Planned to the last sadhu,the chorus: faansi do,faansi do

“What do the sants know about the nation,the politicians ask. They say we must sit in our kutiya and kutir. But this country will be saved only by the sants. Those who have been divided by politics will be united by the sants,” said a man in saffron robes.

“Politicians have destroyed the country. India will once again be the sone ki chidiya it once was,” said another.

“Why did Bharat’s sants feel pushed to jump into aandolan? Because the country has been looted”,affirmed a third.

In the audience,Rajan Sharma from Lalitpur nodded approvingly: “Only the sants can be our role models. They

planned to the last sadhu,the chant: faansi do,faansi do must give direction,as in ancient times the Rajguru did to the King.”

The sants are Ramdev’s chosen support cast in his show. The star today was Sadhvi Rithambhara,an accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case,who gushed over him: “If there were more Vallabbhai Patels,then there would be no need for a sanyasi to sit on satyagraha.”

Ramdev called Rithambhara his “Didi Ma”,who would always stand by him.

The so-called ‘satyagraha’ is a grand show of organisational muscle by the Great Ramdev Machine. The first stop for the throng at the Maidan,mobilised from their villages and small towns by the twin Ramdev networks of Patanjali Yogpeeth and Bharat Swabhiman Trust,is the registration counter; there is a separate counter for those under 40.

Those who join the protest or fast must fill in a form and submit it at the states’ counter,one for each state,before finding a place to sit on the ground in any one of the neatly partitioned sections called the “Bhagat Singh Block”,“Chandrashekhar Azad Block” or “Ram Prasad Bismil Block”.

Or,indeed,the “Avantibai Lodhi Block” named after the warrior-queen of Ramgarh who fought the British in 1857 and,faced with imminent defeat,killed herself with her own sword.

The single-page form asks the protester’s name and address,and whether he or she is signing up for “(a) indefinite fast (Upto Pujya Swami Ram Dev Ji’s fast)”,or “(b) how many days fast?”. The name of the “nearest friend or relative who could be contacted”,must be put down as well.

A small paragraph below asks the individual to “solemnly affirm” that “I myself shall be responsible for any damage during the fasting”,and lays down the reason for the protest: “For removing corruption and making the nation a big economic power”.

Indeed,the goal is fuzzy. Everyone talks of the return to India of “Rs 400 lakh crore” of black money. Not many mention the Lokpal. “Systemic change” is a popular chant.

D K Varma,among a group of five young men from Faridabad,said,“Baba must get our pracheen kaal back”.

Devendra Jain,shopkeeper from Shahadra,said,“The entire system must change,we need vyavastha parivartan,nothing short of that will do.”

Avantika Gajauria,a schoolteacher from Sarguja district who has named her 10 month-old grandson ‘Bharat Swabhiman’,said,“Truth must win over governments that walk the path of untruth.”

Sushma Suman from Koderma said,“Our laws must be Indianised,British influence must be erased.”

Sandeep Singh from Faridabad lamented “only those wearing bush-shirt and pant are considered educated,not desi people”.

Almost everyone appeared to agree that the death penalty needed to be handed out more frequently. “Why are people not being hanged? Why are laws so lax?” demanded G P Nautiyal,a retired teacher from Haridwar. Atul Chaudhary from Faridabad said “Every scamster must be hanged”,and Om Kant from Gurgaon said it must be done in public.

The fluttering banners framed the dominant sentiment,“Maa Bharati ke hatyaron ko — faansi do,faansi do”. “Desh drohiyon ko — faansi do,faansi do”.

The predominance of the small town among the participants was brought out when early this morning,before beginning his fast,Ramdev asked for a show of hands.

“Zara gaonwaalein haath uthaen. Yeh kya,yahaan to 80 pratishat log gaon se hi aayen hain. Haan,sheher ke logon mein anshan karne ki shakti kahaan,” he joked. He could have been mocking Anna Hazare’s show — much smaller in scale,and dominated by English-speaking,middle-class Delhi.

Anna had tried hard to keep his movement free from political affiliations — notably asking Uma Bharti and Om Prakash Chautala to leave Jantar Mantar. Ramdev,on the other hand,announced,“All political parties are welcome to give us their support in writing. Politicians cannot give speeches at the protest sight,but they can support us.”

His followers have no confusion in their minds about the Baba’s own political ambitions. “For the 2014 Lok Sabha elections,Bharat Swabhiman will be the basis of what to follow,everyone knows about it,” said one.