Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, 73, was detained in Delhi Tuesday morning ahead of a planned hunger strike aimed at denouncing the government’s draft of the Lokpal Bill, an anti-graft law.
Mr. Hazare has led calls to press for a tougher piece of legislation which, among other things, would extend the jurisdiction of an anti-corruption ombudsman to include the office of the prime minister.
Police said Mr. Hazare was arrested because he announced plans to defy restrictions on the size and length of public gatherings where he planned to start fasting.
Many other anti-corruption activists, including Arvind Kejriwal and former police officer Kiran Bedi, were also arrested on Tuesday, according to local media reports.
Through Web sites including Facebook and Twitter, many Internet users in India were critical of the arrests and rallied in support of Mr. Hazare. Here’s what some of them had to say:
On the social networking Web site Twitter, user @vijaysankaran called the arrests “the dumbest political move of the year.”
Another user, @abafna, who identifies himself as Atul Bafna, tweeted “#AnnaHazare, #KiranBedi and Arvind Kejriwal arrested even before they reach JP park. Saddest day for Indian Democracy.” New Delhi’s JP Park, short for Jai Prakash Narain Memorial Park, is where the hunger strike was said to take place.
Other Twitterati, including @Navrang, made parallels between Anna Hazare and Mahatma Gandhi, writing “Looks as if Atma of Bapu has been arrested.” This was a reference to the soul, or atma, of Gandhi, who was widely known as Bapu, or father of the Indian nation.
Some even drew parallels between present-day India and the country under British rule. Twitter user @vzades, for instance, wrote: “Ashamed to be an Indian Its pure dictatorship much worse than the British Raj #Rajghat #JP Park.” Another user, @asikmohamed, tweeted: “We have celebrated yesterday Independence day, #annahazare arrested now. Feel British rule was much better – JP Park.”
Twitter user @FarOutAkhtar, who identified himself as actor Farhan Akhtar, wrote that “The Indian citizen has the right to protest peacefully. Anna’s arrest is unconstitutional and shows symptoms of an authoritarian mindset.”
Many of those who did not agree with Mr. Hazare’s version of the ombudsman bill, still felt that his arrest was unwarranted.
Film director Mahesh Bhatt @MaheshNBhatt tweeted, “I do not support Anna. But i support his right to protest peacefully. The Govt has failed to handle this issue with vision. Sad!”
Actress Gul Panag @gulpanag wrote, “being against corruption and supporting #Anna are 2 different matters :p”
On the Web site of the Indian Express, a person who identified themselves as “Delhi citizen” wrote the following on the Comments section: “Denying permission and imposing conditions for the staging protest by Anna Hazare clearly shows the nervousness and desperation on the part of the Govt.”
With over 200,000 “likes,” Anna Hazare’s unofficial Facebook page has been flooded with messages of support for the Gandhian activist, urging him to go ahead with his fast. A Facebook user who identifies himself as “Aman Gupta” wrote “WE SUPPORT YOU ANNA…. ANNA HAZARE JINDA BAAD.” Others asked the government to release the activist. “Manoj Talwar” said, “enough of the spirit of fake independence ……reinstate democracy…release anna…jai hind.”
On the Economic Times’ Web site, many readers felt that India’s democracy was at stake. Commenting on a story on Mr. Hazare’s arrest, reader “Dr.R.K.Gupta (Haridwar)” wrote, “It is no democracy, are we heading for another ‘EMERGENCY’?,” a reference to a brief period under Indira Gandhi’s premiership during which elections and civil liberties were suspended.
On NDTV’s live blog, which is open to readers, similar sentiments were echoed as most people felt that there was no need to arrest Anna Hazare and his associates. “Raghu” said, “This is disgrace to the world’s largest democracy to curb citizen’s right to protest in a peaceful manner.”
In response to those who felt that a fast would not bring about change, “Muhammad, Riyadh” said, “They say fasting will not help; somebody give them biography of the man who kicked Britishers out of India. Here its going to move the Indian Politicians or even kick the corrupt ones out. We r with Anna.” Mahatma Gandhi, for instance, frequently went on hunger strikes to achieve political goals.
