Lokpal logjam: Jail bharo says Anna Hazare

NEW DELHI: Blow hot, blow cold. In fact, the breeze that wafted from government turned so icy on Wednesday that it threatened to virtually deep-freeze the talks between it and Team Anna. Assurances held out on Tuesday were withdrawn and concern for Anna's health was dismissed, said Team Anna members, while government leaders told them that the parliamentary process wouldn't be shortened to rush through the Lokpal Bill.

Hopes of a resolution to the standoff dipped sharply as there was no movement on the sticking points. An all-party meeting appears to have emboldened the government as the meeting merely appealed to Anna Hazare to call off his fast while clarifying that they were against rushing through an amended Lokpal Bill. On its part, the government agreed to replace the current bill with a new legislation, incorporating some features of the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Meanwhile, police presence has been sharply increased at the Ramlila Maidan, raising fears of the 74-year-old fasting Anna of being forcibly removed from the grounds. Kejriwal expressed the fears while appealing to the people to maintain peace. Government sources, too, admitted that that some "intervention" might become inevitable.

Late at night at 11.30pm, Anna addressed the vast crowd repeatedly urging it to ensure peace. He said if the government wanted to pick him up, he would readily submit to the authorities. Any violence, he said, would defeat their movement. He told his followers to embark on a "jail bharo" agitation if he was arrested and peacefully picket government leaders and MPs.

Speaking at an iftaar hosted by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh told journalists, "We are caught in a bind, and we have to get out of it." Government sources asserted that Jan Lokpal Bill can't be the sole reference point for an anti-graft law. They also rejected Team Anna's demand that the Lokpal bill be passed within the next four days after extending the current session of Parliament, bypassing scrutiny by the Standing Committee.

Emerging after a meeting with Pranab Mukherjee aqnd Salman Khurshid, civil society representatives said, "We are back to where we were, and we will have to start from scratch." Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi said that the government representatives also brushed aside any concern for Anna's health while saying that was the headache of the civil society activists.

The government has clarified that while Parliament was ready to consider the Jan Lokpal Bill, it would also consider other versions of the anti-graft bill like the one prepared by Aruna Roy's MCPRI. All these versions, said sources, would be vetted by the Standing Committee which would hammer out a "strong Lokpal Bill." In all this there was an obvious tacit admission: the bill earlier brought in Parliament by the government was virtually a lemon.

Government's tough posture on Thursday came against the backdrop of hardening of mood in the face of Hazare's pressure tactics. The decision not to give in was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs held after Team Anna's talks with Pranab Mukherjee and Khurshid. Sources said at the meeting home minister P Chidambaram strongly argued for a hardline in the government's dealings with Team Anna.

Responding to Anna group's demand that the bill be passed in four days after extending the Monsoon session beyond September 8, Manmohan Singh said on Thursday, "This is their suggestion. This does not mean we have to accept everything." Although he underlined "there is scope for give-and-take", the comment reflected a new firmness.

Braveheart Anna Hazare baffles doctors

NEW DELHI: Doctors have been left wondering at the tenacity of Anna Hazare to endure long periods of fast despite failing health. Although his vital parameters continue to be a cause for concern, the 74-year-old Gandhian's condition actually improved slightly over the previous day, doctors said.

According to the latest medical reports, his blood pressure was 160/90 and heart rate 82, nearly 10 beats above normal. The ketone levels continued to be high, as was the toxicity in his blood. Dr Naresh Trehan, who is heading the team monitoring Anna's condition, said, "He is holding on".

"Anna's internal adaptation to fasting and stress is high, which is why he is still able to sustain this. That's a miracle in itself because other patients with similar condition are normally brought on a stretcher and are not in control of their senses," said a doctor from G B Pant hospital, who did not want to be quoted.

However, the doctor said Anna's blood pressure level was fluctuating and he could collapse any moment. "He may gradually lose consciousness due to high blood toxicity and lack of sugar in the body and even go into coma if he is not put on a drip soon," he said.

At the time of printing, doctors in the team were discussing whether Anna should be force-fed and shifted to the hospital - which could be either Medanta Medicity in Gurgaon or the GB Pant hospital, across the road from Ramlila Ground. Police presence had also increased at the protest venue in view of the continued stalemate.

The doctors tried to put the septuagenarian on a drip on Tuesday night but sources said that he threw them away. Anna even addressed the gathering thrice on Wednesday, saying, "Nothing will happen to me. I am fine, doctors have said."

Due to dehydration, Anna's eyes have also dried up and doctors said they are putting eye drops continuously. "He is taking 3.4 to 4 litres of water in a day but due to the continued fast, there's less water in his body."

Anna aide Arvind Kejriwal said if anything happens to Anna, the Prime Minister will be held responsible. "We have asked the government if there is going to be any police action tonight but they didn't say anything. We will not allow them to take Anna forcefully to any hospital. The doctors should decide on this, not the police or the government," said Kejriwal.

