Look up AAP in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

AAP may stand for:

Aviation & Aerospace[link]

• Apollo Applications Program, NASA's vision for long-range space exploration based on technologies developed for Project Apollo
• Agrupación Aérea Presidencial, the Argentine president's personal air fleet
• AAP, IATA code for Aappilattoq (Qaasuitsup) Heliport in Aappilattoq, Greenland
• Andrau Airpark, a former airport in Houston, Texas, United States

Companies[link]

• Advance Auto Parts (NYSE stock symbol: AAP), vehicle parts retailer in Virginia, United States
• Associated Artists Productions, a film distributor (almost its entire library is now owned by Time Warner); the initials are usually spelled "a.a.p."
• The Association of American Publishers, a United States trade association

Jobs[link]

• Accredited ACH Professional, an Electronic Payments Professional

Media[link]

• ArtAsiaPacific, a contemporary art and culture magazine
• Australian Associated Press (AAP), Australia's national news agency
• Active Advertising Platform

Medicine[link]

• Alanine aminopeptidase, a medical biomarker enzyme
• Atypical antipsychotic, a group of antipsychotic drugs

Organizations[link]

• Associated Artists Productions, a distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television whose library is now owned by Time Warner
• Association of American Physicians, a medical honor society
• Automobile Association Philippines, a member of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
• Airport Armed Police in Bangladesh
• The Association of Australasian Palaeontologists
• The Australasian Association of Philosophy
• The American Academy of Pediatrics, an American and Canadian professional medical fellowship
• The American Academy of Periodontology, the professional organization for periodontists

Places[link]

• Alexandra Palace railway station in London, UK
• Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, a high school in Michigan, United States
• Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, New York, United States

Technology[link]

• A-A-P, a computer software building and installation utility

Other[link]

• Argumentum ad populum, a logical fallacy
• Arbour Absent Promises, chemical imbalance causing a mix of a promise followed by disappointment

Aap may also refer to:

• Ap (water), a Sanskrit word

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Zeenat Aman
Zeenat Aman at BIG Awards Jury Press Meet
Born	(1951-11-19) 19 November 1951 (age 60) Bombay
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1971–1989, 1999, 2003, 2006–present
Spouse	Mazhar Khan (1985–1998, his death)

Zeenat Aman (Hindi: ज़ीनत अमान, Urdu: زینت امان) (born 19 November 1951) is an Indian actress who has appeared in Hindi films, notably in the 1970s and 1980s. She was the second runner up in the Miss India Contest and went on to win the Miss Asia Pacific in 1970. Upon making her debut in Bollywood, Aman was credited with making a lasting impact on the image of its leading actresses by bringing the western heroine look to Hindi cinema, and throughout her career has been considered a sex symbol.^[1][2][3]

Early life[link]

Zeenat Aman was born in Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay) to a Muslim father, Amanullah Khan and a Hindu mother, Scinda. Her father was a script writer who was one of the writers for such movies as Mughal-e-Azam and Pakeezah. He died when Zeenat was 13. Her mother got re-married to a German, Mr. Heinz (was constantly referred to as Mrs. Heinz in all subsequent articles film magazines would carry on Zeenat). Zeenat's mother obtained German citizenship, and took her to Germany, where Zeenat was very unhappy, returning to India as soon as she turned 18.

Aman graduated from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai and went to University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California for further studies on student aid. Upon returning to India, she first took a job as a journalist for Femina and then later on moved on to modeling. One of the first few brands that she modeled for was Taj Mahal Tea and Television X Debut in 1966 exclusively. She was the second runner up in the Miss India Contest and went on to win the Miss Asia Pacific in 1970.

Film career[link]

The beginning[link]

After having studied in Los Angeles, winning the Miss Asia Pageant and a successful modeling career, Aman's film career began with a small role in O. P. Ralhan's Hulchul in 1971. A second role in Hungama (1971), starring singer Kishore Kumar, was also not successful.

Dev Anand offered Zaheeda (his second heroine in Prem Pujari) the role of sister in Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972). Not realizing the importance of this secondary role, Zaheeda wanted the lead female part (eventually played by Mumtaz), and she opted out. Aman was chosen as a last-minute replacement.^[2]

In Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Aman, aided by R. D. Burman's song "Dum Maro Dum" (Take Another Toke), won over the heart's of audience as Janice. She earned a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award^[4] and BFJA Award for Best Actress.^[5] Throughout the 1970s, the Dev-Zeenat pairing was seen in half a dozen films: Heera Panna (1973), Ishq Ishq Ishq (1974), Prem Shastra (1974), Warrant (1975), Darling Darling (1977) and Kalabaaz (1977). Of these, Warrant, was the biggest box-office success.

