Anna Hazare

Name - Kisan Bapat Baburao Hazare known as Anna Hazare
Birth date - 15 January 1940
Kisan Baburao Hazare About this sound pronunciation (help·info) (Marathi: किसन बाबुराव हजारे Kisan Bāburāv Hajārē ?) (born 15 June 1937), popularly known as Anna Hazare About this sound pronunciation (help·info) (Marathi: अण्णा हजारे, Aṇṇā Hajārē ?; is an Indian social activist who is recognised for his participation in the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. 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.

Anna Hazare started a hunger strike on 5 April 2011 to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a strict anti-corruption law as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, for the institution of an ombudsman with the power to deal with corruption in public offices. The fast led to nation-wide protests in support of Hazare. The fast ended on 9 April 2011, the day after the government accepted Hazare's demands. The government issued a gazette notification on the formation of a joint committee, constituted of government and civil society representatives, to draft the legislation.

Anna has been featured as the most influential person in Mumbai by a national daily newspaper.[6] Also, he has been believed to be the current youth icon in India. 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.

Early life

Kisan Hazare was born on 15 June 1937 in Bhingar, a small village Hingangaon near the city of Bhingar , in Bombay Province (present-day Maharashtra). Kisan's father, Baburao Hazare, worked as an unskilled labourer in Ayurveda Ashram Pharmacy. Kisan's grandfather was working for the army in Bhingar, when he was born. His grandfather died in 1945, but Baburao continued to stay at Bhingar. In 1952, Baburao resigned from his job and returned to his own village, Ralegan Siddhi. Kisan had six younger siblings and the family faced significant hardships. Kisan's childless aunt offered to look after him and his education, and took him to Mumbai. Kisan studied up to the seventh standard in Mumbai and then sought employment, due to the economic situation in his household. He started selling flowers at Dadar to support his family. He soon started his own shop and brought two of his brothers to Bombay.

Military service

In 1962, events in South Asia meant that large-scale army recruitments were being undertaken. Despite not meeting the physical requirements, 25-year-old Hazare was selected, as emergency recruitment was taking place in the Indian Army. After training at Aurangabad in Maharashtra he started his career in the Indian Army as a driver in 1963. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Hazare was posted at the border in the Khem Karan sector. On 12 November 1965, the Pakistan Air Force launched air strikes on Indian bases, and all of Hazare's comrades were killed; he was the only survivor of that convoy. It was a close shave for Hazare as one bullet had passed by his head. He was driving a truck. This led him to dwell on the purpose and meaning of life and death. He came across a small booklet titled "Call to the youth for nation building" by Swami Vivekananda in a book stall at the New Delhi railway station. He realised that saints sacrificed their own happiness for that of others, and that he needed to work towards ameliorating the sufferings of the poor. He started to spend his spare time reading the works of Vivekananda, Gandhi, and Vinoba Bhave. During the mid-1970s, he again survived a road accident while driving. It was at that particular moment that Hazare took an oath to dedicate his life to the service of humanity, at the age of 38. He took voluntary retirement from the army in 1978.He was respectably discharged from the Indian Army after completing 12 years of service. During his tenure about five medals were apprised to Anna Hazare: Sainya Seva Medal, Nine Years Long Service Medal, Sangram Medal, 25th Independent Anniversary Medal, and Pashimi Star award. Allegations of Anna Hazare being deserted Indian Army were put to rest when a RTI application brought forward information of him as he was honorably discharged from service.

Anna Hazare is one of India's well-acclaimed social activists. A former soldier in the Indian army, Anna is well known and respected for upgrading the ecology and economy of the village of Ralegan Siddhi which is located in the drought prone Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state. The erstwhile barren village has metamorphosed into a unique model of rural development due to its effective water conservation methods, which made the villagers self-sufficient. Earlier, the same village witnessed alcoholism, utter poverty and migration to urban slums. Inspired by Hazare’s unique approach of salvaging a hopeless village, the state government has implemented the `Model Village’ scheme as part of its official strategy. Hazare is now synonymous with rural development in India.

When Anna was in Army five medals were notified to Anna –
1. Sainya Seva Medal,
2. Nine Years Long Service Medal,
3. Sangram Medal,
4. 25th Independent Anniversary Medal
5. Paschimi Star

Anna was greatly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings.

In the year 1965, Pakistan attacked India and at that time, Hazare was posted at the Khemkaran border. On November 12, 1965, Pakistan launched air attacks on Indian base and all of Hazare’s comrades became martyrs

In 1978, he took voluntary retirement from the 9th Maratha Battalion

After serving 15 Years in Army Anna took the voluntary retirement and returned to his native place in Ralegan Siddhi, in the Parner tehsil of Ahmednagar district.

Ralegan Siddhi falls in the drought-prone area with a mere 400 to 500 mm of annual rainfall.
There were no weirs to retain rainwater.
During the month of April and May, water tankers were the only means of drinking water.
Almost 80 per cent of the villagers were dependent on other villages for food grains. Residents used to walk for more than four to six kilometers in search of work

Hazare came across the work of one Vilasrao Salunke, a resident of Saswad near Pune who had started a novel project of water management through watershed development in a joint venture with the Gram Panchyat. Hazare visited the project and decided to implement it in Ralegan Siddhi.

He steered the villagers to begin working towards water conservation.
At the outset, they completed 48 Nala Bunding work, contour trenches, staggered trenches, gully plugs, meadows development and of forestation of 500 hectares of land. Thereafter, they constructed five RCC weirs and 16 Gabion Weirs.

This resulted in increase in the ground water level.

Hazare’s Ralegan Siddhi became the first role model of an ideal village from the worst village to an ideal village.

