Blackmail or Protest?

India is a democracy, meaning government of the people, by the people, for the people. The people however are supporting the man who is fasting for his demand as a citizen of India, to pass a bill which he thinks will fight corruption more strongly. And this is not just his belief, but apparently this belief is backed up by thousands and thousands of citizens of India.

Why then has the government of India jailed this man? Why is non-cooperation illegal? I can understand punishing someone for doing something wrong, however punishing someone for not doing something, is that right? If the Indian Government thinks that non-cooperation is not the right way, then what is an alternate effective way to make the government realise what the people’s demands are? Do people’s right end at the end of the elections? Is democracy just a way of people to elect their new dictator?

And most importantly I fail to understand the term political blackmail in this case. If this man’s demands were for his personal benefit, thousands of citizens would not back him up. Since this is not the case I don’t understand Dr. Manmohan Singh’s words that this is a form of political blackmail.

No Mr. Prime Minister, this is a protest. I am not sure if/when the bill is finally passed, whether it will reduce any corruption. But I am sure it will at least teach some of us the important lesson that, when united as a group of people, it is possible to make a big difference just by inaction.

Also makes me wonder, if each and every one of us lose our faith in the political parties currently in India, and we all decide to not vote in the next elections, will this mean all of us will be thrown in jail?

While on the topic of voting, I would really like the option to vote for ‘none of you idiots’. And if enough people vote for ‘none of you idiots’ then re-elections should take place and the political parties should be given a chance to modify their campaigns and come up with better plans (with achievable due dates) to win over the trust of the majority citizens.

Also if a political party comes into power by promising certain changes to the society, they should be held responsible for this. If they fail to deliver by the target date, it should be possible to penalise them under the court of law.

It is about time that the public servants, start serving their real masters – the People.