Her hip looks in Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973) as the girl carrying a guitar, singing "churaliya hai tumne jo dil ko" (in Asha Bhonsle's voice) has won her more popularity and the hearts of millions of fans.^[2]

She appeared on every Hindi film magazine's cover during 1970s. In December 1974, Cine Blitz magazine was launched with Zeenat Aman on its cover, a testimony to her popularity at the time. However, she went on as the favourite cover girl of the popular magazine 'Stardust'.

The late 1970s[link]

Zeenat Aman, in her career, found success with other banners such as Dev Anand, B.R. Chopra, Raj Kapoor, Manmohan Desai, Feroz Khan, Nasir Hussain, Manoj Kumar, Prakash Mehra, Raj Khosla and Shakti Samanta.

In 1978, she starred in Raj Kapoor's massively publicised Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), however, the film was heavely criticized. The subject ironically dealt with the notion of the soul being more attractive than the body, but Kapoor chose to showcase Aman's sex-appeal. The actress was highly criticized for her exposure but somehow, later on the film had a great deal to do with Zeenat's fame and the movie itself was distinguished as a work of art. She also earned a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for this film.^[2]

Zeenat Aman's entry into Hollywood also backfired when Krishna Shah's Shalimar (1978), co-starring Dharmendra and international names like Rex Harrison and Sylvia Miles, proved to be a failure in the USA and in India.^[2] Zeenat possessed a convent schoolgirl accent and a penchant for revealing dresses. She matched Sophia Loren & Gina Lollobrigida in the battle of oomph at Shalimar's launch. 1978 could have been a disaster year for her, because of the diminishing box office returns of Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Shalimar, but it was Don that came to the rescue and set her career soaring again. Ironically, her reasons for accepting the role in Don were altruistic, and she didn't even take any remuneration for it, because she wanted to help the producer, Nariman Irani, who died midway filming.^[6] Her role of a Westernized revenge-seeking action heroine contributed to the film's huge success, and her fans reconnected with her again. Westernised heroines like Parveen Babi and Tina Munim now followed in her footsteps, by the late 1970s. Aman continued to act in hits like Dharam Veer, Chhaila Babu and The Great Gambler.

The 1980s[link]

By the beginning of the 1980s multi-starrers films became a trend, and Zeenat Aman was increasingly asked to just provide sex appeal in hero-oriented, despite success in so many films. In contrast to this trend was her performance as a rape victim seeking justice in B. R. Chopra's Insaaf Ka Tarazu (1980) for which she received a Filmfare Best Actress nomination. This film was followed by success in the love triangle Qurbani, Ali Baba aur 40 Chor, Dostana (1980) and Lawaaris (1981).^[2]

Zeenat's popularity in Russia was so great after Alibaba Aur 40 Chor that she felt pressured into doing a supporting role in Sohni Mahiwal. The film was moderately successful but no credit went to Zeenat.^{[citation needed]}

Her last role as the female lead was in the movie Gawahi, a court room drama, in 1989.

The 1990s & 2000s[link]

Zeenat came back to the silver screen after a decade doing a cameo role in the film Bhopal Express, and she went on to do small roles in Boom (2003), Jaana... Let's Fall in Love (2006), Chaurahen (2007), Ugly Aur Pagli (2008), Geeta in Paradise (2009) and Dunno Y... Na Jaane Kyon (2010).

In 2004, she appeared as Mrs. Robinson in the play The Graduate staged at St Andrew's auditorium in Mumbai.

Aman had a TV show called In Conversation with Zeenat made by B4U TV, and also made an appearance along with Hema Malini in the popular show Koffee with Karan hosted by Karan Johar.

Aman received a Lifetime Achievement Award during the Zee Cine Awards function in 2008, as a recognition of her contribution to Hindi Cinema.

She also received An Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema award at IIFA awards 2010 held at Colombo, Sri Lanka. She dedicated this award to her mother.

