Anna Hazare succeeded because he tapped into a deeply felt anger against corruption and systemic gang-up. But the campaign must define itself ideologically or risk appropriation by right-wing usurpers. A future historian attempting to document the Anna Hazare fast at the Capital's Jantar Mantar will likely confront contrasting images: of multitudes enthused and galvanised by one elder citizen's crusading zeal, of Mr. Hazare's almost single-handed ability, within days, to bring the...

True to her reputation of being cynical about contemporary issues, actor Sharmila Tagore said the relentless Anna Hazare show was "a form of blackmail" that could set dangerous precedents. "In a democracy, hunger strike is tantamount to blackmail and the government also gave in. Corruption is an important issue that needs to be tackled, but not in this way. I do respect Anna who has turned his village into a model...

Gandhi resorted to some 30 fasts, of which one-third were directed at himself, for ‘atonement’ or self-purification, one-third were directed against the raj and one-third at India’s social mores. A more honest trinity cannot be imagined. The latter two kinds of fasts were meant to make an impact on the ‘other side’; they were part-fasts and part- hunger strikes, part anashan and part bhukh-hartal, though he derived from each a sense...

The Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill would help fight corruption only at the centre and not in states where the magnitude of graft is alarming, cautions former Supreme Court judge Justice N. Santosh Hegde amid the escalating hype over the proposed legislation. Hegde, also the ombudsman for Karnataka, is part of the 10-member committee set up by the government to draft the new bill following the hunger strike by reformer Anna Hazare that...

On fast for over a decade, demanding repeal of AFSPA Irom Sharmila, who has been on a fast-unto-death since November 2, 2000 demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958, has charged the Government of India with adopting “double standards.” She pointed out that the Centre had yielded to the demands of social activist Anna Hazare on the Lokpal Bill after he had been on hunger strike...