The truth about Mahatma Anna's fast in Mumbai

Dear change-bringing NRI brethren,

While I was vacationing last week, I fear you might have been exposed to all kinds of lies dished out by the media on the internet. Sad but true, the media has switched sides and is now taking orders from the evil Empress and her yuvraj. (How dare they treat us, Team Anna - noble warriors in the second independence struggle, with anything less than blind adulation??) I urge you to disregard any falsehoods you might have heard about poor turnouts at Mahatma Anna's heroic fast in Mumbai. These are just cynical status-quoist attempts to discredit our noble movement. Let me, instead, give you the facts.

Despite egregious attempts to misuse the executive and the judiciary to thwart our noble protests, Mahatma Anna's clarion call to Indians to gather at the MMRDA grounds in Mumbai to watch him fast led to an overwhelming response from the citizenry of this country. It was a resounding success. The grounds were jam-packed with people. We even had to turn away people from the venue because it can comfortably hold only 3,000 protestors at a time.

Mahatma Anna called off his fast only because his doctors threatened to kill themselves if he continued. Mahatma Anna himself doesn't fear death itself, leave alone be discouraged by a mere cold and cough in his noble crusade. But he didn't want his doctors to martyr themselves and eventually acceded to their pleas.

Carping glass-half-emptyists who talk about the underutilized 60,000 capacity of the MMRDA grounds conveniently forget the fact waging the second independence movement is not a simple matter of gathering a bunch of retirees and vagabonds in one place to sing bhajans. It is a complex logistical exercise. We had to earmark space for the centre stage with attached lounge (for Mahatma Anna), performance stage for noted entertainer and noble Team Anna member, Kiran Bedi, multiple communications centres from where we could hold parallel press briefings, media lounges (separate for English and vernacular mediapersons) so journalists could relax before they filed their stories, vanity lounges for the TV anchors to touch up their mascara before going on air, camera vantage posts for each of the news channels, OB vans from each channel, multiple kitchens for the protesters - veg and non-veg separate, separate dining areas for us, Team Anna, for the protestors, and for the media, toilets etc.

These things are very important to successfully win the second independence movement. And yes, these things take up a lot of space, leaving only enough area for about 3000 protestors. So this is why the media's betrayal rankles. After we did so much for them, they asked rude questions at our press conference and are now writing lies. We are now demanding that media also be brought under the purview of the Lok Pal Bill. An uncorrupted media is fundamental to Indian democracy and the Lok Pal should have untrammelled powers to investigate corruption in the media and bring corrupt journalists to justice.

But that is a bigger battle. For now, let me reiterate: Mahatma Anna's year-end fast was a resounding success. Bliss it was that dawn. Anyone who disagrees with this is a supporter of corruption and is most probably an agent of the Empress. We shall overcome the Empress' hordes and defeat them in the forthcoming assembly elections. Together we can. Be the change Anna wants. Jai Hind.



Mahatma Anna greets the mammoth gathering standing next to whatsisname from the earlier movement





A noble change-bringer (who is also an Anna) gives a clarion call