Anna Hazare overwhelmed the country this year by becoming the face of the anti corruption movement. The movement itself grabbed the attention of the urban masses coming, as it did at the tail end of a series of scams as well as the arrests of powerful people accused of wrongdoings.
The old man and his simple ways struck a chord with many. The climax came when the Government seemed to put hurdles in the way of his indefinite fast that he was to go on in August. First, he was arrested and as crowds gathered in the streets and outside Tihar jail, he was freed and given the venue he had sought making the public rejoice in the victory of the activist as if it was their own.
The Government, thereafter, did something unprecedented, calling a special session of Parliament where the two Houses passed a resolution agreeing to incorporate three of the demands of Anna Hazare in the Lok Pal bill, a demand that was a pre-condition for Hazare to give up his fast that was on its thirteenth day.
That was as much a victory for those who had supported him in the streets as it was for Anna. However, behind the larger than life picture of Hazare lurked other stories: of the intelligent management of the media, the resurgence of grassroot- and mass movement-based organisations, alleged support from the RSS and other right wing organisations—all anchored by the man who led the movement from behind, Arvind Kejriwal.
But as the year came to an end, Anna Hazare’s popularity and the relevance of the movement seemed to fizzle, thanks to the Government’s efforts to bend over backwards to accommodate his wishes in order to pass a Lok Pal bill in the Lok Sabha. It also suffered from desertions. Key advisors of Anna also came under attack with Kiran Bedi accused of financial misdemeanor in her own NGO.
Few turned up when Anna Hazare and his team went on another round of protests-cum-fast in Mumbai recently. He made an angry exit from his protests, threatening to campaign against the Congress in the coming elections in five states. As the year ends and Anna appears to be losing steam, one wonders whether the old man has lost his magic appeal or whether the UPA, in accommodating the Lok Pal bill has checkmated Anna and his cabal—or whether Anna’s handlers have other plans up their sleeves. We will have to wait till next year to find out.