Support anna hazare!!!!!!!!!!

SOME QUESTION AND ANSWERS

1. Does Anna's fast amount to blackmail?

When a government repeatedly ignores peaceful appeals for positive change, how should the frustration of people be expressed (short of taking up violence)? Fasting is a peaceful method of putting one’s self in jeopardy in order to bring attention of the powers that be.

Even as per the book definition, “blackmail” applies to the use of extortion or threats of causing harm in order to obtain material benefits for self. Anna threatened no one. He demanded nothing for himself.

2. Was the government’s bowing to Anna’s demands coerced?

The government’s agreeing to Anna’s demands was a democratic (not coerced) victory because the tiny fraction of the people of India who participated in the action represented the hearty desires of the masses against corruption. It was the massive outpouring of public support worldwide that caused the government to bow and not just Anna’s fast.

At least here, the government’s action also needs to be commended where they did not make it a prestige issue or try to use brutal force to put down a people’s movement (unlike Egypt and Libya).

3. Ambedkar had said civil disobedience must stop after independence, so why is this allowed now?

Gandhi fasted even after independence. Furthermore, Ambedkar’s statement above was made in the euphoria following independence. If Ambedkar were to see the state of affairs today, he would have advocated all the methods of peaceful civil disobedience, including fasting.

In reality, Gandhi’s fight was not against the white-skinned man (British) but rather against the methods of governance that amounted to injustice, national loot, and falsehood. This is the state of the nation even today, and thus those methods of peaceful protests still hold good.

4. It weakens democracy when an activist group forces the government and elected representatives to do what they want. Why shouldn’t they contest elections and win to get their voice heard?

Our politicians, having forgotten that in a democracy people are the masters, have started treating them as subjects. The democratic electoral system now functions for those who have muscle, money and media power (the 3M’s). That is why it is not an option for an honest group of citizen to come to power through the electoral system and make reforms.

To the extent that the government has been forced to listen to the people's voice, IAC movement has actually strengthened our democracy. When an effective Lokpal bill is implemented, among other things, it will reduce the 'profitability' of public office, reduce the role of money in elections and lead to more honest elections which in turn will lead to a better democracy.

Political parties with ample representation in the executive as well as legislature hold bandhs, dharnas, rasta rokos, burn buses, and destroy public property. And, the political parties are asking why we resort to fasts?

5. Isn’t there is a danger that others will copy the same methods?

Replicating success simply by copying the fast may be difficult, because the power of fasting comes from the integrity of the satyagrahi, and the popularity of the cause. If Anna sits for a fast demanding that everybody in his village be made rich, there won't be people fasting with him in dozens of towns and cities and nobody will even ask him to stop the fast.

Gandhi had also said everyone should fast for self purification, which leads to the achievement of goals.-SOURCE:INDIA AGAINST CORRUPTION

Dear Citizens

I will start my indefinite fast for a strong Lokpal Bill from August 16th. This is a historic moment for if we miss this opportunity we don’t know when will the next one ever come!

The path ahead is very difficult, since the people who are entrusted with passing of this Bill, themselves stand to go to jail. So what do we do? It is my firm belief that if from 16th August, every Indian takes one week off from his work and joins me with the tri-colour in his hands chanting ‘Inquilab Zindabad’, ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, then the government will be compelled to bow to the voice of the nation to pass a strong Lokpal.

We shall do this in a completely peacefully and non-violent way.

I support Mr Anna Hazare in all his endeavours 

We are with anna hazare, he and his member's were arrested but yeh jang ab khtam nahi hogi aur aag failegi 

yes kamal you are right,

now the fire will spread all over country, now we the indians will not remain silent !

Plz show the support by comming on roads lets show the govt. that every Indian is with Anna

yha we should be support with anna ji. i also with him 

I give my support to Anna but not the way he is dealing right now.

we should have a strong lokpal but this anshan should not have been in this stage when discussions were still going on in the parliament

This is purely blackmail