Mumbai

In the world’s largest democracy, as India likes to call itself, one bribery scandal is unearthed after another. Now, all of India is taking to the streets to fight against corruption. The protesters’ hero is a man called Anna Hazare who has gone on a four-day hunger strike.

The Indian people will hear nothing negative about Gandhi. He is their hero, the father of the nation. They turn a blind eye to the new biography that is said to disclose that Mahatma Gandhi was bisexual and which may even be banned in the state of Gujarat, Gandhi’s home.

Yet, Indians have bigger worries than a biography that no one has yet read, such as a corrupt government. Now, more people than ever before in India are taking to the streets. In 200 Indian cities, thousands of people have been protesting since early last week against government corruption. It is an open secret that corruption reigns in all matters in India.

Thousands of people are protesting in Mumbai, as well, behind city hall, a magnificent structure from colonial days across from famous Victoria station. Some are wearing caps that say, “I am Anna Hazare.” Students, housewives in saris, Muslims and Hindus are there. Anoop Kunar is one of them, for whom the support is not enough. “Where are all those people who were celebrating our world champions in cricket a few days ago?” He does not merely want to watch, he wants to do something. “We need a society that is free of corruption,” says Kunar. “We owe it to our children.”

The impulse for the numerous protests all over the country came from Anna Hazare, a small man that they already call a “modern Gandhi” here. Last week the social activist went on a hunger strike. His campaign was called “fast unto death” and triggered a wave of protests. After four days, he ended his strike with a sip of lemon water when the government promised it would back a new strict anti-corruption law. Under this law, independent ombudsmen will be appointed to monitor the government and its machinations. “We always need someone to point the way,” says teacher Anoop Kunar, who came to the square by city hall after work to protest for the first time.

Anna Hazare is India’s new hero and is on the covers of all the newspapers. He calls himself a fakir, someone who owns no property and has no family. The 71-year-old, always clothed in white khadi, lives a Spartan life in a nine-square-metre room in Ahmednagar’s Alegan Siddhi, a village about 100 kilometres from Pune. Kisan Baburao Hazare is called simply Anna by all, which means “big brother” in Marathi. “He is a true hero,” says Kunar on the sidelines of the demonstration in Mumbai. “He fights alone against corruption and dirty politics, which are really nothing new in India. We finally have a leader again who stands up for the poor and the helpless.”

When he says “finally,” Kunar means, of course, the long time that has passed since Mahatma Gandhi’s death in 1948. For the protesters Hazare is the new Gandhi. It is not surprising either: his smile is almost as likeable, he studied the philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda and Acharya Vinoba Bhave while he sold flowers on the streets and lived from his small earnings. Mahatma Gandhi also wore only clothing made of khadi, hand-woven cotton. This in itself is a political statement: khadi cloth stands for self-sufficiency and as early as the 1920s was worn to oust foreign products from the Indian market.

Now, the people – many, many people – are taking to the streets for Anna Hazare. The media are already talking about a new freedom movement. It is quite astonishing what force Hazare has. “I am not scared of death. I have no family to cry over me and if I die while doing something for the country I would be happy,” Anna Hazare is quoted in the Times of India. “We need to start a second freedom movement to get rid of corruption, delays in government offices and lack of transparency.”

He wants a new law to be created that would be used to fight corruption in the government. It would be placed over an authority that investigates the politicians. Anna Hazare and his supporters call this institution “Lokpal” and each state would have a “Lokayukta” – both entirely independent of the government.

In India, the “largest democracy” in the world, as the country likes to call itself, sleaze and payoffs are the order of business. Recently a major bribery scandal caused an uproar. Anna Hazare’s hunger strike and his fight against corrupt government have come just at the right time. Congress President Sonia Gandhi also supported him in a statement: “The issues he has raised are of grave public concern. There can be no two views on the urgent necessity of combating graft and corruption in public life.” She also called on Hazare to end his hunger strike, which he then did on Saturday when the government announced it would pass the law by 15 August. Nonetheless, the protests continue.

Anna Hazare is not only supported by the people on the streets, but also by celebrities such as a number of Bollywood actors. The famous actor Abushishek Bachchan, for instance, demanded more information from the government. Actor Aamir Khan published a letter speaking of his hopes that Hazare will receive more popular support than the national cricket team. “I hope and pray that your struggle, which is infinitely more important, and affects each and every one of us, will get an even greater support,” Khan wrote. He wrote another letter with similar sentiments to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Hazare movement has also taken on great momentum in the virtual world. “I support Anna Hazare. It’s time to make a change!” actor Hrithik Roshan twittered. There are a number of Facebook groups in which the protesters are organized. Hardly any article on the Internet is left uncommented on. Internet user Nitin writes: “He is today’s Mahatma and no one can stop him.”