In Gurgaon, where Medanta Medicity is situated, cops said they had rehearsed how Anna would be taken to hospital in the event he is shifted there. At G B Pant too ICU facilities had been readied.

Anna should end his fast: Hegde

BANGALORE: Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, a prominent member of Team Anna, today accused the Centre of once again trying to "deceive" Anna Hazare on the Lokpal Bill issue.

He also appealed to the Gandhian to end his indefinite fast over the Jan Lokpal Bill issue.

"We want a strong Jan Lokpal Bill but not at the cost of Anna's health. We have suggested that Anna stop the fast," Hegde, a former SC judge, told a gathering of anti-corruption protesters here.

He alleged the central government was once again trying to "deceive" Hazare on the Lokpal Bill issue.

Referring to illegal mining issue, he said the state legislative assembly would "become empty" if the government acted upon his report.

Meanwhile, anti-corruption protesters continue to camp at the Freedom Park here.

While some students displayed stickers of "Jago India" (wake up India) on their cheeks, some others composed music in support of Team Anna's protest.

In Mysore, there were numerous rallies in support of Hazare's fast. The rallies were taken out by law students, traders and association of autorickshaw drivers.

More than 400 shops on K T Street, a hub of electronic trade, and K R Hospital road downed their shutters.

The shop owners holding the tricolour marched through prominent streets before the march culminated at Gandhi Square where they staged a dharna. In Karwar, protesters braved heavy rains and organised rallies across the city.

'Anna Hazare's movement is anti-social justice, manuwadi'

NEW DELHI: The anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare has found huge support across the country. But several prominent dalit activists, intellectuals as well as those writing regularly on dalit issues have severely castigated the movement. They say it is casteist in nature and against representative democracy.

Dalit columnist Chandrabhan Prasad says Team Anna seems to have a profound contempt for constitutionalism. "The Anna Hazare phenomenon is leading us to the rejection of representative democracy itself. The movement is an upper-caste uprising against India's political democracy. That apart, vesting so much power in the Lokpal, a non-elected person, could lead to a dangerous situation," he says.

Hyderabad-based dalit-bahujan thinker Kancha Ilaiah offers similar views. "The Anna movement is an anti-social justice, manuvadi movement. The Dalits, tribals, OBCs and minorities have nothing to do with it. We oppose it," he says.

Dalit activists insist that corruption means much more than just bribes and kickbacks. "For us casteism is corruption, caste-discrimination is corruption, not filling up reserved seats as per constitutional norms is also corruption. Is Anna and his team willing to talk about all these?" says Anoop Kheri, coordinator of Insight Foundation, that helps Dalit and adivasi students in higher education.

Adds Rajesh Paswan, a JNU doctorate in Hindi, "The movement has raised fears among Dalits, adivasis and minorities that similar methods can be used to create laws against them in future."

Kheri feels that the idiom used by protestors has a distinct casteist tinge. "The language, symbols used by the movement clearly reflects its upper caste Hindu nature, a very rightwing Hindu patriotism is being used to get the entire country against corruption. And as a dalit, I have a problem with it," he says.

The activist also feels that rather than seeing corruption as a social problem that needs comprehensive social churning and cultural changes to fight against, those involved in the movement want everybody to believe that only politicians are corrupt. "This is a false premise, very escapist and also dangerous for our democracy," he says.

The activist is also sceptical about the efficacy of the Jan Lokpal bill. "In a democracy we don't want anything that appears extra-constitutional, someone whom the masses of this country have no say in electing or disposing of. Democracy in India might be highly flawed but it is the only weapon in the hand of the marginalized to challenge the status quo. Whatever rights we have got, we got from democracy, and not from any self-styled 'civil society', Kheri says.

D Shyam Babu, former fellow, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation offers a slightly different perspective. He believes that the movement is not anti-Dalit. "It is basically a mix of misplaced patriotism, ego and total disregard for established authority," he says.

A positive outcome of the movement, he says, is that the government can no longer take people for granted on the issue of corruption. "But the flip side is that there is a thin line between 'popular unrest' and anarchy. This is also habit-forming in the sense that whenever a group finds a cause to highlight, it only has to enlist the services of some 'Gandhian'. Don't forget Dr Ambedkar's caution against 'satyagraha' as the 'grammar of anarchy'," says Shyam Babu.

Many protesters have named the ongoing battle against corruption as the second freedom struggle. Ilaiah differs. "This means they are recognizing Jaiprakash Narayan's 1974 anti-corruption movement and VP Singh's similar movement in 1989. Both these movements had ideological basis of socialism and social justice," he says.

Prasad also counters Team Anna's claim of representing civil society. He says, "The real question is: has India really evolved into a civil society? Was South Africa a civil society in times of apartheid? Was US a civil society in times of slavery? Was England a civil society in times of serfdom? If the answer is no, then can India with the caste system still in place, be called a civil society?"

'This is a peaceful agitation against corruption'

Protests are important but it is also important that lumpen elements don't sully this peaceful agitation against corruption," says Sagar Arora, a leader of the IAC.

