With a new Hope.

A historic day, this. And I am proud my lifetime has been witness to this new beginning.

But for me & a lot of us the most interesting fact about this historic set of events is how politics have been taken away from leaders dropped from the top, from the tangles of money, muscle, caste, religion to the general common people and their common issues. The people seem to ask for their stake in democracy.

For long, political leadership or scams have been topics of discussion in our drawing rooms, but when it came to doing something about it beyond voting, every body stood with their hands up. 'This is not our job', they would say.

Now look at what has happened, it all began with a Anna movement, that ignited all the fire and anger around an issue that pervades every life, corruption. The leadership divides and take different paths for the change they together envisioned. One of the group takes mainstream politics. A party is formed, aiming at a Vidhan Sabha elections barely a year away. And that year before the elections see people from all walks coming together to sustain the movement. I hear of people leaving their jobs in and outside the country to volunteer for the party, elderly women & men going from house to house taking their message to people, I see people completely unattached to politics campaigning for the party, I see Autowalas volunteering to put banners despite police forcing them not to. I see, my friends genuinely interested in what's up with the political affairs around the party. I see, individuals who never voted or voted just for the sake, not only casting vote but also spreading the word of mouth for this new revolution. I see, my friends debating and discussing about the party on social media and/or real life conversations. And this one year old party with a budget of 20 crores for 70 constituencies, in the capital with inexperienced people fighting against stalwarts of politics, get 28 seats, 30 % voting share. Without any caste, communal cards, without much money (by present standards with no money), without a corporate nexus (at-least we don't know of one, i hop there is none). And more than that people feel empowered about their rights and the fact that politics is for them too, and it can be around truth and issues of general interest. Hats off!

To that feeling, this is a huge victory.

Gandhiji in Hind Swaraj, calls Parliament a sterile woman and a prostitute. Sterlie woman because without outside pressure it cannot acheive anything; and prostitute because it is under control of different ministers at different times. Thence, active citizenship is the one big requirement that would make a parliament and hence democracy function in the interest of the people.

A glimpse of such a ecosystem was definitely visible here. Where the people have taken charge to sustain the movement, where AAP, Anna Movement, the issues, Mr. Kejriwal became tools for this larger cause. Towards deepening of democracy. 

Is this beginning of an awakening one centered around people and their lives, and the way they govern not anyone else, but themselves, through the system of politics (electoral in this particular case)? May be. Politics do not have any eligibility or a qualification that it formally required. And there have been a lot of benchmarks that a person has been fulfilling to be in any form of politics; She/he of being a particular class, caste, religion, being able to wield the power of money and connections. And so on. But for the first time, some people who did not attach themselves to any of the above got into politics, played the game differently, and are able to say with confidence to the usual players, that this is the way politics is to be.

Its also to the credit of the group led by Arvind Kejriwal, for their planning and strategising over the past one year and before that, that has led to this unprecedented outcome.

Whether it was the name, Aam Aadmi Party and acronym being even more interesting to use: AAP. The symbol of jhaadu, which is one of the most relatable objects of daily use, symbol of cleansing our house, our systems, hinting at inclusiveness too. Arvind Ji contesting from same constituency as Sheila Ji. And so on.

Coming back to the point, governance is everyone's business someone said. And active citizenship is at the core of any democracy. Right now, we as a society are inspired by certain figures, people, and not as much by the cause. This particular movement may or may not be individual centric, for now. I hope it gets deep rooted moving forward and becomes based on causes. And not individuals, or any kind of ideologies or associations. And it goes beyond any party or leaders.

With a new hope like this movement developed ground up, the affects also percolates down to all level of politics. And also moves up.