- Prakash Singh/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
- Anna Hazare waved to supporters from a police vehicle after his arrest in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Police said Mr. Hazare was arrested because he announced plans to defy restrictions on the size and length of public gatherings where he planned to start fasting.
Many other anti-corruption activists, including Arvind Kejriwal and former police officer Kiran Bedi, were also arrested on Tuesday, according to local media reports.
Through Web sites including Facebook and Twitter, many Internet users in India were critical of the arrests and rallied in support of Mr. Hazare. Here’s what some of them had to say:
On the social networking Web site Twitter, user @vijaysankaran called the arrests “the dumbest political move of the year.”
Another user, @abafna, who identifies himself as Atul Bafna, tweeted “#AnnaHazare, #KiranBedi and Arvind Kejriwal arrested even before they reach JP park. Saddest day for Indian Democracy.” New Delhi’s JP Park, short for Jai Prakash Narain Memorial Park, is where the hunger strike was said to take place.
Other Twitterati, including @Navrang, made parallels between Anna Hazare and Mahatma Gandhi, writing “Looks as if Atma of Bapu has been arrested.” This was a reference to the soul, or atma, of Gandhi, who was widely known as Bapu, or father of the Indian nation.
Some even drew parallels between present-day India and the country under British rule. Twitter user @vzades, for instance, wrote: “Ashamed to be an Indian Its pure dictatorship much worse than the British Raj #Rajghat #JP Park.” Another user, @asikmohamed, tweeted: “We have celebrated yesterday Independence day, #annahazare arrested now. Feel British rule was much better – JP Park.”
Twitter user @FarOutAkhtar, who identified himself as actor Farhan Akhtar, wrote that “The Indian citizen has the right to protest peacefully. Anna’s arrest is unconstitutional and shows symptoms of an authoritarian mindset.”
Many of those who did not agree with Mr. Hazare’s version of the ombudsman bill, still felt that his arrest was unwarranted.
Film director Mahesh Bhatt @MaheshNBhatt tweeted, “I do not support Anna. But i support his right to protest peacefully. The Govt has failed to handle this issue with vision. Sad!”
Actress Gul Panag @gulpanag wrote, “being against corruption and supporting #Anna are 2 different matters :p”
On the Web site of the Indian Express, a person who identified themselves as “Delhi citizen” wrote the following on the Comments section: “Denying permission and imposing conditions for the staging protest by Anna Hazare clearly shows the nervousness and desperation on the part of the Govt.”
With over 200,000 “likes,” Anna Hazare’s unofficial Facebook page has been flooded with messages of support for the Gandhian activist, urging him to go ahead with his fast. A Facebook user who identifies himself as “Aman Gupta” wrote “WE SUPPORT YOU ANNA…. ANNA HAZARE JINDA BAAD.” Others asked the government to release the activist. “Manoj Talwar” said, “enough of the spirit of fake independence ……reinstate democracy…release anna…jai hind.”
On the Economic Times’ Web site, many readers felt that India’s democracy was at stake. Commenting on a story on Mr. Hazare’s arrest, reader “Dr.R.K.Gupta (Haridwar)” wrote, “It is no democracy, are we heading for another ‘EMERGENCY’?,” a reference to a brief period under Indira Gandhi’s premiership during which elections and civil liberties were suspended.
On NDTV’s live blog, which is open to readers, similar sentiments were echoed as most people felt that there was no need to arrest Anna Hazare and his associates. “Raghu” said, “This is disgrace to the world’s largest democracy to curb citizen’s right to protest in a peaceful manner.”
In response to those who felt that a fast would not bring about change, “Muhammad, Riyadh” said, “They say fasting will not help; somebody give them biography of the man who kicked Britishers out of India. Here its going to move the Indian Politicians or even kick the corrupt ones out. We r with Anna.” Mahatma Gandhi, for instance, frequently went on hunger strikes to achieve political goals.
0 comments:
Post a Comment