Ignoring Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's appeal, veteran social activist Anna Hazare began an indefinite fast on Tuesday pressing for a more stringent anti-corruption Lokpal bill.The call has evoked a massive response across the country with even the high profile NAC led by Sonia Gandhi in broad agreement with civil society.Responding to the call of Anna Hazare, hundreds turn into Satyagrahis and along with him, fast for a strong Lokpal bill to fight corruption in high places in cities across the country. For a nation that ranks at the bottom of the heap on corruption, this solidarity is not surprising.
“We do not want yet another advisory body,” said Kiran Bedi.
36 comments:
After all a single man with guts have rose up to the occasion and taken a stand against the dirty dance of the corruption the 125 cr men country n worlds bi is witnessing.
Obviously no political party can support the lokpal bill as it will kill avenues of making money for which they have taken politics as their career.
Where were all the social workers and high profile public service icons gone for so many days. Not a single entity came forward to register a protest.
What a shame/pity ??
Bharatmata.
==> I really really hope and pray that all efforts of Anna Hazzare works. I hope it changes 'aam aadmi' thinking. Corruption is not only in govt but more in aam admi who is ready to take shortcuts to get ahead in line.
My next question is how long will the changes last?
M. Gandhiji fought for so many struggles to get things online after so many years of British rulers. But all changed... Gandhiji preached, practiced, lived and died for 'swadeshi' movement and freedom. But today we all are dependent on foriegn goods. What happened? ohh fancy term in morden world 'globalization'.
Anna Hazzare is a boble man and deserves support from all the citizens. But the reality is that the crooks running the government and their masters 'corporations' are unlikely to be moved by his actions. At the most they may pretend to succumb to public pressure, make lot of propoganda, shed some crocodile tears, sack or jail some useless employees, but at the end carry on business as usual.
To get rid of corruption, first and foremost task should be to replace the british model judiciary and opt for something similar to american one. The current system is not only inefficient but extremely corrupt.
Once the nation fixes the foundation, in our case judiciary, rest of the processes will automatically correct themselves.
Even million Anna Hazares wont make a dent to the current system. if the current judicial system is allowed to continue
Anon above:
It is a slow gradual process. The first thing is to get what Anna is fighting for. Then think of the second step.
All people who are against corruption, why are they even buying RE when they are with Anna's movement. RE itself is so corrupt that it has risen 10 times from its original prices in the past 5 years. Once crime is caught, RE also would correct by 60%.
@Anon above,
I agree with your points. However, to replacing the judiciary means fiddling with the constitution. This requires a non coalition strong government that we unlikely to get in the near future. Our legal system is lame and blind that serves the purpose of cheaters and corrupt and these guys will never allow touching the present system.
If there was exemplary punishment for those convicted of white collar crimes, we wouldn't have seen the black money, hoarding, tax evasion etc etc.In other words, our social system would have been an ideal one. But then, if all resources are shared equally, like a communist regime, most of us would have fallen below poverty line.
I am sure none of us want an ideal system. If you have brains and n ideals, you would enjoy a country like ours where you can buy all services you want, no matter how you do it.
&0% of Mumbai population lives in slums. Even if the real estate prices decline by 70*, still you will find 70% of people in slums. Outsiders will come and buy the homes resulting in a slight increase in population, but the overall situation will remain the same
I am sure none of us want an ideal system. If you have brains and n ideals, you would enjoy a country like ours where you can buy all services you want, no matter how you do it.
==> Best comment seen in this blog lately. Only exception is for Indians cross out 'ideals' from your sentence.
Read somewhere a simple formula for life in India: "Eat or be Eaten".
Kesbekars comment about slums deserve merit. Slum eradication is not easy as everyday people arrive at urban cities and settle in slums. Often Govt. uproots these slum dwellers in the name of development, takes them to transit camps that are in fact worse slums controlled by gangsters. In these process, the muncipal staff, police, magistrates who pass the demolution orders, pocket some money. To sum it all, slum rehabitilation has been creating more and more slums. One prime example is malwani which has become a breeding ground for criminals.
People pay in crores and buy property/homes fully aware of the surroundings and then forever complain about unhygene, criminality, diseases etc etc. The complaints have no meanings and therefore everyone shruggs off treating it as routine grumbling. Real Estate prices keep on increasing even in slums, and the same people complaing about slums rush to buy paying hefty price.