"There are as many as 80 volunteers here like us to ensure that protesters don't misbehave," he says.

Meanwhile, groups of college students, school children, old men and women continue pouring into the street outside Tihar jail.

Here's a sample of some of their slogans:

Paisa, paisa karti hain, Lokpal se darti hai, woh sarkar nikammi hai, Sonia jiski mummy hai (The government is only concerned about money, it is scared of the Lokpal, it is an incompetent government with Sonia Gandhi as its mother)

Desh ka neta kaisa ho, Anna Hazare jaisa ho (Who should the nation's leader be like? Like Anna Hazare)

Desh ki beti kaisi ho, Kiran Bedi jaisi ho (Who should the nation's daughter be like? Like Kiran Bedi)

'Govt turning a deaf ear to what people are demanding

Sandeep Sharma, an engineer working with Reliance Digital, is an angry man and his employer had to face his wrath when he told them he would resume office only when the government releases Hazare from jail.

Like Sandeep, there are scores of college girls and boys, employed and self employed, who have come this afternoon to Tihar to make an impression on the government that their days in office are numbered.

Though not all were making political statements a few were shouting anti-government slogans. Sandeep had no fear in saying this on record: 'Rahul Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party will have to pay a heavy price for their arrogance and turn a deaf ear to what people are demanding.'

Hazare an unlikely hero

Veteran Indian social activist Anna Hazare gestures from a car after being
 detained by police in New Delhi Aug. 16, 2011. Hazare was arrested
by police on Tuesday to prevent him from launching a fast
 to the death to force the government to pass tougher
 anti-corruption laws.

NEW DELHI—Anna Hazare makes an unlikely hero in India. He is a 74-year-old bachelor who has made a career out of standing up to injustice and corruption, a campaign that ties him to one of the nation’s most revered leaders, Mahatma Gandhi.

Dressed in the signature white cap of his native Maharashtra state on the west coast of India, Hazare makes a stately figure, his crisp white clothes representing his calls for transparency while referencing Gandhi. His protest tactics from the Gandhian school of civil disobedience have reached into the consciousness of thousands, most of them youth.

Seated before a growing crowd at Jantar Mantar, the country’s protest headquarters in New Delhi, Hazare managed to pull off a significant coup: he pushed a faltering Indian government into a tight corner by first going on a hunger strike, then refusing to leave Tihar Jail, one of the country’s most notorious prisons, despite being freed by the government.

It’s a theatrical spectacle but one that has lured people across India who have become increasingly frustrated by the country’s lethargic, bloated and deeply corrupt structures.

Hazare and his followers are fighting to pass the long-delayed Jan Lokpal bill, first proposed in 1969, which would install an independent anti-corruption ombudsman.

“Think of Anna Hazare, Mr. Prime Minister,” wrote Shiv Visvanathan, a prominent Indian sociologist, in an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the website of an Indian news channel. “He is another mild man like you and today he stands for the ideals the Congress (Singh’s party) has forgotten. Let me list them: the dreams of honesty and idealism, the diligence that politics demands, and the intelligence that morality requires.”

But this Hazare wasn’t born to fight the system. Kisan Baburao Hazare was the eldest of seven children born to a labourer father and a homemaker mother in a small village in today’s Maharashtra state. The family later moved to Ralegan Siddhi, their ancestral village. Hazare achieved a seventh-grade education.

Hazare enlisted in the Indian army as a driver during the 1965 Indo-Pak war. He was driving a truck full of soldiers when two Pakistani jets attacked his platoon. Everyone died save Hazare, who was left to ponder why God had let him live.

He decided then that he was ready to sacrifice worldly pleasures for the betterment of his fellow Indians and started grassroots-level work by cleaning up his village. He launched an anti-alcohol campaign to combat the growing liquor intake in the village. That caused a dramatic drop in crime. He also developed a strong watershed program to teach villagers how to store rainwater and to raise the area’s quickly diminishing water table.

His efforts to transform Ralegan Siddhi from a dirt-poor village into an economically sustainable and efficient community earned Hazare the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third-highest honour.

Uplifting Ralegan Siddhi was just the beginning for Hazare. He has been a staunch agitator against corruption and has a zero-tolerance rule.

That’s made him a thorn in the side of the ruling Congress government, which has a long history of corruption scandals. Most recently, there were accusations that up to $1.8 billion was misappropriated from the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Meanwhile, poverty remains a huge problem in India. Statistics show 46 per cent of children are malnourished. Four to five million don’t have access to water.

For Hazare, who has spent the past 45 years trying to address the daily burdens of India’s common people, these figures are unacceptable. Apparently plenty of young people agree.

Police Intervention Subdues Clash between Congress &BJP

Local BJP and Congress party workers were close to collide in a brawl when BJP was protesting outside the office of the collector in support of Anna Hazare and suddenly a few congressmen arrived on the scene and entered the collector’s office.


However, there arose some misunderstanding between the party workers when congress workers came there to celebrate with some of their elected candidates and BJP members misunderstood it to be an act to disturb their protest.

