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Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare (; born 15 June 1937) is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life. In addition to organising and encouraging grassroots movements, Hazare frequently conducted hunger strikes to further his causes—a tactic reminiscent, to many, of the work of
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
. Hazare also contributed to the development and structuring of
Ralegan Siddhi Ralegan Siddhi is a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra state in western India. It is located at a distance of 87 km from Pune. The village has an area of 982.31 ha (1991). It is considered a model of environmental ...
, a village in
Parner taluka Parner taluka is a taluka in Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Geography Area The following are area details: Population The table below shows the population of the taluka by sex. The data is taken from the 2001 ...
of
Ahmednagar district Ahmednagar district (Marathi pronunciation: ɦ(ə)məd̪nəɡəɾ is the largest district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical Ahmednagar city is the headquarters of the district. Ahmednagar and Sangamner are largest cities in ...
, Maharashtra, India. He was awarded the
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
—the third-highest civilian award—by the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
in 1992 for his efforts in establishing this village as a model for others. Hazare started a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
on 5 April 2011 to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a stringent anti-corruption law,
The Lokpal Bill, 2011 The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, commonly known as The Lokpal Act, is an anti-corruption Act of Indian Parliament in India which "seeks to provide for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal to inquire into allegations of corrupt ...
as envisaged in the
Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investi ...
, for the institution of an ombudsman with the power to deal with corruption in public places. The fast led to nationwide protests in support. The fast ended on 9 April 2011, a day after the government accepted Hazare's demands. The government issued a gazette notification on the formation of a joint committee, consisting of government and civil society representatives, to draft the legislation. '' Foreign Policy'' named him among top 100 global thinkers in 2011. Also in 2011, Hazare was ranked as the most influential person in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
by a national daily newspaper. He has faced criticism for his authoritarian views on justice, including death as punishment for corrupt public officials and his alleged support for forced vasectomies as a method of family planning.


Early life

Kisan Baburao Hazare was born on 15 June 1937 (some sources say 15 January 1940) in Bhingar, near Ahmednagar. He was the eldest son of Baburao Hazare and Laxmi Bai. He has two sisters and four brothers. He later adopted the name ''Anna'', which in
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
means "elder person" or "father". His father worked as an unskilled labourer in Ayurveda Ashram Pharmacy and struggled to support the family financially. In time, the family moved to their ancestral village of
Ralegan Siddhi Ralegan Siddhi is a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra state in western India. It is located at a distance of 87 km from Pune. The village has an area of 982.31 ha (1991). It is considered a model of environmental ...
, where they owned a small amount of agricultural land. A relative took on the burden of providing Kisan with an education, taking him to Mumbai because the village had no primary school. The relative became unable financially to continue the support and Kisan's schooling ended in the Standard Seventh grade; his siblings never attended school. He started selling flowers at the
Dadar Dadar (Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪aːd̪əɾ is a densely populated residential and shopping neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also a prominent railway and bus service hub with local and national connectivity. Dadar holds the distinction of being Mum ...
railway station in Mumbai and eventually managed to own two flower shops in the city. He also became involved in vigilantism, joining groups who acted to prevent landlords' thugs from intimidating the poor out of their shelter.


Military service

Hazare was drafted into the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
in April 1960, where he initially worked as an army truck driver and was later attested as a soldier. He undertook army training at
Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is the ...
. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Hazare was posted at the border in the
Khem Karan Khem Karan is a town and a nagar panchayat, just 56km from Tarn Taran Sahib in Tarn Taran district of Patti tehsil of the Majha region of Indian state of Punjab. It was the site of a major tank battle in 1965. The Battle of Asal Uttar was the ...
sector. He was the sole survivor of an enemy attack—variously claimed to have been a bomb, an aerial assault and an exchange of fire at the border—while he was driving a truck. The experiences of wartime, coupled with the poverty from which he had come, affected him. He considered suicide at one point but instead turned to pondering the meaning of life and death. He said of the truck attack, " tsent me thinking. I felt that God wanted me to stay alive for some reason. I was reborn in the battlefield of Khem Karan. And I decided to dedicate my new life to serving people." At a book stand in New Delhi railway station, he came across Swami Vivekananda's booklet "Call to the youth for nation building" which inspired him to think deeper. He spent his spare time reading the works of Swami Vivekananda,
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
, and
Vinoba Bhave Vinayak Narahari, also known as Vinoba Bhave (; 11 September 1895 – 15 November 1982), was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. Often called ''Acharya'' (Sanskrit teacher), he is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He is con ...
. In a blog post, Hazare expressed his views on Kashmir by saying that it was his "active conviction that Kashmir is an integral part of India" and that if required once again for service, he would remain "ready to take part in war against Pakistan." During his fifteen-year career in the army (1960–75), Anna Hazare was posted at several locations, including
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
( Indo Pak war 1965),
Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
,
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
(1971) and
Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
(1974) During the Indo pak war, Hazare survived a road crash while driving for the army. He interpreted his survival as a further sign that his life was intended to be dedicated to service. He had another escape in Nagaland, where one night, underground Naga rebels attacked his post and killed all the inmates. He had a miraculous escape as he had gone out to return nature's call and hence turned out to be the lone survivor. Official records show that he was honourably discharged in 1975 after completing 12 years of service.Anna didn't desert Army: RTI
''The Times of India''. Retrieved 29 August 2011.


