The politicians who mocked Anna Hazare

In August 2003, the then NCP minister, Sureshdada Jain, decided to teach social worker Anna Hazare a lesson.

In response to Hazare’s “indefinite fast” to demand Jain’s removal from the Maharashtra cabinet on allegations of corruption, the Jalgaon-based Jain decided to launch his own “indefinite fast” to “expose” Hazare.

Jain wanted the government to probe the “corrupt” practices in Hazare’s Hind Swaraj Trust and he even called Hazare “a most corrupt individual and a hypocrite”.

As things turned out, Jain was forced to resign from the cabinet in 2005 after the Justice Sawant Commission indicted him of the charges levelled by Hazare.

Nearly two decades ago, when Hazare began crusading against corruption, taunts, barbs and sarcastic comments were heaped on him by politicians in Maharashtra.

His threat to undertake an “indefinite fast” was seen as a damp squib of a threat, not to be taken too seriously. Cynics commented that he was a publicity seeker, who withdrew his fasts after a compromise.

Politicians would dismiss Hazare by saying that he makes allegations without proof, especially when it came to prominent leaders like Sharad Pawar. In fact, some of his early crusades did backfire. In the mid-1990s when he undertook his first major fast against corruption, he demanded the resignation of Shiv Sena-BJP ministers Shashikant Sutar, Babanrao Gholap and Mahadev Shivankar. While the allegation against Gholap fell through and Hazare had to spend a day in jail, Sutar and Shivankar were later cleared of the charges by an inquiry commission.

His Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan, established in 1991 with district-level representatives and committees, became controversial after some activists were found to blackmail victims while threatening to expose their corruption. However, Anna did not relent and persisted with his fight against corruption.

In 2003, his anti-corruption crusade against four NCP ministers — Sureshdada Jain, Nawab Malik, Padamsinh Patil and Vijaykumar Gavit — paid off after the four were indicted by the PB Sawant Commission. While Jain and Malik had to quit, Gavit was allowed to continue as he was found guilty of maladministration, not corruption. Patil was not a minister when he was indicted by the Commission. This was Hazare’s biggest victory against corruption in Maharashtra as Padamsinh Patil was a powerful NCP leader and closely related to Pawar. Later, Patil was arrested in 2009 for the murder of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar.

He once again clashed with Hazare when the veteran Gandhian accused Patil of plotting to murder him. This was after two suspects arrested in the Nimbalkar murder case said they had received supari (contract) from Patil to kill Hazare.

It is Hazare’s spotless character, fearlessness and iron determination that have defined his unrelenting crusade against corruption.

His latest hunger strike in Delhi is the biggest-ever of all his agitations in terms of its scope and response. This agitation has not only shaken the central government but also resulted in Pawar’s resignation from a ministerial group and has galvanised the citizenry against corruption across the country. Beginning as a humble driver in the Indian Army, Kisan Baburao Hazare had a near-death experience in the 1965 war with Pakistan. This was the first major turning point in his life, when he decided to return to his chronically drought-prone and poverty-stricken village, Ralegan Siddhi, in Ahmednagar district, to uplift the village.

An avowed bachelor who has dedicated his life to the nation, Hazare introduced watershed development, rainwater harvesting and dairy development. He successfully persuaded the villagers to shun alcohol and close liquor shops in the village. He drew upon government schemes for funds and subsidies for his work.

Such was the transformation that villagers from other talukas and districts began visiting Ralegan Siddhi to replicate his model and Anna became famous.

After understanding the gravity of corruption in the Maharashtra government, Hazare became a Right to Information (RTI) crusader and is credited with pioneering Maharashtra’s Right to Information Act, 2002, well before the national legislation was passed.