Swarāj can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule", and was used synonymously with "home-rule" by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati and later on by Mahatma Gandhi, but the word usually refers to Gandhi's concept of Indian independence from foreign domination. Swaraj lays stress on governance, not by a hierarchical government, but by self-governance through individuals and community building. The focus is on political decentralisation. Since this is against the political and social systems followed by Britain, Gandhi's concept of Swaraj advocated India's discarding British political, economic, bureaucratic, legal, military, and educational institutions. S. Satyamurti, Chittaranjan Das and Motilal Nehru were among a contrasting group of Swarajists who laid the foundation for parliamentary democracy in India.
Arvind Kejriwal is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat and activist who is the current and 7th Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. He was also the Chief Minister of Delhi from December 2013 to February 2014, stepping down after 49 days of assuming power. Currently, he is the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, which won the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections with a historic majority, obtaining 67 out of 70 assembly seats. In 2006, Kejriwal was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in recognition of his involvement in the grassroots level movement Parivartan using right to information legislation in a campaign against government corruption. The same year, after resigning from Government service, he donated his Magsaysay award money as a corpus fund to found the Public Cause Research Foundation, a non-governmental organization (NGO).
Yogendra Yadav is an Indian activist, psephologist and politician whose primary interests are in the political and social sciences. He was a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi from 2004 to 2016. He is a former member of University Grants Commission (UGC) and National Advisory Council on Right to Education Act (NAC-RTE) constituted by Ministry of Human Resources and Development, Govt of India, in 2010. He was a member of the National Executive of the Aam Aadmi Party until 2015.
Swaraj is an Indian concept of self-governance.
The Indian anti-corruption movement 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.
Manish Sisodia is an Indian politician and Deputy Chief Minister of Government of Delhi. He has been the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. He is also an elected MLA from Patparganj constituency. In Government of NCT of Delhi, he holds the portfolios of Education, Higher Education, Technical Education, Finance, Planning, Excise, GST, Vigilance, Services, Tourism, Land & Building, Art, Culture & Language.
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). He joined hands with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in his apolitical campaigns from the Right To Information campaign in 2006 to the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement led by social activist Anna Hazare. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha on 8 January 2018 from the state of Delhi.
Aam Aadmi Party is a political party in India, founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his companions. It is currently the ruling party of two governments: Delhi, the capital territory of India, and the state of Punjab. It styles itself as an alternative to the two predominant, national parties of India—the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress (INC).
The Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held on 4 December 2013, with the result announced on 8 December resulting in formation of the Fifth Legislative Assembly of Delhi.
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.
Maheish Girri is an Indian social activist and politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and currently the National Secretary of the party. He was a Member of Parliament from the East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.
Mayank Gandhi is a social activist from India. He was previously a member of core committee in the India Against Corruption movement and a National Executive Member of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP). Presently he is the chief coordinator of the non-governmental organization Global Parli, which aims at transforming the drought-hit villages of Marathwada, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The Foundation for Democratic Reforms is a non-profit, non-partisan and independent research institution founded by Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, an Indian Administrative Service officer turned politician and a political activist based in Hyderabad. It is one of India's leading think tanks and scientific research-resource center for studying, formulating and promoting fundamental reforms in political, electoral and governance spheres and in critical areas of state policy. Established in 1996 and located in Hyderabad, it is recognized by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India.
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.
The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical mentions date to the 250 CE period. The word raj means "rule" and panchayat means "assembly" (ayat) of five (panch). Traditionally, Panchayats consisted of wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the local community. These assemblies settled disputes between both individuals and villages. However, there were varying forms of such assemblies.
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.
AAP Punjab or Aam Aadmi Party Punjab is the Punjab state wing of Aam Aadmi Party and a recognised state party in Punjab. It has members in the Punjab Legislative Assembly and Parliament of India.
AAP Delhi is a state wing of Aam Aadmi Party. AAP is a state party of Delhi since 2013. The party contested its first election in Delhi in 2013 and was successful in winning 28 seats in a hung assembly. It got outside support from congress and Arvind Kejriwal became the Chief Minister of Delhi but he resigned after 49 days due to differences with Congress party.
