The Debasement of The Hunger Strike - Rakhi Sawant Kaun Hai?

Going on a hunger strike has a rich and hoary tradition in India with roots in religious practice and also as an act of penance. In one form, called Santhrao or Sallekhana - in the Hindu as well as the Jain tradition, when a full life has been lived, many choose to observe a fast that ends only with death. Among those in recent times who have fasted to death thus are Veer Savarkar and Acharya Vinoba Bhave. Fasting in a religious context as a penance or for prayer to seek divine direction in life is also to be found in Islam and the Christian faith.

Similarly the hunger strike has a long history of non-violent political protest. In India, the man who harnessed it fully to its greatest potential was undoubtedly Mahatma Gandhi, who took on the British Empire on several occasions with the hunger strike. He also tried to restore communal amity between the Hindus and the Muslims on many occasions during the pre independence communal riots on many occasions.

Others who have used the hunger strike as a political tool include the British Suffragettes, Irish Republicans, Turkish political prisoners, the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and even over the last week or so we had Anna Hazare, the Gandhian crusader from Maharashtra, Arvind Kejriwal, the Magasasay awardee and many others fasting protesting against the government's plans to amend the Right to Information Act. Of course along the way, the concept of the hunger strike got diluted and today most fasts are indefinite with enough leeway to break the fast quickly and a glass of lime juice handy.

Just how far the concept of the hunger strike has decayed can be understood from a newspaper article in Tehelka advising of the Bollywood starlet, Rakhi Sawant's intention to go on a hunger strike. She decided on this course of action apparently after word came through that the Hyderabad city police had decided to refuse permission to the actor to stage her "show" in the city. Speaking on FM Radio live from appropriately a restaurant, Rakhi, apparently said - "Rakhi koi gangster hai, koi bhai hai, ke uske shows ban kiye ja rahe hai? Kaun hai Rakhi Sawant? Agar mujhe proper explanation nahi mila to main hunger strike karungi aur apni jaan de doongi"

Now a comparison between Rakhi Sawant and the Mahatma might be slightly over the top. But, when Gandhiji went on a fast or someone else of standing did, the nation was brought to its knees. Ordinary people as well the movers and shakers were shaken at the horrifying thought of the political as well as the moral repercussions of some one of that importance actually dying as a result of a fast. But look at the profile of people who go on fasts and hunger strikes today. Isn't the whole business of hunger strikes is a total farce? Does any one particularly care if you or me or even Rakhi Sawant fasts for a day or two or indefinitely or even till death? In our time, a weapon once potent and effective has rotted away to debasement.