Transformation of Ralegan Siddhi

Hazare returned to
Ralegan Siddhi Ralegan Siddhi is a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra state in western India. It is located at a distance of 87 km from Pune. The village has an area of 982.31 ha (1991). It is considered a model of environmental ...
, a village then described by Satpathy and Mehta as "one of the many villages of India plagued by acute poverty, deprivation, a fragile ecosystem, neglect and hopelessness." Although most of the villagers owned some land, cultivation was extremely difficult due to the rocky ground preventing retention of the
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
rains, this situation was worsened by gradual environmental deterioration as trees were cut down,
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...
spread and droughts were also experienced. The shortage of water also led to disease from unsanitary conditions and water reuse for multiple purposes. The economy of the village had become reliant on the illegal manufacture and sale of alcohol, a product on which many of the villagers had become dependent. Many inhabitants borrowed from
moneylender In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
s to survive, paying monthly interest rates of as much as 10%. Crime and violence (including domestic violence) had become commonplace, while education and employment opportunities were poor. Hazare was relatively wealthy because of the gratuity from his army service. He set about using that money to restore a run-down, vandalised village temple as a focal point for the community. Some were able to respond with small financial donations but many other villagers, particularly among the elderly, donated their labour in a process that became known as ''shramdaan''. Some youths also became involved in the work and these he organised into a ''Tarun Mandal'' (Youth Association). One of the works of Vivekananda which he had read was ''Call to the youth for nation building''.


Prohibition of alcohol

Hazare and the youth group decided to take up the issue of alcoholism to drive a process of reform. At a meeting conducted in the temple, the villagers resolved to close down liquor dens and ban alcohol in the village. Since these resolutions were made in the temple, they became, in a sense, religious commitments. Over thirty liquor brewing units voluntarily closed their establishments. Those who did not succumb to social pressure were forced to close their businesses when the youth group smashed their premises. The owners could not complain as their businesses were illegal. Once 3 drunken villagers were tied to pillars and then
flogged Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging ...
, personally by Hazare with his army belt. He justified this punishment by stating that "rural India was a harsh society", and that Hazare appealed to the government of Maharashtra to pass a law whereby prohibition would come into force in a village if 25% of the women in the village demanded it. In 2009 the state government amended the Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949 to reflect this. It was decided to ban the sale of tobacco, cigarettes, and
beedi A beedi (also spelled bidi or biri) is a thin cigarette or mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake and commonly wrapped in a tendu (''Diospyros melanoxylon'') or ''Piliostigma racemosum'' leaf tied with a string or adhesive at one end. It origi ...
es (an unfiltered cigarette where the tobacco is rolled in tendu, also known as Coromandel ebony, leaves instead of paper) in the village. To implement this resolution, the youth group performed a unique "
Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...
" ceremony twenty two years ago. The festival of Holi is celebrated as a symbolic burning of evil. The youth group brought all the tobacco, cigarettes, and beedies from the shops in the village and burnt them in a Holi fire. Tobacco, cigarettes, or beedies are no longer sold.


Grain Bank

In 1980, Hazare started the Grain Bank at the temple, with the objective of providing food security to needy farmers during times of drought or crop failure. Rich farmers, or those with surplus grain production, could donate a
quintal The quintal or centner is a historical unit of mass in many countries which is usually defined as 100 base units, such as pounds or kilograms. It is a traditional unit of weight in France, Portugal, and Spain and their former colonies. It is com ...
to the bank. In times of need, farmers could borrow the grain, but they had to return the amount of grain they borrowed, plus an additional quintal as an interest. This ensured that nobody in the village ever went hungry or had to borrow money to buy grain. This also prevented distress sales of grain at lower prices at harvest time.


Watershed development programme

Ralegan Siddhi is located in the foothills, so Hazare persuaded villagers to construct a watershed embankment and associated works to stop water and allow it to percolate and increase the ground water level and improve
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
in the area. These efforts solved the problem of water scarcity in the village and made irrigation possible. Cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane was banned. Crops such as
pulses In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...
,
oilseed Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...
s, and certain cash crops with low water requirements replaced them. The farmers started growing high-yield varieties and changed cropping pattern. Hazare has helped farmers of more than 70 villages in drought-prone regions in the state of Maharashtra since 1975. When Hazare came to Ralegan Siddhi in 1975 only of land was irrigated, Hazare converted it into about .


Education

In 1932,
Ralegan Siddhi Ralegan Siddhi is a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra state in western India. It is located at a distance of 87 km from Pune. The village has an area of 982.31 ha (1991). It is considered a model of environmental ...
got its first formal school, a single classroom primary school. In 1962, the villagers added more classrooms through community volunteer efforts. By 1971, out of an estimated population of 1,209, only 30.43% were literate (72 women and 290 men). Boys moved to the nearby towns of Shirur and
Parner Parner, is a historic town in Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra, India. It is the headquarters town for Parner Taluka. Parner was named after Rishi Parashar, whose son Maharishi Ved Vyas wrote famous epic ''"Mahabharat"''. Geography The town ...
to pursue higher education, but girls were limited to primary education. Hazare, along with the youth of Ralegan Siddhi, worked to increase literacy rates and education levels. In 1976 they started a pre-school and a high school in 1979. The villagers formed a charitable trust, the ''Sant Yadavbaba Shikshan Prasarak Mandal'', which was registered in 1979.


Removal of untouchability

The social barriers and discrimination that existed due to the caste system in India have been largely eliminated by Ralegan Siddhi villagers. It was Hazare's moral leadership that motivated and inspired the villagers to shun
untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...
and caste discrimination. Marriages of
Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...
s are held as part of community marriage program together with those of other castes. The Dalits have become integrated into the social and economic life of the village. The upper caste villagers built houses for the lower caste Dalits by ''shramdaan'' and helped to repay their loans.


Gram Sabha

The
Gandhian philosophy Gandhism is a body of ideas that describes the inspiration, vision, and the life work of M.K. Gandhi. It is particularly associated with his contributions to the idea of nonviolent resistance, sometimes also called civil resistance. The ter ...
on rural development considers the Gram Sabha as an important democratic institution for collective decision-making in the villages of India. Hazare campaigned between 1998 and 2006 for amending the Gram Sabha Act, so that villagers have a say in the village's development. The state government initially refused, but eventually gave in to public pressure. It became mandatory to seek the sanction of the Gram Sabha (an assembly of all village adults, and not just the few elected representatives in the gram panchayat) for expenditures on development works in the village.


