As Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement gains critical momentum, we take you back to some basic information you might have missed in all the action.
Anna who?Most middle-class Indians hadn't heard of Anna Hazare till he became the face of the anti-corruption movement. Anna's real name is Kisan Baburao Hazare, and he hails from Maharashtra. He is now 74. He worked for a while as a driver in the army. He was on the verge of suicide when he happened to pick up a book by Swami Vivekananda. It inspired him to take up social service. He returned to his impoverished, drought-prone village. His water conservation efforts won him praise and support.The Guardian gives a quick overview of his life, tracing his rise from despondent driver to popular anti-corruption campaigner.
What has he done so far?His philosophy is shaped by Gandhian ideals of truth, non-violence, and village empowerment.Wikipedia gives us an idea of the projects he took up in his village. They cover prohibition, education, sanitation, grain and milk production, water conservation, removal of untouchability, and collective marriages. He has campaigned against corruption earlier. In 1995-96, an agitation led by him resulted in two Maharashtra ministers losing their jobs.
Why is he in the news?He is spearheading a movement to demand stricter laws against corruption. His core team in this campaign comprises Arvind Kejriwal, former income tax commissioner, Kiran Bedi, former police commissioner, and Santosh Hegde, former Lokayukta. For several decades, the government had kept the idea of a Lokpal in cold storage. Pressure from Team Anna forced the UPA government, headed by Manmohan Singh, to draft and pass the bill in July this year. Anna and his team find the new law too weak to deal with the problem of corruption, and are demanding that the prime minister and the judiciary also be included under its purview. His current movement has won support from people across India. His fast yielded results on the 11th day, with parliament agreeing to discuss his version of the Lokpal Bill.
Why are some people opposing him?Politicians feel he is undermining the authority of parliament, whose members are elected by citizens. They allege he places 'civil society' at an unfair elevation in the new ombudsman. Others feel his demands, if conceded, will create more chaos and confusion in a country already burdened with too many procedures and too much paper work. They believe institutions already exist to deal with corrupt politicians and government officials, and a new one won't serve any purpose. Anna's argument is that institutions like the CBI are controlled by politicians, and therefore can't discharge their duties impartially. The Congress has tried hard to discredit him, calling him an army deserter, and even a mad man. Such statements have only angered citizens, and fuelled Anna's campaign further. Two weeks after maligning Anna, Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari returned to tender a public apology.
What are his critics saying?Manu Joseph, editor of Open magazine, writes in The New York Times that the Indian middle class is hypocritical, constantly pointing fingers at politicians without looking inwards to deal with its own venality. He finds Anna a comical, obsolete leader. Bijoy Venugopal compiles opinions that call for more nuanced debate on the anti-corruption law. Mukul Sharma, in a post titled The Making of Anna, criticises Anna's worldview, saying it is "often blind to many basic and universal issues of rights, democracy and justice." Sharma concedes Anna's personal moral authority has contributed to some good in his village, but it also "simultaneously... raises significant questions about its relationship to the making of a democratic, critical community, free from burdens of force, punishment, coercion, obligation, patronage, charity and piety."
No comments:
Post a Comment