Finally, curtains down on the Anna Hazare agitation on television. Hopefully, we may now get to see other things happening in the country and the world.
Ironically, the disgust that was building up because of the recent scams in India involving big corporates, politicians and the media has moved away from public mindspace after the Hazare agitation took over television.
But, surely, it is not a matter of pride for our democracy that Janata Dal (United) MP, Mr Sharad Yadav, had to plead for some time in Parliament to discuss the unprecedented floods in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, affecting lakhs of people, many whom have been rendered homeless. Why don't the OB vans go and line up there, he asked.
But, why would they? So what if this is a democracy — for the people, of the people, by the people? It is television that decides what kind of people matter. Do floods bring in TRPs and advertisement revenues?
Our TV anchors would rather stand in knee-deep water on the roads of Mumbai and wax eloquent about the city coming to a halt and cars getting stuck, because it is those particular urban eyeballs that matter.
Biased coverage
The point, however, is that even the 24x7 coverage of Hazare's agitation was biased. Isn't democracy about all kinds of views and voices being heard, even of dissent?
After all, this is precisely what triggered the Hazare agitation. The old man was arrested and denied his right to protest.
TV anchors shouting themselves hoarse and defending selective rights for select people is not good for democracy.
For instance, there was no news about the “traffic jams and inconvenience caused to hundreds of office goers”. The only “traffic jam” we heard or read about in those 13 12 days was about the one caused by 8,000 people belonging to the Scheduled castes and minorities marching in Delhi raising slogans against the Hazare agitation.
Didn't the Hazare agitation also inconvenience people, with Metro stations closed and roads blocked suddenly, without notice or deadline?
JP movement
Finally, our anchors compared Mr Hazare's agitation with the Jayaprakash Narayan movement in the 1970s. Some even said that it was greater than that.
The big difference is that the JP movement had a more long-lasting impact without 24X7 television, social media, mobile phones and SMSs.
And, the JP movement, of what we have heard and seen as children, inspired a lot of idealism among the youth and even threw up some good political leaders, journalists and academics.
With due apologies to Anna Hazare, his agitation seems more like a Mahatma Gandhi remix. And, like all remixes, it is a hit, but may also have a short shelf life!