Activism


Anti-corruption protests in Maharashtra

In 1991 Hazare launched the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan (BVJA, People's Movement against Corruption), a popular movement to fight against corruption in Ralegaon Siddhi. In the same year he protested against the collusion between 40 forest officials and timber merchants. This protest resulted in the transfer and suspension of these officials. In May 1997 Hazare protested alleged malpractice in the purchase of powerlooms by the Vasantrao Naik Bhathya Vimukt Jhtra Governor
P. C. Alexander Padinjarethalakal Cherian Alexander (20 March 1921 – 10 August 2011) was an Indian Administrative Service officer of 1948 batch who served as the Governor of Tamil Nadu from 1988 to 1990 and as the Governor of Maharashtra from 1993 to 2002. H ...
. On 4 November 1997 Gholap filed a defamation suit against Hazare for accusing him of corruption. He was arrested in April 1998 and was released on a personal bond of . On 9 September 1998 Hazare was imprisoned in the Yerawada Jail to serve a three-month sentence mandated by the Mumbai Metropolitan Court. The sentencing caused leaders of all political parties except the BJP and the Shiv Sena to support him. Later, due to public protests, the Government of Maharashtra ordered his release. Hazare wrote a letter to then chief minister
Manohar Joshi Manohar Gaju Joshi (born 2 December 1937) is a prominent politician from the state of Maharashtra. He was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999 and Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2002 to 2004. He is one of the prominent leaders ...
demanding Gholap's removal for his role in alleged malpractices in the Awami Merchant Bank. Gholap resigned from the cabinet on 27 April 1999. In 2003 corruption charges were raised by Hazare against four NCP ministers of the
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
-
NCP NCP may refer to: Science and medicine * Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (a temporary name for COVID-19), an outbreak that was officially identified in late 2019. * HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein 7 (NCp7), a target of zinc finger inhibitors * Nucleosome ...
government. He started his fast unto death on 9 August 2003. He ended his fast on 17 August 2003 after then chief minister
Sushil Kumar Shinde Sushilkumar Sambhaji Shinde (born 4 September 1941) is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He was the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Power in the Manmohan Singh government, and the Leader of the House in Lok Sabha until ...
formed a one-man commission headed by the retired justice P. B. Sawant to probe his charges. The P. B. Sawant commission report, submitted on 23 February 2005, indicted Sureshdada Jain, Nawab Malik, and Padmasinh Patil. The report exonerated Vijaykumar Gavit. Jain and Malik resigned from the cabinet in March 2005. Three trusts headed by Anna Hazare were also indicted in the P. B. Sawant commission report. spent by the ''Hind Swaraj Trust'' for Anna Hazare's birthday celebrations was concluded by the commission as illegal and amounting to a corrupt practice, though Abhay Firodia, an industrialist subsequently donated to the trust for that purpose. The setting apart of 11 acres of its land by the trust in favour of the Zilla Parishad without obtaining permission from the charity commissioner was concluded as a case of maladministration. The commission also concluded that the maintenance of accounts of the ''Bhrashtachar Virodhi Janandolan Trust'' after 10 November 2001 had not been according to the rules and spent by the ''Sant Yadavbaba Shikshan Prasarak Mandal Trust'' for renovating a temple thwarted its object of imparting secular education.


Right to Information movement

In the early 2000s Hazare led a movement in Maharashtra state which forced the state government to enact a revised Maharashtra Right to Information Act. This Act was later considered as the base document for the
Right to Information Act The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of RTI Act, a ...
2005 (RTI), enacted by the Union Government. It also ensured that the President of India assented to this new Act. On 20 July 2006 the Union Cabinet amended the Right to Information Act 2005 to exclude the file noting by the government officials from its purview. Hazare began his fast unto death on 9 August 2006 in
Alandi Alandi (Marathi pronunciation: ːɭən̪d̪iː is a town and a municipal council in the Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The town is popular as a place of pilgrimage and the resting place of the 8th century Marathi saint ...
against the proposed amendment. He ended his fast on 19 August 2006, after the government agreed to change its earlier decision.


Regulation of Transfers and Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act

Before 2006 in the state of Maharashtra, honest government officers were transferred to other places according to ministerial wish, while some corrupt and favoured officials stayed put for decades. Hazare fought for a law whereby a government servant must clear files within a specified time, and transfers must take place only after three years. After many years of Hazare's efforts, on 25 May 2006 Maharashtra announced the Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act 2006. This act provided for disciplinary action against officials who clear files slowly, and enabled monitoring of officials who overstay a post, and for involvement in a corrupt nexus. This act mandated the government to effect transfers of all government officers and employees, except Class IV workers, no sooner and no later than three years, except in emergency or exceptional circumstances. Maharashtra was the first state to introduce such an act. However, this law was not fully followed.