Image[link]

Aman's sultry persona was a contrast to many of the more conservative stars of the era.^[2] At a time when heroines were obedient wives and lovers on screen, Aman was drawn to more unconventional roles—she was cast as the opportunist who deserts her jobless lover for a millionaire (Roti Kapda Aur Makaan), the ambitious girl who considers having an abortion in order to pursue a career (Ajnabee), the happy hooker (Manoranjan), the disenchanted hippie (Hare Rama Hare Krishna), the girl who falls in love with her mother's one-time lover (Prem Shastra), and a woman married to a caustic cripple but involved in an extramarital relationship (Dhund). She managed to balance these roles with acting in more conventional films such as Chori Mera Kaam, Chhaila Babu, Dostana and Lawaaris, which is considered by many to be a landmark in Indian Cinema. Encyclopædia Britannica's "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema" wrote, "Zeenat Aman had a definite impact on the characterization of the heroine in Hindi films. With films such as Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Yaadon Ki Baraat, she fashioned the image of the youthful and westernized woman in Hindi cinema."^[1]

Aman's persona was such that newcomers were, and still are compared to her. Parveen Babi was called "The poor man's Zeenat Aman", Sarika was christened "Zeenat Aman 2" and Padmini Kolhapure was named "Baby Zeenat".

Personal life[link]

In 1985, she got married to Mazhar Khan and had two sons Azaan and Zahaan.Her husband Mazhar used to beat her up often which ultimately led to their filing for divorce^[7]. Mazhar Khan died in September 1998 (renal failure).

Today, Aman lives with her two sons and makes many social appearances and film awards functions, she is rarely seen on screen.

Awards and recognitions[link]

• 1972 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Hare Rama Hare Krishna
• 1972 - BFJA Awards, Best Actress for Hare Rama Hare Krishna
• 1978 - Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress for Satyam Shivam Sundaram
• 1980 - Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress for Insaaf Ka Tarazu
• 2003 - Bollywood Awards 'Award for Lifetime Achievement'- Lifetime of Glamour.^[8]
• 2006 - "Outstanding Contribution to the Motion Picture Industry of India Awards" at the eighth annual Bollywood Movie Awards.^[9][10]
• 2008 - Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement
• 2010 - "Outstanding Contribution to Indian cinema" at the 11th IIFA awards

Filmography[link]

Further reading[link]

• Dinesh Raheja. The A to Z of Zeenat Aman. Rediff.com, 26 September 2004. Retrieved on 14 November 2005.
• Vidya Sampat & Lavanya Varadrajan. Zeenat Aman: The Sensual^{[dead link]}. Despardes.com, 4 March 2005. Retrieved on 10 August 2005.
• Prateek Modi. Zeenat Aman: A Touch Of Class With Unlimited Oomph. Bollykings.com, 4 November 2011.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Zeenat Aman at the Internet Movie Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zeenat Aman

• Celebrity Profile: Zeenat Aman^{[dead link]}. Buzz18.com
• Zeenat Aman^{[dead link]}. Yahoo! Movies
• Zeenat Aman article at Sunday Observer

Awards and titles for Zeenat Aman Awards and achievements Preceded by Seo Won-kyoung Miss Asia Pacific 1970 1970 Succeeded by Flora Baza Preceded by Tasneem Fakir Mohammed Femina Miss India 1970 Succeeded by Urmila Sanandan

v t e Miss India winners in the Grand Slam pageants Miss Universe Sushmita Sen (1994) · Lara Dutta (2000) Miss World Reita Faria (1966) · Aishwarya Rai (1994) · Diana Hayden (1997) · Yukta Mookhey (1999) · Priyanka Chopra (2000) Miss Asia Pacific Zeenat Aman (1970) · Tara Anne Fonseca (1973) · Dia Mirza (2000) Miss Earth Nicole Faria (2010) Miss International - Dominican Republic India Panamá Philippines Puerto Rico USA Venezuela

Feroz Khan (Hindi: फ़िरोज़ ख़ान, Urdu: فیروزخان September 25, 1939 – 27 April 2009) was an Indian actor, film editor, producer and director in the Hindi film industry. For his flamboyant style, with cowboyish swagger and cigar toting persona which revolutionised the style quotient of the otherwise conventional Filmi hero, he is known as the Clint Eastwood of the East and a style icon in the industry.^[1][2][3]

He appeared in over 50 films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and became one of India's best-loved heroes with his role in the 1980 hit film Qurbani, which he also directed. Khan followed this multi-disciplinary achievement by directing more successful films like Dayavan (1988) and Janbaaz (1986).^[3][4] He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Aadmi Aur Insaan in 1970, and was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.^[5]

Early life[link]

Khan was born in the Indian city of Bangalore on September 25, 1939, but his roots are traced to Afghanistan.^[6] His father was Sadiq Ali Khan Tanoli^[7] and his mother was Iranian.^[8][9] He was educated in Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore and St. Germain's Boys High School, Bangalore. His brothers are Sanjay Khan (Abbas Khan), Shahrukh Shah Ali Khan, Sameer Khan and Akbar Khan (director). He has a sister Dilshad Bibi. After his schooling in Bangalore, he arrived in Mumbai where he made his debut as second lead in Didi in 1960.

