Condemn the arrest of Anna Hazare and other anti-corruption struggle activists and ban on hunger strike

Any well meaning individual is bound to condemn the arrest of Anna Hazare and other anti-corruption struggle activists and the ban on the hunger strike in Delhi. This high handed action of the Congress lead UPA Govt is an attack on the democratic rights of the people to have peaceful forms of struggle.

It shows the intolerance of Congress and UPA leadership to any anti-corruption movement. Had the Prime Minister and the Govt been sincere in its declarations against corruption made on the independence day, it should not have been agitated over Anna Hazare or any section of the people campaigning for an effective Lok Pal bill and against corruption.

This intolerance on the part of the leaders of ruling coalition against anti-corruption struggle proves the involvement of congress and UPA leadership in the recent spate of corruption. The official Lok Pal Bill presented in parliament is weak and inadequate. Prime Minister need not be placed above the law of the land. It is not above any of the law already in force. Then why there shall be an exemption from the Lok Pal bill being enacted, now ? Congress in the past, during the period of NDA regime pleaded for including of Prime Minister in the purview of Lok Pal bill. This shows the duplicity of the UPA leadership.

A strong popular movement has to be built up to ensure that a proper legislation for an effective LokPal is adopted by parliament. Thus the Anna Hazare struggle is justified and any attempt to crush the struggle is to be opposed. More over the anti-democratic attitude of the Govt of India and their attack on the rights of the people to protest is of greater concern.


While giving full support to the struggle against corruption and for an effective Lok Pal bill, it shall not go unnoticed that the Anna Hazare team struggling against corruption do not realise the real dimensions of the corruption and the root cause of it. That shows their lack of understanding and the limitation of the movement. The progressive movement has to respond favourably to any mass movement against the existing anti-people regime to a natural conclusion in the process of building up vast movements. In the process the vast sections of the people will be drawn to the struggle against the inhuman system of abject loot of the assets of the people by the capital and enhance their awareness on the class contradictions and need for a class approach to the issue.


The role of media in deliberately ignoring the left initiatives is due to its pro-finance capital stand and subservience. But, they are unable to ignore the civil society actions. They may even have deliberate intention to project the civil society activism against the progressive movements. But, they are bound to fail as the civil society activism is contributive to the left movement and in no way contradictory to it.

Corruption is not limited to public servants accepting bribe for the services they give to the public. Sure, such corruption has to be ended. Corruption of any sort whether small or big shall be ended. But, it shall be seen that corruption includes swindling of public money of all sorts and their siphoning away from the people and the nation. This aspect cannot be disputed by any body including the civil society activists.

But they may not agree that the new generation industries are per se corrupt outfits. They appropriate the public assets one way or other. These elites who aligned themselves with the civil society activism are the beneficiaries of the new outfits and the neo-liberal policy frame work. They think that they got employment only because of these new generation industries. This is true and is the case with all those employed in Govt and PSUs even, in the past as also today. But, those so employed will in course of time change as they experience the exploitation of the their labour by the capital. The employees of the new generation industries did not so far thought of the fact that had the PSUs or other similiar structures like co-operatives were expanded instead of the new generation ones, which are not bound by any rules of the game, they would have been better paid with better service conditions ensuring job security and social security. The very insecurity experienced by the new generation workers will make them fight the finance capital in due course. Then they will realise that the neo-liberal policy frame work is the root cause of the increased corruption.

On this analogy the undue favour to the corporates by way of tax concession is the highest form of corruption while subsidy to the poor are curtailed by the UPA govt as part of the neo-liberal policy frame work it has adopted. Handing over of public sector assets to corporates is yet another form of corruption. They include the transfer of PSU shares, PSUs themselves, forest land, mines, oil fields, spectrum and the like.

The loss of 1.76 Lakhs Crores by way of license fee for the mobile communication spectrum allotted to corporates is only a part of the corruption in the sale of spectrum. The very sale is corruption. Common Wealth Game scam is direct political corruption resorted to by the ruling party functionaries. It is quite natural for the politicians to resort to such tactics when they favour the ruling class to loot the people as part of their role of class subservience. Such acts are bound to be ignored or culprits protected by the system, which is being taking place.

The wealth so siphoned away from the people results in deprivation to the people, they being subjected to innumerable suffering. It naturally finds its way to tax havens and Swiss banks. It also reaches the hands of the extremist elements and terrorist outfits that weaken the peoples democratic movements. This shows the nexus between the ruling political elite, the state apparatus lead by the civil servants, their class masters, the extremism, terrorism and every thing that is anti-social.

Thus, the civil society activists are yet to understand that the spate of corruption is very much integral to the system. They are not to be blamed for their ignorance. In the course of the struggle they will realise that the system itself is corrupt and corruption is a means of the primitive capital accumulation process resorted by the corporates against falling profit rate.

Falling profit rate is the result of the crisis of shrinkage in international trade which is the effect of mind boggling exploitation resorted to by the finance capital. Falling profit rate give rise to share market crisis, crash in share prices. Hence, the Corporates are forced to inflate their profit in books of accounts up by showing assets earned out of the swindling of public assets even while actual surplus is falling or rate of growth of profit is retarded.

Share market confidence is thus built up through fraud, like that of the Sathyam episode where real estate gains are utilised to inflate profit. Information Technology Corporates use inflating their intangible assets (value of the software solutions) to create the hype. This in effect result in siphoning away the wealth generated from the real world economy, the agriculture, industry and services into the virtual economy creating economic boom without generating corresponding employment. No employment and hence no surplus, is the essence of the crisis faced by the finance capital. Naked loot of public assets and massive loans are the two ways of sustenance of the modern finance capital. It is thus bound to collapse in short run, the signs of which are visible now.

The new areas like trade in derivatives, the financial instruments, is not generating any surplus of its own. The IT boom and financial sector boom of trade in derivatives are only means of profit sharing or re-appropriation of the loot booty among different groups/sectors of finance capital.

Rising price of Gold, Crisis ridden US Dollar, US loosing credit worthiness etc show how fragile is the global capitalist system is !

Thus corruption is encouraged by the system. It is favouring the finance capital. It is against the people at large. They are deprived of their assets, the public assets as also their private property. In the process they are deprived of a living too.


If the present movement lead by the civil society activists has to achieve their demand for a corruption free India, they have to go a long way. It shall not be achieved by a mere LokPal, how-so-ever effective it is going to be. Even for that a strong popular movement has to be built up to ensure that an effective legislation is adopted by parliament. In addition to LokPal many other system changes are required. Judicial Commission to over see the judiciary is a must. Re-engineering of Govt Departments to make it more transparent and responsive is a must. Democratic expansion achieved through greater awareness of the people and their vigilance is yet another requirement.


On the whole Administrative Reforms measures and democratic expansion put forward by the left is the need of the hour to end corruption, which shall be a step ahead to a more responsive and people oriented governance. It shall include many more measures along with LokPal.

Let this be a beginning that leads to more united struggles for a better future. This struggle shall provide the first lesson for the civil society movement as to who shall be their allies and enemies.


Joseph Thomas