Campaign against liquor from food grains

Article 47 of India's Constitution commits the State to raise the standard of living, improve public health and prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs injurious to health. In 2007 Maharashtra rolled out a policy aimed to encourage production of alcohol from food grain to fill the rising demand for industrial alcohol and liquor. It issued 36 licences for distilleries for making alcohol from food grain. Anna Hazare opposed the government's policy to promote making liquor from food grain. He argued that Maharashtra had to import food, so producing liquor from food grain was inappropriate. One State minister, Laxman Dhoble said that those opposing the use of food grain for the production of liquor were anti-farmer, and that opponents should be beaten with sugarcane sticks. Hazare began fasting at
Shirdi Shirdi (; also known as Sainagar) is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Rahata taluka of Ahmednagar District. It is accessible via the Ahmednagar–Malegaon State Highway No.10, approximately from Ahmednagar and ...
, but on 21 March 2010 the government promised to review the policy and Anna ended his 5-day fast. But the government later granted 36 licences and grants of (per litre of alcohol) to politicians or their sons who were engaged in making alcohol from foodgrains. Recipients included Amit and Dheeraj Deshmukh, sons of Union Heavy Industries Minister
Vilasrao Deshmukh Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh (26 May 1945 – 14 August 2012) was an Indian politician who served as the 14th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, first term from 18 October 1999 to 16 January 2003 and second term, from 1 November 2004 to 5 D ...
,
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...
leader
Gopinath Munde Gopinath Pandurang Munde (12 December 1949 – 3 June 2014) was an Indian politician from Maharashtra. A popular Leader in Maharashtra called a Lokneta. He was a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Union Minister for Rural a ...
's daughter Pankaja Palwe and her husband Charudatta Palwe, sons-in-law of P.V. Narasimha Rao and Rajya Sabha MP Govindrao Adik. The government approved the licences despite stiff opposition from the planning and finance departments, saying there was a huge demand in other countries for distilled spirits compared to that of molasses. Hazare
sued - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil acti ...
Maharashtra over the policy in the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. On 20 August 2009 Maharashtra stopped the policy. However, distilleries sanctioned before that date and those who started production within two years of sanction were entitled for subsidies. On 5 May 2011 the court refused to hear the suit, saying, "not before me, this is a court of law, not a court of justice". A Maharashtra Principal Secretary, C.S. Sangeet Rao, stated that no law existed to scrap these licences.


Lokpal Bill movement

In 2011, Hazare participated in the satyagraha movement campaigning for a stronger anti-corruption ''Lokpal'' ( ombudsman) bill in the Indian parliament. Known as the
Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investi ...
(People's Ombudsman Bill), it was drafted by N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and
Lokayukta The Lokayukta (also Lok Ayukta) ( ''lokāyukta'', ''"civil commissioner"'') is the Indian Parliamentary Ombudsman, executed into power, through and for, each of the State Governments of India. It is brought into effect in a state, after passi ...
of
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
,
Prashant Bhushan Prashant or Prasant is a common male name in South Asia. It is derived from the word "shanth" which means patience, calm, quiet, or tranquil. People with the given name * Prashant Bose - Indian politician * Prashant Bhushan - Indian lawyer, ...
, and social activist
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national co ...
. The draft incorporated more stringent provisions and gave wider power to the ''Lokpal'' than the government's 2010 draft. These included placing "the Prime Minister within the ambit of the proposed lokpal's powers".


Hunger strike

Hazare began an " indefinite fast" on 5 April 2011 at
Jantar Mantar A Jantar Mantar ( Hindustani pronunciation: ͡ʒən̪t̪ər mən̪t̪ər is an assembly of stone-built astronomical instruments, designed to be used with the naked eye. There were five Jantar Mantars in India, all of them built at the com ...
in Delhi as part of the campaign to form a joint committee of government and civil society representatives. He wanted this committee to draft a bill with more stringent penal provisions and gave more independence to the ''Lokpal'' and ''Lokayukta''s (ombudsmen in the states). The fast came after his demand was rejected by the prime minister, Manmohan Singh. Hazare said, "I will fast until Jan Lokpal Bill is passed". The movement attracted attention in the media and thousands of supporters. Almost 150 people reportedly joined Hazare in his fast. Social activists, including
Medha Patkar Medha Patkar née Khanolkar (born 1 December 1954) is an Indian social activist and former Politician working on various crucial political and economic issues raised by tribals, dalits, farmers, labourers and women facing injustice in India. She ...
,
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national co ...
, former
IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...
officer
Kiran Bedi Kiran Bedi (born 9 June 1949) is an Indian social activist, former-tennis player who became the first woman in India to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972 and was the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry from ...
, and
Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' ( Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for l ...
lent their support. People showed support in social media. In addition to spiritual leaders
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (born 13 May 1956) is an Indian Modern yoga gurus, yoga guru, a spiritual leader. He is frequently referred to as Sri, Sri Sri (honorific), Guru ji, or Gurudev. From around the mid 1970s, he worked as an Apprenticeship, apprentic ...
, Swami Ramdev,
Swami Agnivesh Swami Agnivesh (born Vepa Shyam Rao; 21 September 193911 September 2020), was an Indian social activist and the founder of Arya Sabha, a political party based on the principles of Arya Samaj.
, the former Indian cricketer
Kapil Dev Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj (Pronunciation: əpiːl deːʋ born 6 January 1959) is an Indian former cricketer. He was a fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting middle-order batsman, and was named by '' Wisden'' as the Indian Cricketer of the Cen ...
and many other celebrities supported him. Hazare decided that he would not allow any politician to sit with him. The protesters rejected
Uma Bharti Uma Bharti (born 3 May 1959) is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. She became involved with the Bharatiya Janata Party at a young age, unsuccessfully contesting her first parliamentary elections in 1984. In 1989, s ...
,
Om Prakash Chautala Om Prakash Chautala (born 1 January 1935) is an Indian politician from Haryana who served as a former Chief Minister of Haryana from Indian National Lok Dal and son of 6th Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal. Biography Chautala is the ...
and others when they visited the protest. On 6 April 2011
Sharad Pawar Sharad Govindrao Pawar (Marathi pronunciation: əɾəd̪ pəʋaːɾ born 12 December 1940) is an Indian politician. He has served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on four occasions. He has held the posts of Minister of Defence and Mini ...
resigned from the group of ministers formed for reviewing the 2010 draft. Protests spread to
Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
,
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
,
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, Ahmedabad,
Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
,
Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the 330th most populous city in India with a ...
,
Aizawl Aizawl (; Mizo: ) is the capital of the state of Mizoram in India. Aizawl was officially established on 25 February 1890. With a population of 293,416, it is the largest city in the state. It is also the centre of administration containing all ...
and other cities. On 8 April 2011 the Government accepted the movement's demands. On 9 April it issued a notification in the ''
Gazette of India ''The Gazette of India'' is a public journal and an authorised legal document of the Government of India, published weekly by the Department of Publication, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. As a public journal, the ''Gazette'' prints offic ...
'' on formation of a joint committee. It accepted the formula that it should be co-chaired by a politician and social activist. The notification stated, "The Joint Drafting Committee shall consist of five nominee ministers of the Government of India and five nominees of the civil society. The five nominee Ministers of the Government of India are
Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...
, Union Minister of Finance,
P. Chidambaram Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee ...
, Union Minister of Home Affairs, M. Veerappa Moily, Union Minister of Law and Justice,
Kapil Sibal Kapil Sibal (born 8 August 1948) is an Indian lawyer and politician. Sibal has represented several high-profile cases in the Supreme Court of India and is widely regarded as one of the famous lawyers of India. He is a Member of Parliament, in Ra ...
, Union Minister of Human Resource and Development and Minister of Communication and Information Technology and Salman Khursheed, Union Minister of Water Resources and Minister of Minority Affairs. The five non-politician nominees were Anna Hazare, N. Santosh Hegde,
Shanti Bhushan Shanti Bhushan (born 11 November 1925) is an Indian politician and lawyer. He served as the Law Minister of India holding office at the Ministry of Law and Justice from 1977 to 1979 in the Morarji Desai Ministry. He is a senior advocate of the ...
Senior Advocate,
Prashant Bhushan Prashant or Prasant is a common male name in South Asia. It is derived from the word "shanth" which means patience, calm, quiet, or tranquil. People with the given name * Prashant Bose - Indian politician * Prashant Bhushan - Indian lawyer, ...
, Advocate and
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national co ...
. On the morning of 9 April 2011 Hazare ended his 98-hour hunger strike. He addressed the people and set a deadline of 15 August 2011 to pass the bill. He said that Hazare said that if the bill did not pass he would call for a mass nation-wide agitation. He called his movement a "second struggle for
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
" and he will continue the fight. Hazare threatened on 28 July 2012 to proceed with his fast-unto-death on the Jan Lokpal Bill issue. He also stated that country's future is not safe in the hands of Congress and BJP and he would campaign in the coming elections for those with clean background. On the third day of his indefinite fast, Anna stated that he will not talk even to the Prime Minister till his demands are met. On 2 August 2012 Hazare said that there was nothing wrong with forming a new political party but, he would neither join the party nor contest elections. Team and Anna have decided to end their indefinite fast on 3 August 2012 at 5 pm after which the team will announce their decision to enter politics.