Career[link]

Through the early 1960s and 1970s, he made low-budget thrillers opposite starlets. In 1962, he appeared in an English-language film titled Tarzan Goes to India opposite Simi Garewal. His first big hit was in 1965, with Phani Majumdar's Oonche Log (1965), where he was pitted against screen idols Raaj Kumar and Ashok Kumar; he gave a notable sensitive performance.^[10][11] Again, in the same year, he played a sacrificing lover in the mushy musical Arzoo, starring Sadhana. With this, Khan earned his entry into A-list second leads. With the film Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969), Khan won his first Filmfare award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He appeared alongside his real-life brother Sanjay Khan in the hit films Upaasna (1967), Mela (1971), and Nagin (1976).

He turned into a successful producer and director in 1971 so as to improve his career opportunities as a leading man with his first directorial film Apradh, which was the first Indian movie showing auto racing in Germany; Mumtaaz was his co-star. He produced, directed, and starred in the 1975 film Dharmatma, which was the first Indian film to be shot in Afghanistan and was also his first blockbuster hit as producer, director, and star and marked appearance of actress Hema Malini in a glamorous avatar.^[12] This movie was inspired by the Hollywood film The Godfather.

Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, he was a leading Bollywood star, directing and starring in many of his films. He also starred in the Punjabi film Bhagat Dhanna Jat (1974). The 1980 film Qurbani, with Zeenat Aman, was the biggest hit of his career and launched the singing career of iconic Pakistani pop singer Nazia Hassan, with her memorable track "Aap Jaisa Koi."^[11] In 1986, he directed and starred in Janbaaz, a box-office hit,^[13] which some consider to be one of his best movies, featured an all-star cast and was possessed of great songs and excellent cinematography. In 1988, he directed and starred in Dayavan, which was a remake of a South Indian film titled Nayagan. After directing and starring in Yalgaar (1992), he took a long break from acting for 11 years.

He launched his son Fardeen Khan's career with the 1998 film Prem Aggan, which, however, was a box-office bomb. In 2003, he made his acting comeback as well as produced and directed Janasheen, which also starred his son Fardeen. He always used performing animals in his films—a chimpanzee and lion were used in Janasheen—but People for Animals (PFA) Haryana [2] chairman Naresh Kadyan moved a complaint in the court of law at Faridabad for animal cruelty and legal action as per law against the producer, director, and actor.

He starred alongside his son again in Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena (2005) and made his last film appearance in Welcome (2007).

Feroz Khan was ahead of his time in terms of his unmatchable style, which reflected in his movies and music. His movies like Qurbani and Dharmatma are cult favourites in Hindi cinema. Though he was not considered a superstar, he would remain immortal for several years to come.

In May 2006, Feroz Khan was blacklisted by then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf when he went there to promote his brother's film, Taj Mahal. In an intelligence report submitted to Musharraf, he was said to have gotten drunk and insulted Pakistani singer and anchor Fakhr-e-Alam and criticizing the country saying:

"I am a proud Indian. India is a secular country. The Muslims there are making lot of progress unlike in Pakistan. Our President is a Muslim and our Prime Minister a Sikh. Pakistan was made in the name of Islam, but look how the Muslims are killing Muslims here."

Pakistan's high commission in India and the foreign and interior ministries were subsequently directed to deny Khan a visa in the future.^[14]

Personal life[link]

Feroz Khan has a son named Fardeen Khan who is married to Natasha Madhwani, daughter of former Bollywood actress Mumtaz. He also has a daughter Laila Khan, who is married to Farhan Furniturewala. Laila was married to Rohit Rajpal, a national level tennis player but divorced him and married Furniturewala in 2010. Although Fardeen and Farhan had their differences and nearly came to blows at a nightclub with each other, Fardeen and Farhan sorted everything out and accepted each other later on.

