Indian Anti-Corruption Activist Anna Hazare Goes on Hunger Strike

The lower house of the Indian parliament passed a bill Tuesday to create an anti-corruption ombudsman.

The lawmakers had to act after months of public demonstrations brought thousands of Indians into the streets to protest government graft.

Meanwhile anti-corruption activist in India, Anna Hazare began a three-day hunger strike, his third this year. He has been campaigning for a stronger law to check corruption than the one being debated in India’s parliament.

Anchor Lisa Mullins talks to Vikas Bajaj, a New York Times correspondent who was present at a rally in Mumbai Tuesday. He tells why this is such an emotive issue in the country.

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Lisa Mullins: I’m Lisa Mullins and this is The World, a coproduction of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH in Boston. The lower house of the Indian parliament passed a bill today to create and anti-corruption ombudsman. The lawmakers pretty much had to act after months of public demonstrations brought tens of thousands of Indians onto the streets to protest government graft. Meanwhile a prominent opponent of the bill began a three-day fast in Mumbai. Anna Hazare is demanding much tougher legislation. New York Times Mumbai correspondent Vikas Bajaj was at the protest rally that Hazare organized. What is the nature of the protests that pressured the government?

Vikas Bajaj: The nature of the protests is rallies around Mr. Hazare when he’s fasting. There are also rallies in the streets from time to time. It’s not you know, it’s nothing compared to what we saw in the Arab Spring, but there have been many instances now this year of people coming out into the streets and thousands to protest corruption. Indians see corruption sort of in their everyday lives, although it’s unclear whether that’s what’s motivating them or whether it’s the large corruption scandals that have been uncovered this year related to telecom licenses and the Commonwealth Games that were held last year.

Mullins: Describe both of those for us. What happened on a mega level and then what’s happening individually in terms of people’s lives and that’s certainly not new.

Bajaj: At the mega level there were these telecom licenses that were given out in 2008 and a government audit found that perhaps as much as $40 billion in revenues was lost because the licenses were given out in a first come, first served basis, rather than being auctioned as they would’ve been say in the United States. The assumption is many officials were paid off to rid the licenses in such a way that certain favored companies got them. In the Commonwealth Games, this was the big games held last year, that a lot of equipment and construction was done at really inflated prices. And there are people in jail in both of these scandals who are awaiting trial.

Mullins: How about on the micro level, how corruption still reaches down to the people?

Bajaj: So the micro level, you know, the corruption that most people are really upset about is the corruption that involves police officers for instance, you know, you have to bribe them when they stop you for traffic infractions, or you have to bribe them to register a complaint. If you want to get what’s called a ration card, which is a card that essentially allows you to buy food at a subsidized rate you have to pay somebody off. If you want to get a passport you have to pay usually the passport office and then the police officer who comes to check.

Mullins: So, this activist is as you said on his third hunger strike of the year, Anna Hazare, how is he doing physically by the way?

Bajaj: His aids say that he is ill. He’s got a virus infection, and they say that he already hasn’t been eating for two days, and he’s been on medication. One of them when I was there at the rally today said that he asked him to at least have some fruit so that he’d recover some strength, but he appears not to heed that advice.

Mullins: Vikas Bajaj of the New York Times in Mumbai, thank you very much.

Bajaj: Thank you.

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