Man Of The Year

I think it’s bit ironic that while the country is busy partying to usher in the “deathly” New Year (according to sources, the world ends in 2012, remember? This, however, makes celebration of this New Year’s eve all the more pertinent; this is the last time you’ll be celebrating such an event, for, sources say, the world ends on December 21 2012, or is it December 22?), the man, who more or less defined 2011 for us, has taken ill.

According to latest reports, Anna Hazare is not well, and he will be shifted to hospital in Pune on New Year’s day.

Hazare has his supporters, and he had his distracters. After a long time, this year, he inspired a nation to come together for a cause, what if, his last attempt of protest ended to be dump squib?

If I have a vote, I would elect Anna Hazare the “Man of the Year” or the “Indian of the Year”. It does not matter if I believe in his ideology. It does not matter if his methods are correct. It does not matter if he’d succeed. It does not matter if the Lokpal Bill will bring any great change.

What matters is there’s a man who stood up for a cause, and in the process inspired a nation. The mass support that Anna Hazare generated is the real thing. Those Gandhi topis and those “I Am Anna” placards were real. And, sooner or later, it would have its repercussions.

Sometimes back I told a friend, what we lack in this world of chaos and confusion, and petty desires, is a leader, a leader we believe and follow. We need a leader, and everything will be all right.

Anna Hazare may not be that leader. But, he sure has shown the way.

In the New Year, we wait for new directions, and perhaps, a leader.