God of Small Criticisms
One of the greatest achievements of Anna Hazare movement is that we finally got rid of West-influenced, English-speaking activists such as Arundhati Roy from the traditional leadership role a people's movement in India. Arundhati Roy criticises Kabir for accepting financial support from the Ford Foundation while forgetting the fact she was an integral part of the organising committee of World Social Forum in India sponsored the very same funding-agency.
If Anna has managed to unite the entire nation in less than thirty days, it is simply because he spoke the language of the ordinary Indians, not the language of the elite and the affluent class of this country. English was replaced with Hindi; babus with activists; hypocrisy with simplicity; cowardice with courage and finally — words with action. Victory or failure is not very important in struggles for the goodness of a nation.
(Design & People response to the joint statement issued by Arundhati Roy and The Hindu on Anna Hazare in a story titled "I'd rather not be Anna" published by The Hindu on August 21, 2011)
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