Protests in support of Hazare continue in Bangalor

As many as 35 people, including renowned cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty and popular Kannada comedian Master Hiranaiah, sat on dharna to support the anti-graft crusader''s fight against corruption. Since early morning, students, working class and IT professionals staged protests at the venue.Some others took out rallies on bicycles, demanding an end to corruption. "The Central Government seems to be without any stand on the matter. Their flip-flop on the issue shows they have been shaken by Anna Hazare''s fight against corruption," they said. Hazare''s demand to bring the Prime Minister''s Office under the ambit of Lokpal is absolutely right, they added. Meanwhile in Karwar, people staged a protest by immersing themselves in the Arabian Sea for an hour. In Mysore, a popular rock band-- "Rock Band Veda"-- performed to the tune of anti-corruption movement to mobilize the mass in support of Hazare.

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Celina Jaitly at Azad Maidan to support Anna

With Anna Hazare's fast in New Delhi entering its sixth day Sunday, the latest from Bollywood to join his campaign against corruption are actors Celina Jaitly and Shreyas Talpade, who showed up at the Azad Maidan here.

"Today is a wonderful morning sreyas, deepti talpade (Shreyas's wife) and myself are on our way to Azaad Maidan to show our support to Anna hazaarey Jai Hind!" Celine posted on micro-blogging site Twitter Sunday.

"Feel enriched/motivated after attending Anna Hazare's anti corruption gathering @ azad maidan with sreyas & deepti..long live democracy," she furter posted.

So far film personalities like A.R. Rahman, Shabana Azmi, Shekhar Kapur, Bipasha Basu, Sushmita Sen and Shahid Kapoor have showed their support to Anna Hazare's movement against corruption.

Some celebrities took to social networking sites to express their support, while others like Anupam Kher and Farah Khan flew down to the capital to participate in the protest.

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Two likely outcomes of Anna’s movement

The success of anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare’s protests could be both encouraging and ominous. Whether the benefits accruing out of Hazare’s movement will outweigh some inherent risks will be known in the coming days, maybe months.
To the thousands rallying behind him, this is renewal of Gandhism, or the methods and principles of Mohandas Gandhi, and marks the start of a “second freedom movement”.
Let’s look at some likely outcomes of this upsurge.
What may be to be achieved? Freedom from corruption. From self-centred politicians who don’t look beyond their noses. From power-brokers. People will be able to haul up the corrupt the way they deserve to be. From the highest offices to small-fry government servants, everybody will fall in line. All this can be achieved by bringing in the Hazare-backed draft of a bill for a graft-busting ombudsman. There must be a much tougher Lokpal Bill than what is envisioned in a bill cleared by the government.
To critics – and there are many – Hazare is pushing a nation to anarchy by not recognising either his limit or Parliament’s. He is hurtling people down a path of reckless and obstinate agitation that overlooks India’s successful democracy. Hazare’s agitation ignores the fact that the fundamentals of India as a nation-state have not eroded in anyway.
As a consequence, the restive crowds on Delhi’s streets are giving the impression that India is a banana state without strong institutions. Which is simply not true.
Both the above scenarios – of a new freedom and anarchy – cannot be casually dismissed.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could have pre-empted things from coming to such a pass, but all his government managed to do was fumble, bumble and bungle.
If the government is ‘sleeping’ – as is often said in Hindi about someone not aware of the reality – Hazare could be daydreaming. If one were to so sincerely believe that a law — no matter how draconian – could end corruption, this must be a dream, not vision.
Hazare has not clearly defined what his idea of corruption is? If it is illegal amassing of wealth, than his version of the Lokpal Bill aims giving an ombudsman sweeping powers to probe every part of public life. It is about graft-busting, not graft preventing. The latter may require more innovative solutions, like I-T enabled systems to lessen human interface. And, of course, the moral compunction.
Hazare wants an un-elected, politically unaccountable ombudsman with powers of a Superman. But what will happen if the Superman were to turn rogue? There will about 6 lakh junior ombudsmen all over the country. What is the guarantee that they will be holier than thou? In most countries, similar ombudsmen are not only politically accountable but also complement other anti-graft agencies.
On the other hand, what if Hazare phenomenan sets a precedent for similar public mobilisation for demands to change, amend and dictate laws? What if a movement were to dictate our foreign policy or economic agenda?
Hazare seems to have overlooked another critical factor: the current version of the bill could after all be killed by Parliament if it is not found good enough. That will be his victory.
But, on the contrary, what if the current Bill were to be passed? Will Hazare then accept it Parliament’s supreme verdict and move on?

