India Against Corruption

Last updated

India Against Corruption (IAC) is a non-political anti-corruption movement in India since 2007 which rose to prominence during the anti-corruption protests of 2011. Divisions among personalities on IAC's platform eventually led to the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Contents

Rise

The IAC popular movement which began in 2007 [1] [2] as a Hindutva affiliated movement for Right to Information activists concerned with exposing Commonwealth Games and other "scams", expanded as part of a larger wave of demonstrations and protests from 2010. [3] which hoped to bring about a corruption-free India. The campaign gained strength through social media, building a massive network of supporters. Initially Ramdev, a populist Indian yogi seemed 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. [4] [5] This led to IAC's managers substituting him as centrepiece by Anna Hazare whose connections to Sangh Parivar were less obvious. [6] [7] [8] Hazare's support base is described by Meera Nanda as being largely "from urban middle-classes and idealistic youth". The urban support for Hazare attracted high-profile support for the campaign from Bollywood stars, the internet-savvy, and mainstream English-language news media. [9]

Aftermath

In 2012, the IAC began to disassociate from Hazare's followers (then popularly known as "Team Anna"). [10] [11] On 3 August 2012, the deep differences of opinion among the central figures of the anti-corruption protest spilled into the public domain. Arvind Kejriwal's faction conducted an online survey which suggested that direct involvement in politics was preferable, leading to their exit to form the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). On 5 August 2012 Hazare rejected the survey findings and announced he was disbanding Team Anna. [12] [13] [14]

In November 2012 Hazare said that he was forming a new Team Anna 2.0 which would have a new office in New Delhi and use the label India against Corruption. [15] [16] Eventually Team Anna instead adopted the name Jantantra 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. [17] 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 is misled into associations with projects and people that he shouldn't be with and Anna was then 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. [18] 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. [19]
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." [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Hazare</span> Indian activist (born 1937)

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. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan—the third-highest civilian award—by the Government of India in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arvind Kejriwal</span> 7th Chief Minister of Delhi (2013–14 and 2015–2024)

Arvind Kejriwal is an Indian politician, activist and former bureaucrat, who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi. He previously was the chief minister from 2013 to 2014 and was serving since 2015. He is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since 2012. He has represented the New Delhi constituency in the Delhi Legislative Assembly since 2015 and from 2013 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prashant Bhushan</span> Indian activist, lawyer and politician

Prashant Bhushan is an Indian author and a 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Indian anti-corruption movement</span> Series of demonstrations and protests across India

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramlila Maidan</span> Ground in New Delhi

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 organization 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanjay Singh (AAP politician)</span> Indian politician (born 1972)

Sanjay Singh is an Indian politician, activist, national spokesman for Aam Aadmi Party, a member of the Rajya Sabha from Delhi. He was convicted in a 2001 protest case and was later given bail. In October 2023, he was arrested by Enforcement Directorate for his role in the Delhi Liquor Scam. After 6 months of custody, he was released on bail by Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shazia Ilmi</span> Indian politician (born 1970)

Shazia Ilmi is an Indian politician and the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party since July 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aam Aadmi Party</span> Political party in India

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. The AAP is currently the governing party in the Indian state of Punjab and the union territory of Delhi. On 10 April 2023, the AAP was officially granted the status of national party by the ECI. The party's election symbol is a broom. The party is currently part of the coalition I.N.D.I.A.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashutosh (politician)</span> Indian journalist and former politician

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanjeev Jha</span>

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.

Anjali Anish Damania is an Indian anti-corruption activist and politician. She was the convener of Maharashtra state unit of Aam Admi Party (AAP). During 2011–12, she exposed corruption in the Kondhane dam project through RTI queries. She came into the limelight in 2012, after she accused the Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari of having a business partnership with the Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar. She unsuccessfully contested 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Nagpur, as an AAP candidate against Gadkari. However, in March 2015, she quit the AAP amid allegations of horse trading against national convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. She has filed several PIL's against powerful politicians like Chhagan Bhujbal and Eknath Khadse. On 2 June 2016 she went on an indefinite hunger strike demanding the resignation of Eknath Khadse, which resulted in Khadse's resignation from the position of Maharashtra state Revenue Minister.

Maruti Bhapkar is an Indian politician who belongs to the Shiv Sena party. He is a former founder member and convenor of the Pune District for the Aam Aadmi Party. He is a social and IAC activist in Pimpri Chinchwad and Pune. He was a corporator at the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation from 2007 to 2012. He fought the 2009 Lok Sabha election from Maval as an independent candidate.