When customers are ready to pay, why would the developers decrease the prices. As long as prices are high, everybodys palm gets greased, banks make money, politicians get their cut and we cry on blogs.
Comparing us with developed countries is not going to make us developed. Unless we adhere to honest principles, nothing is going to change including rreal estate prices.
I have great admiration towarda Anna Hazare, but his fasting etc is not going to make any changes. Changes will occur when people realise that 'enough is enough' and revolt against the system
It would be interesting to wait and see the outcome of this agitation. Already, hazare's version of organization exists in Karnataka. I believe that it is called 'Lokayukta' and has done wonders in rooting out corruption at lower level. I don't understand why there is so much resistance from the maharashtra govt in vetting his proposal. It will benefit a lot and foundation of real estate mafia will be shaken if not dislodged.
Dear Alok:
You say why is there so much resistance from Maharashtra Govt?
The answer is special interests. 99% people in the World want power to make a fortune for themselves. And get more to spend in next elections and get re-elected. In India it is extremes.
Drinking India’s tap water can yield more than a bad case of Delhi belly.
Scientists testing water samples from New Delhi found more than a dozen species of bacteria, ranging from strains that cause pneumonia to cholera. The bugs had genes that enable them to resist almost all medicines, according to a study published today in the medical journal The Lancet.
The research exposes the role played by India, a booming economy with more mobile-phone subscribers than toilets, in fanning the development of drug-evading bacteria. As 30 million people fly out of the country annually, some are leaving with bowel-dwelling bugs that may cause deadly sepsis and defeat the most powerful antibiotic treatments.
Fifty-four percent of the 1.2 billion people in India, the second-fastest growing of the world’s major economies, lacked a toilet in 2008 and were forced to defecate in fields, on riverbanks and railway tracks and other open spaces, according to a 2010 United Nations report. Only one in five people had water piped into the home.
By Jim Rogers:
Q. What do you make of India?
A. I am not optimistic. I’m short India, as a matter of fact. I can go on and on about the shortcomings of India and how people don’t understand India, but the one fact is that India now has now a 90% debt to GDP ratio, which, for some reason, the bulls either don’t know or ignore. As you probably know, the studies show that when a country gets to 90% to GDP it’s very difficult to grow very rapidly because everything you’re doing is paying off the debts of the past. So no matter how productive and dynamic you are, you’ve still got a big burden. So for that and all the other reasons, I’m less optimistic about India then most people. It’s a phenomenal country to visit, but boy, it’s tough to do business there. Even for Indians, it’s tough to do business there.
The pursuit of India’s elite is to protect themselves from India — from its crowds, dust, heat, poverty, politics, governance and everything else that is in plain sight. To achieve this, they embed themselves in their private islands that the forces and the odors of the republic cannot easily penetrate.
The islands that protect Indians from India are simple and material: A luxurious car with an unspeaking driver who works for 12 hours every day at less than $200 a month, or at least an S.U.V. with strong metal fenders that can absorb routine minor accidents. A house in a beautiful residential community that the Other Indians can enter only as maids and drivers. Membership in an exclusive club. Essentially a life in a bubble where there is no sign of the government except for the treachery of the service tax.
This is not the life of the terrifyingly rich alone but also the skilled middle class employed in the private sector.
Shekhar Gupta, editor in chief of The Indian Express, described this population in one of his columns as “long divorced and insulated” from the Indian government. “All of us learnt to become individual, sovereign republics. We send our children to private schools, get treatment only in private hospitals, have our own security in gated communities, never need to use public transport, even own our own diesel gensets to produce power, and in many parts of the country, arrange our own water supply, either through our own borewells or tankers.”
This is happening in Australia:
A CAMPAIGN urging first-home buyers to take part in a "buyer's strike" in an effort to drive down property prices is gaining momentum.
Prosper Australia, a tax reform lobby group, warns that the property bubble is about to burst, and first-home buyers should stand aside, because they will be the worst affected when real estate prices fall.
Spokesman David Collyer said first-home buyers face financial ruin if house prices crash to a point that the market value is less than their debt.
"The problem is that prices have got so far that two solid jobs and a good deposit is no longer enough to buy a house in Melbourne," he said.
