# NEWS REEL ….. POLITICAL – 671. AAP needs our support. They are our kind of people The brave grassroots activist -- who has devoted her life to protests for innumerable causes that affect or strengthen the poor, attracting national, as well as global attention -- has always doggedly fought for support. Today, Vaihayasi Pande Daniel discovers, she is fighting for a commodity far more tricky and slippery. Votes. Yeh party nahin, yeh andolan hai.(This is not a political party. This is a movement). At 59, Medhatai is reinventing herself. No, it is not an external makeover. She still wears her simple handloom saris that could certainly use a little more ironing. Not very pretty footwear. Her neck, ears and wrists are bare of ornaments, except her reading glasses, hanging on a black string and a functional, black-strapped watch, its dial facing inwards. There is bindi on her forehead. Her silver hair is scraped back in an untidy braid that hangs limply down her back. She is hampered by no possessions except a basic Nokia phone, a notebook and less than Rs 10,000 in the bank. Medha Patkars makeover is a professional one. She has switched jobs. The brave grassroots activist -- who has devoted her life to protests for innumerable causes that affect or strengthen the poor, attracting national, as well as global attention -- has always doggedly fought for support. Today she is fighting for a commodity far more tricky and slippery. Votes. Patkar does not see it as a radical change of roles, although she says she feels awkward asking for votes and promoting her track record. But people have the right to know about the candidates work. She says she is appalled and saddened at the way the countrys governance has radically deteriorated. At the manner in which Indias resources are being frittered away, carelessly, by a few. She feels the character of the State is at its worst -- corrupt, criminal and callous. Now communal forces through Narendra Modi are trying to take over. It is a great risk for the countrys unity within diversity. She felt she had no alternative but to step in. With mainstream politics becoming a big scam and scandal, someone has to see that the mainstream (ways) will not flood everything... And also drown all the pieces of land where we are standing, she says, using a metaphor that harks back to the struggle for her beloved Narmada river where she first sprung into the national consciousness. PIC: Medha Patkar campaigns in Mumbais North East suburb of Vikhroli.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 11:59:44 +0000