Awards and nominations[link]

• Filmfare Best Debut Award: Didi(1960)
• Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Aadmi Aur Insaan (1970)
• Filmfare Nomination as Best Supporting Actor for International Crook (1974)
• Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001^[15]
• Filmfare Nomination as Best Villain for Janasheen (2003)^[16]
• Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008
• "Pride of the industry" at the Max Stardust Awards 2009.^[17][18]

Filmography[link]

• Didi (1960)
• Main Shadi Karne Chala (1962)
• Reporter Raju (1962)
• Tarzan Goes to India (1962) ... Prince Raghu Kumar
• Bahurani (1963) ... Vikram
• Suhagan (1964) ... Shankar
• Char Dervesh (1964) ... Qamar Bhakt
• Teesra Kaun (1965)
• Oonche Log (1965) ... Rajnikant
• Raat Andheri Thi (1965)
• Ek Sapera Ek Lootera (1965) ... Mohan/Vijay Pratap Singh
• Arzoo (1965) ... Ramesh
• Tasveer (1966)
• Main Wohi Hoon (1966) ... Vijay
• Raat Andheri Thi (1967)
• Woh Koi Aur Hoga (1967)
• Raat Aur Din (1967) ... Dilip
• CID 909 (1967)
• Aurat (1967)
• Aag (1967) ... Shanker
• Nadir Shah (1968)
• Pyaasi Sham (1969) ... Ashok
• Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969) ... Jai Kishan/J.K.
• Safar (1970) ... Shekhar Kapoor
• Mela (1971)
• Ek Paheli (1971) ... Sudhir
• Upaasna (1971)
• Apradh (1972) ... Ram Khana
• Kashmakash (1973)
• Kisan Aur Bhagwan (1974)
• Khhotte Sikkay (1974) ... Horseback rider
• Geeta Mera Naam (1974)
• Bhagat Dhanna Jatt (1974) ... Ramu
• Anjaan Raahen (1974) ... Anand
• International Crook (1974) ... SP Rajesh
• Rani Aur Lalpari (1975) ... Gulliver
• Kala Sona (1975) ... Rakesh
• Aa Jaa Sanam (1975) ... Dr. Satish
• Dharmatma (2012' march, releasing with don 2) .... Ranbir
• Sharafat Chod Di Maine (1976)
• Qabeela (1976)
• Shanker shambu (1976) ...Shambu
• Nagin (1976) ... Raj
• Jadu Tona (1977) ... Dr. Kailash
• Darinda (1977)
• Chunaoti (1980)
• Qurbani (1980) ... Rajesh Kumar/Kailash Nath
• Khoon Aur Paani (1981)
• Kachche Heere (1982) ... Nephew of Kamal Singh
• Janbaaz (1986) ... Inspector Rajesh Singh
• Dayavan (1988) ... Shankar Waghmare
• Meet Mere Man Ka (1991)
• Yalgaar (1992) ... Rajesh Ashwini Kumar
• Prem Agan (1998) ...
• Janasheen (2003) ... Saba Karim Shah
• Chitappa (2005) ... Raman
• Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena (2005) ... Jehangir Khan (Special Appearance)
• Om Shanti Om (2007) ... as himself (Special Appearance)
• Welcome (2007) ... Ranbir Dhanraj Xaka (RDX)

Death and Funeral[link]

He succumbed to a battle with cancer on April 27, 2009. During his illness he returned to rest at his farmhouse in Bangalore.

He was laid to rest in his beloved Bangalore near to his mother's grave at Hosur Road Shia Kabristan with thousands in attendance included his close family, dear friends, and notable celebrities of Indian film industry. He was remembered for his larger than life presence, and excellence in cinema.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Feroz Khan at the Internet Movie Database

Lata Mangeshkar
Mangeshkar in 2008
Background information
Born	(1929-09-28) September 28, 1929 (age 82) Indore, Central India Agency, British India
Genres	Film music (playback singing)
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1942–present

Lata Mangeshkar (born September 28, 1929) is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India.^[1][2] Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi. She is the elder sister of singer Asha Bhosle, Hridayanath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar. She is the second vocalist to have ever been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.^[3]

Mangeshkar was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records from 1974 to 1991 for having made the most recordings in the world. The claim was that she had recorded approximately 25,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian languages between 1948 to 1974. Over the years, while several sources have supported this claim, others have raised concerns over its veracity, claiming that this number was highly exaggerated and that Mangeshkar's younger sister, Asha Bhosle, had more song recordings than she had.^[4][5] In 2011 Guinness officially acknowledged Bhosle as the most recorded artist in music history.^[6]

Early life[link]

Lata Mangeshkar was born in Sikh Mohalla,^[7] in the princely state of Indore, part of the Central India Agency (now part of Madhya Pradesh). Her father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar who belonged to a Gomantak Maratha Samaj family from Goa, was a classical singer and theater actor. Her mother Shevanti (Shudhamati) who was from Thalner, Maharashtra, was Deenanath's second wife. The family's last name used to be Hardikar; Deenanath changed it to Mangeshkar in order to identify his family with his native town, Mangeshi in Goa. Lata was named "Hema" at her birth. Her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father's plays, BhaawBandhan.^[8] Lata is the eldest child of her parents. Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridayanath are her siblings in sequence.

