Running on blind faith

“Swamiji (Ramdev) has highly evolved thinking. He has given ample thought to how corruption can end. I cannot match that but I follow him,” said Usha Kumari, 63, from Meerut. She joined the yoga guru in his fast-unto-death at the Ramlila ground on Saturday.

“Swamiji (Ramdev) has highly evolved thinking. He has given ample thought to how corruption can end. I cannot match that but I follow him,” said Usha Kumari, 63, from Meerut. She joined the yoga guru in his fast-unto-death at the Ramlila ground on Saturday.

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However, the housewife-turned-yoga teacher is not sure as to how the fast will end corruption or bring back the ill-gotten money stashed away overseas, one of Ramdev’s demands.

Ganesh Shaw, 22, a hawker from Burdwan district (West Bengal), said: “My brother has not got a job despite a master’s degree because of corruption. Babaji has shown us a way … I am confident something will happen with this fast.” But what “something” he could not tell.

It was a crowd of various hues: housewives from a Rajasthan village, who have not studied beyond Class 8; Bermuda-clad bandana-wearing college students from Hissar in Haryana, and a book-shop owner from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, all of whom joined the agitation blindly following their guru.

By late evening, when the government gave a letter signed by Ramdev’s office-bearer about ending the fast, the yoga guru vehemently defended it and said it would continue till the government came up with a written commitment on his three main demands. The mood of the crowd was unchanged.