Draft bill

During the meeting of the joint drafting committee on 30 May 2011, the Union government members opposed the inclusion of the prime minister, higher judiciary and the acts of the MPs under the purview of the JanLokpal in the draft bill. On 31 May, Mukherjee sent a letter to the chief ministers of all states and party leaders seeking their opinion on six contentious issues, including whether to bring the prime minister and judges of India's Supreme Court and High Courts under the law's purview. But the civil society members of the drafting committee considered that keeping them out would be a violation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Hazare and other civil society members decided to boycott the 6 June 2011 drafting committee meeting to protest the forcible eviction of Swami Ramdev and his followers by the Delhi Police from
Ramlila Maidan Ramlila Maidan also Ramlila Ground is a large ground located in New Delhi, India, traditionally used for staging the annual Ramlila. It is used for religious festivals, major political rallies and meetings, and entertainment events. It is locate ...
on 5 June 2011, while they were on a hunger strike against black money and corruption. On 6 June 2011, the civil society members wrote to Mukherjee, explaining reasons for their absence and also asking government to go public on the major issues. They also decided to attend only future meetings that were telecast live. On 8 June at Rajghat, describing his movement as the second freedom struggle, Hazare criticised the Government for trying to discredit the drafting committee and threatened to go on indefinite fast again starting 16 August 2011 if the Lokpal Bill had not passed. He also criticised the Government for putting hurdles in front of the Bill and for maligning the civil society members.


Indefinite fast

On 28 July 2011 the union cabinet approved a draft of the Lokpal Bill, which kept the Prime Minister, judiciary and lower bureaucracy out of the ombudsman's scope. Hazare rejected the government version by describing it as "cruel joke". He wrote a letter to Singh announcing his decision to begin an indefinite fast from 16 August 2011 at Jantar Mantar, if the government introduced its own version of the bill without taking suggestions from civil society members. Hazare wrote: Within twenty four hours of cabinet's endorsement of a weak Lokpal Bill, over ten thousand people from across the country sent
fax Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer o ...
es directly to the government demanding a stronger bill. The Mumbai Taxi Men's Union, comprising over 30,000 taxi drivers supported Hazare's fast by keeping all taxis off the roads on 16 August. Lawyers of Allahabad High Court described the government proposal as against the national interest and pledged their support to Hazare by hunger striking at Allahabad on 16 August. On 30 July
Vishwa Hindu Parishad The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) () is an Indian right-wing Hindu organization based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is "t ...
supported his fast by saying movement for an effective anti-corruption ombudsman needed the people's backing. On 1 August 2011,
Public interest litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). ''Public interest litigation'' (PIL) refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and de ...
was filed in the Supreme Court of India by Hemant Patil, a Maharashtra-based social worker and businessman, to restrain Hazare, alleging that Hazare's demands were unconstitutional and amounted to interference in the legislative process.