The scene turned ugly when congress workers fired cracker in front of the collectorate and entered into the compound. BJP workers raised their anger saying that how could they go inside the compound when they were not allowed to enter? Heavy police force with senior officials had taken the situation under control. At last congress workers left the area and BJP continued its protest against corruption.

Anna Hazare’s unstoppable wave of anti-corruption movement has covered every city and village of India pulling out millions of common masses from their work and home to join the cause.

However, some political parties also got a nice chance to grip the ruling party by supporting social activist and gandhian Anna Hazare. When it seems that the common Indian is taking a pledge to wipe out corruption from this country, still a few are taking the whole Anna episode as a favorable time to bake their cake.

The common Indian have to decide his fate now…who is going to rule him and how?

We will keep reporting.

Govt capitulates, Anna triumphs

Hazare ‘magic’ galvanised the nation and saw thousands of torch-and-Tiranga wielding “Annas” spilling onto streets of Delhi and across the country on Wednesday forcing the UPA Government to beseech Anna Hazare to come out of Tihar Jail and resume his peaceful fast in the Capital.

The capitulation was so clear that the legal eagles, who scripted Tuesday’s drama and dictated the litany of CrPC provisions that Anna was asked to sign before proceeding on fast, packed their law books and merged into the background. As reality dawned on the Government that the nation was solidly united behind Anna, the same regime was now ready to dump all its conditions and let the Gandhian go and fast wherever he wanted. Of course, no one was forthcoming to explain if the CrPC provisions were so sacrosanct that Anna had to be sent to jail for not agreeing to them, and how could they be dumped into dustbin so conveniently.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley captured the Government’s helplessness succinctly when he told the House: “When you saw the magnitude of protests all over the country, you went begging to Hazare to come out of jail. He has scored over you due to his moral strength and now you are in a trap.”

Taking a dig at some of the Ministers, including Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram, Jaitley said the “problem is that too many lawyers are advising the PM on political issues. You are using criminal procedure code to solve political problems.”

As day events unfolded, it was clear that the Government had no clear plan to deal with level of protest, which brought school and college students, sadhus, old men, fragile women, teachers, advocates, Government servants and aam admi on one platform. The dilemma was reflected in the Government’s confusing stance. So even as Delhi Police tried to persuade Anna to walk into freedom, the PM justified the decision to send him to Tihar and made a desperate attempt to pitch Parliament against Hazare.

While the BJP-led Opposition refused to accept the PM’s prognosis and slammed him for crackdown on Anna and his supporters, the crowd outside Tihar jail kept growing. As the day progressed, the Government was made to look like helpless spectators to the unfolding drama. By evening Anna Hazare and his team was dictating the terms and the Government pleading with them for a face-saver.

The man reviled as a leader of “anarchists” and “fascists” and thoroughly “corrupt” had suddenly become a “True Gandhian” for Home Minister P Chidambaram while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had no qualms in admitting that Anna may have been inspired by high ideals.

Significantly, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari, who had heaped these scurrilous epithets on Anna was conspicuous by his absence both in the Lok Sabha and at the Congress headquarters.

It is a different matter that Tewari would not have reviled Anna without the consent of the party and the Government.

The Gandhian protest got a ‘spiritual dimension also as Sri Sri Ravishankar and Yoga guru Ramdev reached the Capital and slammed the Government for highhandedness. The fact that both of them have millions of supporters across the country and abroad was another element that clearly told the Government that if it continued with “arrogance’, more and more people were bound to come to the streets.

Whether it was Mumbai, where supporters of the Gandhian assembled at Azad Maidan or Bangalore, where thousands of students skipped classes and thronged Freedom Park, the nation seemed to tell the UPA Government that it will never allow it to even dream of revisiting Emergency and deprive citizens of their fundamental rights.

Jaipur, Patna, Kolkatta, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Bhopal, Indore, and all other important cities across the country saw a similar protest, unnerving the Government which was under the false impression that it could get away by meting out the Ramdev-treatment to Hazare as well.

As thousands of people begun to march towards India Gate in the evening and Anna magic united the nation, a panicky Government admitted in the Lok Sabha that the matter should have been handle politically and administratively. Though Chidambaram statement on this count will have few takers because it was well know that even on Tuesday he and his Ministry were directing the Delhi Police, it was an attempt to convince the nation that the Government will be more sensitive to handle such civil right movements in future. But the surge of people that marched towards India Gate should leave no doubt in the mind of the Government that its belated attempt to buy peace with Hazare have few takers among his followers.

Social groups ready for march to Delhi

JAIPUR: Social organisations in the city during a joint press conference on Wednesday announced that they were ready to march towards Delhi to support Anna Hazare.

Drawing similarities between the Emergency days and the protest today, the activists said the government "experimented with Emergency in 1975" but now it dare not repeat the same.

Rajasthan Samaj Sewa Sangh ex-president Sawai Singh said, "This time, the youths are participating in the protest against corruption in large numbers and they will certainly bring change."