If you cannot join the fast, at least wear a topi against corruption
Whatever is possible we should do to support anna hazare, it is the first step, it is now or never. write across blogs, email, sms, all that is possible, lets flood internet with support for anna. in coming days there could be people gatherings in major cities to show the support, if it happens in ur city, please go and join, with at least 10 others with you. please don't be lazy this time. we always complain and expect somebody to take up. now we have man who has taken head on, lets support aggressively.
One thing common in India between rich, middle and poor class; aam aadmi and politicians, businessmen ; culture from north to south, east to west India ; thin to fat guys is C O R R U P T I O N
One way to fight C is technology and innovations. Technology transfers power from single source to process that almost cannot be overridden without possibility of exposure to masses.
Currently atleast so called technology companies in India are doing slavery shitty work for westerners.
Enough of India bashing. If any of you are not happy with our country, we don't prevent you leaving.
If you compare corruption in western world, ours is nothing. Few people make few extra rupees, does not mean the whole country is corrupt.
The back biting lot are more dangerous than corrupt.
The LOKPAL bill is not the panacea for all ills in Indian society but will be the start of LOT OF GOOD TIMES TO COME FOR THIS COUNTRY.
LOKPAL will look into corruption in say LAND DEALS. Subsequently any judgement will ask the GOI to reform its land deals transactions, so that they are transparent. Leading to a massive disincentive for corruption.
IMO the LOKPAL will see a huge activistic movement for reforms in every facet of life in India. Once you've disabled corruption and the resultant BLACK economy, Indian economy will gain traction. Politics will see more people with scrupuls as money power will be reduced.
I was introduced to the works of Anna Hazare in 2005. I met a young student worker of his, on the bus from GOA-PUNE, he briefed me on the works of their movement. As a brit-Indian i was very thrilled and hopefull for India listening to him.
AH has been a strong force behind the RTI, which has given us an insight into all these scams. By targetting the father of SCAMSTER Sharad Pawar, he will make naked corruption less attractive in this country. The LOKPAL bill is the teeth for the RTI act, where these crooks will be hauled over the coals instead of being seen handing over WC Trophies
==>uhhh -- no or less corruption. WHAT? How will we survive ? Corruption is business process. Are we talking to change business practices of Indians that has been since centuries.
Come on guys... you must be kidding.
Anna Hazare is now getting support from all quarters of society. People are seeing him like present day Gandhi. This country really needs few more Revolutionary Men like him.
The very foundation of corrrupt government has started shaking. Anna Hazare has achieved the impossible.
I can see the real estate mafia and their patron ministers sweating. It wont be long before they give up. Let us also join Anna Hazare
I wonder if all the people participating with Anna Hazare were/are never corrupt?
I wonder if all the people supporting Anna Hazare know real meaning of fight and process what this Lokpal bill is.
I wonder if all the people supporting non-corrupt movement understand the consequences of being non-corrupt, are these disciplined to wait in queue for hr and not to cut corners for their benefits..
I wonder if Indians are that civilized to follow law and not to use loop holes.
We talk as if only politicians are corrupt. Go see inside of aam admi -- sometimes aam aadmi is more dangerous.
Amidst all the hue and cry about corruption, here is another masterstroke from the government. They are planning to get data from the Swiss banks only from Jan 2011 onwards - thereby ignoring a mere 50-odd years of stashed black money.
TOI article link
They must really feel that the public is stupid ... and they're probably correct.
I am not sure about others but u seem to be scared. May be u have always cut the corners in u life. Few people cut the corner and everybody else suffer for that. Western countries may be more corrupt than India at top level but overall people follow rules of land. Standing in queue, following driving rules, giving driving test for license, not vandalizing public property etc. These r small things but that helps to make life easy for everyone.
Sab log be eman phir bhee meta Bharat mahan.
@ Raj
I am not sure about others but u seem to be scared. May be u have always cut the corners in u life. Few people cut the corner and everybody else suffer for that.
==> FEW PEOPLE? Do you even live in India, may be you live under protective shelter of your mom and dad and heavily loaded with money so that you don't directly interact with real world.
Grow up, be a man and face the world.
Indians when go to western country follow rules of land, but as soon as land on air port start spiting on the road side as if it their birth right. Jumping signal is ok because u don't get points for that as mama is happy with 50 td note, when u had accident u get into arguments and talk as if u r father had built the road, u honk like donkey in front of hospital.
