The Queen of Controversies is back at it again, and this time she seems to have brought in a worthy competitor for herself too. She, ranting about India's "Second Freedom Struggle", and her competitor, justifying the "Revolution", and the Common Man, totally left at sea. If this were to be a legal battle, there is not even the slightest doubt, that both these people, verbally spewing venom on each other, while presenting themselves as saints, a Judge, probably of the calibre of Justice Krishna Iyer, would have had an Obiter Dictum that quotes thus "Neither of the parties have the standing nor the prudence to be contesting this issue in a Court of Law, nor do they have a standing in any forum for that instance, but in a Fool's Paradise."

Arundathi Roy, once again relying on her delusions and living on her mirages, mistaking all that glitters for gold, comes out with a proposition that seems to overtake the very conscience of an Indian, the very spirit of democracy, condemning a completely legal act, as an "upper class phenomenon", having nothing for the daily wage labourer who earns Rs. 20 a day. She goes on to hallucinate about Anna's RSS connection and weaves out facts that the NGO 'Kabir' is fuelling the "India Against Corruption" movement with a hafta from Ford. She presents astounding statistics that boggle the average reader, and to have it got published in a newspaper of the standard of 'The Hindu', she'd definitely have created a sense of doubt in the minds of myriad "intelligent" readers. Her bête noire doesn't fall behind, and goes on to prove from certain websites and some "believable" sources that all the funding from Ford is being used for the RTI movement as against the India Against Corruption movement as claimed by Ms. Roy. Roy's seditist views do not fall far behind either. At the very beginning itself she makes references to statements of national value such as Vande Mataram, Bharat Mata ki Jai, Jai Hind, etc. saying that these statements reflect the 'communal inclination' of the movement. There is some sense when Clear Visor says that she'd have been rather happy, rather overjoyed to hear Indian Government Murdabad, etc., but again, there is a certain culpability with reference to the whole system being bad. Roy also goes on with her verbal diarrhoea, accusing a certain Youth organisation supporting the movement for being Pro-merit. Does it mean to say that the curse of reservation still has to prevail amidst our already chaotic educational system, and probably by the very next year, see none of the Indian Universities in the Top 500 Universities of the world (It must be noted that only the Indian Institute of Science from India figured in the Top 500 Universities of the World), courtesy the extensive reservation, which I have no doubt Arundathi would fight for to make it 100%? Her opponent, with his knowledge and "all-pervading common sense" seems to blissfully ignore the concept of reservation and gleefully make his comment that a Left-Wing backed Youth Organisation also participated. There is total ambiguity whether he was trying to make a point about Roy's Leftist inclinations or whether he was trying to make a fool of himself by proving that certain organisations supporting the movement are politically backed.

By the time one wonders where Arundathi's liking to Anti-Developmental Protests have disappeared, she comes up with the cases of Kalinganagar, Bastar, Jaitapur and even she doesn't leave a senile Irom Sharmila. She doesn't stop there, and goes on to blast about Anna's praise of Narendra Modi, who according to her oversaw the 2002 Godhra Riots and massacre of the Muslims, without even having the slightest of evidence. Schizophrenia seems to have radically overtaken a once "bright" Booker-winning Author, and even though she couldn't produce more of her fictional works, she has been clandestinely mixing facts with fiction over the past few years, trying to grab a piece of media limelight. Mr. Clear Visor doesn't do the job any better. He too mixes facts copiously with fiction and goes on to say that the right-wingers call Anna, a congress stooge, and that even the right wing is not behind Anna. Probably, the ubiquitous Clear Visor couldn't clearly see that the RSS was willing to extend its full support to the Anti-Corruption movement, even without being named.

The boxing continues. Bout after bout, Clear Visor prima facie seems to have brought down a resillient Arundathi on to her knees, but its only later that one realizes that Clear Visor too exposed his ability to hallucinate, maybe just a step or two behind his opponent, and that reason holding good enough for the Pro-Anna campaigners to celebrate and fill in with a hundred comments of praise.

But what strikes me most, even more aptly put, confuses me is that the very Prashanth Bhushan who stood behind Roy when she called the Indian Democracy as the "biggest fraud in the world", is now involved, or should I say, entangled in a movement, that is totally on the other side. His credentials have always been questioned, and even a rather vociferous Roy kept quiet on him, while he too shunned the media's attempts to catch his quick response to that. Probably, a deeper LOGICAL analysis would spring out one thing, i.e., both Bhushan Jr. and Ms. Roy have always tried to inculcate the principle, "Let there be light" (Oops! Let there be CAMERA). This is a baffling fact, and probably a rationalist would conclude that both were two sides of the same coin, but as a mango man (Aam Aadmi), I'd say, its just the heights of opportunism.