Mangeshkar took her first lessons from her father. At the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays (Sangeet Natak in Marathi). On the first day in the school, she started teaching songs to other children. When the teacher stopped her, she was so angry that she stopped going to the school.^[8] Other sources cite that she left school because they would not allow her to bring Asha with her, as she would often bring her younger sister with her.

Singing career[link]

Early career in the 1940s[link]

In 1942, when Mangeshkar was 13, her father died of heart disease. Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of them

Mangeshkar sang the song "Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari" which was composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar for Vasant Joglekar's Marathi-language movie Kiti Hasaal (1942), but the song was dropped from the final cut. Vinayak gave her a small role in Navyug Chitrapat's Marathi movie Pahili Mangalaa-gaur (1942), in which she sang "Natali Chaitraachi Navalaai" which was composed by Dada Chandekar.^[8] Her first Hindi song was "Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu" for the Marathi film, Gajaabhaau (1943). Mangeshkar moved to Mumbai in 1945 when Master Vinayak's company moved its headquarters there. She started taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan . She sang “Paa Lagoon Kar Jori” for Vasant Joglekar's Hindi-language movie Aap Ki Seva Mein (1946),^[8] which was composed by Datta Davjekar. Mangeshkar and her sister Asha played minor roles in Vinayak's first Hindi-language movie, Badi Maa (1945). In that movie, Lata also sang a bhajan, “Maata Tere Charnon Mein.” She was introduced to music director Vasant Desai during the recording of Vinayak's second Hindi-language movie, Subhadra (1946).

Following the partition of India in 1947, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan migrated to newly formed Pakistan, so Mangeshkar started to learn classical music under Amanat Khan Devaswale. Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, also trained her.

After Vinayak's death in 1948, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer. Haider introduced Mangeshkar to producer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who was working then on the movie Shaheed (1948), but Mukherjee dismissed Mangeshkar's voice as "too thin."^[8] An annoyed Haider responded that in the coming years the producers and the directors would "fall at Lata's feet" and "beg her" to sing in their movies. Haider gave Lata her first major break with the song “Dil Mera Toda,” from the movie Majboor (1948).^[8]

Initially, Mangeshkar is said to have imitated the acclaimed singer Noor Jehan, but later she developed her own style of singing.^[8] Lyrics of songs in Hindi movies are primarily composed by Urdu poets and contain a higher proportion of Urdu words, including the dialogue. Actor Dilip Kumar once made a mildly disapproving remark about Mangeshkar's Maharashtrian accent while singing Hindi/Urdu songs; so for a period of time, Lata took lessons in Urdu from an Urdu teacher named Shafi.^[9]

One of her first major hits was “Aayega Aanewaala,” a song in the movie Mahal (1949), which was composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on screen by actress Madhubala.

1950s[link]

Mangeshkar as a young woman

In the 1950s, Mangeshkar sang songs composed by various music directors of the period, including Anil Biswas (in films such as Tarana and Heer), Shankar-Jaikishan, Naushad, S. D. Burman, C. Ramchandra, Hemant Kumar, Salil Chowdhury, Khayyam, Ravi, Sajjad Hussain, Roshan, Kalyanji-Anandji, Vasant Desai, Sudhir Phadke, Hansraj Behl, Madan Mohan, and Usha Khanna.

Mangeshkar sang many raga-based songs for Naushad in movies such as Baiju Bawra (1952), Mughal-E-Azam (1960), and Kohinoor (1960). Ae Chorre Ki Jaat Badi Bewafa, a duet with G. M. Durrani, was her first song for composer, Naushad. The duo, Shankar-Jaikishan, chose Mangeshkar for Aag, Aah (1953), Shree 420 (1955), and Chori Chori (1956). Before 1957, composer Sachin Dev (S. D.) Burman chose Mangeshkar as the leading female singer for his musical scores in Sazaa (1951), House No. 44 (1955), and Devdas (1955). However a rift developed between Lata and Burman in 1957, and Lata did not sing Burman's compositions again until 1962.^[8]

Mangeshkar won a Filmfare Best Female Playback Award for Salil Chowdhury's composition “Aaja Re Pardesi,” from Madhumati (1958). In the early fifties, Lata Mangeshkar's association with C. Ramchandra produced songs in movies such as Anarkali, Albela, Asha, Pehli Jhhalak, Shin Shinkai Bublaa Boo, Azad and Amardeep. For Madan Mohan, she performed for films like Adalat, Railway Platform, Dekh Kabira Roya and Chacha Zindabad.

