India's Anna Hazare, from village activist to national campaigner

Anna Hazare started out as a grass-roots activist in Ralegan Siddhi, but now he is an anti-corruption crusader tackling the Indian political establishment. His supporters believe he will win.

The self-styled anti-graft activist, who confounded the Indian political establishment with a 13-day fast last month aimed at pressuring Parliament to pass his version of an anti-corruption law, has been called many things. But few accuse him of lacking focus or determination, qualities he'll need for his next challenge: holding Parliament to its word and tackling electoral reform and farmers' rights.

"We're happy Anna Hazare did this," Gaikwad said, a few feet from the pole, which is no longer used for anything but holding up wires. "Now there's no drinking, and no trouble. My husband left after and didn't come back."

Hazare ("Anna" is a local honorific meaning elder brother) took it upon himself to introduce an unusual policy in cooperation with village elders: He seized Gaikwad's husband, she said, lashed him to a metal pole in the square and whipped him with a belt. Before long, smoking and drinking were banned and dozens of hooch sellers driven out of business.

Things changed, though, when squat, burly Anna Hazare returned from the army, determined to uplift the community.

Reporting from Ralegan Siddhi, India — Suman Gaikwad's husband had a drinking problem, as did many other farmers in this small village where, in the late 1970s, dozens of shops sold fruit wine and other home brews. Back then, domestic abuse was common and families went hungry if their men diverted money to buy booze and cigarettes.

Born of humble roots in this village three hours' drive from Mumbai and now in his 70s, Kisan Baburao Hazare attracted tens of thousands of people to his public fast in New Delhi, many frustrated over having to pay bribes for a variety of services, such as issuing a passport or fixing electricity meters that charge double.

The outpouring of support left the government, which has reeled over a string of scandals in the telecommunications, sports and defense industries allegedly involving billions of dollars, operating in crisis mode.

Wary of Hazare's declining health, Parliament agreed in a nonbinding resolution to create a series of powerful ombudsmen, or lokpals, able to sanction officials for corruption, and to write a "citizen's charter," setting out what services government agencies are required to provide.

Although many have been surprised by the success of Hazare's dramatic campaign, supporters here say it's a logical extension of his longtime activism in this village among the wheat fields.

A keen follower of Mohandas Gandhi, Hazare adopted Gandhi's nonconfrontational tactics, mounting several hunger strikes after 1991 to further his anti-graft agenda. But he's also reportedly said that corrupt officials should be hanged.

As he tried to improve villagers' lives by routing more state aid their way, he inevitably clashed with corrupt state and central government officials, honing his protest skills and taking on bigger targets.

Villagers here, speaking of Hazare in reverential tones, are convinced that he'll ultimately win his battle against the establishment, no matter what tricks politicians attempt. The activist is not affiliated with any political party.

"He's never lost a fight," said Sopan Ghane, 36, a teacher. "Because of Hazare, nothing's wrong in our village."

One of seven children in an impoverished family, Hazare did not go beyond the seventh grade; he sold flowers in Mumbai before joining the army in the early 1960s. In 1965, he was the only member of his unit to survive an aircraft strafing during the India-Pakistan war.

Whether prompted by shock, survivor's guilt or the memory of thoughts that he says almost drove him to suicide, Hazare vowed to remain a bachelor and devote his life to humanity, inspired by a revivalistic swami's book that he had bought at a railway kiosk.

"I felt that God wanted me to stay alive for some reason," he told the Times of India this year. "I was reborn in the battlefield."