Anna rightly thought that Development is marred by corruption and started a new venture in 1991 called Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA) or public movement against corruption.
It was found that some 42 forest officers had duped the state government for crores of rupees through corruption in confederacy.
Hazare submitted the evidences to the government but the latter was reluctant to take action against all these officers as one of the ministers of the ruling party was involved in the scam.

A distressed Hazare returned the Padmashree Award to the President of India and also returned the Vriksha Mitra Award given by then prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.

He further went on an indefinite hunger strike in Alandi on the same issue.
Finally, the government woke up and took action against the criminal and corrupt officers as well as six of the ministers were forced to resign and more than 400 officers from different government offices were sent back to home.

In 1995 Shiv Sena-BJP government came to power in the state
Hazare raised the issue of alleged massive land purchase by Gholap's wife Shashikala in Nashik between April to September 1996.
He forwarded the available documentary evidences in support of his allegations to then Maharashtra Governor P. C. Alexander
On 4 November 1997, Gholap filed a defamation suit against Hazare for accusing him of corruption.
On 9 September 1998, Anna Hazare was imprisoned in the Yerawada Jail after being sentenced to simple imprisonment for three months by the Mumbai Metropolitan Court all political parties, every one from Maharashtra except the BJP and the Shiv Sena came in support of him
Later due to public protest, outcry the Government of Maharashtra ordered his release from the jail.

The state government has opened cooperative societies, credit societies & urban banks everywhere in states.
However, the directors of such societies do the corruption and failed to pay back the basic amount to the members of the societies.
Thus poor people get cheated when Anna saw this he again began his agitation against this.

Hazare agitated for over eight months.
The result was that more than Rs 125 crore was recovered from defaulters and the members of such societies heaved a sigh of relief.
Recovery of around Rs. 400 crores is in the pipeline.

After this Anna started to fight for the Right to information act.
Government ignored Anna.
In 1997 Anna agitated in Azad Maidan in Mumbai to create mass public awareness about RTI amongst the youth.
Anna started to travel across state.

Government promised Anna they will pass RTI act but in reality they never did it.
For this Anna agitated ten times for this law.

When Anna saw that Government is not willing to pass this law Anna went on an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in the last week of July 2003.

After 12 days of Hunger strike in Azad Maidan the President of India signed the draft of the Right to Information Act and ordered the state government to implement it with effect from 2002. The same draft was considered as the base document for the making of the National Right to Information Act-2005.

In 2003 Anna Hazare raised corruption charges against 4 ministers of the Congress-NCP government
Government ignored him
Then Anna started his fast unto death agitation on 9 August 2003.
He ended his fast on 17 August 2003 after then chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde formed a one man commission, headed by the retired justice P. B. Sawant to probe his charges.
The P. B. Sawant commission report was submitted on 23 February 2005, indicted Suresh Jain, Nawab Malik and Padmasinh Patil.
Suresh Jain and Nawab Malik resigned from the cabinet in March 2005

Jan Lokpal Bill –
Agitation and hunger strike at the age of 73 and great victory against powerful and rich government

India against corruption movement
N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka, Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court along with the members of the India against Corruption movement drafted an alternate bill, named as the Jan Lokpal Bill (People's Ombudsman Bill) with more stringent provisions and wider power to the Lokpal (Ombudsman)

On April 5 2011 Again Anna started second freedom struggle in India.
Anna wrote to everyone regarding Jan Lok Pal bill but no one listened him
After that on 5th April 2011 Started fast unto death to wake up the government for India.
Anna started war against corruption in India.
Hazare has started a fast unto death from 5 April 2011 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, to press for the demand to form a joint committee of the representatives of the Government and the civil society to draft a new bill with stronger penal actions and more independence to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Ombudsmen in the states)

In beginning Government of India ignored him, many people said many things, but as First day was over Anna got the support from every corner of India and
No one has expected such a support Anna will get for this bill.

Over night table were turned and after 4 days of discussion with government of India servants .
Finally Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh realized that demand of Anna is right and government accepted all the demands of Anna.
Thus Jantar Mantar saved from becoming another Tahir Square.

Anna Hazare won the following awards –
1. Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra award by the Government of India on November 19, 1986 from the hands of Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.
2. 1989 - Krishi Bhushana award by the Government of Maharashtra.
3. 1990 - Padmashri award, by the Government of India
4. 1992 - Padmabhushan award, by the Government of India
5. 2008 - On April 15 2008, Anna Hazare received the World Bank's 2008 Jit Gill Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service
6. Care International of the USA, Transparency International, Seoul (South Korea)
7. He received awards worth Rs 25 lakh and donated the entire amount for the Swami Vivekananda Kritadnyata Nidhi (social gratitude fund). Out of the two lakh rupees received from the above amount, mass marriages are carried of at least 25-30 poor couples every year.

Anna Hazare has given his life for the benefit of India.

He got the home in his village but he has not entered in that house from last 35 years.

Anna Hazare and Properties –

Anna Hazare has declared he has got Rs68, 688 in bank balance and cash and three pieces of land
Hazare's lands were either donated to him or family owned
In his statement, Hazare said two land pieces measuring 0.07 Hectares and two hectares are in his native village in Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra while 0.46 hectare of land is in Pimpianer.
one of the pieces of land in Ralegan Siddhi was donated by Army to him which he has donated for village use
the Pimpianer land was donated to him by a villager.Hazare has further donated this land for village use.

Anna Hazare never got any grant from Government of India.

Dilip Kumar Katariya Bilara SEO

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Anna Hazare

Anna Hazare

Early life

Military service

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