Hero's return

Activist Anna Hazare succeeded in forcing the government to reconsider its new anti-graft legislation with his 13-day fast that ended on Sunday. He received a hero’s welcome in his home village.

On Wednesday, the 74-year-old Anna Hazare returned to his village, Ralegan Siddhi, in the western state of Maharashtra, where he was greeted with cheers and celebrations. He had spent four days in a New Delhi hospital to recover from his public hunger strike before going home. Doctors said he was in excellent health despite losing 7.5 kilograms.

Hazare's campaign has galvanized millions across India, providing a valve for their pent-up frustration at corruption as well as at unaccountability at all levels. The Lokpal (anti-graft ombudsman) bill that is currently being considered by the government has faced and continues to face an unprecedented wave of anger on the part of civil society which has found its neo-Gandhian talisman in Hazare.

Success or failure?

As Hazare returned to his Spartan room in a Hindu temple in his village, a new debate on the success or failure of his whole campaign broke out. The renowned historian and author Rudrangshu Mukherjee, who is currently Opinions Editor of the Kolkata Telegraph, told Deutsche Welle that Anna Hazare had "a very limited impact."

He pointed out that Hazare’s support had come "mainly from the middle class" and was "purely an urban phenomenon." However, he did also acknowledge that the campaign had "brought a lot of public attention to corruption."

Mukherjee, who supports the view that Hazare and his supporters were challenging "the supremacy of parliament on the issue of making legislation," said that in the end he had achieved very few of the demands that he began with "except that the bill will now receive due consideration."

Author: Arun Chowdhury
Editor: Anne Thomas