They lashed out at the government for creating hurdles in Anna Hazare's protest. "Now, the government has started banning public protests. We condemn government's action of suppressing Hazare by arresting him," PUCL president Prem Krishna Sharma said.

The activists claimed that the Lokpal Bill which was presented in the Parliament was a mere "pile of papers". Jamat-e-Islami-Hind's state unit ex-president Salim Engineer said: "The government's Lokpal Bill is toothless. There should be a stronger Lokpal Bill to stop corruption. Public representatives are not rulers. They should behave like public representatives as they are accountable to common man who elected them."

Fast at Ramlila may begin today

Differences on the time span for the proposed fast by civil society leader Anna Hazare remained despite daylong negotiations between Delhi Police and Team Anna, while an agreement had emerged on the venue.

The police are ready to allow three weeks, beginning August 16, to the anti-graft crusader to fast at the historic Ramlila Maidan.

At the time of going to Press, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi left Tihar to meet Police Commissioner BK Gupta at the latter's residence. Sources said both parties reached a consensus, according to which Anna will resume fast on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile late on Wednesday night, doctors of Madenta Hospital checked Anna Hazare at the jail, and informed that the Gandhian was hale and hearty.

Ownership of the ground is with MCD, which has already given permission to the Shri Ramlila Committee of Chandni Chowk to hold the annual ballad festival from September 6. The committee has been celebrating the festival for over a century. Team Anna, however, was sticking to the demand of a month duration for the protest.

Senior police officers said Hazare had initially agreed to seven-days’ permission, beginning from the day he was prevented from fasting at JP Park. He was also happy with talks with Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Dharmender Kumar. However, Kejriwal insisted the police should grant a month’s time.

An officer involved in negotiations told The Pioneer that Hazare was told the police were withdrawing pre-conditions for the hunger strike, including on the number of people. Anna was offered Ramlila Maidan since JP Park was small and could not accommodate more than 5,000 persons. After they nodded in agreement, conditions and restrictions were lifted.

Though Additional Commissioner-level officers were engaged in talks through Tuesday night, Delhi Police Commissioner BK Gupta on Wednesday deputed Kumar as his emissary at Tihar.

Delhi Police initially offered five days for fasting. Anna and Kejriwal did not agree. Even after a marathon session of arguments, the duo refused to budge from their avowed stance of a month’s fast.

Thereafter, Gupta advised his emissary to hold one-to-one discussions with Hazare without any aides. Anna, sources said, agreed to the offer of seven days’ permission.

Sources said police were even willing to extend the time span till August 31, as Id was falling around the same time and preparations of the Ramlila would also get into motion.

The police’s hands would be full.

After hearing out the negotiators, sources said Anna told Kumar he wanted permission for the fast to be counted from the day he was prevented from doing it at JP Park. Delhi Police happily agreed to it and even told him that the permission could be extended after that too, on a day-to-day basis.

Anna was told that since they had listed Ramlila Maidan as one of the five venues, Delhi Police was ready to allow him and his men to sit there. A senior police officer said the ground’s capacity was 25,000 and police would allow that many people in.

According to police officers engaged in talks with Anna Hazare, police even agreed to lift restrictions on the number of vehicles that can be parked at the venue. Police conveyed to Anna and his team that they will allow medical examination of all those sitting on fast with Government hospital doctors and doctors chosen by Team Anna as well.

After lunch, some of the other members of the team — like Kiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh and Prashant Bhushan — too joined negotiations along with Kejriwal. Since Hazare is known to act in consultation and with Kejriwal insisting on a month’s time, talks were deadlocked again by 6 pm.

Thereafter the team of negotiators again went back to their seniors at Police Headquarters and Delhi Government. After a detailed discussion, around 8.30 pm, it was conveyed to the emissary that the police were ready to grant permission till September 5, meaning 21 days from August 16, the day on which Anna was disallowed to fast at JP Park.

Anna Hazare’s Arrest Sparks Thousands To Rally

Several thousand people gathered in Delhi and other cities across India in solidarity with Anna Hazare, the social activist detained by police before he could begin a hunger strike for a stronger anti-corruption law.


The Wall Street Journal reported on the protests, which featured people chanting “Anna, we’re with you!” and “Long Live Anna!” in Hindi at the India Gate monument near Parliament. TV footage showed similar action in other cities such as Bangalore and Chennai, the Journal reported. (Check out a slideshow of the protests here.)

An activist cited in the story said about 160,000 people marched from India Gate to Jantar Mantar, the scene of Hazare’s initial hunger strike in April. Prime Minister Monhaman Singh backed the decision by Delhi police to  detain more than 2,600 protesters in the latest crackdown that swept up Hazare, the Journal story said, but Singh took heavy criticism for it.

Singh also slammed Hazare’s campaign, calling it “totally misconceived and fraught with grave consequences for our parliamentary democracy.”

