By Gurmukh Singh

Non-resident Indians in Canada have come out in support of Gandhian leader Anna Hazare for his fast unto death demanding the enactment of a comprehensive Jan Lokpal bill to eradicate corruption in India.
The veteran social activist broke a four-day fast last weekend after the government agreed to his demand for civil society’s participation in the drafting of strong anti-graft legislation.
The 72-year-old follower of Mahatma Gandhi launched his hunger strike in New Delhi and was soon joined by thousands of supporters across the country.
Hazare’s campaign came in the wake of a slew of financial scandals that have rocked the Indian National Congress party-led coalition government. Massive public support for Hazare put the government on the back foot.
The government issued a gazette notification last Saturday establishing a joint panel to draft the anti-corruption bill. The panel is to include five federal ministers and five civil society members nominated by Hazare, including himself.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said his government would introduce the bill in Parliament during the monsoon session, due to begin in July, to fight ‘a scourge that confronts all of us.’
‘The fact that civil society and government have joined hands to evolve a consensus to move this historic legislation augurs well for our democracy,’ he said.
Hazare broke his fast by offering lime juice to supporters who had been fasting with him before breaking his own fast.
‘The victory is not mine, it is yours,’ Hazare told a crowd of supporters.
“We Indo-Canadians fully back Anna Hazare’s action to salvage India’s reputation. The country’s image has been sullied by corruption. Commonwealth Games, 2G and housing society scams are the latest in the long list of big scandals in India. As a person of Indian origin, I am very disturbed and feel ashamed of the rampant corruption in my ancestral land,’’ Vancouver-based social activist Balwant Sanghera told IANS.
“We want to see a great image of our ancestral land and we feel proud every time Indians do well - like this World Cup victory. Being an honest person, Manmohan Singh should quickly accept Hazare’s demand for tough laws to deal with corruption. The whole of India should support Hazare’s fast for a great cause,’’ he said.
Supporting Anna Hazare’s fast, former Canadian health minister Ujjal Dosanjh said, “I commend what this great Gandhian is doing and the Indian government should pay heed to his agitation. The kind of support he is getting shows that people are fed up with corruption and looking for a change.’’
Dosanjh, who became Canada’s first non-white premier (chief minister) when he was elected to this top post in British Columbia province in 2000, said, “More than laws, India needs to end the culture of corruption. So, I would urge Anna Hazare to start a movement to change Indian values to end the culture of corruption.’’
Toronto-based physician Birinder Ahluwalia, who runs one of the biggest diagnostic centres in Canada, said he is saddened that “a progressive country like India is still marred by this social ill.’’
Supporting Hazare’s agitation for eradication of corruption, he said, “Corruption is a plague that is hindering India. Almost all developed countires have the lowest corruption Index and boast institutions that are just and fair, and India should have learnt from these countries to attain a respectable status in the world.
“By getting rid of corruption, the trickle-down effect of economic miracle that India enjoys today will end and one will then see all Indians benefiting from economic gains and coming generations can boast of a nation that is living true to its potential.’’
Former Cricket Canada CEO Atul Ahuja told IANS: “All Indians should come out in full force to support Anna Hazare. He is rightly saying that anti-corruption laws should be so strong that they put the fear of God in you. Strip the corrupt of all their dignity and make many more examples of Harshad Mehta.”
Ahuja said investigative agencies should never be under government control as is the case in India now. “I hope Anna Hazare’s fast is the new beginning for India.’’
In Toronto, IIT Alumni Canada (IITAC) also came out strongly in support of Anna Hazare.” This is just the beginning. The end will be when the parliament of India passes the bill and the government starts implementing the proposed Lokpal bill - then an Act of the Indian parliament,” said IITAC past president Chander Dhawan.

Hero wages war on graft

He started as a florist, drove trucks for the army, but Kisan Baburao Hazare, popularly known as Anna Hazare, was destined to do something else in life. The man, who hails from a humble background, has today emerged as the icon of India’s war on corruption.
His diminutive stature hides his steely resolve. Like Mahatma Gandhi, he uses hunger strike as a weapon to hit out at the mighty. In just five days, he has generated a mini revolution in a country where undying hunger for easy money has become a way of life.
The modern day Mahatma, as his supporters fondly call him, fasted for five days in the heart of the capital, drawing tens of thousands from all walks of life who are sick and tired of India’s cancerous corruption.
It is a remarkable achievement for a 73-year-old man who dropped out of school at Class 7 due to poverty, sold flowers for a while and then became a driver in the army to feed his family in a rural part of Maharashtra.
After China’s 1962 incursion into India, Hazare joined the army, where he was trained as a truck driver and given a posting in Punjab.
His days in the army were often spent in reading books by Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave, from whom he drew inspiration.
Much like Mahatma Gandhi, Anna Hazare has led a humble life. He still lives in a small room attached to the Yadavbaba temple in Ralegan-Siddhi village in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district.
His first target was his own village. A long time ago it was a miserable and barren place with scanty rainfall and lacking any economy. It suffered from frequent droughts.
The year was 1975. Launching watershed development programmes, he persuaded people to change their ways and managed to transform the barely breathing village to one Mahatma Gandhi would have been proud of.
India recognised his work by awarding him a Padma Vibhushan and a Padma Bhushan. But, unlike many, he would not rest on his laurels. He unleashed a war on corruption, launching the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan.
With his trademark khadi dress and Gandhi cap, Hazare used his ingrained strength to repeatedly go on hunger strikes that led to the resignation of six ministers from the Maharashtra government.
His campaign also forced the sacking of 400 corrupt officials in his home state Maharashtra.
His reputation as a man of integrity gave him clout that the corrupt found difficult to battle.
He also fought for the rights of tribals, the lowliest of the lowliest.
But he realised that nothing could be achieved until people were empowered.
And so he campaigned extensively for right to information, travelling for more than 12,000 km in Maharashtra, creating awareness about the legislation.
But it was the hunger strike he launched in New Delhi that finally made him a national hero -- in no time igniting a pan-India revolt that stunned the government bogged down by corruption scandals.