At 10.58 am local time, Anna Hazare, India’s anti-corruption activist and now the hero of the 1.20 billion, broke his 5-day long fast. With that celebration has broken all across India as millions of Indians, demanding the draft anti-corruption law Jan Lokpal Bill, are expressing their spontaneous joy over the victory of the first battle of the long war against corruption.
On Friday evening citizens across the country took part in candlelight vigil and relay hunger strikes to express solidarity to Anna Hazare and his demand for Jan Lokpal Bill. At 9 pm, shortly after many of them returned home, they heard the good news: Government had conceded the demands of Hazare and an agreement had been reached. However, Anna himself declined to say much and reserved his comments for the morning. Those who were ready to break into cheers, held back their urge.
Today, after Hazare broke his fast and said that government had accepted every single demand. The demands included constituting an independent committee in which 50% members would be civil society members, to prepare the draft of the Lokpal Bill. This was first vehemently opposed by the government, but has been now accepted and has also issued a notification for constituting the body. The bill, once drafted, will be introduced in the parliament’s monsoon session that is due in June. It’s the first time in the history of India that a law will be drafted by commoners without any political inclinations.
At the time of writing this, nearly 25 thousand people are gathered at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar – the venue where Anna Hazare and his 150-strong contingent of supporters observed fast for 5 days. A victory march is underway right now. News of similar celebration has also started pouring in from over a hundred towns as each of India’s 29 states celebrates the victory of people’s movement. The places include metros like Mumbai and Kolkta, as well as little known districts villages such as Kokrajhar in Eastern India to Bicholim in Goa in the west.
Civil rights activists, students, young professionals, entrepreneurs and journalists are taking part in the march and loudly reiterating what Hazare said in Jantar Mantar: This is just a battle won, the war against corruption continues.
In most of these places, the celebration will be followed by citizens taking a pledge to ‘neither pay, nor take bribe’.