Despite the Indian government saying he was free to go, Hazare has refused to leave jail until he has a written guarantee from the government to allow him to proceed with the hunger strike, an aide who was arrested and released told reporters, according to the Journal story.

Hazare is protesting the Lokpal bill, which would create a national ombudsman but will not have the power to investigate all top officials. Hazare and his supporters wanted everyone, even the prime minister to be subject to investigation, and they burned copies of the draft legislation when it didn’t meet that standard, the Journal story said.

A police spokesman quoted in the Journal story said negotiations are continuing over the conditions under which Hazare can host his hunger strike.

People fill in streets across Rajasthan in support of Anna Hazare

AJMER/ALWAR/JODHPUR: From burning effigies of Congress leaders to undertaking fasts, people continued to pour in for the protest rallies held across the state on Wednesday. A number of rallies were held in all districts and even those in smaller towns took to the streets promising their support to the anti-corruption crusader.

In Ajmer, people under the banner of India Against Corruption organised a dharna at Gandhi Bhavan crossroad and burnt the effigy of the Union government. Students of various colleges participated in a rally from Government College to Gandhi Bhavan crossroad. The Bar Association of Revenue Board suspended work and organised a rally. "The act of arresting Anna is unconstitutional and we support the cause which he brought to light," said V P Singh Rajawat, president of the association.

In the morning, BJP workers gathered at Gandhi Bhavan crossroad and shouted slogans against UPA government. BJP MLAs Anita Bhadel, Vasudev Devnani, senior leaders Rasa Singh Rawat and Kishan Songara lead the rally from Kuchchery Road to the district collector's office, where effigies of the UPA government were burnt. "Anna Hazare's arrest is an unconstitutional act of the Central government and it brought back memories of Emergency," said Anita Bhadel.

Support for Anna Hazare increased in Jodhpur with more citizens jumping into the fray at different places and in different manners ranging from sitting on dharna to keeping the markets closed and burning effigies. A relay fast by supporters was joined by four retired district judges along with the litterateur fraternity, which organised a poetic seminar based on corruption at the dharna spot. A team of doctors checked the health of those sitting on indefinite fast.

The legal fraternity of Jodhpur also jumped into the movement and boycotted the courts on Wednesday with not a single lawyer appearing in courts to protest the arrest of Hazare. President of Rajasthan High Court Advocates Association, Ranjeet Joshi, said that this was just a token support to Hazare and they would plan future course of action depending on the circumstances at the national level.

Raising slogans like 'Anna nahi hai aandhi hai, desh ka doosra Gandhi hai', hundreds of school students and youngsters participated in a huge rally organised in Dholpur. A number of women and senior citizens also participated in the rallies. In Tonk district, supporters under the banner of Tonk Vikas Manch burnt effigies of PM Manmohan Singh and the UPA government while a partial bandh was observed in Bhilwara.

City lends voice to Anna stir

Statewide protests continued on the second day of anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare’s indefinite fast in Tihar jail. Team Anna's supporters swelled manifold on Wednesday with lawyers joining in the anti-corruption movement and an increasing number of acti-vists, students, professionals and NGOs converging on Indira Park where a relay hunger strike is in progress.


Statewide protests continued on the second day of anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare’s indefinite fast in Tihar jail. Team Anna's supporters swelled manifold on Wednesday with lawyers joining in the anti-corruption movement and an increasing number of acti-vists, students, professionals and NGOs converging on Indira Park where a relay hunger strike is in progress.

Lawyers in the Nampally criminal court in Hyderabad, and in courts in Ranga Reddy, Karimnagar and Mahbubnagar districts struck work and CPM workers held a rally in the city demanding a strong Lokpal Bill. Rallies, burning of effigies, relay fasts, road blockades and human chains were organised across the state to express solidarity with Anna Hazare who was arrested on Tuesday and prevented from beginning an indefinite fast to protest at the government’s refusal to adopt his version of the Lokpal Bill.

The Telugu Desam Party staged demonstrations at several places with former chief minister and the TDP president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu continuing a sit-in at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Secunderabad for the second day.

People gathered in the thousands at Necklace Road voluntarily responding to text messages and emails. Carrying candles, they demanded a “clean government, irrespective of political affiliation”.

In Adilabad, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, Telugu Desam and BJP staged dharnas and rasta rokos and in Utnoor students formed a human chain. In Vijayawada, the Powra Samaja Vedika continued its relay fast and the CPM took out a padayatra from Raghavaiah Park to Lenin Centre where a public meeting was held. The TD staged a dharna in Gollapudi and ABVP acti-vists condemned the central government for the arrest of Anna Hazare.

Protests were held in Prakasam district with political parties holding rallies.

Cardiologist Dr Sunil Kapoor, who had turned out to protest in Hyderabad, put it succinctly when he said: “Here are thousands of people who haven’t been mobilised by politicians in lieu of payment. They have come on their own and are asking for a real corruption-free India in a dignified, calm and civilised way. It may become the biggest people’s movement in the next one month.”