Arrest and aftermath

On 16 August 2011, Hazare was arrested, four hours before the planned indefinite hunger strike. Rajan Bhagat, spokesman for Delhi Police, said police arrested Hazare for illegally gathering in a Delhi park to begin his hunger strike, claiming that Hazare refused to meet police conditions for allowing the protest. The conditions included restricting the fast to three days and the number of protesters to 5,000. Later in the afternoon, Hazare refused bail. The magistrate dispatched him to
Tihar jail Tihar Prisons, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in India and the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one ...
for seven days. After announcements by Prashant Bhushan, local television, and social media sites (including Facebook), thousands marched in support from the
India Gate The India Gate (formerly known as the All India War Memorial) is a war memorial located near the Rajpath on the eastern edge of the "ceremonial axis" of New Delhi, formerly called duty path. It stands as a memorial to 84,000 soldiers of the B ...
to
Jantar Mantar A Jantar Mantar ( Hindustani pronunciation: ͡ʒən̪t̪ər mən̪t̪ər is an assembly of stone-built astronomical instruments, designed to be used with the naked eye. There were five Jantar Mantars in India, all of them built at the com ...
. Media reported that about 1,300 supporters were detained by police in Delhi, including
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national co ...
,
Shanti Bhushan Shanti Bhushan (born 11 November 1925) is an Indian politician and lawyer. He served as the Law Minister of India holding office at the Ministry of Law and Justice from 1977 to 1979 in the Morarji Desai Ministry. He is a senior advocate of the ...
,
Kiran Bedi Kiran Bedi (born 9 June 1949) is an Indian social activist, former-tennis player who became the first woman in India to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972 and was the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry from ...
and
Manish Sisodia Manish Sisodia (born 5 January 1972) is an Indian politician and Deputy Chief Minister of Government of Delhi. He has been the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. He is also an elected (third consecutive term) MLA from Patparga ...
. Protesters reportedly courted arrest in different parts of the country. Opposition parties came out against the arrest, likening the government action to the emergency imposed in the country in 1975. Both houses of Parliament adjourned over the issue. After four hours in detention Hazare was released unconditionally by the police, but refused to leave
Tihar Jail Tihar Prisons, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in India and the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one ...
. Hazare demanded unconditional permission to fast at Ramlila Maidan. Hazare continued his fast inside the jail. After his arrest, Hazare received support from people across the country. There were reports of "nearly 570 demonstrations and protests by Anna supporters across the country". Due to the millions of protesters nationwide, the government allowed him to begin a public hunger strike of fifteen days. After talks with public authorities, Hazare decided to hold his protest at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi. On 20 August Hazare "left the Tihar Jail for the Ramlila Grounds". Hazare promised reporters "he would fight to the 'last breath' until the government gets his team's Jan Lokpal Bill passed in this session of Parliament, which ends on 8 September."


Fast at Ramlila Maidan

On 20 August 2011 thousands came to show their support for Hazare, while "his advisers made television appearances to rally public support and defend themselves against criticism that their protest campaign and refusal to compromise is undermining India's parliamentary process." The National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) condemned Hazare's deadline for passing the bill as undermining democracy, which operates by The Congress party confirmed that Maharashtra Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Umesh Chandra Sarangi, who had a history of mediating between Hazare and officials, was meeting "to find points of consensus and defuse the situation". On 21 August "tens of thousands" watched Hazare as he sat on an elevated platform. It was reported that Hazare at that point had "lost more than seven pounds since beginning his fast". Despite this he stated, "I will not withdraw my hunger strike until the Jan Lokpal bill is passed in the Parliament. I can die but I will not bend." Hazare ended his fast on 28 August, after the Lokpal Bill passed unanimously. He was admitted to Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon for post-fast care.Anna dehydrated and exhausted, say doctors – India News – IBNLive
CNN-IBN.in.com (10 May 2011). Retrieved 29 August 2011.
He had lost and was very dehydrated after the 288-hour fast.


I Am Anna Campaign

Within a few days of Anna Hazare's first fast demanding a strong Lokpal (on 5 April 2011), supporters started a campaign known as "I Am Anna Hazare", which was similar to the "We Are All Khaled Said" campaign from the Egyptian uprising. During Anna Hazare's second fast, his ''topi'', the cap which became synonymous with Anna Hazare, became almost a fashion statement. Sales of the topis hit an all-time high.
Kiran Bedi Kiran Bedi (born 9 June 1949) is an Indian social activist, former-tennis player who became the first woman in India to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972 and was the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry from ...
recommended that the "I am Anna" topi be displayed whenever someone asked for a bribe.


Fast on MMRDA ground

On 27 December 2011, Hazare began a 3-day hunger strike at
MMRDA Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is a body of the Government of Maharashtra that is responsible for preparation oRegional Plan for MMRand the infrastructure development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The MMRDA was se ...
grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex, to demand a stronger Lokpal bill than was in debate.Anna begins fast in Mumbai as LS debates Lokpal bill in Delhi
27 December 2011. ''The Times of India''. Retrieved 27 December 2011
Hazare ended the fast on 28 December, after his doctors said that his kidneys might fail if he continued. Before reaching the venue, Anna paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at
Juhu Beach Juhu (Pronunciation: ͡ʒuɦuː is a posh and upmarket neighbourhood of Mumbai. It is known for the sprawling Juhu Beach. It is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, Versova to the north, Vile Parle to the east and Santacruz to the sout ...
. On his way to a rally with several thousand people, he took two-and-half hours to reach the ground, passing through Santacruz, Tulip Star Hotel,
Mithibai College The Mithibai College of Arts, Chauhan Institute of Science & Amruthben Jivanlal College of Commerce and Economics is a college affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The college was established in 1961 in Vile Parle, Mumbai by Shri Vile Parle ...
, SV Road,
Vile Parle Vile Parle (, also known as Parle, pronounced "Parle" or "Parla"), is a neighbourhood and also the name of the railway station in the Western suburb of Mumbai. Vile Parle has a significantly strong base of Marathi and Gujarati population. It s ...
,
Khar Khar may refer to: Places * Khar, Mumbai, a suburb of Mumbai, India * Khar, Punjab, a town in the Punjab Province, Pakistan * Khar, Bajaur, a town in the Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan * Khar, Nepal, a village ...
and Bandra Highway.Anna fasts for strong Lokpal as Lok Sabha debates bill
, 27 December 2011. Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 December 2011
A PIL petition filed against the fast was turned down by the Karnataka High Court. A judge noted that there was no public interest in the petition.


