In many an Indian language ‘ Anna’ is the elder brother and so it has been with you, to whom we look up to as an younger brother would . Not that we had not heard of you before Jantar mantar happened .You were a known anti corruption crusader in Maharashtra and one had always heard about your fasts , your protests and your dare devilry as you confronted the powerful ministers and their sycophants . However you never were an house hold name as you are today , nor did we know as much about Ralegaon Siddhi as we know today .
Until Jantar Mantar happened we had heard only of the Arab Spring and had never imagined that we would have an Indian Summer so soon . You stirred the nation from the slumber and you galvanized the youth all across the country in to action . There were mass movements which were spontaneous and which believed in the cause which you were fighting for . It was your integrity that was most appealing ; You selflessness that was most inspiring ..you had no hidden agenda , you were not aspiring for any position of power , you were not into politics and you were Mr. Clean to the core . The nation loved this ..for you were a rare sighting in a land which was inundated with the corrupt and greedy . 2011 was the year when so many scams were unearthed that we hated the system even more , we were sick and tired of all this dirt around and again it was the politician who was at the centre of it all . so most of the anger was directed at the politicians and this was also another reason why your movement was more appealing for there were no political parties involved . The cause was just and your team was able to articulate it well ..we understood the significance of the Lok Pal and although we were not sure about its effectiveness we knew that there had to a body which monitored the politician and the babus and which with out fear or favour would be able to prosecute the corrupt . You made the government wake up when they saw the mass backing that your protest had got and in it they saw the erosion of their vote bank ..this was people power at its democratic best . The initial fumble from the government did help you and your arrest was also helpful in generating a lot of sympathy in your favour .

Initially we followed the movement from the confines of our drawing room as the urban middle class is always known to ; As the vibrant and fiercely competing media brought the images home , we , discussed about it a little with family and friends and then let it pass . But every passing day the movement started gathering more strength and then there were candle marches , there were people who were crowding Jantar mantar and there were the icons such as Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal whom one admired and respected for their integrity and their uprightness . We heard them on TV and we were stirred and we agreed with what they said . And then one evening I heard a few hundred people shouting slogans and marching in front of our society gate . My spontaneous reaction was to join them to show my support to the cause ; the same was the reaction from my teenaged daughter ..she too wanted to join in . Soon we both were part of the marchers shouting slogans and going along were the group went . Some body came and gave us candles and we were proud to hold them and move on . We had never done this before and I do not remember having joined a gathering like this , not even when the emergency was declared and not even when the Jayprakashji’s andolan was launched . You had truly created peoples power !

You had secured a major victory and forced the parliament to debate the bill . It was good going until then ..but then probably you too became a victim of power ..you and your team felt that you were invincible that what ever you said and did would be accepted by the masses who were following you .. was this not dictatorship and dominance ..how was it different from the High Command which you despise so much ? Why were you not open to debate and discussion and instead adopted the path of my way or highway ?

Your first mistake was to take part in the election campaign in Hissar and to canvass against the congress candidate ..that made you political and that was not acceptable to many of us . Your second mistake was that you kept opposing all that the government did or did not do with the Lok pal ; you should have been more reasonable . Yet another was your attack on Sonia and Rahul on a personal level which amounted to taking sides .. by singling them out were you trying to say that the Advanis and Yachuris were right and the problem lay only at the congress’s feet ? Many amongst us did not agree with that as we felt the problem was with the whole political establishment . Finally your team kept talking in different voices and that added to the confusion .

What had appealed to us was to have a voice which was outside of politics , a voice which would debate and discuss policies and put pressure on the law makers to ensure that good governance would prevail . we still need this voice ; We are convinced that democracy is the best thing that has happened to India and we are proud that we have been able to sustain it for the past 60 + years .However now we want to make democracy work for the betterment of the lives of our people . We have seen over the years how democracy has failed to deliver as per our expectations and how a few people have been able to take advantage of the system for their personal gain . We need to correct this situation ; In today’s global scenario the world is looking up to India as one of the potential leaders of tomorrow and as one of the large developed economies in the decades to come . We cannot miss this grand opportunity that has come our way , we should grab it to ensure that our people progress . We are ready to sacrifice our time and put in those extra efforts to bring about this change . As of today we may not be ready to join a political set up but eventually even that will happen ; it will happen once we start having faith in the system , once we know that laws prevail here and that the corrupt and the lawless are punished . Even now nothing has been lost . what needs to be done is to make the movement stronger . organize the groups at the mohalla levels and bring in more transparency on what you do . The initial agenda has to be a movement which brings in peoples participation in the democratic process . At the municipal level , at the state level and at the centre level we need to ensure that peoples voice and aspirations are heard and that the peoples representatives are made accountable .We appeal to you to introspect and to change track a bit ….we need a leader like you as we saw you in the early days of the agitation ..we hope to see that leader soon ..