Swaminomics

Tell me honestly readers, how many of you would have thought that a docile, milquetoast ascetic could blow the air out of the Prime Minister of India.Not many, perhaps none.Well, Swami Ramdev has done exactly that and whats even better, this is just the beginning.
Popularly known as Baba Ramdev, the yog guru has indeed emerged as a central figure to retieve the $1.4 trillion,the  black money stored by the corrupt Indian bureaucrats and opulent government officials.The Bharat Swabhiman Movement, which he initiated about 18 months ago has been a success with the oppressed middle classes of our country, who have to bear the the brunt of the rampant corruption the most.Swami has now taken a giant stride toward his aim of a chasten and a dignified India.The saffron - robed sage has pledged a hunger strike from June 4 to protest against corruption and to pass the Lokpal Bill to full effect by August, 2011.He has also urged his legions of followers to join in this noble movement.The popularity of the sage is so high that many big bureaucrats and political honchos landed at the Delhi airport to convince him to call off the strike.
Over the past decade, Swami Ramdev has built a massive devotee base all over the country and as I write this article more than one crore people have vowed to support him in his fast.Anna Hazare, whose highly publicised fast in April struck a chord with millions of Indians has also been roped in to join this cause.
The Union HRD minister Kapil Sibbal and veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh though are busy making digs at the saint calling him a maverick and terming him as an industrialist than a yog guru.Playing politics at its best, the duo seem like delirious men unsure of what they want.Call it dirty tricks or 'Chanakya- niti', the two eminent politicos are leaving no stone unturned to halt the uprising.
Some journalists and frustrated politicians might call this hunger strike a gimmick and a way to waste resources and money of the country, but one cannot deny the cause Swami Ramdev is espousing despite the politicians giving it a spin, perpetuated by the display of prostration in front of the Swami.
The government is clearly in a quandary.After the Anna episode they are now skeptical about the antics of Baba Ramdev whose bandwidth of supporters increases by the nanosecond.Though,the news is ripe that the shrewd marauders of the constitution are trying their level best to create a civil divide by pitting Anna against the Swami.


God, save thy country!


PS:the author does not want to offend any politician or a political party through this article.If anyone feels reproached in anyway, apologies to the person concerned.




Udit Bhatia
Electronics & Communication Engineering
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University