Jottings

The Guide By Ashutosh Sharma Though I am agnostic yet until June 12, every scathing attack launched at Baba Ramdev in person as well as his crusade against corruption and black money was unbearable to me. A candid confession. I was filled with hope that Baba had surely created a ripple. In my view he was carrying forward the baton exactly from a point where Anna Hazare left it. Like lakhs of other people, my imagination was fired and I had started foreseeing a corruption free, developed and prosperous India. Watching loudmouths like Digvijay taking repeated digs at Baba by labeling his struggle as a ‘Nautanki’ besides calling Baba a Thug and Fraud on 24x7 news channels every time left me seething with anger.Like many others, I was asking people sitting by me if Baba were a Thug, why a panel of five union ministers was rushed to him on his arrival at Delhi. However, the government’s villainous eviction of Ramdev through a late night crackdown on the sleeping followers at Ram Leela Ground in Delhi came as a bolt from the blue. My devotion for Baba increased to the extent that i continued to support him (though silently) by ignoring the fact that he ran away from the spot cross dressed. The topic was also most favourite among the members of tweeting community. While noted poet like Javed Akhtar anticipated that 'Baba will have to eat a humble pie', Bangladeshi writer in exile, Taslima Nasreen rather petulantly compared Baba with Yemen president Saleh. However on June 12, film maker Mahesh Bhatt tweeted, “Everyone’s saying Baba Ramdev has broken his fast. I'm pretty certain it was the fast that broke him.” The corollary of given situation could be found in an acclaimed novel by RK Narayanan, The Guide that was later adopted to a film starring Dev Anand and Wahida Rehman. Narayanan’s great work of fiction holds some significance for Corruption struck India. Most of us can recall the main protagonist of The Guide, a Thug Railway Raju. After coming out of jail he happens to pass through a village. After being mistaken for a Saint by the gullible villagers, he decides to live like one in their famine struck village. With no ray of hope in sight, naturally people turn towards the 'Saint' and therefore the 'Thug' is expected to observe a fast for the sake of rain. The media starts popularizing his fast. There comes a turning point in his life. Instead of running away, he responds to call of his conscience and lives on empty stomach as long as it did not rain. On the contrary, the hunger strike on a national issue like corruption was Baba’s independent decision. Still, he has caused a setback to the cause of fight against corruption by stepping back. After being chased away from Delhi, when Baba reached his Patanjli Yog Samiti in Dehradun, he was visibly agitated and swearing by Bhagat Singh. He proclaimed that it was his litmus test and a historical time in his personal life. What happened thereafter? Was Baba scared of death? Whatever be the reasons, he failed his litmus test. Baba Ramdev arguably proved him weaker than Raju---the Thug turned saint, who willingly staked his life to keep people’s faith in him intact.