Anna Hazare

Anna Hazare
Hazare in 2011
Born
Kisan Baburao Hazare

(1937-06-15) 15 June 1937 (age 87)
Bhingar, Bombay Presidency, British India
NationalityIndian
Other namesKisan Baburao Hazare
CitizenshipIndian
Known forIndian anti-corruption movement – 2012,
Indian anti-corruption movement – 2011,
Watershed development programmes,
Right to Information
MovementIndian anti-corruption movement,
Peace movement
Parents
  • Baburao Hazare (father)
  • Laxmibai Hazare (mother)
AwardsPadma Shri (1990)
Padma Bhushan (1992)
Military career
Allegiance India
Service/branch Indian Army
Years of service1960–1975
RankSepoy
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965

Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare (pronunciationⓘ; born 15 June 1937) is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life. 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 Mahatma Gandhi.[1][2] 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.[3]

Hazare started a 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 nationwide 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.[4][5]

Foreign Policy named him among top 100 global thinkers in 2011.[6] Also in 2011, Hazare was ranked as the most influential person in Mumbai by a national daily newspaper.[7] 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.[8][9]

  1. ^ Kohari, Alizeh (16 August 2011). "Hunger strikes: What can they achieve?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  2. ^ Yardley, Jim (18 August 2011). "Unlikely Echo of Gandhi Inspires Indians to Act". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  3. ^ "Padma Bhushan Awardees". Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  4. ^ "India activist Anna Hazare ends hunger strike". BBC News. 9 April 2011. Archived from the original on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Govt issues notification on committee to draft Lokpal Bill". The Hindu. New Delhi. Press Trust of India. 9 April 2011. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  6. ^ "Foreign Policy top 100 global thinkers". Foreign Policy. 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  7. ^ "The DNA power list: Top 50 influentials". Mumbai: DNA. 29 July 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  8. ^ Hartosh Singh Bal (14 April 2011). "Spare Us the Gandhian Halo". The Open Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  9. ^ Amit Varma (21 April 2011). "The Rorschach Effect in Indian Politics". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.