Anna Hazare

Anna Hazare turned a poor, drought-hit village into a national model, then led the biggest anti-corruption movement independent India had seen. His 2011 hunger strikes forced Parliament to create the Lokpal, a national anti-corruption ombudsman.

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Ethics & Philosophy · Ethics0080

Anna Hazare

From Ralegan Siddhi to the Lokpal

1975

Leaves the Army, begins transforming his village, Ralegan Siddhi.

1992

Awarded the Padma Bhushan, for rural development work.

Apr & Aug 2011

Fasts at Jantar Mantar, then Ramlila Maidan, for a strong Lokpal Bill.

Dec 2013

Parliament passes the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act.

Still Protesting, 2026

Now 89, Hazare still speaks out on national issues — urging “the path of democracy,” not force, after a 2026 student protest wave.

📑 Contents

1Must Know
2Good to Know
3Test Yourself
4Great to Know
5Current Affairs

Must Know

Anna Hazare was born Kisan Baburao Hazare, on 15 June 1937, in Bhingar, in the Bombay Presidency.
He served in the Indian Army from 1960 to 1975, working for years as a truck driver.
He survived an ambush during the 1965 war with Pakistan, at the Khem Karan sector.
He later called this a turning point, and returned to his native village, Ralegan Siddhi, in Maharashtra.
He found Ralegan Siddhi poor, short of water, and troubled by alcoholism.
From 1975, he led watershed and water-harvesting work there, and pushed to shut down local liquor shops.
Irrigated land in the village grew from about 70 acres to roughly 2,500 acres over the following years.
For this work, he received the Padma Shri in 1990, and the Padma Bhushan in 1992.
In 2011, he launched the India Against Corruption movement, demanding a strong Jan Lokpal Bill.
He fasted at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, from 5 to 9 April 2011, until the government agreed to form a joint drafting committee.
He fasted again at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi, from 16 to 28 August 2011, after a brief arrest.
Parliament eventually passed the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act in December 2013, creating a national anti-corruption ombudsman. See Polity0305 — Lokpal for how the institution itself works.

Good to Know

Arvind Kejriwal served alongside Hazare on the joint committee set up to draft the Lokpal Bill.
Kejriwal later left the movement to found the Aam Aadmi Party, entering electoral politics directly.
Hazare himself chose to stay outside party politics, favouring a non-political, Gandhian style of protest.
This difference in approach created real friction between the two, especially in the movement’s early years.
Hazare has continued to use fasts and public protest on issues like farmers’ rights and land acquisition.

Test Yourself

Great to Know

Hazare established a grain bank at Ralegan Siddhi in 1980, to help villagers through lean years.
He also helped set up schools in the village, including a pre-school in 1976 and a high school in 1979.
Ralegan Siddhi’s transformation is still cited as a model for rural water and community development.

Current Affairs

On 26 July 2026, at Ahilyanagar, Hazare urged all sides in a national protest to keep following “the path of democracy.” (Source: Outlook India, 26 Jul 2026)
His remarks followed the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, on 25 July 2026, after weeks of student-led protests. (Source: CNN, 25 Jul 2026)
The protests, led by a youth movement called the Cockroach Janta Party, were driven by repeated leaks of national exam papers. (Source: Al Jazeera, 25 Jul 2026)
Hazare said grievances like these must be resolved through dialogue, not force or unilateral decisions. (Source: Outlook India, 26 Jul 2026)

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