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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Manufactured Martyrs

The attempt by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) to turn activist Sonam Wangchuk into the next Anna Hazare has exposed how manufactured symbolism cannot compensate for the absence of genuine public outrage. What began as a grievance over the NEET paper leak, one of India’s gravest examination scandals in recent times, has drifted into an exercise in political pageantry, where the cause has been eclipsed by its chosen mascots. Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike was plainly meant to recreate a...

Manufactured Martyrs

The attempt by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) to turn activist Sonam Wangchuk into the next Anna Hazare has exposed how manufactured symbolism cannot compensate for the absence of genuine public outrage. What began as a grievance over the NEET paper leak, one of India’s gravest examination scandals in recent times, has drifted into an exercise in political pageantry, where the cause has been eclipsed by its chosen mascots. Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike was plainly meant to recreate a familiar script where an allegedly unassuming public figure embraces personal sacrifice and a reluctant government buckles under mounting moral pressure. But history does not repeat itself on command. Anna Hazare’s fast in 2011 succeeded not because fasting possesses mystical political powers, but because it rode a tidal wave of public anger against corruption. Millions identified with the cause. That equation is conspicuously absent today. The platform that ought to have belonged to students who suffered from the NEET paper leak, or to parents whose children bore its consequences, instead became crowded with the usual constellation of professional activists, ideological campaigners and political fellow travellers. The faces dominating the stage were not those most directly affected by the scandal. A movement demanding educational accountability gradually came to look like another gathering of Delhi’s permanently aggrieved activist class. Even Wangchuk appeared to sense the contradiction. During the protest he reportedly lamented that while he was observing an indefinite fast, many around him were happily eating meals, urging at least a token one-day fast in solidarity. Successful protest movements depend upon authenticity. Once the public begins suspecting that an individual is being deployed less as a leader than as a moral accessory for someone else’s ideological project, sympathy quickly evaporates. Nor does Wangchuk arrive without controversy. Questions have been raised over the cancellation of the FCRA licence of SECMOL, the educational organisation associated with him, and over allegations regarding subsequent foreign funding arrangements. Critics have also challenged aspects of the carefully cultivated public mythology surrounding his achievements, from the origins of the ice-stupa concept to the popular belief that he inspired the protagonist of 3 Idiots. These matters deserve scrutiny on their own merits rather than hagiography or character assassination. The greater failure here surely belongs to the protest’s organisers. The CJP has mistaken optics for momentum and symbolism for public sentiment. Instead of allowing the victims of the NEET scandal to speak for themselves, they attempted to manufacture another national conscience by placing a familiar face at the centre of the stage. Political legitimacy cannot be outsourced to celebrity. Nor can mass movements be assembled from social-media influencers and habitual protesters. Anna Hazare became powerful because the public chose him. Attempts to manufacture his successor merely underline how rare such moments really are.

Judicial Spine

In a country where the politically connected too often evade the consequences of their crimes, the conviction of former MP Prajwal Revanna is a rare but necessary reminder that India’s courts can stand firm even against the entitled and powerful.


By sentencing Revanna to life imprisonment for rape, sexual harassment and criminal intimidation, the Bengaluru special court has delivered a judgment that should echo through every corner of India’s judicial and political system.


The verdict is not just about justice delivered for man’s depravity but a watershed moment in holding VIP criminals accountable. Revanna’s last name is steeped in influence. The grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and son of former Karnataka minister H.D. Revanna, Prajwal strutted through the political landscape of Hassan with the arrogance of someone convinced he was untouchable.


Revanna’s crimes were meticulously documented, revolting in detail and symbolised the worst combination of power and perversion. A 48-year-old domestic worker was repeatedly raped, silenced by fear, then allegedly abducted to prevent her testimony. Sexually explicit videos filmed by Revanna himself.


The special court saw through Revanna’s entitlement, refused him bail and oversaw a fast-tracked trial that resulted in a conviction based on DNA evidence, eyewitness testimonies and a 1,632-page chargesheet. The survivor’s clothing, retained from the day of the assault, became irrefutable evidence. Her courage, along with that of her family and the all-women Special Investigation Team (SIT), forms the moral backbone of this case.


In court, Revanna claim that “no one had filed a complaint” while he was “ruling” Hassan revealed the feudal worldview that infects so many Indian politicians. For them, political office is not a mandate to serve but a licence to dominate. The judiciary, through this case, has served a cold rebuttal that such people are not kings and nobody is above the law.


The real significance of the verdict lies in the precedent it must now set. India is teeming with public representatives facing serious criminal charges. Hundreds of MPs and MLAs have been accused of grave offences, including sexual violence. But most roam free, confident that party patronage, social capital and systemic inertia will protect them. Revanna thought the same. Well, he was wrong.


Too often, the VIP status of such politics becomes an invisible cloak of immunity. Courts must take note of the Revanna judgment and treat it as a template. And political parties, too, must stop fielding candidates with criminal backgrounds. Voters must stop tolerating dynasts who treat public service as inherited privilege. The law, when enforced impartially, is more powerful than any surname, any alliance or any ministerial post.


Revanna’s downfall is not so much about a great moral victory than a belated course correction. Too often in India, justice is delayed, diluted or denied. But this time, it was delivered. Let it be a warning to all political dynasts that they may try to run from their crimes, but they cannot hide from the long arm of Indian justice.

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