The return of Anna: Modi govt's land ordinance gives Hazare a second act

A few days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public meeting at Suratgarh, a rural town in Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan that is close to the India-Pakistan border.

Almost a year ago, Modi had mesmerized a large crowd in Sriganganagar during the campaign for Assembly polls. On that day, every word he said was cheered; every pause was punctuated by rapturous applause and chants of ‘Modi-Modi’. But on Thursday, there was not even a low-decibel reminder of the slogan that was just a few months back the chorus of India. When Modi began his speech, first a hush fell over the ground and then people began to leave.

In politics every slogan has a shelf-life. When it catches the imagination of people, it echoes everywhere, spreads to distant, faraway corners. But when the idea that inspired it dies, a slogan either becomes a poignant reminder of a failed movement and gets buried forever, or when people realise that it was just a misleading shibboleth, like Indira Gandhi’s ‘Garibi Hatao’, it turns into a cruel joke nobody wants to repeat.

Can Anna Hazare defy this trend? Can he revive the slogans that he once inspired? From a grumbling old man relegated to Ralegan, can he resurrect the cult of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Anna Hazare is our Super Star’?

As he begins his two-day sit-in in Delhi against the amendments in the Land Acquisition Bill, Anna will be hoping that he once again becomes a symbol of the angst of farmers. And, more importantly, dispels the notion of being just a mukhauta of Arvind Kejriwal’s movement.

The last time he was expected to address a rally in Delhi, Anna caught a mysterious illness. On 12 March, 2014, as West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and empty chairs waited for him at Ramlila Maidan, Anna refused to leave Maharashtra Sadan. Though the illness was blamed for his absence, it was evident that Anna didn’t want to bury his legend on the very ground it had begun.

This time he is bringing the audience with him. According to The Indian Express, around 5000 farmers from across India descended on the dirt tracks of Palwal, Haryana, in a sea of green and white flags on Friday. Over the next four days, they will walk to Jantar Mantar in the national capital to assert their right over the land that is their livelihood. ‘Flagged off by social activist Anna Hazare, the march under the banner of P V Rajagopal’s Ekta Parishad saw the likes of Medha Patkar, Dr Sunilam and RSS idealogue K N Govindacharya walk some distance with the farmers,’ the IE report says.

The crowd is back but will Anna get his groove back?

On paper, the dice is loaded in Anna’s favour. The Modi government is already on the backfoot over the issue. It has been indicated that some of the controversial clauses could be removed from the bill. And, unlike the Janlokpal movement that was resisted by every political party, the opposition is united against the controversial law. So, Anna is likely to get support even from politicians.

But, will the people rally behind him? Land is indeed an emotive issue for farmers. Also, it is also much easier to explain to a farmer that the government can take away his land than enlighten people on the nuances of an ant-corruption law. On the flip side, land is not an urban issue. It is not a subject that will incite the twitterati or attract the youth who were the backbone of his Lokpal movement. Sustaining a predominantly rural movement in the heart of urban India would be a huge challenge for Anna. While he was speaking at Jantar Mantar on Monday noon, the tricolor was in many hands, the ‘I am Anna’ caps were on many heads and TV cameras were back in attendance. However, when he said ‘achche din have come only for industrialists’, there was only sporadic applause and the passion of the Janlokpal movement was missing. Perhaps this is too early to judge a movement that just begun.

But Anna seems to have learnt from his mistakes and the Mamata Banerjee fiasco. Like the cantankerous old man in R Balki’s Shamitabh, he is showing signs of realising that he needs support of his old allies to ensure the success of his returns.

So, he is subtly wooing Kejriwal, whose support in Delhi could be the decisive factor for the success and sustainability of the stir. Though he has been going back and forth on allowing other politicians on stage, if Kejriwal does indeed end up at Jantar Mantar, he won’t be sitting among the public. Anna will, in the end,  ‘welcome’ Kejriwal since the CM of Delhi can’t be treated like an ordinary citizen.

Much more than the success of Anna’s movement, the Modi government will be extremely wary of the Anna-Arvind jugalbandi. It is quite likely that the government will back down and accept some of Anna’s demands before the muffled chants of ‘I am Anna’ turn into a threatening echo of Lokpal days of yore.