Electoral reform movement

In 2011, Hazare demanded an amendment to the electoral law to incorporate the option of None of the above in the
electronic voting machine An electronic voting machine is a voting machine based on electronics. Two main technologies exist: '' optical scanning'' and '' direct recording'' (DRE). Optical scanning In an optical scan voting system, or marksense, each voter's choices ...
s during the Indian elections. The "None of the above (NOTA)" is a ballot option that allows an electorate to indicate disapproval of all of the candidates in an electoral system, in case of non-availability of any candidate of his choice, as his Right to Reject. Soon, the Chief Election Commissioner of India
Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi (born 11 June 1947) is an Indian civil servant who served as 17th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. He was appointed as the CEC as the successor to Navin Chawla on 30 July 2010. He has also served as a Secre ...
supported Hazare's demand for the electoral reforms. On 31 March 2013 Hazare started ''Jantantra Yatra'' from the city of Amritsar. He is expecting to address various issues, including electoral reforms such as the right to reject a candidate.


Protest against atrocities against Swami Ramdev and his supporters

On 8 June 2011 Anna Hazare and thousands of his supporters fasted from 10 am to 6 pm at Rajghat to protest against the midnight crackdown of 5 June by the Delhi Police on Swami Ramdev's fast at Ramlila ground protests. Anna Hazare held the Prime Minister of India responsible for the atrocities and termed the police action as an attempt to stifle democracy. According to one of Hazare's young supporters, the large presence of youths at the protest was due to his use of nonviolent protest, similar to
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
. On 9 August 2013, Anna's office announced his anti-corruption organisation Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan (BVJA) is no longer tackling corruption issues at a personal or social level. In an email circulated to India Against Corruption's membership, the veteran Gandhian's office has clarified that Anna "is now focused on Janlokpal, Right to Reject, Right to Recall, Farmers problems, Change in Education in System".


2015 Land acquisition ordinance protest

In February 2015, he protested for two days at
Jantar Mantar A Jantar Mantar ( Hindustani pronunciation: ͡ʒən̪t̪ər mən̪t̪ər is an assembly of stone-built astronomical instruments, designed to be used with the naked eye. There were five Jantar Mantars in India, all of them built at the com ...
in Delhi against ordinance on the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.


Other activities and controversies

Hazare has been accused of being an agent of
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...
(RSS) a right-wing
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
body. According to Digvijay Singh a senior leader of the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
, the entire crusade of
2011 Indian anti-corruption movement The Indian anti-corruption movement, popularly known as Anna Andolan, was a series of demonstrations and protests across India that began in 2011 and was intended to establish strong legislation and enforcement against perceived endemic polit ...
was planned by RSS in which Plan-A was Baba Ramdev while Plan-B was Anna Hazare. Their basic job was to disturb national security. Singh also charged Hazare with having links with late RSS leader
Nanaji Deshmukh Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh, better known as Nanaji Deshmukh (11 October 1916 – 27 February 2010), was a social reformer and politician from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. He was posthumously aw ...
with whom he worked as a secretary. Hazare denied any such associations. India's '' OPEN Magazine'' editorialised that it was "nonsense" to say Hazare's anti-corruption movement of 2011–12 was apolitical. The op-ed went on to say that the purpose of the movement was that, so long as the Congress Party was kept out of power, corrupt politicians of any other party could be elected to Parliament. The example of Ajay Chautala (now convicted for corruption) was cited. "''In effect, Anna and his team are campaigning for Ajay Chautala effectively the first candidate put up for election by the India Against Corruption movement''". In a press conference in April 2011, Hazare praised
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
, the chief minister of
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
and
Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unit ...
, chief minister of
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
for their efforts on rural development, saying that other chief ministers should emulate them. Subsequently, Modi wrote an open letter to him, hailing him as a
Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...
anti-corruption activist while Digvijay Singh criticised Hazare for his comment. In May 2011, during his visit to Gujarat, Hazare changed his view and criticised Modi for rampant corruption. He urged Modi to appoint a
Lokayukta The Lokayukta (also Lok Ayukta) ( ''lokāyukta'', ''"civil commissioner"'') is the Indian Parliamentary Ombudsman, executed into power, through and for, each of the State Governments of India. It is brought into effect in a state, after passi ...
. He also commented that the media had projected an incorrect image of
Vibrant Gujarat Vibrant Gujarat is a biennial investors' summit held by the Government of Gujarat in Gujarat, India. The event is aimed at bringing together business leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, policy and opinion makers; the summit is ad ...
. Subsequently, Hazare declared that Modi is not a suitable candidate for the position of Prime Minister. He criticised Modi for not doing enough to curb corruption and his unwillingness to set up a Lokayukta in Gujarat. Hazare questioned Modi's secular credentials. The government of the state of Maharashtra instituted a Commission of Inquiry under Justice PB Sawant in September 2003 to enquire into allegations of corruption against several people, including four ministers in the state as well as the "Hind Swaraj Trust" headed by Hazare. The Commission submitted its report on 22 February 2005, indicting the Trust for corruptly spending Rs. 220,000 on Hazare's birthday celebrations. Hazare's lawyer Milind Pawar responded that the commission had remarked about "irregularities" in the accounts, but had not held him guilty of any "corrupt" practices. Pawar said that on 16 June 1998, a celebration was organised to congratulate Hazare on winning an award from a US–based NGO and it coincided with his 61st birthday. The trust spent Rs 218,000 for the function. Abhay Phirodia, a Pune-based industrialist, who took the initiative to organise this function donated an amount of Rs to the trust by cheque soon afterwards. Hazare dared the government to file a
First Information Report __NOTOC__ A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commissio ...
(FIR) against him to prove the charges.


