Anna's third fast is one too many - it's not going to work

Dear Anna, So you have threatened another fast if the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in the winter session of parliament. In a letter to Manmohan Singh, you have said: “I have decided that I will go on fast again, which I had ended because of your assurance. If the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed, I will go on fast again on the last day of the winter session.” Anna, it’s time to rethink the idea of fasts. Unlike some of your critics, who think fasts are a form of blackmail, I don’t believe so. Sure, they are an attempt at moral coercion, but so are strikes, or lockouts, or rasta rokos or gheraos, or Bharat bandhs. If there is a cause, some form of coercion is unavoidable unless our rulers are so proactive that they head it off through negotiations. [caption id=“attachment_121309” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Anna Hazare has threatened a third fast this year if the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in the winter session of parliament. PTI”] [/caption] So coercion alone cannot de-legitimise a weapon. However, any weapon that is overused loses its potency. Fasts are effective only if they are used rarely – and as the weapon of last resort. On the Jan Lokpal bill, you have already had two fasts this year – and you are now threatening a third one. I doubt if this will work as well – even assuming the Congress plays its cards as badly as it did the last time. There is already growing cynicism among the people about Team Anna and its shenanigans, whether it is Kiran Bedi’s ticketing issues or the Bhushans’ love of property or Arvind Kejriwal’s non-payment of dues to the tax department for violating its bond. Sure, we know that the government is working overtime to discredit Team Anna – but Team Anna is also shooting itself in the foot. You are now adding to it with the threat of yet another fast which the country may have less patience for. Let me put it bluntly: when a fast is used three times in the same year, it loses legitimacy. It then becomes a dubious form of blackmail. If I were in the opposite camp, I would do a simple thing to upstage and discredit your fast: I would, say, ask Mani Shankar Aiyar or some other public figure to go on a counter-fast unto death and all your moral power will vanish. The only way forward if the Congress plays foul with the Lokpal Bill is to work on a ground-level movement against corruption. There is no short-cut to anti-corruption nirvana. Anna, it is not a good idea to use up all your goodwill through frequent fasts. We are with you in your anti-corruption movement. But a fast is not way to speed things along. Yours Sincerely, A Concerned Indian