1960s[link]

Mangeshkar's song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" from Mughal-E-Azam (1960), composed by Naushad and picturized on Madhubala, still remains famous . The Hawaiian-themed number "Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh" from Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960) was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan and picturized on Meena Kumari.

In 1961, Mangeshkar recorded two popular bhajans, "Allah Tero Naam" and "Prabhu Tero Naam", for Burman's assistant, Jaidev. In 1962, she was awarded her second Filmfare Award for the song "Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil" from Bees Saal Baad, composed by Hemant Kumar.

On June 27, 1963, against the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War, Mangeshkar sang the patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" (literally, "Oh, People of My Country") in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. The song, composed by C. Ramchandra and written by Pradeep, is said to have brought the Prime Minister to tears.^[8][10]

In 1963, Mangeshkar returned to collaboration with S. D. Burman. She also sang for R. D. Burman's very first film Chhote Nawaab and later for his films such as Bhoot Bangla (1965), Pati Patni (1966), Baharon ke Sapne (1967) and Abhilasha (1969). She also recorded several popular songs for S. D. Burman, including "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai", "Gata Rahe Mera Dil" (duet with Kishore Kumar) and "Piya Tose" from Guide (1965), and "Hothon Pe Aisi Baat" from Jewel Thief (1967).

During the 1960s, Lata Mangeshkar continued her association with Madan Mohan which included the songs "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha" from Anpadh (1962), "Lag Ja Gale" and "Naina Barse Rim Jhim" from Woh Kaun Thi? (1964), "Woh Chup Rahen To" from Jahan Ara (1964), and "Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega" from Mera Saaya (1966).

The 1960s also witnessed the beginning of Mangeshkar's association with Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the music directors for whom she sang the most popular songs in her career. She sang for Parasmani (1963) which was their first film together.

She also sang several playback songs for Marathi films, composed by Marathi music directors including Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Vasant Prabhu, Srinivas Khale, Sudhir Phadke and herself (under the name Anandghan). During the 1960s and 1970s, she also sang several Bengali songs, composed by music directors like Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar.

In this period Lata Mangeshkar has recorded duets with Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, and Kishore Kumar.

1970s[link]

In 1972, Meena Kumari's last film, Pakeezah released. It featured popular songs including "Chalte Chalte" and "Inhi Logon Ne" sung by Lata Mangeshkar, and composed by Ghulam Mohammed. She recorded many popular songs for S. D. Burman's last films, including "Rangeela Re" from Prem Pujari (1970), "Khilte Hain Gul Yahaan" from Sharmeelee (1971), and "Piya Bina" from Abhimaan (1973).

Lata Mangeshkar's most notable songs in 1970s were composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal (Laxmi-Pyare) and Rahul Dev Burman^{[citation needed]}. She recorded several songs composed by Laxmi-Pyare in 1960s and 1970s, many of them written by the lyricist Anand Bakshi. She also recorded many hit songs with Rahul Dev Burman in the films Amar Prem (1972), Caravan (1971), Kati Patang(1971), and Aandhi (1975). The two are noted for their songs with the lyricists Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi and Gulzar.

In 1973, she won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Beeti Na Bitai" from the film Parichay, composed by R. D. Burman, and written by Gulzar. In 1974, she sang her only Malayalam song "Kadali Chenkadali" for the film Nellu, composed by Salil Chowdhury, and written by Vayalar Ramavarma. In 1975, she again won the national award, this time for the song "Roothe Roothe Piya" from the film Kora Kagaz, composed by Kalyanji-Anandji.

From 1970s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar has also staged many concerts in India and abroad, including several charity concerts. Her first concert overseas was at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1974. She also released an album of Mirabai's bhajans, Chala Vaahi Des, composed by her brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar. Some of the bhajans in the album include "Saanware Rang Raachi" and "Ud Jaa Re Kaaga". In the early 70s, she released other non-film albums, such as her collection of Ghalib ghazals, an album of Marathi folk songs (koli-geete), an album of Ganesh aartis (all composed by her brother Hridaynath) and an album of abhangs of Sant Tukaram composed by Shrinivas Khale.

