INDIA’S BELEAGUERED government yesterday caved in to widespread public anger over corruption and allowed Anna Hazare, the detained anti-graft activist, to hold his hunger strike in a New Delhi park, ending the dramatic stand- off that has seriously dented prime minister Manmohan Singh’s image.
The 74-year old activist, whose protest has struck a chord with millions of Indians disgusted with rampant and unchecked governmental corruption, will begin his 15-day fast at the Ram Lila grounds in the city centre this morning to demand tougher laws against the graft that permeates all levels of Indian officialdom.
Mr Hazare will be taken in the morning from Delhi’s Tihar jail, where he was interned on Tuesday morning even before he began his proposed hunger strike, to the protest venue, which is being readied for the anticipated influx of thousands of anti-corruption activists.
An unnerved government, faced with countrywide support for Mr Hazare’s cause, released him the same Tuesday he was arrested, but he refused to leave jail until his demands had been met.
The former army corporal from western India – who has a reputation for honesty and has carried out decades of selfless work for the poor and downtrodden – has already begun his fast in jail, only drinking water since Tuesday.
Fasting is an accepted form of protest in India made popular by Mahatma Gandhi during his fight for Indian independence from colonial rule in the early 20th century. It is aimed principally at securing the high moral ground over a significantly formidable adversary.
Meanwhile, crowds of mostly young people outside Tihar jail and in other cities across the country like the financial capital Mumbai and Hyderabad and Bangalore in the south, erupted in joy at news of Mr Hazare’s deal with the authorities.
The scale of this week’s outpouring of public fury in support of Mr Hazare has taken the federal government by surprise, making it look petty, impetuous, weak and indecisive.
Mr Singh, whose personal integrity is not in doubt, has been roundly criticised for being out of touch with common people as he unconvincingly dismissed Mr Hazare’s fast as “totally misconceived” and undermining parliamentary democracy.
This further fuelled public anger and indignation over large-scale corruption scandals involving his government. Soaring inflation and all-round malfeasance further exacerbated the situation.
Mr Hazare initially irked the government by going on hunger strike in April over proposed legislation creating an anti-corruption ombudsman that had been pending with successive governments for 42 years.
He called off his fast after ministers agreed to include his proposals to place the prime minister and the senior judiciary within the ambit of the legislation. However, the ministers later reneged, claiming civil society could not hold the government to ransom over its demands.