Jan Lokpal Bill: Mayawati comes out in open support of Anna Hazare

LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party czarina and Chief Minister Mayawati has come out in open support of Anna Hazare and his movement against corruption. She said that her party and government fully support Anna Hazare and his cause and pointed out several steps taken by her government to stop corruption.

She said that the way in which Anna Hazare and his supporters were arrested from their residence was undemocratic.

She said that there were several differences between the UPA government and the civil society members over the Lokpal Bill and both should resolve differences by talking to each other.

She said that both the sides should work towards bringing an effective Lokpal Bill so that corruption in the country could be contained.

She said that her party not only supports Anan Harare but all organizations fighting corruption and criminalisation of politics.

Chennai comes forward to extend support to Anna Hazare

People hold cut-outs of Anna Hazare and shout slogans during a protest against corruption.

Support for Anna Hazare is slowly gaining momentum in Tamil Nadu with more people coming forward to express solidarity with the Gandhian waging a war against corruption.

Kollywood has begun to lend support to the movement and Kamal Haasan was the first come out in the open. In his appeal, he expressed hope that people power will bring about change.

Actor politico Sarat Kumar and a few other film personalities visited the protest venue and pledged their support to the protest in the city, which witnessed the ranks of the protesters swelling into hundreds.

So far 4900 people had registered to participate in the relay fast, while 55 were on an indefinite fast. There was no courting arrest on Wednesday.

Youth outnumbered the elderly and others. While government servants too have taken part, they prefer to hide their identity.

"Support is clearly growing and it is visible," says Bhavna Upadyaya, IAC coordinator. "A candle light vigil is planned and the protest would be round the clock," she added.

Meanwhile, IIT students took out a silent march within the campus that culminated in a candle light vigil. Some 1,000 students participated in the protest.

Across city, rallies continue

Thousands of Mumbaiites continued to throng Azad Maidan on Wednesday to show their support for Anna Hazare and the anti-corruption movement. Various citizens’ groups, trade and professional associations, college students and working professionals all joined in the stir. The police said the turnout was lesser than Tuesday, but organisers said the number of protesters have gone up from 25,000 to 40,000 on Wednesday.

The police made no arrests or detentions, unlike on Tuesday when 2,277 protesters were detained. There was no threat to the law-and-order situation and the crowds were non-violent, the police said, explaining why they didn’t detain people.

“We are amazed by the kind of response the movement is getting. The crowds are getting bigger,” said Piyush Bhatia, volunteer, India Against Corruption (IAC), Mumbai, contradicting the police. He said the number of protesters was around 40,000 from 25,000 the previous day.

“It’s a peaceful protest so we feel safe to be part of it. I have come here to be a part of it,” said Alisha Parikh, 22, a travel agency employee who was at Azad Maidan.

The day also saw a large number of rallies at different parts of the city, with close to 10,000 people turning up for the Juhu mashal (torch) rally. Shopkeepers on the route of the Juhu rally downed their shutters to show their support. Seema Bhat, 40, who missed taking her insulin injection for the rally, said it was important to make a point to the authorities. “It is the people who have to bear the brunt of corruption,” she said.

Rallies also took place at Bandra, Goregaon, Kherwadi, Nerul, Malad and Bhayander. “People are joining rallies on their own, even those who have never participated in such movements are shouting slogans,” said Mayank Gandhi, volunteer, IAC.

Many Mumbaiites who turned up on the first day extended their leave and returned “All of us feel India should be corruption-free, but there’s hardly any initiative in that direction. Now, when Anna has taken the initiative, I want to support the cause,” said Tanaji Jadhav, an operation theatre assistant who has been on leave for two days.

Officebearers of various associations and unions led their rallies to Azad Maidan. “Everyone connected to diamond trade participated in the rally from Opera House to Azad Maidan,” said Sanjay Kothari, vice-chairman of the Gems and Jewelry Export Promotion Council. Groups such as the Kutch Yuva Sangh, motor accident claims tribunal bar association, taxi drivers and many others turned up at Azad Maidan

A pill for UPA, the day after Anna Hazare was arrested

A day after Anna Hazare was arrested by the Delhi Police, protesters hit the streets across the country in support of the anti-corruption crusader.

Condemning the UPA government’s action, sit-ins, rallies, relay fasts and candlelight vigils were held while some lawyers struck work and a couple of trains stopped briefly.

In New Delhi, which is the epicentre of the protests, thousands of Anna Hazare supporters thronged India Gate and Jantar Mantar with hundreds coming close to the Parliament House raising slogans in support of the Gandhian.

The movement seemed to have just one message for the government: “Enough is enough.”

Following the protests and Anna Hazare’s refusal to come out of the Tihar jail, the government climbed down on several issues and held negotiations with the Gandhian and his team.

In Tamil Nadu, thousands of central and state government employees silently observed fast in their work places, while attending their regular work — service rules do not allow them to take part in such protests.

TDP workers demonstrated across Andhra Pradesh against the police action, with the party chief N Chandrababu Naidu leading a dharna in Secunderabad.

