Indian social activist Anna Hazare ended his 97-hour "fast-until-death" early on Saturday after the government agreed to form a committee of politicians and social activists to draft an effective anti-corruption bill. Mr Hazare's fast, which attracted nationwide support, was an effort to finally implement the bill which has been over 40 years in the making.
Mr Hazare, who is 71 years old and has a long history of social activism in India, captured the imagination of many Indians as thousands of people visited him at his protest stage in Delhi.
Ombudsman
He began his fast on Tuesday (5 April) to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact the strong anti-corruption act known as the Jan Lokpal Bill, a law that will establish a Lokpal (an ombudsman) who will have the power to deal with corruption in public offices.
Thousands of his supporters were waiting near the protest stage for Mr Hazare to break his fast. He took a few sips of juice when loud cheers erupted and Mahatma Gandhi's favourite hymn "Raghupati Raghava Raja" were sung.
Never approved
In the past 42 years, several drafts have been made, but never approved by parliament. Over the past twelve months, the central government has been discredited by several corruption scandals.
“I will continue as long as there is life in my body,” Mr Hazare promised a loud cheering audience of protestors on Thursday evening.
Fed up
“People are really getting fed up, all across India,” said 30-year-old Pankaj, who travelled 60 kilometres from neighbouring state Haryana to show his support to Mr Hazare. “I think that he really touched the heart of every Indian with his fast. It has touched me like anything."
Corrupt nation
Even civil servants joined the four day protest. “India is indeed a very corrupt nation," said civil servant Praveen Kumar.
“I can say, fortunately, that I have been corruption-free 25 years of my service. That’s why I’m here. It is not that difficult; it is a question of habit. Once you get corrupt, you become more and more greedy. It’s like an addiction.”
Several Bollywood stars also showed their support through Twitter and text messages. The popular actor Aamir Khan sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier in the week, asking to consider Hazare’s demands.
Facebook
Hundreds of thousands of people also showed their support by joining the Facebook group India Against Corruption and by calling a protest phone number. Small groups of supporters across the country joined the fast.
During the fast, several talks were held between activists and the government, which resulted in the agreement reached late Friday. Until then, the government had rejected the demand for a non-political chairperson. On Friday, the government announced it had accepted all demands.
Gandhi
Throughout the protest, Mr Hazare had called on his supporters to stick to non-violence in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi. The comparison with Gandhi’s freedom struggle was made many times at Jantar Mantar, the location of the protest.
“Anna Hazare is the new Mahatma Gandhi of India, because as you can see, he is fighting against corruption," said Pia (pictured above, centre), a student who joined a candle march to Jantar Mantar on Thursday evening.
“We feel he is very close to our heart. We can look upon him as a very genuine person. We needed this leadership, after Gandhiji,” said Mohini, a school teacher.
Movement
The newly formed joint committee is a next step in implementing the anti-corruption bill. It is not the end of the struggle, protesters say. "It's a movement and this movement will not die or fade away", one said.
Watch a news clip from Friday (when the fast was still continuing) by TimesNow TV:
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