Anna Hazare is a good man. After taking part in the spectacle at Jantar Mantar for three days I have concluded that he is a good man who obviously believes in the glory of Bharat Mata under whose giant depiction the famous fast took place. Bharat Mata and nationalism are sentiments that apparently make for an upright citizenry.
My brain unfortunately has been warped by reading too much of George Orwell. In a thought provoking essay titled Notes on Nationalism (that I have perhaps read far too many times), Orwell wrote that “nationalism is power-hunger tempered by self-deception. Every nationalist is capable of the most flagrant dishonesty, but he is also — since he is conscious of serving something bigger than himself — unshakeably certain of being in the right.”
Such random thoughts immediately came to my mind when I noted that the most popular slogan at the show was Vande Mataram. Only once did I hear the more secular Inquilab Zindabad. I have nothing against Vande Mataram. I have always found it more beautiful than Jana Gana Mana but I am aware that some religious minorities are uncomfortable with a song that is an ode to the Goddess Durga. Yet here we were in the year 2011 with youngsters screaming Vande Mataram with great passion.