This will essentially stop when Saab chalataa hai attitude will stop and people will start caring for others. Lokpal bill will be right step in this direction as it will make corruption more difficult. RTI was right step in that direction, so will be Lokpal bill.
After revolt in Tunisia and Egypt most of the Govts. r scared and certainly current Indian govt. will not take panga with people. This is 21st century, and it belongs to bloggers, twitters and Facebook. You and me can change the world.
@==>
Yes I am in India and stay in real world. It seems to be someone is hurt by comments. If u r then stop cutting the corners, stop living on u dads ill gotten money u will fill better.
I have seen people cutting corner. In college I have seen classmate getting 75% marks not because he was smart, his dad had 5000 rs to pay for professors tuition. This is what mean cutting corner.
Hope u not the same guy.
If u have self respect put u r name instead of ==> what does that mean?
@Mr. Raj
Yes I am in India and stay in real world. It seems to be someone is hurt by comments. If h? u r then stop cutting the corners, stop living on u dads ill gotten money
u will fill better.
==> I am no saint and not lier like you. I have cut corners but only when I WAS FORCED. Have you or your family been threatened? Have you been without power and phone when not given diwali bakshish? Have been out of job when fully qualified, no job because someone knew inside?
well, BTW my friend Mr Raj, I have been sole earner member of family since my dad passed away. So don't question my abilities.
I have seen people cutting corner. In college I have seen classmate getting 75% marks not because he was smart, his dad had 5000 rs to pay for professors tuition. This is what mean cutting corner.
Hope u not the same guy.
If u have self respect put u r name instead of ==> what does that mean?
Hmm... thats all you have seen? too bad.. you have long way to go to understand Indians.
Anyway what is in name, just by naming on some blog as Raj doesn't prove you are Raj.
I still say GROW UP.
To @==>
I am so Sorry to hear about u r father. It must have been very difficult to grow up without father,s support. Again I am so sorry to hear that.
One thing is there Duniya zukati hai zukane wala chahiye.
If u decide to not give up people will learn their lesson and will not bother u.
I had bought Eureka Forbes water filter and paid 20% service charges. It stopped working within 6 months, keep calling service center for months with no success. I was very sure that it will never get fixed. So decided to be Indian, called same company but for buying new machine. Next day sales man came with brand new machine. After treating him well explained him our problem and ask him help us. As expected he started passing the buck on other department and blah blah. So we gave him three options 1) help us fix the problem 2) keep new machine at home take broken machine , fix it and take back new machine or 3) we will take his pictures , story and go to press.he tried to put brave face for long time, but finally give up. He took old machine to fix. I promised him that I will wait for one week before using new machine. I kept my promise but he never came back with repaired machine. Was I happy after doing this? Yes Because I wanted service for which I paid hard earned money and finally I got it. Moral of story fight for what is u r s. I will be happy if this story helps someone.
Entire corruption in this country is just because of one clause in the constitution . That is "special privileges to minorities and women". Anybody fighting against the corruption or wrong doings are punished by filing fake cases on these clause. These are equivalent to tada cases which the innocent has to prove his innocence. Remove this clause there are many men come out to fight in the level ground.
Hope this is the first of nail in the coffin of curruption. Chankya once said we can at best manage curruption, only fools promise of stamping it out.
oh man...you guys sure are like bunch of complaining old ladies..
while you were arguing, a min-revolution happened. keep bitching Mr. Said and Mr. Unsaid, we will fix your problems for you since your balls were surgically removed.
oh man...you guys sure are like bunch of complaining old ladies..
while you were arguing, a min-revolution happened. keep bitching Mr. Said and Mr. Unsaid, we will fix your problems for you since your balls were surgically removed.
==> oye bandar first learn to control your language and then post. Looks like with mini revolution you surgically added more balls... ha ha.
Am glad Anna Hazare's effort taking some effect. But corruption is much deeper than your thinking (if you ever get over your thinking of removing balls, etc...).
In this case something is better than nothing and it is start.
- Will I not have to bribe road side cops, offices.
- will I get any better service from countrymen?
Go figure.
I doubt if this bill will do anything about the curroption prevelent in India.
Housing in India has taken a big turn as developments offer a wide range of choices between 9 and 33 lahk
http://www.propertyleo.com
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