Conspiracy to murder Hazare

Hazare exposed corruption in cooperative sugar factories in Maharashtra, including one controlled by Dr.Padamsinh Bajirao Patil, a member of Parliament of 15th
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
and higher-ranking Leader of
Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP) is one of the nine national parties in India. The party generally supports Indian nationalism and Gandhian secularism. It is the largest opposition party in Maharashtra and is also a significant party ...
from
Osmanabad Osmanabad (; pronounced as ''Usmānābād''),is a city and a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Osmanabad derives its name from the last ruler of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan. Osmanabad city is the adm ...
. Patil was accused in the 2006 murder case of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimabalkar. The conspiracy to kill Hazare was exposed when Parasmal Jain, an accused in the Nimbalkar murder case, in his written confession before a magistrate said that Patil had paid him to murder Nimbalkar, and also offered him supari (contract killing sum) to kill Anna Hazare. After this written confession, Hazare appealed to the state government of Maharashtra to lodge a separate
First Information Report __NOTOC__ A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commissio ...
( FIR ) against Patil but the government declined. On 26 September 2009 Hazare lodged his own complaint at
Parner Parner, is a historic town in Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra, India. It is the headquarters town for Parner Taluka. Parner was named after Rishi Parashar, whose son Maharishi Ved Vyas wrote famous epic ''"Mahabharat"''. Geography The town ...
police station of Ahmednagar District in Maharashtra against Patil. Patil approached the High Court seeking
anticipatory bail Anticipation is an emotion involving pleasure or anxiety in considering or awaiting an expected event. Anticipatory emotions include fear, anxiety, hope and trust. When the anticipated event fails to occur, it results in disappointment (if posi ...
but on 14 October 2009, the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court rejected his application, observing that there was prima facie case against him. Padmasinh Patil appealed to the Supreme Court of India losing again, on 6 November 2009. On 11 November 2009 Patil surrendered before the sessions court in
Latur Latur(लातूर) is a city in Indian state of Maharashtra, and is one of the largest cities of the Marathwada region. It is the administrative headquarters of Latur district and Latur Taluka. The city is a tourist hub surrounded by ma ...
and was sent to judicial remand for 14 days. On 16 December 2009 the Aurangabad bench granted bail. As of December 2011, Hazare received Z+ security.


Honours, awards and international recognition


Film

*The
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
film ''Mala Anna Vhaychay'' (I want to become Anna) is based on Hazare's work. The role of Hazare has been played by
Arun Nalawade Arun Nalawade is an Indian film and theater personality. He has worked in BEST Undertaking. He is co-producer of Shwaas: the film that won the ''Golden Lotus'' India's National Film Award for Best Feature Film for the year 2003, he also acted i ...
. * ''Anna'' – a 2016 Indian
Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
-language biographical film based on the life of Anna Hazare by
Shashank Udapurkar Shashank Udapurkar is an Indian filmmaker, writer and actor. from Achalpur, Amravati Amravati (pronunciation ( help·info)) is the second largest city in the Vidarbha region and ninth largest city in Maharashtra, India. It is administr ...
and starring Udapurkar as Hazare. *''Andolan Ek Suruvat Ek Shevat'' is a 2014 Indian Marathi-language film inspired by Hazare who also stars in a lead-role, his first such film work.


Personal life

Hazare is unmarried. He has lived in a small room attached to the Sant Yadavbaba temple in
Ralegan Siddhi Ralegan Siddhi is a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra state in western India. It is located at a distance of 87 km from Pune. The village has an area of 982.31 ha (1991). It is considered a model of environmental ...
since 1975. On 16 April 2011, he declared his bank balance of and as money in hand. He owns 0.07 hectares of family land in Ralegan Siddhi, which is being used by his brothers. He donated for village use two other pieces of land donated to him by the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
and by a villager.


Writings

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See also

* Uprising 2011 India against corruption *
Hartal Hartal () is a term in many Indian languages for a strike action that was first used during the Indian independence movement (also known as the nationalist movement) of the early 20th century. A hartal is a mass protest, often involving a total s ...


References


Further reading

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Periwinkle Environmental Education Part-X
Author-Harendra Chakhaiyar, Publisher- Jeevandeep Prakashan Pvt Ltd,
From Poverty to Plenty: The Story of Ralegan Siddhi
Volume 5 of Studies in Ecology and Sustainable Development. Authors- Ganesh Pangare, Vasudha Pangare. Publisher: Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, 1992.
Dynamics of rural development: lessons from Ralegan Siddhi
Publisher- Foundation for Research in Community Health, 2002.

Centre for Alternative Agriculture Media *
Ralegan Siddhi
Authors: Ramesh Awasthi, Dashrath K. Panmand, Foundation for Research in Community Health (Bombay, India) Publisher: Foundation for Research in Community Health, 1994. Original from The University of Michigan. Digitized 22 December 2009. Length 92 pages
Religion and ecology in India and Southeast Asia
Authors- David L. Gosling, Ninian Smart, Contributor- Ninian Smart, Edition-illustrated, Publisher- Routledge, 2001,
Springs of life: India's water resources
Authors Ganesh Pangare, Vasudha Pangare, Binayak Das, World Water Institute (Pune, India), Bharathi Integrated Rural Development Society, Edition- illustrated, Publisher-Academic Foundation, 2006.


External links

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Civil Society
– ''Official website'' * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hazare, Anna 20th-century Indian judges 1937 births Indian Hindus Living people Founders of Indian schools and colleges Indian civil rights activists Gandhians Indian Army personnel Nonviolence advocates Freedom of information activists Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work Prisoners and detainees of India Indian human rights activists Indian revolutionaries Marathi politicians Maharashtra politicians 20th-century Indian educational theorists Social workers People from Ahmednagar district Maharashtra academics Social workers from Maharashtra Hunger strikers Inmates of Tihar Jail Prisoners and detainees of Maharashtra