Kisan Baburao Anna Hazare

June 15, 1937

Kisan Baburao “Anna” Hazare is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish official corruption. In addition to organising and encouraging grassroots movements, Hazare frequently conducted hunger strikes to further his causes-a tactic reminiscent, to many, of the work of Mohandas K. Gandhi. Hazare also contributed to the development and structuring of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan-the third-highest civilian award-by the Government of India in 1992 for his efforts in establishing this village as a model for others.

Anna Hazare started an indefinite hunger strike on 5 April 2011 to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a stringent anti-corruption law, The Lokpal Bill, 2011 as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, for the institution of an ombudsman with the power to deal with corruption in public places. The fast led to nation-wide protests in support. The fast ended on 9 April 2011, a day after the government accepted Hazare’s demands. The government issued a gazette notification on the formation of a joint committee, consisting of government and civil society representatives, to draft the legislation.

Foreign Policy magazine named him among top 100 global thinkers in 2011. Also in 2011 Anna was ranked as the most influential person in Mumbai by a national daily newspaper.He has faced criticism for his authoritarian views on justice, including death as punishment for corrupt public officials and his alleged support for forced vasectomies as a method of family planning.