Kisan Baburao Hazare was born in a poor family. His father was assistant in a pharmacy who struggled to support the large family on his meagre income. A relative took him to Mumbai for his education and upkeep. But he could study only upto class seventh . Eventually he took to selling flowers at Dadar railway station of Mumbai.
During Indo China war of 1962 the Indian Army started emergency recruitment and despite not meeting physical requirements he was attested as a soldier in the same year. He was posted to Khem Karan sector where he was the sole survivor in an aerial attack.
In 1970 while driving an Army vehicle he survived a road crash. He was discharged from Army service in 1975 after completing 12 years of service.
Soon after he returned to his ancestral village Ralegan Sidhi.Although his family owned a small land which was unsuitable for cultivation due to rocky formation of the ground. The small amount of gratuity from his Army service was used by him to restore a dilapidated village temple. He shifted his residence to the temple premises.
Hazare organised a 'tarun mandal' (youth group) to eradicate alcoholism in the village people. They also forced over thirty liquor dens to close down . Those villagers who didn't succumb to social pressure were tied to pillars and flogged sometimes personally by Hazare.
It was also decided to ban the sale of tobacco, cigarettes, and beedies (an unfiltered cigarette) in the village.He also promoted Grain Bank and Watershed development In 1991 he started People's Movement against Corruption.
In 2011 he started a Jan Lokpal Andolan (People's Ombudsman Movement) and started a fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to press for a formation of a joint committee of the representatives of the Government and the civil society to draft an anti-corruption bill with stronger penal actions and more independence to the Lokpal. The movement attracted attention in the media and thousands joined his cause.
Though he has been praised for his courage but his opponents accuse him of being an RSS member, a right wing Hindu body and of fraud during fasts and irregularities in the accounts of trusts headed and supported by him. He is also accused of being anti democratic,anti Muslim and anti dalit.
Recently on 25th July 2012 he started an agitation in support of his movement and his team members started indefinite fast which he also joined later. But this time the crowds were missing from the venue of his protest. Sensing the dwindling interest of the masses, he declared on 2nd August to end agitation and announced that he shall be forming a political party to contest in the ensuing elections. This has been welcomed by all the main political parties.
Sadly a movement which had raised the hopes in the minds of many and had started like a thunder has died with a whimper.
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---daman
03/08/2012
