Hazare is God, 'Channel Waale' said

The trip to Mahalunge had taken place soon after our nation was caught up in the ‘India against Corruption’ drive ( I use ‘was’ here because during that time, suddenly it seemed as if corruption was the biggest and only problem that India faced and now that issue has been kicked out of the limelight). It had gripped the nation and adrenaline pumped young and old people rose against the demon called corruption and the people who were embroiled in it. And that’s when ‘Anna Hazare’ became a household name.

Not too long ago, the villagers of Mahalunge were as unaware as many of the urban crowd about Anna Hazare, the latest hero and saviour of ‘corrupt’ India. Not much had changed; except for the fact that now all of them were in support of Mr. Hazare. 

On being asked about the reason for their blind faith in him, they said, “Corruption has made our lives more miserable. Those who have money to flash, they get jobs in a dash.” 

But would he be able to wipe away corruption? “Yes, of course he will be able to do it. The entire country is supporting him. He is the next Gandhi. Even a local news channel said that he’s the one who will be able to save us all from the grip of corruption.” 

“Ab news channel waale kehte hai toh usme kuch toh sachaai zaroor hoga, isliye hum Anna Hazareji ke saath hai”(if the news channels show it, there has to be some truth in it, so we are in support of Anna Hazareji)- said Sushila More, a resident.

Now that’s an example of how deep the media penetrates into the minds of the people. So much is the impact that they actually tune their opinions in sync with the media’s portrayal of events or people. The media sets the agenda for people to attune themselves to the so-called larger picture of events that take place all around them and they become a part of it.  People are pulled further inside the storm of issues and invariably they form their opinions based on what the mass media conveys to them.

The nationwide fury seems to have sunken down ( maybe because channels are no longer focussing on it being -The Breaking News!), Hazare's name does flash occasionally as shown below ( taken from Hindustan Times a few days before Independence Day- August 15,2013) and he rose to fame whereas the topic of corruption seems to have been left for someone else to earn a name!

So is Anna Hazare God or is it the Media? (That is not open for public debate, please!)

- Divya Nambiar