Leader and the other People

After endless speculations and debates and protests and patriotism-charged speeches, the Government finally agreed to pass the bill. 

Great.

I am pretty sure that not even Mr. Hazare had imagined this kind of unprecedented massive response from the usually cynical and jaded common man. As highly admirable and brave his act is, it's nothing new. Medha Patkar, Irom Sharmila Chanu (fasting for the past 10 years) and scores of others have attempted this particular method of protest before, but the response was mostly luke-warm and the objective achieved was incomplete or not at all, with their actions replete with controversies. So, what's it about the Protest by Mr. Anna Hazare that caught on like a wildfire and had a happy ending?

Was it the cause, or the Leader himself?

While the other strikers had an open and shut cause, (Medha Patkar protested against increasing the height of Narmada Dam while Ms. Chanu protests against the AFSPA.) Mr. Hazare's cause, to say the least is complex.

Corruption isn't a thing. It's a mindset so deeply ingrained in the Indian psyche that a mere bill cannot be the solution. The passing of Jan Lok Pal bill is at the most, a flicker. A flicker of hope that someday, corruption in all forms would go away. 

It would take a long time before the bill is made into a law and even more for it to be implemented effectively. And even after implementation, the bill puts a starnglehold on corruption at a rather macro level. 

At grass root levels, we still have a long way to go. 

So, obvious as it is that the Anna Hazare's cause doesn't really have a clear-cut and immediate solution, what draws the usually impatient common man to him ?

Maybe a vicarious feeling of being a part of the Gandhian history or is it Anna Hazare himself?

He looks like a throw-back from the era gone by. The pre and post Independence era where the leaders were mostly without blemishes, an era of good Samaritans, rich with idealism and patriotism.

Everybody wants to be a part of the history. Something to tell their grand-children about on a cold winter night. 

Millions of people joined into the protest. There might be a billions of reasons behind it. The end result is what matters the most.

Because a cause needs support. Support needs People. People need a Leader.

And a Leader needs his People.