India is a country where power lies with all but realized by none. Such is a case here that the common man, instead of practicing refrain, becomes tolerant to the atrocities he is presented with. Be it the British Raj or, the problem at hand, corruption, the common man takes an easy way out, to endure their fate. And then comes along a man in white, plain but with a persistent will to rouse them from slumber and ignite the flame to let the vices burn from core. It was Gandhi then, and it is Hazare now. At a time when India seemed to be hit hard by an avalanche of scams and frauds, no one bore responsibility and investigations only led to a blame-game dead end. Anna rose as a savior, reviving the hopes of the common man.
From a man who considered suicide once, to a man wearing the bonnet of anti corruption propaganda, Hazare has come a long way. His rise to become the voice of the aam admi, as well as the elite class alike, is not sudden. His achievements with his native village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra, should not go unnoticed. After retiring from the army at the age of 39, he went back to his home only to find it in the clutches of draught ridden farms, alcoholism and redundancy. It greatly plagued him and he resolved to put an end to the evil impregnating the roots of humanity there. He re-structured the village and brought the concept of Water harvesting to once again make it a prosperous abode. From determined abstinence to prosecuting with shame, he did whatever it took to keep it alcohol-free place. His sweat however did not go down the drain. Today, Ralegan Siddhi is considered a model village an example set to be followed by all. Hazare was awarded Padma Bhushan by the government of India in 1992 as a tribute to his efforts in the development of the village.
Even today, he continues to win accolades for his endeavors to wipe out corruption from the face of Modern India. He did not just start, but extended the fight against corruption by targeting the men in white. This face off also led to dismissal of six corrupt ministers at different times. He was also one of the pioneers to get RTI implemented. Hazare is a soldier who never tiers and his latest combat being the acceptance of the Lokpal Bill. He sat on fast-unto death on 5th April 2011 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi and broke the fast on 9th April only after the government accepted all his demands. Although, there still remains huge difference of opinions regarding the Bill in question.
As every revolutionary idea, Anna’s agitation too has its skeptics and critics, some of them raising noteworthy objections on the draft of the Lokpal. And as every activist, Hazare too has met with many raised brows over his so-called “blackmail” methodology to fast unto death. Apart from political hiatus, Hazare has also been accused of bearing an autocrat stance unable to attune to the constitutional rights and outrightly shunning the democratic fundamentals. The government too resists his demands and justifies that the demands are unconstitutional and they adopt a prerogative as a parallel government.
Even as the critique of his manner rises, so does his popularity among the masses. He has become the face of the common man disquieted by the menace caused by power and money. The agitation he leads however is not enough. There is a desperate need for the people also to realize what this simple man has cried out for. It is now time that will tell what comes to the noble cause of Anna.
