How Anna Hazare Faded Into Irrelevance?

Social activist Anna Hazare once had a massive fanbase in India. He had media channels gushing over him even if he yawned from the stage of ‘India against corruption’.

Social activist Anna Hazare once had a massive fanbase in India. He had media channels gushing over him even if he yawned from the stage of ‘India against corruption’. People were wearing caps with ‘Mai Bhi Anna’ (I am also Anna) written over them. His single call to protest would gather thousands on Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and Ramlila grounds. People would call him the next Gandhi of India. Nobody can deny that Anna Hazare and his agitation for Lokpal was one of the main reasons behind the fall of the UPA government in 2014.

Almost 7 years down the line, Anna Hazare, who was once an apple of the Indian middle class’s eye, has become absolutely irrelevant and lonely. His calls for protest are often not met with a response from the masses or he himself backs out after little convincing by the government. His comrades in the anti-corruption movement have either joined BJP, formed own political ventures or distanced themselves from activism. Anna, meanwhile, sits in Ralegan-Sidhi in his house, probably pondering upon this question- where did things go wrong?

Hazare’s campaign for Lokpal, an independent anti-corruption ombudsman, resulted in the passage of the Lokpal law. However, more than six years after the Lokpal law received the President’s assent, the institution of the Lokpal is yet to play any significant role in tackling corruption in the country. Other than severe delay in appointments, the lack of political will of the BJP government made sure that Hazare’s movement did not reach the conclusion it aimed to reach.

During last 6 years, the social activist from Maharashtra gave several calls for protest to rejuvenate his old demands and people’s anger.

Resuming The Battle For Lokpal

5 years after the law was passed in parliament, Hazare resumed his battle for Jan Lokpal Bill in 2018 and announced a fresh agitation from March 23. In his list of demands, Hazare also added the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which has suggested ways to address the agrarian crisis. The turnout for this protest was nothing compared to the crowds Hazare pulled during his protest in 2011. The leader, however, ended six days fast at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, saying he had been assured by the government that appointments of Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states would be made soon. He gave the government six months time to come good on its assurance and warned that his protests would begin again if the demand was not met.

Anna Back At It Again

In 2019, Hazare started his indefinite fast in Ralegan Siddhi on January 30 over appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs after the BJP government failed to fullfill its promises made in 2018. Hazare began his fast demanding appointment of Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states where such statutory anti-corruption watchdogs do not exist, and resolution of farmers’ issues. At the Yadav Baba temple where Hazare sat on his strike since 30 January, there were only a handful of his dogged followers native to Ralegan Siddhi. Not one renowned name travelled to the village to join hands with Hazare.

During this agitation, Hazare claimed that senior BJP leaders who once vehemently backed his Lokpal demand had turned ‘allergic’ to it after coming to power and accused the ruling dispensation of betraying people who voted it to power in 2014.

“During my Ramlila Maidan agitation on Lokpal and Lokayukta, the entire country stood up. An atmosphere was created. That is the reason why you (BJP) came to power. Now you are betraying the people who brought you to power,” Hazare had said.

“Leaders like Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj had once vehemently defended the Lokpal demand in Parliament. But after coming to power, they are mum over it. It looks like they are allergic to Lokpal and Lokayukta. The agitation brought them to power but they have forgotten it,” he had said.

However, Hazare again called off his fast after a marathon meeting with then Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and two union ministers in Ralegan Siddhi.

“I have decided to call off my fast after satisfactory talks with Fadnavis and the other ministers,” the social activist told reporters.

The government did not act on its promise once again and Anna should have realised back then that he was just a pawn that was used as a political tool to gain power.

Anna For Farmers

Cut to December 2020, farmers’ agaitation started gaining momentum against the three new farm laws passed by the Modi government. Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Western UP gathered at the borders of national capital demanding repeal of the laws.

Hazare must have thought that it was a right time to come back to mainstream since he had faded away into irrelevance due to his failure in demanding accoutability from the BJP government.

