India Against Corruption (IAC) is a non-political anti-corruption movement in India since 2007 which was particularly prominent during the anti-corruption protests of 2011 and 2012. Divisions among key constituents of the IAC eventually led to Arvind Kejriwal leaving to form the Aam Aadmi Party.
The IAC popular movement which began in 2007 [1] [2] expanded as part of a larger wave of demonstrations and protests from 2010. [3] that they hoped would help to bring about a corruption-free India. The campaign gained strength through social media, building a massive network of supporters. Initially, they approached Ramdev, a populist Indian yogi to be the figurehead for this campaign but his connections to the right-wing Sangh Parivar threatened to damage the credibility of what was perceived as an apolitical movement.[ citation needed ] This led to him being replaced by Anna Hazare, a veteran social reformer. Hazare, too, brought a large support base with him, described by Meera Nanda as being largely "from urban middle-classes and idealistic youth". The urban sophistication of Hazare, compared to Ramdev's rusticity, attracted high-profile support for the campaign from Bollywood stars, the internet-savvy, and mainstream English-language news media. [4]
In 2012, the IAC began to splinter from Hazare's followers then popularly known as "Team Anna". [5] [6] By August 2012, the split had deepened caused by differences of opinion among the central figures. An IAC survey of the masses suggested that direct involvement in politics was preferable, leading to Arvind Kejriwal and some others splitting to form the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Hazare rejected the survey findings and announced he was disbanding Team Anna. [7] [8] [9]
In November 2012, after the split, he said that he was forming a new Team Anna and would take a new office in New Delhi and retain the label India against Corruption. [10] [11] Eventually Team Anna adopted the name Loktantra Morcha after the India Against Corruption name owners swiftly took it over to focus instead on Right to Information issues instead of the Jan Lokpal [12] . Welcoming Anna's Jantantra Morcha initiative in 2015, National convener of India Against Corruption, Sarabjit Roy said IAC has nothing against Anna since he was never officially a part of IAC nor was he a leader of the movement. IAC's concerns were that Anna gets misled by associations with projects and people that he shouldn't be with and Anna was in the company of scoundrels.As per Roy, IAC is now a group of intellectuals after Arvind Kejriwal took all the aam aadmis (common folk) to politics [13] . The denuded Team Anna's sporadic claims to the India Against Corruption name for political purposes was regularly disputed by the India Against Corruption organization which stated
These persons are imposters of IAC who are misusing our name for electioneering purposes. IAC is a non-political body, and we strongly object to utilisation of our well known name in connection with Mr. Anna Hazare or for political motives. [14]
Gen (Retd.) V.K.Singh was never associated with India Against Corruption and neither was Mr. Anna Hazare a part of it. Referring to them in the context of IAC is misleading especially in context of political activity." [15]
Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life. In addition to organising and encouraging grassroots movements, Hazare frequently conducted hunger strikes to further his causes—a tactic reminiscent, to many, of the work of Mahatma Gandhi. Hazare also contributed to the development and structuring of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan—the third-highest civilian award—by the Government of India in 1992 for his efforts in establishing this village as a model for others.
Arvind Kejriwal is an Indian politician, activist and former bureaucrat, who is serving as the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since 2015, after his first term in the post from 2013 to 2014. He is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party since 2012. He has represented the New Delhi constituency in the Delhi Legislative Assembly since 2015 and from 2013 to 2014.
Prashant Bhushan is an Indian public interest lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. He was a member of the faction of the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement known as Team Anna which supported Anna Hazare's campaign for the implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill. After a split in IAC, he helped Team Anna form the Aam Aadmi Party. In 2015, he made several allegations against the party's leadership, its functioning and its deviation from the core ideology, values and commitments. He is one of the founders of Swaraj Abhiyan and Sambhaavnaa, an Institute of Public Policy and Politics.
The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investigation within a year for envisaging trial in the case getting completed within one year.
The Indian anti-corruption movement, popularly known as Anna Andolan, was a series of demonstrations and protests across India that began in 2011 and was intended to establish strong legislation and enforcement against perceived endemic political corruption. The movement was named as one of the "Top 10 News Stories of 2011" by Time magazine.
Ramlila Maidan also Ramlila Ground is a large ground located in New Delhi, India, traditionally used for staging the annual Ramlila. It is used for religious festivals, major political rallies and meetings, and entertainment events. It is located near New Delhi Railway Station and Delhi Gate.
