Anna: Not a True Gandhian

Throughout his life Mahatma Gandhi stood against violence and remained a great votary of peaceful protest against all sorts of injustice, corruption and misuse of power. People from different parts of the country supported Anna’s call against corruption and saw in him a modern day Gandhian. But his reaction after Nov 24 slapping of Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar by a young man stands in denial of his Gandhian philosophy. Democracies don’t allow such means of protest as slapping a public representative or anyone just because you consider him or her accountable for certain ills or disagree with their explanation. Inflation and rising cost of living are not only Indian phenomena. Anna must not forget that two of his colleagues have been mishandled in the past and charged to incite public sentiments. Does he accept those charges? It is also time for the media to debate whether or not Anna stands for the true Gandhian notions of Ahimsa, self-reliance, self-sacrifice and the philosophy of Satyagraha or must they stop lavishing praise on people whose credentials would demand close scrutinisation.

Manzar Imam

New Delhi