Anna Hazare was born as Kisan Baburao Hazare to Baburao, an unskilled laborer in Ayurveda Ashram Pharmacy, in the village of Bhingar near Hinganghat city in Bombay province, presently in Maharashtra. After his grandfather’s death in 1945 who served in the Indian army, his father continued working in Bhingar till 1952, after which he resigned and returned to his ancestral home in Ralegan Siddhi.
Due to financial hardships, Anna Hazare was looked after by his childless aunt who took him to Mumbai and funded his education. He studied till class seven and took up employment to support his family. A job that started as selling flowers in Dadar culminated into owning a flower shop and calling upon two other brothers to Mumbai. Highly inspired by patriotism and love for his country, Anna Hazare joined the Indian Army in 1963, despite not fulfilling the physical requirements.
Here began his career as an Indian army soldier, starting as a truck driver, after successful training at Aurangabad in Maharashtra. He decided to dedicate his entire life in serving humanity when he was just 26. However, having completed only three years in the army would not have made him eligible for the pension scheme, which is why he continued to serve in the army for 13 long years. He took voluntary retirement in 1975 and returned to his native place.
Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan (BVJA), or people’s movement against corruption, was started by Anna Hazare in 1991 as an attempt to fight against corruption that was blocking rural development in India. He began his fast unto death on August 9, 2003, which he ended on August 17, 2003, with chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde forming a one man commission to find evidence against the convicts.
Anna Hazare campaigned for the Right to Information Act in 1997 which was turned down by the state government. He agitated at Azad Maidan in Mumbai to protest against the results and traveled across the state to create mass public awareness. Anna went on an indefinite hunger strike in July 2003 when he realized that government has turned blind. His protest compelled the President of India to sign the draft of the Right to Information Act after 12 days of hunger strike. The act was put to order with effect from 2002 and formed the base for the National Right to Information Act, 2005.
The most touted protest among all the remonstrations by Anna Hazare against the Indian government is the Lokpal Bill Movement which was initiated in April 2011. In support of getting the bill approved, Anna Hazare began his fast unto death on April 5, 2011 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, after his demand for a more independent Jan Lokpal Bill was rejected by the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. The bill was passed after many obstacles and hard work.
Anna Hazare has served a lot to his country. It was him who helped people to get their rights. He received many awards for his work.
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