A successful film will always have a sequel, with directors hoping that the public responds in a similar manner as with the original. The same can be true for politics also. A sequel to the Anna Hazare protest is currently on at Jantar Mantar led by the Cockroach Janta Party with organisers making every effort to reach the destination. The second tenure of the UPA government under Manmohan Singh was rocked by a collection of scandals, including Commonwealth Games and the 2G scandal.
This opened doors for Anna Hazare, a Magsaysay Award winner, to launch his India Against Corruption campaign in 2011. On 5 April 2011, Hazare began an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar. Hazare was demanding the passage of a Lok Pal bill, which he believed to be a strong anti-corruption law, and included the establishment of an independent body to investigate politicians and bureaucrats. Arvind Kejriwal was his associate and coordinated with Prashant Bhushan and his father, former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, in drafting the initial bill. Hazare, an ex-army man, was already well known for his Gandhian philosophy as also for transforming his drought-prone village, Ralegan Siddhi, into a self-sufficient model of village development using watershed management and water conservation.
He had also led campaigns laying the framework for the RTI Act. On 9 April, fearing the protests would garner national support if Hazare’s health deteriorated, the government bent and formed a joint committee, including both Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, to draft the bill. On 16 August, unhappy with the draft, Hazare announced another fast. Just before its commencement, the police arrested him and his close associates, a grave mistake, which resulted in protests across the country. Hazare was released, permitted to fast at the Ram Lila Maidan, which he did till 28 August, when the government bent again and passed legislation in parliament incorporating key portions of the Lok Pal bill.
Kejriwal had convinced Hazare to launch his second protest and hunger strike to exploit public anger against corruption. He already had political ambitions and had formed a core group; they subsequently became founding members of Aam Aadmi Party. This led to differences between Hazare and Kejriwal. While Hazare preferred an apolitical approach, Kejriwal was seeking to enter politics. Kejriwal said that by gaining political power, he could change the system. Thus, on 2 October 2012, Kejriwal launched his Aam Aadmi Party. The rest is history. The Cockroach protest, ongoing in Jantar Mantar, is following an almost similar script. Here Sonam Wangchuk, also a Magsaysay Award winner, is playing the role of Hazare.
Wangchuk came to the protest site straight from a visit to Switzerland, where he had announced his decision to fast. Whom he met there is unknown. Wangchuk is known for his stand on the environment and the rights of Ladakhis. He was arrested in September last year under the National Security Act, for instigating violent protests and jailed in Jodhpur. After appeals by his family and court orders he was released in March this year. Wangchuk had been demanding that Ladakh be separated from J and K. When it was made a UT in August 2019, he celebrated and tweeted, ‘THANK YOU, PRIME MINISTER, for fulfilling Ladakh’s longstanding dream.’ Subsequently, he changed tack and began insisting on provisions under the sixth schedule and statehood for Ladakh.
His protests turned violent and he was arrested. His NGO, Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, was flagged for ‘serious financial irregularities,’ and its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act licence cancelled. Abhijit Dipke, playing the role of Arvind Kejriwal, is a digital strategist, who worke d on meme -base d campaigns for the Kejriwal-led AAP in the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, which was his initiation into politics. He was pursuing his masters in journalism from Boston University, when he saw an opportunity which emerged when the Chief Justice of India termed unemployed youth who target the system as ‘Cockroaches.’
He founded the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ online, which immediately gained traction with over 19 million followers on Instagram within days. Like Kejriwal, he too claims to have left behind a lucrative career to change the system, by leading protests against the education minister for the NEET paper leak. He broke every rule in the book by holding protests against permission, hoping that he would be arrested and that this would give him additional popularity. The protests, which began against the NEET exam paper leak and resultant suicides of students, turned to other topics, as other groups such as farmers joined him.
He is now hoping that the hunger strike by Wangchuk would provide him with the popularity he needs to start a new political party. When Hazare began his protests, there was some support from opposition political parties, which vanished with the emergence of Kejriwal and AAP. This time, aware of a similar agenda, there is no support from any political party, less CPI. Neither is the government of the day, unlike the UPA government of 2011, playing along by breaking the protests or arresting those involved. The identity check of participants is itself a stumbling block and reducing supporters.
The BJP government has handled major protests during its tenure, including farmers and Shaheen Bagh, and hence knows that giving them undue importance or firmly imposing law and order would play into the hands of protestors. It is maintaining a distance, letting it continue, monitoring participation and investigating its funding. This is adding to frustration of the organizers as the playbook designed by those funding it is not being implemented. Currently, the organizers continue spreading messages on social media, objecting to police action, only to be countered by official police handles.
They are hoping to garner support and create an environment for the launch of another political party akin to AAP. This has not happened. If these protests fail, Dipke’s political dreams will come crashing down. Hence, he is banking on Wangchuk’s hunger strike. How long the fast of Wangchuk continues, whether authorities are forced to intervene and if the government action garners additional support is to be seen. Currently, it appears to be another protest running out of time and backing. The nation is watching to see if the sequel to Anna Hazare will be as successful as the original.
(The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army)