Anna Hazare

Introduction

Anna Hazare, a social activist was born in the small village of Bhingar, near Ahmadnagar, Maharastra. His original name is “Kisan Bapat Baburao”. He served in the Indian military as a truck driver. Later, he started a welfare program for the development of rural people. He went on several hunger strikes to make a corruption- free India. He was honoured with various awards and honours; one such honour was by Indian Government Padma Bhushan in 1992.

Early Life and Background

“Kisan Baburao Hazare” was born on 15 June 1937, in Bhinagarnear Ahmadnagar. His father “Babaurao Hazare” was an unskilled worker in Ayurveda Ashram. His mother was Laxmi Bai. He is the eldest child of his parents. He has five siblings. He never married.

• He studied till seventh grade, and although his mother tried to teach him he left the study after the seventh standard.

• After that, he started selling flowers at Dadar Railways Station and opened his shops.

• He later joined the Indian Military service as a truck driver, where he faced several wars. Once his team was attacked by the Pakistan army in the Indo-Pak war in 1965. In this attack, he lost some of his soldiers.

• After completing his 15 years of service in the military he voluntarily retired from military service in 1975.

• After retirement once at a railway station, he saw Swami Vivekanand's Book “Youth Call for Nation Building” and got inspired by his motivational words. Then he decided to serve human beings.

Anti Corruption Activism and the Jan Lokpal Movement

After retirement from military service, he went to a drought-prone area called Ralegan Siddhi, where he taught villagers to save water and started a water management project to deal with water scarcity and changed the life of villagers by employing them and crop production. After the success of one village, he went to several villages and changed the lives of people in Maharashtra.

• During his social work, he noticed corruption problems in the government in Maharashtra in forestry. To punish them and remove corruption, he started the “Peoples Movement against Corruption” in 1997. For this, he started campaigning and striking for the enactment of the “Right to Information Law”.

• In July 2003, he went on a hunger strike named “Fast unto Death”. This put pressure on government authorities and “Maharashtra’s Right to Information Act was passed after twelve days of the strike”.

• This Bill paved the way to enact the “National Right to Information Act 2005”.

• After this victory, he led several movements against corruption in India. One such movement was the “Jan Lokpal Bill” which is a national citizen’s Ombudsman for the investigation of corrupt officials at all levels.

Hunger Strikes and Protests

He went on several hunger strikes and protests against various issues for the welfare of people.

• He started his first protest in 1971 to fight against corruption. Another protest “Bharatsanchar Virodhi Jan Andolan” (BVJA) in Ralegan Siddhi was started in 1991.

• The first hunger strike was done by him in July 2003 for the enactment of the “Maharashtra Right to Information Act”.

• The second major strike was done by him in 2011, for the “Jan Lokpal Bill''. The strike remains active for several days. The bill was presented in parliament but was not effective hence did not pass in parliament.

• On 16 August 2011, he again started a hunger strike of indefinite length but after a few days, it was stopped by police who sent him to jail.

• After a few days with the permission of the police, he once again started a strike for 15 days in Delhi. This strike makes him “Anna Hazare”.

• On the 13th day of his strike, a resolution was passed to make Jan Lokpal and establish an anticorruption Cell in every state.

Impact on Indian Politics and Society

Anna Hazare is considered the Mahatma Gandhi of the 21st century. He inspired Indian society through his social work and reforms done by him for the welfare of society. His movement against corruption made him “Anna” and enlightened the hope in Indian citizens to fight against corruption. His movement brought corruption to the spearhead of Indian politics. He got famous when he uplifted the life of the villagers in Ralegan Siddhi, Maharashtra.

Conclusion

Anna Kisan Baburao Hajare is a social activist and reformer. He played a crucial role in the fight against corruption and sanctioning the “Right to Information Act”. He was inspired by the words of Vivekanand. He changed the life of many villagers in Maharashtra by uplifting their life, and by working in drought-prone areas. He was honoured with various honours by different states and the Indian Government for his tremendous work.

FAQs

Q1. How many times has the Lok Pal bill been introduced in parliament?

Ans. Earlier strike of Anna Hazare for the Lok Pal bill was introduced in parliament ten times. It was the year 1969 when the Lok Pal bill was first introduced in parliament. Then it was introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2008 but never passed.

Q2. Name the awards and honours given to Anna Hazare.

Ans. Anna Hazare was honoured with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan Awards for his social work in 1990 and 1992 respectively. He was also awarded the Indira Priyadarshini Vaikshmitra Award in 1986, Shiromani Award in 1996, Integrity Award by Transparency International in 2003, and various others.

Q3. Why was Anna Hazare criticised?

Ans. Anna Hazare was criticised for being part of the Hinduism body Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang(RSS). He was also criticised for being a procurator of political parties. He was also once criticised for spending 2,20,000 rupees by his trust Hind Swaraj on his birthday.