Contradictory view points, controversial stands, and maybe consensual, contemporary cryptic & critical journalism, is what we have from both the view points. One trying to divide a nation that seems to have been united (atleast appears to be) after a prolonged period of time, while the other, seems to negate the apprehensions and accusations that has been made against a movement with doubtful credentials.

There's nothing more to say about Arundathi when her own "soul-sisters" Aruna Roy and Medha Patkar seem to have signalled their goodbyes to her camp, saying Arundathi's comments were unfortunate. Clear Visor isn't much better, for a deeper analysis into the comments that poured on the blog showed that some of his pieces like the Right Brigade bashing Anna, the Lokapal not creating a new bureaucracy, etc., were utter falsehood, under the garb of Anti-Corruption protests. "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity", says Navjot Singh Sidhu and how apt.

No doubt, a movement has been sparked by Anna, whom I have no hesitation in calling him a Phenomenon. To hold on to the strong principles of Satyagraha, and get an entire country to stand up for a cause, is no less of an achievement. Indeed its an enormous achievement, probably he has received the most stupendous support from all walks of life, which hasn't been witnessed int his country for well over three to four decades now, the last being probably JP's movement against the Emergency. But there's a pleading I'd like to make. If only corruption was hindering India's progress, no doubt this movement is THE ONE, but if the smallest sense of rationality prevails, one would realize that there are bigger and more hazardous factors deterring our growth as a country. And by bringing the PMO and the Judiciary under the Jan Lokapal, the two most contentious issues, there wouldn't be much change. Its always said that change is inherent and not something which can be imposed, and here, trying to impose a change would have its radical effects on the World's Biggest Democracy.

The huge gulf between our Legal System and the Constitution is best expressed in Justice Krishna Iyer's words, ""The basic structure of the feudal Indian legal system with its dated, diehard methodology, still smacks of fossil features and a colonial-curial culture. Its substantive and procedural features are conditioned by values of Victorian vintage. Our Constitution, on the other hand, envisions a radiant socio-economic scenario and forward-looking forensic infrastructure. Such a vision seeks to ensure that its creative mission may functionally fulfil the fundamental rights and egalitarian aspirations of the vast population which is even now governed by an arcane establishment. This establishment’s ‘survival after death’ philosophy is incongruous with the ‘socialist secular democratic’ developmental order which is our swaraj objective. The revolutionary tryst with destiny that ‘We, the People of India’ made on gaining Independence, remains a tragic illusion and an irony of jural magniloquence." We have a Grund Norm trying to suppress all the other laws, while the laws have clandestinely made use of the phrase "Nothwithstanding", and probably, there could not have been a better picture than this that reflects the radical contradictions in our system. If this wasn't enough, the Anna movement is trying to bring in a Third Reich, causing collateral damage to the existing streams via its blitzkrieg. There have been arguments of it being a 'Super-Constitutional/ Dictatorial' authrority, fit to be deemed ultra vires by ANY court of law, but the question lies how far the Constitution itself is good. Ask a diligent lawyer with 10 years of practice, and he'd say that atleast 50% of law in India is always exceeding the Constitutional authority. Have our Courts made a sincere attempt to rectify these error-prone legislations, and I'd not be surprised to find out that probably none of these legislations, except those with vested interests have been even challenged, let alone being repudiated.

Today, we live in a funny country that is filled with contradictions. The present day secenario hold a very good example to this. We have a quarter of our citizens behind Anna, shouting slogans, demanding "Change" that is to be imposed, not having the slightest clue as to how bad and idealistic the Jan Lokpal is, and probably, the Jan Lokpal, if challenged in a Court of Law, would not even pass behind the Lay Man's Test. We have one more quarter, thinking how well to criticize the whole movement and grab some media glare, not knowing that their own future is in jeopardy. The Third Quarter is filled with people who are not even slightly bothered about the recent happenings, and lay either as mere observers or narcissists obsessed with their own lives. And nothing has been more dangerous than the Fourth Quarter, for it consists of our own Netas and Bureaucracy, with their "safed kapde" who miss the socially sensitive fundamentals and the crimson economic grammar. It benumbs the common people’s deprivations and expectations and inhibits the advance of the backward Indian humanity. Well, if the country has been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls, and where the clear stream of reason has totally lost its way in the dreary desert of dead habit, where have we lost the independent, vibrant India that Tagore envisaged?

The fallacies and contradictions that this country presents is enormous, the challenges, everyone of them, a Herculean Task, but as a citizen, the best we could do, is not shouting on the streets nor ranting in newspapers, but being ourselves, being the countrymen we ought to be, balancing the pros and cons of every situation, figuring out a pragmatic approach to tighten the country's belt. Its been said that "Never argue with a fool. People might not know the difference." At the risk of heresy, I have put forth my case, and I would not be surprised if a million brickbats await me, but I have accomplished my duty as a citizen of this country.

I rest my case.