A Monsoon in Delhi: Anna Hazare, the Lokpal Bill, and the Future of India

Abstract

Political corruption in India is a perennial problem that has recently been exposed by two spectacular scandals involving the sale of telecommunications spectrum and the troubled 2010 Commonwealth Games. A disgust for this graft and corruption bred a massive protest in Delhi with a hunger strike by veteran activist Kisan Baburao “Anna” Hazare as its centerpiece. Hazare demanded the passage of a specific version of a bill that would establish an anti-corruption ombudsman called the Jan Lokpal. After Hazare had starved himself for approximately two weeks, the Indian parliament passed the legislation that Hazare had demanded. In this article, I examine the political implications of this movement, as well as whether or not the Lokpal will be effective in its mission of combating corruption.