Hazare wrote to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar warning “resumption of a hunger strike” against the Centre’s “failure” to fulfil his demands including the implementation of the recommendations made by MS Swaminathan Commission. Hazare observed a fast on December 8 in support of the Bharat Bandh called by farmer organisations demanding a repeal of the Centre’s three agri laws.

By the end of December, Hazare warned that he will launch an agitation in New Delhi in January on issues concerning farmers if the Centre did not take a firm decision on his demands.

“The government is just giving empty promises due to which I do not have any trust left (in the government)…Let’s see, what action the Centre takes on my demands. They have sought time for a month, so I have given them time till January-end. If my demands are not met, I will resume my huger strike protest. This would be my last protest,” Hazare said.

After being ignored by the government, Hazare decided to go on a hunger strike from January 30. He made the announcement on Thursday.

Anna Not With Farmers?

However, once again, he cancelled the fast he had planned after the former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met him along with other BJP leaders lat Friday.

“Fadnavis ji and Choudhary ji came with a message from the Union Minister, which said that there was a delay from their side but they are ready to work on the issues raised by me. I had suggested 15 points and I am confident that the committee will resolve the issues. After developing the trust about this, I have decided to suspend the agitation…,” said Hazare.

It was enough for Hazare’s critic to reiterate how the social activist has always acted on behalf of the BJP and did not actually care for the cause of people.

It’s also fascinating to analyse how, slowly over the years, Hazare lost the plot and fan following that he once enjoyed.

Anna’s Affair With The Right Wing

The Gandhian activist’s 2003 fast, which forced four Maharashtra ministers to quit and led to the enactment of the Right to Information Act in the state, saw social justice crusaders like GP Pradhan, Baba Adhav and Govind Shroff stand by him.

The 2011 movement against corruption saw presence of Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Medha Patkar and Vishwambhar Choudhuri.

However, since BJP came to power in 2014, Hazare lost people who would look after the management of his protest. While on his way out, Vishwambhar Choudhari told Times of India that it was the abysmal lack of buzz surrounding Anna’s March 2018 stir in Delhi that drove him to dissociate himself from the movement. “There was no strategy, no planning, no clarity on demands. Earlier, he had a core committee and a process for holding negotiations. Now it is only Anna and the government who do the talking,” he had said.

In September 2020, Hazare’s comrade in IAC movement Prashant Bhushan claimed that movement against the Manmohan Singh’s UPA-II government in 2011-12 was propped up by the BJP-RSS.

In an interview with India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai, Bhushan said: “In hindsight there are two things I do regret. One is not having seen the movement to a large extent was supported and propped up by the BJP-RSS for their own political purposes to bring down the Congress government and get themselves in power,” he said.

When asked to clarify his statement, he said, “I have no doubt about it today.” He, however, said Anna Hazare was “probably not aware of it.”

In his 2019 article for LiveMint, Manu Joseph wrote that before Hazare’s famous Delhi fast in 2011, he was only remotely known as an activist. Editors considered him a puritan and were unaware of the right-wing slant of his beliefs.

A Financial Express report notes that after the Lok Sabha vote on the Jan Lokpal Bill was concluded in 2011, television reporters had asked Hazare what he thought of the BJP, which like the Congress, had not endorsed the essential features of the Lokpal in Parliament. Hazare abruptly got up and walked away, to the utter astonishment of reporters and Arvind Kejriwal, who sitting next to Anna.

Anna’s proximity to the BJP was not known earlier to many people. It is only upto the Maharashtra activist to reveal whether his anti-corruption movement was backed by the BJP/RSS. Even if Hazare was unaware of the backing his movement got from the right wing, the lack of response to his protest calls against the BJP government is evident that he is no more able to pull the crowds the way he did in the beginning of the decade.

It’s totally upto the wise to understand whether its because people are truly happy with the current governments performance and policies that they choose not to back Hazare once again, or whether people who backed Hazare back then were actually brought in with the influence of those who are in power today.

In the game of politics, Hazare, whose prospects of becoming next Gandhi were being discussed in the beggining of the decade, now stands belittled and ineffective in front of the strong regime ten years later.