The brief gap between the World Cup and the Indian Premier League would have been painfully boring but for the display on national TV of the collective meekness of the Congress/UPA leadership in the face of the challenge to India's parliamentary system mounted by Anna Hazare and his bandwagon. The bandwagon comprises civil rights activists, RSS/Hindu Mahasabha/Baba Ramdev foot soldiers, ex-bureaucrats in search of a cause, sections of the urban...

I am opposed to any kind of communalism or discrimination on religious or caste lines: Hazare Beware of vilification campaign, Modi writes to social activist The clarification by social activist Anna Hazare on his praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his “rural development model” has failed to satisfy his supporters who threatened to dissociate themselves from the movement against corruption. “That is exactly what we are questioning: Mr. Modi's rural development model,...

Days after the Union government accepted the demands of social leader Anna Hazare concerning the Lokpal Bill, Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday came out in support of the anti-corruption crusader. “I support Anna's movement but I demand that two members of the Dalit community should be included in the draft committee,” Mr. Athawale said at a press conference here on Tuesday. ‘Arrest Anupam Kher' “Persons like Arun Kejriwal who...

Gandhian Anna Hazare on Wednesday cautioned the people against powers working to divide the anti-graft movement and appealed for unity in the fight against corruption. In a letter to the countrymen, the 73-year-old activist said the people need to understand their strategy and further strengthen our fight against corruption. "I thank you all for your support, but would like to warn you against the powers working to divide us especially after the...

We should be grateful to Anna Hazare for dedicating his life to the people and battling for accountability in governance. Millions look to him for inspiration and guidance. We are all sick of mismanagement, venality and the lack of accountability that plague not only governance but also other institutions, including many NGOs that call themselves “civil society” institutions, the term made fashionable by international donor agencies. The support base of this...