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Anna campaign gets US prominence, excites Indian Americans

Washington : Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption has caught the imagination of Indian Americans and the US media alike though official Washington was apparently caught on the wrong foot initially.
To be fair, the State Department spokesperson in response to a question merely stated Washington's position in support of people's right of peaceful protest around the world and that it could count on a vibrant democratic India to exercise appropriate restraint.
When Indians took umbrage as a section of the media turned "count on" into somewhat condescending "hopes" and "expects", the official modified it to US was "confident" about India's response to the protests.
And when that too failed to mollify the Indians, the spokesperson blamed the Indian reaction on "extremely inaccurate reporting" and returned to well worn diplomatic phrase that it was India's internal affair.
But the US media has been reporting it prominently with the Washington Post hailing it on the front page as the "awakening of the new middle class" in India and how the "anti-corruption effort could signify change in national psyche."
"Unlike the Arab Spring, it is not an impassioned call for democracy or a new government," it said. "But it is an awakening of sorts, which could change the face of India's democracy."
The influential New York Times agreed noting, "The popular outpouring he (Hazare) has set off has inevitably drawn comparisons with the democratic uprisings of the Arab Spring."
"Most analysts agree, though, that India's moment is a different one. But in its own way it may prove to be no less important," it said seeing in the protests an "Unlikely Echo of Gandhi" inspiring Indians to act.
Writing in the Huffington Post, Sarika Bansal said "Anna Hazare and his supporters should be extremely proud of what they have accomplished." But suggested they should now "allow a much wider ring of experts to develop methods that will, in due course, systemically weed out corruption."
The Wall Street Journal too in a commentary analysed "Why Anna Hazare Is Not India's Arab Spring." But "the movements do genuinely share one thing in common: Their tenacity has caught officialdom off-guard, and no one can say for sure where it will all end."
Lisa Curtis, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation think tank, saw in the movement implications for US relations with India.
"As Singh's government weakens, it could also weaken US-Indian bilateral relations, as members of the prime minister's party who are not as enthusiastic about ties with Washington gain clout," she said.
Starting with traditional India Day parades before India's Independence Day, Indian Americans too slowly but surely started coming out in support of Hazare with gatherings in at least seven cities organised by India Against Corruption and People for Loksatta.
They followed it up with hundreds of e-mails to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and rallies in front of Indian missions. Indian Students at Maryland University began a week-long vigil in front of the Indian Embassy here besides mounting a massive social networking campaign to spread Hazare's message.
More rallies are planned in New Jersey, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Los Angles and other cities across the US Sunday.
"If you haven't heard about Anna Hazare or the whole movement in India then please call your family at India and check the mood of the nation," wrote Atul Kumar of New Jersey in his blog bit.ly/indiaerupts (India Erupts Again) exhorting Indian-Americans to join a planned protest in Manhattan Sunday.

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Anna’s backstage helpers who oversee the Ramlila show

New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) Scores of youngsters look busy and hassled, a few are working on their laptops. A short young woman instructs a fellow volunteer to get food for all of them. It is a small band busy managing the Anna Hazare show at the Ramlila ground here.
From food, ambulance, security, crowd management, maintaining links with the media, and transcribing speeches — the 100 plus volunteers from India Against Corruption (IAC) group are the lifeline behind the 74-year-old Gandhian activist’s fast that has gripped the world’s attention.
With the hunger strike entering the sixth day Sunday, the volunteers say they have a lot to tackle. And with thousands of young and old packing the Ramlila ground, some go without sleep at night.
‘We are ready to run from pillar to post. Our leader Hazareji is not 74, he is 14 years old and the battery of this movement,’ IAC’s media manager Aswathi Muralidharan, who has not gone home for many days, told IANS.
Agrees her colleague Sneha Kothwale, a 23-year old graduate of journalism from Delhi University who prepares power point presentation and other inputs for the media.
‘It is like connecting the dots. We have the task of pooling in all the resources, coordinating with the media, people, even those who do not know anything about the movement,’ she explained.
The face of the Hazare campaign for a Jan Lokpal Bill — as opposed to the government-sponsored one — is of course a group of half a dozen who are the Gandhian’s closest aides.
This includes RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal, former police officer Kiran Bedi, lawyers Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan, and social activist Swami Agnivesh.
But with most of them detained or jailed Aug 16 along with Hazare, it was left to the younger lot to keep the flag flying.
Kejriwal said it was this team that provides oxygen to the campaign against corruption. ‘It is the volunteers who have been managing it from the scratch.’
Almost all volunteers are in their 20s. Many have been associated with Kejriwal, a Magsaysay award winner.
Some volunteers admit they strayed into the campaign only because of Hazare.
‘Earlier my parents used to ask me to choose a stable career as this (activism) would not get me a salary or name,’ Sneha told IANS.
‘But the April fast by Hazareji was a life changing moment. My parents never said a single word to me about this work after that,’ she said.
Her reference was to the five-day hunger strike by Hazare here that ignited nationwide passions and forced the government to talk to him about an anti-corruption legislation.
There is plenty of work to be done — day and night.
All developments related to the Lokpal Bill is monitored. The media is regularly briefed. Hazare’s health needs to be checked.
There are logistic issues to be tackled — managing the sprawling Ramlila ground, arranging food for the thousands who throng the venue, providing security, accepting donations, and so on.
The IAC relies a lot on other volunteers to provide security to Hazare. Police frisk everyone entering the ground, even people like Kejriwal.
Kumar Vishwas, who said he is a poet by profession, addresses the crowds.
‘My job is to write speeches. Throughout the day, I address the people and motivate them to support the movement in every possible way,’ he said.
Hazare began his fast Tuesday when he was taken to the Tihar Jail. He was in prison until Friday when he shifted to the Ramlila ground.
‘This is going to be our home for the next 15 days. The leader is younger than us,’ quipped Sneha.

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