Coming Together.

Who had thought that one small, old man could bring the nation together? Not the Government, for sure. He succeeded in getting Indians all over the world together, too. Calling out slogans like "Gali gali mein shor hai, saare neta chor hai!" and "Vande Mataram!", huge crowds all over the nation marched on, noticeably angry and determined to put their point across to the authorities.

I was at Azad Maidan on the first day of the peaceful protests. Even at 6 p.m., there were enough people to fill up the entire pathway outside Azad Maidan. When we reached there, people had just started dispersing, but still a huge crowd remained and they continued chanting slogans and swirling the Tricolour. Nehru topi's proudly donned, the crowd walked from one end of the pathway to another, just being part of a revolution. Many people joined in, suddenly increasing the strength of the crowd. We did, too. For a mob this size, I was expecting getting squashed and more. But there was no funny business, and no one copped a feel! Pleasantly surprised, I too started calling out slogans and marched on with my new friends.

Today, Indians across the globe are ready to stand by Anna in this fight for a corruption free India. They're prepared to do almost anything required of them. Now does everyone understand everything that constitutes this fight? No. There's also the Jan Lokpal bill and how many people actually understand that. Not many do. But does it matter while such a huge revolution is taking place in our own backyard? Maybe it does. But it certainly doesn't matter to the majority of Indians who have been victims of the chronic disease called Corruption.

So many of us have had to pay our way through something. Something important, something that mattered to us. So many of us have had to pay to get a seat in an educational institution, for our desired course. That too when seats were available, but were hoarded. Were we given choices? No. Were we robbed of our hard earned money to fill the pockets of a select few? Hell, yes. Today, nothing seems to be done without the involvement of the dreaded "chaai pani".

A simple question that many of us have is, who are you to take our money from us? Who are you to render us helpless? You are the people we elected to serve us. Jis thaali mein khaate ho, ussi mein chhed karte ho? 

There are many people who don't support Anna, for whatever reasons. Those who do, know and agree that the Jan Lokpal bill is not THE answer to end corruption. Come on guys, we realize that. People who support this revolution aren't fools. We do know and understand that the bill is too ideal to actually become a reality. We do know that a democracy is not run this way. But a democracy cannot be run the other way, too. For decades, people have been drained of their money, their efforts, their time, their energy and their pride by the selected elected few. Today, one man has taken it upon himself to try and finally put an end to this suffering. So what's wrong with that? Would you rather stop this revolt and keep on dying a slow death under this tyranny? If yes, then maybe you're one of those who've never had to bribe your way through something or maybe you don't mind that. 

But some of us do. Some of us want to live a better life. Some of us want to get better things for our families instead of it being guzzled down by leeches that are never satisfied. Some of us want to live a life of self-respect. Maybe this isn't the answer to our worries, but it's a start. No one would deny that we, as Indians, as a pack of people who're always worried but never show it and come what may, our spirits are never shattered, have finally woken up. We have finally understood that we don't have to be quiet anymore. We are  a free country and we have rights. No one can manhandle us without reason and put us in jail. And if they do, we have an answer for that, too. 

It's definitely time we stopped being bullied by the government. This is NOT a dictatorship. This IS a democracy, where the government is supposed to work for us, to serve us. This revolution may not be the solution but it is an instinctive reaction to the government's tyranny. No one can blame us for it and no one can say we're fools. We're just people who are sick and tired of bending over, over and over again. Anna asked us to hold his hand for this journey and it's certainly better than holding the government's feet. I'm with Anna, and I don't care what the consequences will be. This man is fighting for us at an age when he should be relaxing and enjoying life at a leisurely pace. We can't let that go unnoticed. We don't want the Lokpal bill analyzed. For once, let's stop being all intellectual and analytical, and just be average Indians who want a change in the system. 

Let us all be Anna.