Parivartan (Transformation) is a grass-roots activism organisation based in the Sundar Nagari area of New Delhi, India. During the 2000s, Parivartan used Right to Information (RTI) to address citizens' grievances related to Public Distribution System (PDS), public works, social welfare schemes, income tax and electricity. By 2012, Parivartan was largely inactive, and its main leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia had launched a political party - the Aam Aadmi Party.
Sanjay Singh is an Indian politician who has served as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Delhi since 2018. He is the national spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party and the state-in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan. Singh has been a senior leader of the party since its inception in November 2012 and is a member of the party's foremost decision-making body, the Political Affairs Committee (PAC).
Shazia Ilmi is an Indian politician and the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party since July 2021.
The Aam Aadmi Party is a political party in India. It was founded on 26 November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions, following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement against then Indian government of Indian National Congress. AAP is currently the governing party in the Indian state of Punjab and the union territory of Delhi. On 10 April 2023, AAP was officially granted the status of National party by ECI. The party's election symbol is a broom. The party is currently part of the coalition I.N.D.I.A Alliance.
Gopal Rai is the Minister for Environment, Forest & Wildlife, Development and General Administration in Government of Delhi under the leadership of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. He is also social activist and a member of the Political Affairs Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Ashutosh is an Indian journalist and former politician of AAP. He was the spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party. He is the Co-founder and Editorial Director of SatyaHindi, He was previously associated with IBN 7, an Indian news television channel, as a News anchor and managing editor. On 15 August 2018 Ashutosh resigned from Aam Aadmi Party citing his personal reasons.
Sanjeev Jha is an Indian politician belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party. He is a member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Burari Constituency. Sanjeev is also the incharge of Chhattisgarh and Spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Rajesh Garg, sometimes known as Rajesh Garg Rohiniwala, is an Indian politician. He was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Rohini constituency in the 2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections. He is also a Right to Information activist.
Maruti Bhapkar is an Indian politician, who belongs to Shiv Sena party. He is former a founder member and convenor of Pune District for Aam Aadmi Party. He is a social and IAC activist in Pimpri Chinchwad and Pune. He was a corporator at Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporation from year 2007 to 2012. He fought the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from Maval as an independent candidate.
Chandra Mohan Sharma is an Indian social activist who used the Right to Information (RTI) act to fight against illegal encroachments of government land. He was known for his campaign against the land mafia in NOIDA and Delhi region. In 2014, he was arrested after he killed a homeless man and faked his own death. He was one of the early members of the Anna Hazare-led 2011 anti-corruption movement, and later the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held on 7 February 2015 to elect 70 members of the Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi. The results were announced on 10 February 2015. The Aam Aadmi Party secured an absolute majority in the assembly, winning 67 of the 70 seats.
Aam Aadmi Sena is a political wing of Aam Aadmi Sangathan and dissident faction of former workers of Aam Aadmi Party, an Indian political party commonly referred as AAP.
Shambhu Dutt, born Shambu Dutt Sharma was an Indian independence and anti-corruption activist.
Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay is a politician and lawyer at the Supreme Court of India and a leader of the Bharatiya Janta Party Delhi unit. In 2011, he quit his job to join Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement and subsequently joined the newly formed the Aam Aadmi Party of which he was one of the founding members. He is known for filing Public Interest Litigations (PILs).
Hazare, who formed the Jantantra Morcha. The group, which now runs — and claims to own — the IAC, mostly comprises Right to Information (RTI) activists. The group had taken over the IAC immediately after the split but held its first formal meeting on Monday. Its national convenor Sarbajit Roy said: "We do not support Janlokpal or the Lokpal. You cannot have a comprehensive Lokpal dealing with petty local corruption as well as systemic mega corruption deals such as 2G or defence deals." In its new avatar, the IAC decided that the RTI was virtually dead and that "there is a need to defend RTI in India".
National convener of India Against Corruption, Sarabjit Roy, cautiously welcomed Anna's initiative. "We have nothing against Anna. He was never officially a part of IAC nor was he a leader of the movement. Our concern is that Anna gets associated with projects and people that he shouldn't be with. He has been misled. He was in the company of scoundrels. IAC is no more an aam aadmi movement, as Arvind took all the aam aadmis to politics. We are a group of intellectuals now."
Gen (Retd.) V.K.Singh was never associated with India Against Corruption and neither was Mr. Anna Hazare a part of it. Referring to them in the context of IAC is misleading especially in context of political activity