R K Laxman made Aam Aadmi Powerful

Legendary cartoonist R K Laxman is no more. But he left behind the common man who is no longer weak and meek. In fact, R K Laxman had sown the seed for powerful people’s movement to fight India’s age old corruption. For six decades his depiction of common man has ripped apart the hypocrisy, double speak and corruption in politics, media, society and in government machinery. His common man cartoon had created a crusader in Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan to fight Mrs Indira Gandhi’s emergency.

Unfortunately, the Janta party’s leaders fumbled when political power had made them selfish and blind to live for narrow personal interest. Laxman’s cartoons created another legendary Aam Aadmi leader, Mr Anna Hazare. The septuagenarian had fought many battles in his life in the turf of the powerful Maratha leader Sharad Pawar who was out to end Anna’s influence. After Jay Prakash Narayan’s Sampoorna Kranti, it was veteran social activist and Magsaysay award winner Anna Hazare who had rekindled the hope in common man for good governance. Anna’s movement for Jan Lokpal had become a mass movement in India and its effect spilled over to many foreign countries. Arwind Kejriwal was catapulted to prominence during Anna’s Lokpal movement. But Kejriwal changed his course for political power and was caught in the web of his own creation. It was the power of Aam Aadmi which had propelled Naredra Modi to become India’s Prime Minister. The ground work was laid down by R K Laxman with the subtle stroke of his pencil. The Chae wala Narendra Modi rose to be the mass leader as his appeal goes beyond the caste, language, region and religion. He talked about the common man’s problems during his election campaign and promised his countrymen good governance. Money and muscles prove useless before the might of the Aam Aadmi. Today, Indian Aam Aadmi awakes to punish the leaders who play mischief or try to mislead them.