Our forefathers who fought for our independence never would have thought that we would still have to fight for our rights in this free country. But then as Mahatma Gandhi did put – Honest disagreement is a good sign of progress.

The current “August Kranti” (as coined by the TOI) has actually got the nation up in arms against the government (again what the Hindu Edit page says – through Arundhati Roy’s article). But is it so !? Many would agree and many wouldn’t.

And I differ from the naysayers of the movement.

It is very easy to tread down a cause saying it’s against the parliamentary practices or forcing the government to pass the bill in the short duration of 15 days is against the basic functioning of the democracy – but I would like to ask these people – what has the government being doing in the past since 1968 – first time that the bill was introduced in the parliament ?! Does it take 43 years to pass a bill which just rightly wants a basic anti-corruption law in the country which is effective !?

And let alone the 43 years – the government had almost a year to talk out the bill and discuss it with the civil society – why then do they feel this is a forced attempt !? In these fast-paced times, the government seems old-fashioned – their thinking that the people will wait for them to take their time and react on an issue which has affected almost every citizen of the nation – is actually a day-dream. Dear government, please wake up and at least NOW be with the times ! When the youth of today doesn’t wait even a while to put in news of each of his events today as his Facebook status – you think they’ll wait ages !? When Twitter gets almost 600 tweets per second – each voicing their opinion – you think they’ll wait !? In this day and age when a web application changes the way things function almost overnight – you think they’ll wait !? The naysayers – please understand – it’s the Z generation now – waiting is not for them – they realise the speed of the clock ! And another thing that Anna is proud of is the youth of today with him – not the ones who are swayed by the public speaker – but has it’s own opinion. Each is standing in support only after knowing what the cause is – what the bill is – and what the repercussions would be. And then they say the public is uninformed !? And even if we agree that people are being given the Team Anna’s side of information about the bill – please understand that the debates on TV on various news channel are informing people about EVERY facet of the movement ! Today’s generation is updated – please DON’T undermine their knowledge.

And still if people say that the legal repercussions of the bill are not known – all I would say is – specially my friends studying law – please give people the knowledge about these things – the good and the bad – and what might follow after the passing of the bill – people are listening – they just need a voice ! But having said all this, we must not forget that Team Anna also consists of eminent lawyers Shanti Bhushan & Prashant Bhushan who have spent years and several discussions in framing the current version of the Jan Lokpal Bill. So, of course it’s granted that they would have gone through all the aspects of the bill. And with people like Kiran Bedi & Arvind Kejriwal – who themselves are award winning social activists – being part of the team – we also should not feel misguided – social activists follow the basic motto of working FOR the society.

Well, all this apart, the one thing that actually excites me is the way the public support just doesn’t fall short for Anna ! Everyday reading the newspaper the only thing I can exclaim seeing the front page is WHOA ! Keeping a public of around a lakh in attendance for a week now is no small feat ! And the public comes up and stays put only for a cause that it itself believes in ! And this movement is with the times – it’s on Facebook, it’s on Twitter, it’s on YouTube – my dear government – it’s faster than you function ! It has a reach broader than the .gov sites could create !

Had it been Baba Ramdev – I still would have had a second opinion on posting FOR the movement – but having read each facet of the bill – having read both the Lokpal versions – I’m an INFORMED supporter of Team Anna – the cause for which they are fighting ! This IS mutiny – but is the non-violent protest to demand our rights ! Which other protest has got the title of the being most peaceful protest of the times – the world is also watching – and I’m proud to be a witness to this historic event. And with the movement garnering support from every corner of the country, even outside, moving past the boundaries of religion, caste & creed – it’s a mission impossible that Anna has made possible. As, while the independence movement in 1947 separated the country on the basis of religion – this movement might as well bring together all !

Also, lastly to all those who feel “Anna is India” campaign leaves no room for the “I’m NOT Anna” people – you are not forced ! Please be in your own world and have your own version of protesting for a corruption-free India – we’ll still be in support !

For a better nation I speak.

Regards.