Kisan Baburao Hazare
He was born on January 15, 1940 in Bhingar village of Ahmednagar district to a family of an unskilled labourer who owned five acres of cultivable land. Adverse conditions pushed their family into the grip of poverty and in 1952 Hazare moved into his ancestral home in Ralegan Siddhi. He was brought up by a childless aunt who funded his education in Mumbai but financial instability pushed him into selling flowers for a living and he had to quit studies after Class VII.
Anna Hazare started his career in the Indian Army as a driver in 1963. He spent his spare time reading the works of Vivekananda, Gandhi, and Vinoba Bhave; they inspired him to become a social worker and activist. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 he was the only survivor in a exchange of border fire while driving a truck in Khem Karan sector. During the mid-1970s he survived a road accident while driving.
Water Supply Associations
After voluntary retirement from the army, Hazare went to Ralegan Siddhi village in 1975. Initially he organised the youth of the village into an organisation named the Tarun Mandal (Youth Association). He helped to form the Pani Puravatha Mandals (Water Supply Associations) to ensure proper distribution of water.
"The dream of India as a strong nation will not be realized without self-reliant, self-sufficient villages, this can be achieved only through social commitment & involvement of the common man."
- Anna Hazare.
Alcoholism
Hazare and the youth group next decided to take up the issue of alcoholism. At a meeting conducted in the temple, the villagers resolved to close down liquor dens and ban alcohol in the village. Since these resolutions were made in the temple, they became in a sense religious commitments. Over thirty liquor brewing units were closed by their owners voluntarily. Those who did not succumb to social pressure were forced to close down their businesses when the youth group smashed up their liquor dens. The owners could not complain as their businesses were illegal.
Some villagers continued to drink in Ralegan Siddhi, as they obtained their liquor from neighbouring villages. The villagers decided that those men would be given three warnings, after which they would be physically punished. Twelve men who were found in a drunken state after warnings were tied to a pole with help from the youth group and flogged.
“Doesn’t a mother administer bitter medicines to a sick child when she knows that the medicine can cure her child? The child may not like the medicine, but the mother does it only because she cares for the child. The alcoholics were punished so that their families would not be destroyed.”
- Anna Hazare.
Gram Sabha
The Gandhian philosophy on rural development considers the Gram Sabha as an important democratic institution for collective decision making in the villages of India. Hazare campaigned between 1998 and 2006 for amending the Gram Sabha Act, so that the villagers have a say in the development works in their village. The state government initially refused, but eventually gave in due to public pressure. As per the amendments, it is mandatory to seek the sanction of the Gram Sabha (an assembly of all village adults, and not just the few elected representatives in the gram panchayat) for expenditures on development works in the village. In case of expenditure without the sanction of the Gram Sabha, 20% of Gram Sabha members can lodge a complaint to the chief executive officer of the zilla parishad (the district-level governing body) with their signatures. The chief executive officer is required to visit the village and conduct an inquiry within 30 days and submit a report to the divisional commissioner, who has the power to remove the sarpanch or deputy sarpanch and dismiss the gram sevak involved. Hazare was not satisfied as the amended Act did not include the right to recall a sarpanch. He insisted that this should be included and the state government relented.
Against Corruption
In 1991 Hazare launched the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA) (People's Movement against Corruption), a popular movement to fight against corruption in Ralegaon Siddhi. In the same year he protested against the collusion between 40 forest officials and timber merchants. This protest resulted in the transfer and suspension of these officials.
”All corrupt ministers should be sacked. They are behaving like traitors of our country.”
- Anna Hazare.
Right to Information Act
In the early 2000s Hazare led a movement in Maharashtra state which forced the state government to pass a stronger Maharashtra Right to Information Act. This Act was later considered as the base document for the Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI), enacted by the Union Government. It also ensured that the President of India assented to this new Act. Law professor Alasdair Scott Roberts said:
The state of Maharashtra – home to one of the world's largest cities, Mumbai, adopted a Right to Information Act in 2003, prodded by the hunger strike of prominent activist, Anna Hazare. ("All corruption can end only if there is freedom of information," said Hazare, who resumed his strike in February 2004 to push for better enforcement of the Act).On 20 July 2006 the Union Cabinet amended the Right to Information Act 2005 to exclude the file notings by the government officials from its purview. Hazare began his fast unto death on 9 August 2006 in Alandi against the proposed amendment. He ended his fast on 19 August 2006, after the government agreed to change its earlier decision.
"How can the government stop anyone from protesting? The land is not their 'father's property'. The citizens are the masters of this country and the ministers are their servants"
- Anna Hazare.
Lokpal Bill movement
On 5 April 2011 Hazare initiated a movement for passing a stronger anti-corruption Lokpal (ombudsman) bill in the Indian Parliament. Along with members of the India Against CorruptionSupreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka N. Santosh Hegde and Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court, drafted an alternate bill called the Jan Lokpal Bill (People's Ombudsman Bill). This bill provides more stringent provisions and wider power to the Lokpal movement, former justice of the (Ombudsman).
”I would like to thank the people of India for their immense support. I request everyone to stay peaceful as long as this Fast Unto Death continues, and take it forward non-violently.”
- Anna Hazare.
THE CORRUPTION FREE INDIA . WE ARE WITH YOU.
1 comment:
share it man
by
sumesh
Post a Comment