Yesterday I along with more than twenty others went to watch Aamir Khans latest movie PK! These twenty included some of the people in the center-stage of upcoming Delhi assembly elections like Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia. Arvind watches movies once in a while and at times, if the movie is about Social or political issues, many of us accompany him. The previous two movies we watched together were Satyagrah and Chakravyuh.
During the interval in PK all of ate popcorns and burgers as some of us had missed the breakfast due to back to back meetings. While gobbling the popcorn Rajen, a fellow volunteer who had come all way from Singapore to contribute to AAP said, "You know, all of Rajkumar Hirani's pictures are about an outside perspective to something established. Like a Gangster talking about the medical system, a gardener's son talking about the education system and now, an alien looking at the religious institutions."
"Like questioning the status quo," I added.
"Yes, and in that manner I see Arvind as the PK of politics," he replied.
A smile danced across my face and I could immediately relate to what he was saying.
Having known Arvind for almost four years and working full time with him for close to three, I have seen different shades of him. I have seen him in deep thought, in turmoil, torn apart by actions of others, smiling like a child, commanding all he sees like the captain of a ship and sometimes in complete disarray. However, while watching PK and after listening to what Rajen had to say, something new stuck me, Arvind is nothing else but an outsider into the world of politics.
Arvind is not someone who will sit down and wait for things to get solved. Instead, he's someone who will look for solutions. The tougher the problem, the more out-of-the-box solution he would come up with. I have seen him doing that again and again for last four years and from the ones who know him from earlier than that, I have heard innumerable stories about the same.
I have heard from Rishi how he went around with the idea of an anti-corruption ombudsman, asking for support, after returning from Amit Jethwa's funeral. I have heard from Yogendra Yadav how he was christened the 'Gram Swaraj wala Arvind' in late 2000's by fellow activists and have listened Manish recall how when they started Parivartan, Arvind used to hold the ladder so that he could climb up to paste posters, which was the cheapest way to propagate the word that they were there to help those who felt cheated by high electricity bills or PDS shops not giving them their allocated ration.
Like PK, Arvind or AK, as many fondly call him, won't stop if the political establishment would reject the idea of a strong and independent ombudsman against corruption. He would go ahead and challenge the whole political establishment. He would be bereaved by the death of his friend, Santosh in our case, but that would not stop him from going ahead and fighting the established political parties and their goons in elections.
What makes my belief even stronger is that Arvind is still fighting for the same issues he started for. Be it Janlokpal or corruption in PDS or Gram and mohalla Swaraj, all of them are still very much on his agenda and to-do list.
Many people give many reasons for Arvind's resignation. Say that he was mistaken in doing so. Even Arvind accepted that it was a mistake. I on the other hand, still believe otherwise. I believe that it was necessary for him to resign on the issue of Janlokpal. It was due to Janlokpal that a Vandana Singh, a Vikas Yogi, an Ankit Lal and innumerable others like us left their jobs and plunged into this fight. Had he not taken a stand on Janlokpal, it would have been a shocker for people like us.
He kept the hope alive in us. Hope of a better Delhi, a better India and ultimately, a better world. Let's see what the future holds for us, but I will keep striving to bring about change with our own version of PK, who we know as AK!
