Dear Arvind Kejriwal, What after the corruption wave subsides?

Winston Churchill once said- “It is only after the wave subsides we get to know who are swimming naked”. But Arvind, I must admit you showed us that by creating a mighty and high wave. As some creative people in the media describe, you are a magician who can unearth corruption scandals out of nowhere. You sure are one. Aren’t you? And thank you for that. A billion thanks. I know your inbox must be flooded with lakhs of these messages. Now that you have showed us who all are out there swimming naked, what after the wave dies down?

If history taught us any lessons, the most pertinent of them all will be- It repeats itself. May be just to prove a point for all the non believers of Karma. Sometimes the good, sometimes the bad, the saint and the sinner all encompassing in this cycle of life. Google corruption scandals in India and you find a whole list of them from Independence. The super star scandals over a period of time were- the Bofors scandal, the Stock market scandal, the Stamp paper scam, the 2G scam, the CWG scam all forgotten now. Going by that, the present wave of corruption scandals and the IAC anti-dote will have to subside with time even though most people in this country may not want that. But we all know that Karma is a bitch. It has a set of its own rules and even it can’t break that. Kind of Salman Khan-isque it is. Let’s go a step ahead. What after “your” Jan Lokpal?

As you know and admit, India is fast becoming aware of its politics and is no longer falling for the traps of the old head politician. When you came onto the stage flashing a certificate of a  modern neta, with international awards and an IIT degree, we fell for that. Rightly so. But over 2 years of your public struggle, you haven’t come out of the corruption mantra, even when you announced your political party's manifesto. You have remained there circling in concentric circles. As a nation, as Barack Obama called it- we had an audacity of hope in you. We kinda still do. But if you don’t come out of your incessant circling and also focus on to the  other gripping issues, we would be utterly disappointed to not trust another intelligent politician who talks strongly of an issue again. That would be disastrous. 

The Neta, Mic and Corruption- Trilogy.

You have chosen Delhi to be your initial political base. But great leaders tour the nation and talk to the public about their problems. Not assume their problem is corruption alone. You must have seen Nandan Nilekani’s interview about the UIDAI. What he did in his 4-5 year stint in the centre is a tremendous contribution toward a corruption free society. You did a lot of grass root work with your organisation Parivartan. You got recognised internationally too. But then you decided to move on to bigger role. May be you want to be the next Chief Minister of Delhi. We respect that. But do you really think you can take Delhi toward prosperity by suspending and taking strictest action on all the policemen, the judges, the officials. Because, dare I say everybody is “corrupt” according to your dictionary. And what about the bribe-giver who has elected you to office? Why aren't you seeing corruption in its entirety? Why is it basically plaguing our society?

The IAC is run by a few people who have the right to be self-righteous all the time. When a maryada purushottam like you entered politics, we felt happy. When you said, you will build a party of grass root workers we were happy. We thought you would go to villages and towns and talk to people and select leaders, train them. We had thought you would go to colleges around the country, to get new ideas from the young. May be recruit them for your party. You see whatever progress India has made after liberalisation is due to the private enterprise. That is because it is lean, efficient and transparent. It hires talent to achieve its objective- that is to make profit. Then why don’t you hire talent to achieve yours- that is to make India a corruption free country?

You seem to run your campaign only in press conferences and TV studios. You must be aware that the 24X7 media is a monster that is hungry for news and visuals. So as long as you are fit to be the input, you are there. And then, you are not there. Do you see Anna on news channels anymore? Though he is fighting a similar battle as yours but on a different track. What after the media affair ends? I bet, it will end sooner than later. Who knows Kareena Kapoor might be pregnant or science finally identifies the disease that Digvijay Singh is suffering from. In any case you are out of that studio and the news frame.

All said and done, I know you have a majestic hope in yourself and the countrymen. In a fickle world, nothing lasts long enough to be in memory for a long time. History teaches us that Lalu Prasad, Ram Vilas Paswan, Nitish Kumar were leaders tutored by the great Jay Prakash Narayan to counter the tyranny of Indira Gandhi and her emergency. But what do we see now? If Karma can change everything, can’t it change you too? If it changes you and makes you a dynamic politician with patience and reticence, ours will be a better nation. If it doesn’t and leaves you high and dry with only your corruption cry, we would be another Libya or an Egypt. In any case, change is gonna happen.