BABA RAMDEV

BABA RAMDEV as a phenomenon is reflective of our time: muddled, convoluted and confused. His mercurial rise can be seen as a backlash to the failures of an agenda inspired by Western thought and systems, its science and its faith-negating world view. He is a product of these times and certainly not a prophet.
He began with an onslaught on Western medicine and sciences as opposed to Yoga and Ayurveda. His tirade against multinationals, drug companies, life style diseases and subsequent claims that Yoga is the ultimate panacea of all ills including cancer, helped him reach out to a section of the masses. People disillusioned with ‘systems’ (not just political) were groping for an alternative when Ramdev seemed to provide it.
The problem with his politics lies in inherent contradictions. Support from the khap panchayats and the backing of the Right wing lobby flies in the face of his claim that there is no political design behind his agenda. Presence of Sadhvi Ritambhara, Major Unnikrishnan’s parents, relatives of Bhagat singh and similar diverse elements on his stage only indicated an ideological anarchy.
His invocation of hyper nationalism and sacrifice besides selective use of secular slogans (sarfaroshi ki tamanna, vande matram, Bharat mata ki jai) and symbols (Bhagat singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad) from the freedom movement seemed contrived in the backdrop of his vast commercial empire.
He also seems incapable of appreciating that corruption is rooted in the system and institutions or individuals cannot be hanged like the Taliban did in Afghanistan. By demanding that the guilty be hanged in public, he merely betrayed his own limited thinking. Institution building in a democratic society is a painful process, takes a long time, requires perseverance to arrive at a consensus, maturity and above all a liberal and humanitarian vision.
Revolutions in these times take place through technology, through micro finance, self-help groups and legislations like the Right To Information. Dramatic demonstrations of frenzy, sustained by the politics of convenience, do not make for revolutionary changes. His announcement that he is going to raise an independent army to protect himself is another ominous and fascist signal that is frightening.
Modernity is not just about Western medicine and science. Modernity is also about humanism, democracy and secularism. It will undoubtedly do Ramdev a world of good if someone presents him with a collection of Gandhi’s writings to calm his combative nerves and give him with some much needed lessons. 
The iconic status of Ramdev as the man who once made Yoga a household name in the remotest corners of India and his mystique have clearly taken a beating. Sadly, he has emerged as an ordinary and seriously flawed character. Intoxication with power has this effect on most people. Baba Ramdev was clearly not an exception