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(from(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Hazare)
Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish official corruption. 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 Mohandas K. Gandhi.

Hazare also contributed to the development and structuring of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan—the third-highest civilian award—by the Government of India in 1992 for his efforts in establishing this village as a model for others.

Anna Hazare started an indefinite hunger strike on 5 April 2011 to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a stringent anti-corruption law, The Lokpal Bill, 2011 as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, for the institution of an ombudsman with the power to deal with corruption in public places. The fast led to nation-wide 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.

For the year 2011 Foreign Policy magazine named him among top 100 global thinkers. Also in 2011 Anna was ranked as the most influential person in Mumbai 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.

In 1991 Hazare launched the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (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.

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Have some Gandhi?. . .

From the Times of India. . .
"Thousands of students skipped classes and took out rallies in support of Anna Hazare as protests against the arrest of the social activist continued for the second consecutive day across the state on Wednesday.

Members of NGOs and elderly persons lent their support to the agitation even as crowds swelled compared to Tuesday. Social activists threw their weight behind the protest for the second day as slogans of `Vande Mataram', `Hum Annake saath hai,' `Save India...boycott corruption' and `Anna Hazare zindabad' rent the air. Forming of human chains, burning of effigies, staging of rasta rokos, rallies and conducing relay hunger strikes marked the day. What caught the attention at the protests was the active participation of students, who turned up in large numbers.

"This is a great opportunity to put an end to corruption. Anna Hazare is leading a movement to weed out corruption but not to topple the government. Arresting him is unjustified," said a senior professor of Palamur University in Mahbubnagar.

Interestingly, the students were not willing to join along with political party agitators during the rallies in the districts. They said the fight was not against any political party but against the system. A large number of girl students participated in a relay hunger strike in Vijayawada. The Palamur University students boycotted classes, while people from all walks of life took to the streets in Achampet, Narayanpet, Wanaparthy and in Kalwakurthy in Mahbubnagar district.

Students at Acharya Nagarjuna University staged rasta rokos on the National Highway in protest against the arrest of Hazare. "Anna is fighting for us. We are here to support him," an M Sc student said. Students formed human chains at Eluru, Tanuku, Bhimavaram, Kakinada and Rajahmundry, while SFI took out a funeral procession of the union government's effigy in Eluru and burnt it later. Prof Venkatnarayana, convener of People's organizations, demanded that the Centre immediately table the Jan Lokpal bill in Parliament Advocates boycotted courts in Guntur, Karimnagar, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Chittoor, Huzurabad, Sultanabad and several other districts, while several others sat on relay hunger strikes at Tenali, Mangalagiri, Repalle, Adilabad, Manchiryal and other towns."




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