Named as the Lokpal Bill, it allows for the establishment of “Lokpals”— special independent units designed to catch and punish corrupt elected officials. Keeping in mind the power of the bill, it is no surprise that it had failed to pass each time it was introduced (1969, 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008) in the Indian parliament.
This is the eleventh attempt that has been made to pass it. Anna Hazare wants to make sure that it gets passed this time around and is implemented. Hazare wants to see this bill through and had initially assured his followers and the whole of India that if the Indian government did not introduce the bill by August 15, when the monsoon session of the Indian parliament starts, and pass it, he would be a part of the rally at the Red Fort on the Independence Day. But a week later, he showed some flexibility concerning the deadline, provided the government was on the right path. Along with its passing and implementation, Hazare, more importantly, wants to make sure that the bill has some teeth.
The current draft does not have the teeth. For example, in the current version, the Lokpal cannot investigate the accused unless the speaker of the house grants permission. It cannot investigate the prime minister. The judge cannot sentence the corrupted for more than seven years in jail. Anna Hazare wants to change all that.
He wants the Lokpal to be totally independent of the elected officials. He wants Lokpal to have the power to initiate prosecution against anyone on completion of investigation without approval from anyone. He wants those elected officials caught in corruption to face a minimum punishment of 5 years in prison and a maximum of a life sentence. Only when a top level minister goes to jail for life on corruption charges, he says, will there be a “brake” in corruption.
The Hazare proposed Lokpal bill demands that civil society has to be involved in drafting the bill because he knows very well that if only elected officials are responsible to draft this Lokpal Bill, it will not work. Lawmakers will not give it real power. They will incorporate loopholes that will make it a useless piece of legislation. His fight caught the imagination of the entire country which has been exasperated by corrupt leaders ruling over it, and no politician wanted to be against him publicly. Eventually, the prime minister succumbed. The new committee preparing the bill will have fifty percent representation from the government, and fifty percent from the civil society—just as Anna Hazare wanted.
This crusader of justice has history of struggle since his childhood. Born on 15 January 1940 in Bhingar, a small village near the city of Ahmednagar, in Bombay Province (present-day Maharashtra), his family consisted of labor members. Hazare´s father, Baburao Hazare, worked as an unskilled labourer in Ayurveda Ashram Pharmacy. Anna Hazare started his career in the Indian Army as a driver in 1963.
The success of Anna Hazare is thus an example of an extraordinary achievement by an extraordinary man, who started ordinary. He drove trucks for the Indian army at age 15 and fought in the Indo-Pak war of 1965. He took voluntary retirement from the army at the age of 39 to go back to Ralegan Siddhi, a tiny village where he grew up in the Parner tehsil of Ahmednagar district. Highly inspired by Swami Vivekanand’s books, which he first came across at a railway station in New Delhi, Hazare found the purpose of his life. He decided to dedicate his life to serve the society. And he has done so whole-heartedly. He guided his dysfunctional, desperately poor village to turn into a model village of India. Under his leadership, the village which falls on a drought-prone area with a mere 400-500 mm of annual rainfall, has managed to pull itself out of extreme water shortage, making itself sustainable in terms of food grain. The villagers have planted over 3 hundred thousand trees, initiated the concept of collective marriages, curbed alcoholism, and involved the Dalits in the decision making under Hazare’s vision. Over time he developed an impeccable record of honesty and service. It is because of his track record that when he speaks, India listens.
His success tells that in a 21st century democracy, an apolitical civil society has power. Civil society can play an important role in restraining politicians. And, if you have a clear message that resonates with the public, and the credibility, you can make a huge difference—a lot quicker than resorting to violence. Nepal has a lot to learn from Hazare, especially at a time when the judiciary is taking a strong stand against the acts of corruption committed by those in power. With the ball rolling, this would be the perfect time for the Nepali civil society to collectively start a movement to remind the leaders that they are answerable to the country and its people, just as Hazare did in India.
Let us hope that Nepal produces one of its own Anna Hazare.
Writer is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance at Texas A&M International University in Texas, USA
680anand@gmail.com
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