In Jammu, hundreds of demonstrators converged on the Jammu-Pathankote highway at Traro area in the district and took out a protest while in Leh, a day-long dharna and a protest march were held.

However, the protests in Karanataka threatened to take political hues, with the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat organising huge rallies in the coastal districts. Meanwhile Ramon Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta Devi joined the protests being held in Kolkata.

Rajasthan residents raise war cry for Anna Hazare

JAIPUR: Massive support continued to pour in for Anna Hazare and a stronger Lokpal Bill in the state capital on Wednesday.

From social activists to students and senior citizens to youngsters, more people came forward on the second day. Supporters - common man and social activists - continued to gather at Udyog Maidan in Jaipur. They also performed a 'sadbhuddi yagna' for the UPA government at Udyog Maidan, which they unofficially renamed as Anna Hazare Kranti Maidan.

Various organisations including the Jago Party, state chapter of PUCL and others supported the dharna, where a relay-fast was still on. "Corruption is a major issue these days and some scandal or the other is always in news. We are here to support Anna Hazare and his Jan Lokpal Bill," said Surbhi Aggarwal, an RU student, who was present there along with her friends. Dharnas were held in various parts of the city including Ambedkar Circle, Raja Park, Albert Hall and Badi Choupar.

Members of Jaipur Vyapar Mahasangh organised a day-long fast and also announced to hold a half-day Jaipur bandh on Thursday. "Our members would also wear a black band in protest against UPA government's refusal to respect the Jan Lokpal Bill," said general secretary Ajay Vijayvargia.

Doctors along with the medical and nursing students formed a human chain outside SMS Medical College in the evening in support of Hazare. Members of Jaipur Medical Association, Medical Practitioners Society and Private Hospital and Nursing Home Society participated in the human chain. Second and third year nursing students held a dharna at Albert Hall and would hold another one on Thursday morning.

The city unit of BJP held a two-hour dharna at Badi Choupar, which was attended by senior leaders like Ramdas Agarwal, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Onkar Singh Lakhawat and city president Shailendra Bhargav. "Anna Hazare's arrest is not only undemocratic and unconstitutional but a reminder of the Emergency days," said Ramdas Agarwal, Rajya Sabha MP. The city BJP has extended support to the bandh call given by Jaipur Vyapar Mahasangh.

Inner forces behind the Anna Hazare phenomenon

Apologies to the regular readers of Just Faith, but over the past two months economic and political events have captured all my attention and time. If we assume that attention is a finite resource and has to function within the confines of mind-body limitations and a 24-hour days, balancing politics, economics and religion becomes a rather difficult task. That’s why perhaps spiritual gurus suggest that you take a little time out, preferably at a fixed space to go within and discover the real you.

On the economic side what gripped my mind was the resurfacing of global economic crisis with the reduction of US debt rating to AA+ from Triple-A. Politically, like the entire country, I followed the Anna Hazare journey to another fast that the government first disallowed, then allowed with restrictions, then jailed Hazare, then freed him and now at the time of writing, doesn’t know what to do with him.

To me, this was an opportunity to examine both the outer phenomenon as well the inner forces driving them. When I step back from the nitty-gritty of the economics and the politics, what I see is that two of this age’s most potent forces — money and power (the third being sex) — have moved the consciousness of citizens across the globe.

On the money front, the forces moving about are largely vital in nature and have converged around the lower nature of fear and insecurity. There is an external disturbance that’s making the inner being resonate. Hence, we see demonstrations against austerity measures, first in Ireland, then in Greece, now in Italy are against the physical loss of standard of living.

In the case of Hazare, the forces are again vital but are being led by a higher aspiration of change. Here, it is an empathy for a cause greater than the self that’s propelling people to unite around this 74-year-old. The demonstrations are for the end of a standard of corruption that is choking the moral and psychological fibre of average citizens.

When the government says Hazare has support, that protest at such a scale couldn’t have happened without support, it is mistaken to presume that the support is political or even physical. Those could merely be the manifestations of something much larger — the inner forces that seem to have aligned around the surface disappointment of a nation.

In my opinion, the money problem has a greater chance of being resolved early, though it would mean a tectonic shift in the method, as economic power moves East, largely to India and China but equally to Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa. This is perhaps a return to the past when the developed West was still developing and the East, including India, was living in an inner tamas, comfortable with its riches.

The Anna Hazare phenomenon still needs to be studied. When 26/11 happened, and Mumbai came out on roads crying loud about how politicians have let our country down, the impact ended within a week; in the ensuing elections, the percentage of people who voted fell. Corruption could be a different animal. Since each and every Indian — no exception whatsoever — is a victim of corruption, there could be a larger traction to this change.

On the inner side, there could possibly be the beginning of a coalition of support that is willing to let the body suffer by standing in the sun, in rain or in jail, in order to create a better future for the next generation. That’s why some people are calling this the second freedom struggle, a point I disagree with and one that’s greatly exaggerated. But the inner vital driving people on the streets is strong.