The recent Anna Hazare movement embodies one of the most significant and extraordinary happenings in modern India and in the history of the world: one man, using only the tools of his own will power and without any violence, whatsoever, brought an entire government to its knees, forcing it to tackle the cancer of corruption which is eating his country's entrails. It is an example for the world to follow. Yet, the whole truth may not be all that evident.
Anna has been fighting corruption in Maharashtra for many years. However, he never drew large crowds. Even his Gujarat trip had gatherings of no more than a few hundred. One would wonder what might have caused this sudden upsurge. There may be several factors behind this — the media hype, the blunders the government committed in harassing him, the anger in the people towards the government which needed a channel and, most of all, the support given by the most popular guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
Sri Sri draws crowds of one to two hundred thousand wherever he goes. When Sri Sri, as one of the founders of India Against Corruption, extended his support, all these millions of people spontaneously joined Anna's cause.
— Francois Gautier is the editor in chief of the Paris-based La Revue de l'Inde and the author of The Guru of Joy
(Francois Gautier With Sri Sri)
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