After World Cup, second win toasted with rallies

Jubilant Mumbaikars took to the streets again on Saturday when social crusader Anna Hazare ended his 97-hour-long fast after the central government accepted his demands for an effective Jan Lokpal Bill. Candlelight vigils, victory rallies and general euphoria across the city marked the day as news of the government’s decision to initiate measures for the Bill in the monsoon session of the parliament trickled in.

Azad Maidan
A group of more than 50 people who were on a relay hunger strike since the last five days at Azad Maidan also ended their fast simultaneously with Hazare. “The number of people, mostly youths, coming to show solidarity with the cause has been heartening,” said Ruben Mascarenhas of the Mumbai-based NGO, India Against Corruption.

Bandra
Bollywood, too, joined in the celebrations by taking out a rally along the Carter Road promenade, which was attended by industry biggies including actors Emraan Hashmi, Shabana Azmi and Rahul Bose, filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt and Amit Khanna, and lyricist Javed Akhtar. “Anna’s movement shows how desperately the people want a leader and how disillusioned and tired Indians are with the current system,” Bhatt said.

The celebrity brigade was also demanding that corruption be eradicated not just at the political level but also on the social level. “If the Bill does not come into effect as promised, the film industry will agitate in bigger numbers,” said Bollywood marketing director Vikramaditya Narayan.

Juhu/Andheri
In the northern suburbs, citizens took out a victory march celebrating Hazare’s “grit and determination”. A 500-strong group marched across Juhu carrying flags and placards and shouting slogans. “This is our way of saluting Anna Hazare’s crusade for a corruption-free nation,” said software professional Reema Gandhi who joined the procession. Hoping this energy sustains, she added, “People should stick together and keep showing their strength so that the politicians know they are being watched.”

Other participants like Sameer Shah said they were glad that Anna’s efforts yielded fruit in such a short time. “Now, the government must keep its promises to tackle corruption. Else, the country will rise up in a much bigger agitation,” he added.

The organisers of the march are hopeful that the movement will gain momentum in the coming days. “We are not done yet. The euphoria is now over and the time has now come to get into the nitty-gritties of the issue,” said filmmaker and activist Ashoke Pandit who has plans to involve the youth “in driving reform through awareness and education. The youth are very clued-in into the problems plaguing the nation. And we have a lot to learn from them while involving them in social causes such as these.”

Pandit and other activists in the Juhu area will take it upon themselves to create awareness about how the Bill can be used effectively to weed out corruption. “We will conduct seminars in the area and go door-to-door talking to citizens,” he added. Plans are afoot to rope in lawyers, activists and NGOs in the locality for the cause.

Powai
Across the city in the east, a march taken out by Foundation One India at Powai’s Hiranandani saw a huge response. “We want the authorities and politicians to know that people are not going to take whatever they do lying down,” the convenor of the organisation Hira Bulani told DNA, and added, “We know we are not going to change the world with a magic wand but we owe the little we are doing to ourselves, our nation and our children.”

While people in the weekend mode did do the rounds of the malls and multiplexes, the fact that the developments related to Hazare’s fight for justice was weighing on their minds was borne out by the symbolism. T-shirts with hand-painted Anna Hazare messages seemed to be the trend. “Gandhi of the 21st Century,” said some, while the others equated his work to the civil disobedience movement: “1930 to 2011, the struggle continues.”