By Siddharth Gupta:
On 7th October 2012, Big Boss started with its new season. One of the participants on the show is Aseem Trivedi, an anti-corruption cartoonist from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Recently, he was in the news for his arrest under the controversial charge of Section 124 of the Indian Penal Code i.e. Sedition. The arrest of this black-kurta and blue jeans clad artist caused uproar in the entire nation as the arrest was simply ridiculous in the very first place. Soon after, he was released but not before he clearly refused both bail and the defence of a lawyer. This left an image of Marxist revolutionary with a zeal for anti-corruption. The fierce enraged look soothed millions of egos in India, satisfying them of the fact that “Yes, the youth is doing something.”Alas, the dream was to be broken.
In a disappointing turn of events, Aseem Trivedi ended up doing what most sudden-risen-to-fame people do. He turned to the world of glamour. When this cartoonist shot to fame, our hearts zoomed with expectations. We had someone who could be compared to the revolutionaries of the yore. Someone whom most called “a firebrand”. Unfortunately, Trivedi’s decision to take part in a banal reality show which ironically is the most idiotic departure from reality we will ever find. In all contrast, Aseem Trivedi fought against corruption, wily politics and planned voting which are the core factors to succeed in the so called “Reality Show”.
Although our Marxist in Black or the Indian MIB says that he wishes to use the platform to take forward his message. The idiosyncrasy and stupidity behind this statement astounds me. This was never expected from a courageous cartoonist who had the guts to stand up to the  pack of hungry werewolves. Social activists, who wish to spread the message, are out there, on the field. Working, bit by bit to affect the aspects they wish to change. Arvind Kejriwal is burning bills to protest Electricity price hikes in Delhi. Prashant Bhushan is busy fighting the case for the Kudankulam Nuclear power plant in the Supreme Court while as a joint effort; both have carried on with their fight against corruption. Anna Hazare is busy organizing his next “INDEFINITE” fast. However, none of them are sitting in the luxury of a fully furnished massive house with some other celebrities, bickering over the task of the week.
Personally, it is my belief that India is on the brink of change. Very rarely do such moments arise in history when we have a concerned, well informed populace with dynamic, inspirational leaders to lead them. The youth always was important in such movements against improper governance and archaic disgusting rules. Now is a perfect time for change. The iron is red hot and the hammer is ready to strike. But if the carpenter himself is busy fighting with the “Yeh toh bada toing hai!” girl over kitchen timings and engaging in a shayari match with a certain Siddhu, I highly doubt the success of our struggle. I hope we change. Soon, Fast and Now.
The article is also published on the authors personal blog.Â
[box bg=”#fdf78c” color=”#000″]About the author: Siddharth Gupta is a blogger from Mumbai. Apart from his academic pursuits,he also runs an online initiative against female abuse and loves expressing his “avaaz” via his blog and social networking websites.He also is a poet as well as fiction writer. You can find him online at-Â Twitter-@sidgsiddharth.[/box]