, his personal life or agenda as some have put it, has threatened to over shadow the real issue at hand, which is how to make the Lok Pal Bill more effective to check corruption.

To any regular guy out on the street, the points raised by Baba Ramdev to be incorporated in the Lokpal Bill may be hazy but other tid bits of his personal life, which have nothing to do with the mission he has taken up, such as his television appearance, his ownership of an island, his ayurvedic medicines, his wealth etc may be recited without much ado, much like a Class X student might do with the time table.

This is the reach and influence of the media in all its full glory and the interesting part is this may just be the script that the Congress led UPA Government was hoping for all along.

Ever since Baba Ramdev along with thousands of his followers descended on Ram Lila ground at Delhi to start his fast, demanding certain points be incorporated in the Lokpal Bill followed by the pre-dawn crack down on June 5, the debate has centred more on the 'five star' arrangements at the venue of the protest, his personal equation with the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, his alleged political ambition while the points raised by him have been consigned to the backseat.

It did not help much that the media went over board in writing and reporting on what celebrities from the show biz, like Shah Rukh Khan had to say-he does not support Baba Ramdev as he has a personal agenda-or a Salman Khan-anyone can take up a cause. Bollywood fans, and there are lakhs of them, would have obviously lapped them up and if at all anyone had an agenda, it was the media, with an eye on the circulation or TRP ratings.

It is not without reason, why the media in India has been nailed for its skewed priorities. Remember the comparative coverage between the Lakme Fashion Week and the Farmers' Suicide some years back ? If this is what the media has scripted all these days, we may also take a look at what the UPA Government has been upto all these days.

Is the Government really sincere about tackling corruption ? Why is it hedging on such issues as whether the office of the Prime Minister should come under the cover of the Lok Pal Bill or not ? Why shouldn't MPs and MLAs come under the purview of the proposed Bill ?

What purpose will it serve if political leaders are exempted from the purview of the proposed Bill ? If Baba Ramdev had an agenda, as the Congress claimed after the swoop down on Ram Lila ground, then why did the UPA Government agree to implement certain points raised by the Baba ? Why did it deal with a "fake Baba ?"

The public need to be sure that they have their finger on the pulse. The issue here is not so much about the agenda of Baba Ramdev, but about how sincere the UPA Government is in tackling the menace of corruption.

A thorough study of the culture of corruption, how it starts, how it travels through the corridors of power and from one floor to the other, in order of hierarchy within the Government or the inner set up of a political party, who benefits the most from such a prevailing culture etc, will bring us to the understanding of where the political leaders will stand if the Bill is passed without compromising any of its basic tenets.

Baba Ramdev and his followers also need to note down the point that any crusade against corruption should come without fanfare, certainly not the type of set up at the Ram Lila ground.

Anna Hazare did it without any fuss at Jantar Mantar and the impact of his mission was not diluted at all. Political ambition is a dirty word for anyone, other than the political class, such is the prevalent thought pattern in the country and it would be politically suicidal for anyone out to launch a movement, if care is not taken to ensure that not a whiff of "political ambition" escapes from within the aura of the activist.

By the same yardstick we may also question why political affiliation or political ambition is treated as a dirty word. Doesn't such a mindset portray the present political leaders in poor light ?

Doesn't it make a mockery of them ? Far from eroding the credibility of a Yoga guru, such a culture will only go on to trivialise the calling of the career politician !

Without a doubt it is incumbent on the part of the Government to trace the black money stashed away in Swiss banks. Why should the need arise for a Baba Ramdev to demand that such money be traced and brought back to India ?

As for the demand that education in professional courses should be imparted in Indian languages, we would advise the Yoga guru that it is not only impractical but also smacks of a desperate attempt to play to the gallery, to touch a chord with the hoi-polloi.

Maybe it is the cocktail of a 'five star' venue to launch the fast and demands like Indian languages, which only helped in adding to the agenda story, which unfortunately seems to be working in favour of those reluctant to tackle corruption effectively.