Jarnail Singh is a politician in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He was elected to the Fifth Legislative Assembly of Delhi in 2013, in 2015 for Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi and in 2020 for Seventh Legislative Assembly of Delhi. He is three times representative for Tilak Nagar constituency.

Avinash Dharmadhikari is a former Indian Administrative Services officer. He was a well known social activist and free-lance journalist before joining IAS. After serving on various posts during his administrative career of ten years he resigned from IAS in 1996 for the reason that can be best described in Arun Shourie's words "to be able to serve Indian society better". He was Deputy Secretary to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra at the time of his resignation. He is founder and director of Chanakya Mandal Pariwar, working in the field of Career Guidance and Personality Development. He unsuccessfully contested for Lok Sabha as an independent candidate against Suresh Kalmadi. He was Director General of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan in 2001 under Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of India. As a social activist he has been part of many movements such as farmers' movements and movements against corruption. He was also a part of Team Anna during India against corruption movement. He has authored many books which includes 75 Soneri Pane, Aswastha Dashakachi Diary, Nava Vijaypath, Ek Vijaypath, Swatantra Nagarik, Jinkanara Samaj Ghadawanari Shikshanpadhhati, Aani Aapan Saglech, Ratra Gahirichya Tisarya Prahari(a collection of poems) . Aswastha Dashakachi Diary has been translated into English by Gauri Deshpande titled: Diary of a Decade of Agony.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election</span> 2020 state assembly election in Delhi

Legislative Assembly elections were held in Delhi on 8 February 2020 to elect 70 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Voters turnout was recorded at 62.82%, a decline of 4.65% from the previous assembly election in Delhi but 2.2% more than the 2019 Indian general election in Delhi. The term of the assembly elected in 2015 expired on 22 February 2020. The Aam Aadmi Party, led by Arvind Kejriwal won 62 seats to claim an absolute majority in the elections.

References

  1. ↑ Desk, Web (15 September 2020). "Rahul says AAP was propped up by BJP to bring down UPA, subvert democracy". The Week. Retrieved 25 March 2024.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  2. ↑ https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/iac-rejects-congress-s-conspiracy-charge-against-forum-117122500566_1.html [ bare URL ]
  3. ↑ Ghosh, Abantika (29 December 2011). "Shifting stir to Mumbai a mistake: IAC". The Indian Express. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  4. ↑ How Ramdev & Sri Sri got together, grew apart, 2 June 2011, retrieved 16 April 2024
  5. ↑ "Ramdev's agitation fully backed by RSS & its front organisations: PC". The Economic Times. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  6. ↑ Ghosh, Abantika (9 January 2012). "IAC 100% RSS front: Long-time aides tell Anna to correct course". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  7. ↑ "No differences with IAC, we work together: Anna Hazare aides". India Today. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  8. ↑ Srivastava, Piyush (8 October 2011). "Congress sharpens knives for Anna Hazare over RSS link". India Today. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  9. ↑ Nanda, Meera (2011). The God Market: How Globalization is Making India More Hindu. NYU Press. pp. xxii–xxiii. ISBN   9781583673096.
  10. ↑ "No differences with IAC, we work together: Anna Hazare aides". 9 January 2012.
  11. ↑ Schoen, Douglas E. (2013). The End of Authority: How a Loss of Legitimacy and Broken Trust Are Endangering Our Future. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 185–186. ISBN   9781442220324.
  12. ↑ "Anna Hazare tells Arvind Kejriwal not to use his name, photo for votes as they part ways". India Today. New Delhi. PTI. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "So what is the Aam Aadmi Party all about". India Today. New Delhi. 24 November 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Hazare disbands Team Anna, says no talks with govt on Lokpal". The Times of India . 6 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "After announcing team, Anna Hazare to inaugurate new office in Delhi". IBN Live. 11 November 2012. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "Team Anna gets new people. But will their gameplan be a game-changer?". India Today. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  17. ↑ Khandekar, Nivedita (3 September 2013). "Anti-corruption body abandons Janlokpal". Hindustan Times. New Delhi: Hindustan Times. Retrieved 13 April 2024. 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".
  18. ↑ Shrivastava, Anvit (3 April 2015). "Anna Hazare launches anti-graft front". Times of India. Times of India. Retrieved 13 April 2024. 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."
  19. ↑ "Anna to address on electoral reforms". The Tribune. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  20. ↑ Ramachandran, Smriti Kak (17 November 2021). "BJP is the only party that thinks of national interest, says V.K. Singh". The Hindu. Ghaziabad. Retrieved 13 April 2024. 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
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.