TAKING ON THE ELITE?

Anna Hazare

Taking a stand against a corrupt self serving elite who run the country to suit their own ends and to help line their pockets in the process requires courage and determination. In Ireland, India and elsewhere there are people who are ready to stand up and be counted regardless of the personal cost..

In India, one of those people is Anna Hazare, a 74 year old man, who leading India's anti-corruption campaign and, who is seen increasingly, as a thorn in the government's side, by ordinary Indians and their own Government.

Over the last few years, dozens of Indians have been killed or badly injured as they have tried to expose corruption. Mr Hazare's calls for passive resistance have struck a chord among millions of Indians, who are disgusted by unprecedented levels of corruption that plague many areas of Indian government and beyond. Much to the embarrassment of the Indian government comparisons have been drawn between Mr Hazare and Gandhi.

India Against Curruption (Associated Press)

At the moment he is in prison as on Tuesday he was arrested on the eve of an anti-corruption protest timed to take place as a proposed new anti-corruption law that the government was due to be presented to parliament.


The Indian authorities said Mr Hazare was being held for a week, but, once confronted by thousands of Mr Hazare's supporters who came out on the streets of New Delhi and other cities, the Indian government rapidly backtracked and quickly announced that he would be freed.

The problem for the Indian Government is that arresting him did not solve the problem, as now (despite being freed) he won't leave and has gone on hunger strike until the police guarantee that his original protest (which led to his arrest) will be allowed to go ahead. There have been protests at New Dehli's India Gate, with thousands of supporters shouting slogans and holding placards demanding Mr Hazare's release and that the government act on corruption. There have been protests across India in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Calcutta and elsewhere.

Recently India has been hit by a string of high-profile corruption scandals, which have included a multi-billion dollar alleged telecoms scam, alleged possible financial malpractices in connection with the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games. There have also been allegations that houses allocated for war widows have been diverted to civil servants.

Indian government critics have said that the scandals point to a pervasive culture of corruption in Mr Singh's administration. A recent survey said corruption in India cost billions of dollars and threatened to derail growth. As the tentacles of corruption spreads, one question that might be asked is who is India being run for, the elite or the people?