Short Biography of Anna Hazare and What is Lokpal Bill and Latest Wallpapers to Support Anna Hazare's Anti-Corruption Movement

Name: Kisan Bapat Baburao Hazare known as Anna Hazare
Birth Date: 15 January 1940

Anna Hazare was born in Bhingar village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state in western India to Baburao Hazare and Laxmi Bai, an unskilled labourer family
He was raised by his childless aunt in Mumbai but could not continue beyond VII standard and had to quit midway due to problems. He has two sisters. He is unmarried.

Anna had enrolled with the Army on April 14, 1963.
He had completed his training at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
He had joined the service as a recruit.
He was attested as a soldier on November 16, 1963.
He was holding the rank of sepoy at the time of leaving the service.

Anna Hazare started his career as a driver in the Indian Army.
During his 15-year tenure as a soldier, he was posted to several states like Sikkim, Bhutan, Jammu-Kashmir, Assam, Mizoram, Leh and Ladakh and braved challenging weathers.

When Anna was in Army five medals were notified to Anna –
1. Sainya Seva Medal,
2. Nine Years Long Service Medal,
3. Sangram Medal,
4. 25th Independent Anniversary Medal
5. Paschimi Star

Anna was greatly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings. In the year 1965, Pakistan attacked India and at that time, Hazare was posted at the Khemkaran border. On November 12, 1965, Pakistan launched air attacks on Indian base and all of Hazare’s comrades became martyrs In 1978, he took voluntary retirement from the 9th Maratha Battalion

After serving 15 Years in Army Anna took the voluntary retirement and returned to his native place in Ralegan Siddhi, in the Parner tehsil of Ahmednagar district.

Background of the movement
The movement started due to the resentment because of the serious differences between the draft Lokpal Bill 2010 prepared by the government and the Jan Lokpal Bill prepared by the members of this movement, which has received significant public support:

In 2011, Anna Hazare led a movement for passing a stronger anti-corruption Lokpal (ombudsman) bill in the Indian Parliament. As a part of this movement, N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka, Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court along with the members of the India Against Corruption movement drafted an alternate bill, named as the Jan Lokpal Bill (People’s Ombudsman Bill) with more stringent provisions and wider power to the Lokpal (Ombudsman). Hazare has started a fast up to death from 5 April 2011 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, to press for the demand to form a joint committee of the representatives of the Government and the civil society to draft a new bill with more stronger penal actions and more independenceto the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Ombudsmen in the states), after his demand was rejected by the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh.

The movement attracted attention very quickly through various media. It has been reported that thousands of people joined to support Hazare’s effort. Almost 150 people are reported to join Hazare in his fast. He said that he would not allow any politician to sit with him in this movement. Many social activists including Medha Patkar,Arvind Kejriwal and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi have lent their support to Hazare’s hunger strike and anti-corruption campaign. This movement has also been joined by many people providing their support in Internet social media such as twitter and facebook. In addition to spiritual leaders Swami Ramdev,Swami Agnivesh and former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev, many bollywood celebrities like Shekhar Kapur, Siddharth Narayan, Anupam Kher, Madhur Bhandarkar, Pritish Nandy, Priyanka Chopra, Prakash Raj,Aamir Khan, Chetan Bhagat showed their public support through twitter. As an outcome of this movement, on 6 April, 2011 Sharad Pawar resigned from the group of ministers formed for reviewing the draft Lokpal bill 2010.
Anna Hazare started his “Fast until Death” at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, stating “I will fast until Jan Lokpal Bill is passed”

The movement gathered quite a significant amount of support from India’s youth visible through the local support and on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Draft Lokpal Bill 2010

1. Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by LS Speaker or RS Chairman.
2. Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body. Its part is only limited to forwarding its report to the “Competent Authority”
3. Lokpal will not have any police powers. It can not register FIRs or proceed with criminal investigations.
4. CBI and Lokpal will have no connection with each other.
5. Punishment for corruption will be minimum 6 months and maximum up-to 7 years.
6. Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
7. Lokpal will be much more than an Advisory Body. It should be granted powers to initiate Prosecution against anyone found guilty.
8. Lokpal will have police powers. To say that it will be able to register FIRs.
9. Lokpal and anti corruption wing of CBI will be one Independent body.
10. The punishment should be minimum 5 years and maximum up-to life imprisonment.
11. Lokpal will not be a monopoly for particular area

Jan Lokpal Bill

1. Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
2. Lokpal will be much more than an Advisory Body. It should be granted powers to initiate Prosecution against anyone found guilty.
3. Lokpal will have police powers. To say that it will be able to register FIRs.
4. Lokpal and anti corruption wing of CBI will be one Independent body.
5. The punishment should be minimum 5 years and maximum up-to life imprisonment.
6. Lokpal will not be a monopoly for particular area

Latest Anna Hazare Wallpapers to Support for STOP Corruption in India

 

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Anna Hazare rejects one crore cash award

Anna Hazare rejects one crore cash award

Social activist Anna Hazare, whose fast for a stronger anti-corruption Lok Pal Bill last month made global headlines, has spurned the Rs one crore 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize announced by the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM).

"I have rejected the award announced by the Delhi-based organisation," Hazare told reporters at Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district.

"I cannot tell why I decided to reject the award. But my mind said ''no'' to accepting the award," Hazare said.

The award carries a cash reward of one crore rupees, a gold medal and a citation.

While announcing the award, IIPM Dean, Professor Arindam Chaudhuri, had said the anti-corruption crusader was selected for the award "to show strong solidarity" to his determined and non-violent protest against corruption.

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What is Lokpall Bill - Will it STOP the Corruption from ground level

SINCE 1968, the Lokpal Bill has been presented in parliament for a total of eight times. All the eight versions have been very weak in terms of making corruption a heavily punishable offence. But even these diluted versions have not been passed so far as the Lokpal Bill intends to investigate political leaders of the country.

The most recent draft of the Lokpal Bill put together by the present UPA government is completely ineffectual. Instead of empowering anti-corruption systems and checks and balances against the corrupt - it destroys whatever exists in the name of anti-corruption systems today.

Presently, the Lokpal Bill aims to protect political leaders from any kind of action against them, which is why anti-corruption activists and organizations have suggested formulating a Jan Lokpal Bill. This Bill seeks to include the presence of members of civil society as founding members of the Lokpal Bill apart from representatives from the government.

Representations by leading civil rights leaders and anti-corruption organizations led by Anna Hazare, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and rallies by Sri Sri Ravi Shanker and Yoga guru turned anti-corruption activist Swami Ramdev, have helped communicate the seriousness of civil society to form and pass the Jan Lokpal Bill.

The Jan Lokpal Bill envisages the following to decrease, and ultimately remove corruption from the country.

1. An institution called Lokpal at the centre and Lokayukta in each state will be set up.

2. Like the Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.

3. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore. Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in the next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.

4. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.

5. If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers. The penalty will be given as compensation to the complainant.

A citizen can approach Lokpal if his ration card, passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering his case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time.

Lokpal will have to get it done in a month’s time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal such as ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads being constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off.

Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.

6. There are also safeguards against the government appointing corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members. This won’t be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities, and not by politicians - through a completely transparent and participatory process.

7.  Action will be taken if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt. The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the guilty officer dismissed within two months.
8. The Jan Lokpal Bill will appropriate existing anti-corruption agencies. CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branches of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.

9. It will also be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption.

The Jan Lokpal Bill will make costs and penalties of corruption prohibitive for those who are caught in corrupt practices. The Bill provides a methodical, transparent, and fair system to oversee day to day governance in terms of ethical dealings by government officials.

It will also send out a strong message that the corrupt can no longer get away by politicizing cases of corruption and taking shelter of the influential as they themselves will be as liable if implicated.

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