Supporting Anna…

As many of you would know, Anna Hazare is going on a fast unto death starting in a few hours today

Pl consider fasting today – even for a few hours, if you can. Alternatively, please consider “Shramdaan” and/ or organising a talk/ meeting in your area to explain the reason(s) behind Anna’s fast and the Lokpal proposal. Please also consider sharing this with your friends.

A former soldier in the Indian army, Anna is one of India’s best-known social activists. Widely acclaimed for his remarkable experiments and initiatives in Ralegaon Siddhi (a drought prone village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra) which transformed an “erstwhile barren village..into a unique model of rural development due to its effective water conservation methods…(and) made the villagers self-sufficient”, Anna is being supported in his fast by a host of other leaders and activists.

Here is more about Anna.  All the strength to Anna and his team.

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat! – Shantanu

B Shantanu

Political Activist, Blogger, Advisor to start-ups, Seed investor. One time VC and ex-Diplomat. Failed mushroom farmer; ex Radio Jockey. Currently involved in Reclaiming India - One Step at a Time.

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13 Responses

  1. Madhusudan says:

    Sir,

    What should I talk about as I am looking forward to organising a meeting/talk in my community. though I have read and heard sufficiently about the scams that marr the country, i wanted some guidance in the flow of presentation. because most of the talk on corruption leaves people high and dry.

    looking forward to your response.

  2. B Shantanu says:

    Madhusudan: Unfortunately I don’t have a ready set of slides but please feel free to pick up points and material from these category of posts and also excerpts from these live chats as well as posts:

    https://satyameva-jayate.org/2011/02/18/nitish-kumar-2/

    https://satyameva-jayate.org/2010/11/29/iaf-livechat-corruption/

    https://satyameva-jayate.org/2009/08/19/tackling-corruption/

    Hope this helps…and I will try and put together something on this soon…Thanks

  3. Dinesh says:

    YADA YADA HI DHARMASYE, GLANI BHAVATI BHARATA, ABHYUDHAMAM ADHARMASYA, TADHATAMAYE SUJAHMAMYAHAM. Whenever sinners starts thriving on Earth, God reborn as Rama, Krishna, Mahatma Gandhi, Jay Prakash Narayan, Vinoba Bhave, Anna Hazare etc…and protects Human Beings. It’s duty of all Indians to stand up against Sinners and Corrupts and support Anna Hazare for Lokpal Bill. BHARAT MATA ki JAI.

  4. Milind says:

    Thanks Shantanu for this post. Me and bunch of my friends have skipped the lunch today. Hope Congress govt gets some sense and accepts the demand of Shri Anna Hazare…

  5. Seema Singh says:

    Well done Anna… Kudos to you… it is also important for us to be aware of our responsibilities after we finish participating in such drives…else it all becomes useless.. look at this to understand exactly what i mean http://www.wahsarkar.com/?p=180

  6. Shantanu says:

    Here is an email which I sent to business standard editor for the editorial on 6th April on Anna Hazare. He went to the extent of calling him a “hazard”. Made me think how many Maharastra Govt ads I’ve seen lately in BS.

    To the Editor,

    Business Standard

    Dear Sir,

    Your article on 06/04/2011 on Mr. Anna Hazare and his fasting is not only disrespectful considering the fact that the subject in question is an aged social activist having some notable contribution in the field of rural development, but is also distasteful. By calling him a “hazard” you have only demeaned and degraded yourself in the eyes of your readers.
    Your comment in the last line that Mr. Hazare should leave resolution of these issues (of corruption and Lokpal bill) to a “democratically elected Government” made me sit up and laugh. In several of your earlier edits you yourself have attacked some of the other “democratically elected Governments” for their apparently faulty policies. Mr. Hazare’s only fault is that after waiting for a long 15 years for introduction of Lok Pal bill to curb corruption, being fed up and tired like many of us in the civil society, he has taken up the battle to the Government’s door in a peaceful and non violent way. “Forcefully hospitalizing and forcefeeding” him may save the Government its skin and may also bring along a smirk on the face of corrupt politicians and officials (and perhaps some people in media as well) but that is not going to help our society in getting justice, in battling against corruption, nepotism and many other vices which your “democratically elected Government” stakeholders are not only supporting but also actively contributing to.

    Given your verbiage and rather caustic remarks against Mr. Hazare, I do not expect much help from print media which has got a lot of vested interest from politicians and Governments (lucrative ads and plum posts to key media persons being some of them). But then again thankfully there is a free media called internet which is doing exceedingly well in mobilizing public opinion.

    Let me also give you an unwarranted and unsolicitated piece of advice Mr. Edit. Long after you and your editorials become blissfully forgotten, Mr. Hazare and his contributions will remain live in the memories of the people. So even by thinking along this way you owe an apology to Mr. Hazare. In that way perhaps you’ll be able to salvage some respect.

    regards
    Shantanu Dey
    Hyderabad
    India

  7. Malavika says:

    Yesterday on Tuesday(5 Apr), there was a rally protesting corruption in Hyd. The response was overwhelming and the venue had to be changed to accommodate bigger crowd. And yes, there is real anger against corruption.

    At the individual level please do spread the awareness about corruption and how it is making life miserable for ALL of us. And impress your friends, family and acquaints about the importance of the anti corruption agenda of Anna. The more support from the aam admi Anna gets the better. then Congi establishment cannot ignore him easily.

  8. Namrata says:

    We need to start a Facebook group called “Supporting Anna Hazare”

    And spread it to every Indian we know…this man has ignited a flame, and it is up to us to spread it and realize his dream of ending corruption. All Indians want corruption to end, what we lack is unity and determination. We need to come out all together, in the cities, villages, and here online, and support this great soul.

    Please, readers, act now, let us begin by what we can do, and we can definitely start an online movement, counting down the hours, minutes and seconds that Anna Hazare’s fast lasts.

    We hope it won’t be long till the Lokpal Bill is passed.

    Jai Hind, Jai Bharat

  9. Khandu Patel says:

    This fast by Anna reminds me of the movement Gandhi led against the British. That battle of wresting control has obviously not been one with independence. India has slave drivers who are worse than the British ever were. At its roots is the acceptance of almost all Hindus high and low, rich and poor of the acceptance of his lot without much question of the powers that be. It is incumbent on all that injustice and incompetence not only should not be tolerated but its head cleanly and quickly cut off. We cannot in the same breadth expect the gods to do it for us by the invocation of mantras and claim divinity in ourselves. I see nothing of the sort when our people are reduce to living in squalor and penury.

  10. Kaffir says:

    I fully support the cause that Shri Hazare-ji is spearheading, but I do not agree with the fast-to-death method. Such methods are nothing but emotional blackmail and I wish that a different – and better – method had been used to make the point. Though I understand that such a method is part of our hoary tradition of protests, and does generate good publicity.

  11. A CHANDRA MOULY says:

    Like British raj and other dictatorial rules, this demo(ns)crasy, may
    not last long,had the greatmen like Anna hajare,should do some thing to
    save and mould it,to tune it to the wishes of the people.