In late 1970s and early 1980s, she worked with the children of composers she had earlier worked with. Some of these composers included Rahul Dev Burman (son of Sachin Dev Burman), Rajesh Roshan (son of Roshan), Anu Malik (son of Sardar Malik), and Anand-Milind (sons of Chitragupt).

1980s onwards[link]

From 1980s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar worked with music directors including Shiv-Hari, Ram Laxman, and A. R. Rahman. She recorded some non-film songs, including ghazals with Jagjit Singh.

In 1990, Mangeshkar launched her own production house for Hindi movies which produced the Gulzar-directed movie Lekin.... She won her third National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the song "Yaara Sili Sili" from the film, which was composed by her brother Hridayanath. During the 1990s, she recorded with music directors including Jatin-Lalit and Nadeem-Shravan. She has sung for Rajshri Productions, including Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) and Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994).

Mangeshkar has sung for almost all the Yash Chopra films and films from his production house Yash Raj Films at that time, including Chandni (1989), Lamhe (1991), Darr (1993), Yeh Dillagi (1994), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and later on Mohabbatein (2000), Mujhse Dosti Karoge (2002) and Veer Zaara (2004).

A. R. Rahman recorded a few songs with Mangeshkar during this period, including "Jiya Jale" (Dil Se..), "Khamoshiyan Gungunane Lagin" (One Two Ka Four), "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa" (Pukar), "Pyaara Sa Gaon" (Zubeidaa), "Lukka chuppi" (Rang de Basanti) and "O Paalanhaare" (Lagaan). She made an appearance in the film Pukar singing this song.

In 1999, Lata Eau de Parfum, a perfume brand named after her, was launched.^[11]

In 1999, Mangeshkar was nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha.^[12] However, she did not attend the Rajya Sabha sessions regularly, inviting criticism from several members of the House, including the Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah, Pranab Mukherjee and Shabana Azmi.^[13][14] She stated the reason for her absence as ill-health; it was also reported that she had not taken a salary, allowance or a house in Delhi for being a Member of Parliament.^[13][15]

In 2001, Lata Mangeshkar was awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. In the same year, she established the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune, managed by the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation (founded by the Mangeshkar family in October 1989). In 2005, she designed a jewellery collection called Swaranjali, which was crafted by Adora, an Indian diamond export company. Five pieces from the collection raised £105,000 at a Christie's auction, and a part of the money was donated for the 2005 Pakistan earthquake relief.^[16] Also in 2001, she recorded her first Hindi song with the composer Ilaiyaraaja, for the film Lajja; she had earlier recorded Tamil and Telugu songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

Lata Mangeshkar's song "Wada Na Tod" is in the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and on the film's soundtrack.

On June 21, 2007, she released an album Saadgi, featuring eight ghazal-like songs written by Javed Akhtar and composed by Mayuresh Pai.^[17]

Lata Mangeshkar records songs for Madhur Bhandarkar Kitne Ajeeb Rishte Hain Yahan Par for Page 3 (2005), Daata Sun Le for Jail (2009) and, Kyun Yahan Hota Hai was recorded years ago for Corporate (2006), but is only being used in Heroine (2012).^{[18] [19]}

Non-singing career[link]

Music direction[link]

Lata Mangeshkar composed music for the first time in 1955 for Marathi movie Ram Ram Pavhane. Later in 1960s, she composed music for following Marathi movies under the pseudonym of Anand Ghan.^[20]

• 1960 - Ram Ram Pavhana
• 1963 - Maratha Tituka Melvava
• 1963 - Mohityanchi Manjula
• 1965 - Sadhi Manase
• 1969 - Tambadi Mati

She won Maharashtra State Government's Best Music Director Award for the film Sadhi Manase. The song "Airanichya Deva Tula" from the same film received best song award.^{[citation needed]}

Production[link]

Lata Mangeshkar has produced four films:

• 1953 - Vaadal (Marathi)
• 1953 - Jhaanjhar (Hindi), co-produced with C. Ramchandra
• 1955 - Kanchan (Hindi)
• 1990 - Lekin... (Hindi)

Awards and recognitions[link]

Lata Mangeshkar has won several awards and honors, including Bharat Ratna (India's Highest Civilian Award), Padma Bhushan (1969), Padma Vibhushan (1999), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1989), Maharashtra Bhushan Award (1997),^[21] NTR National Award (1999), Bharat Ratna (2001), ANR National Award (2009), three National Film Awards, and 12 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. She has also won four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards. In 1969, she made the unusual gesture of giving up the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award, in order to promote fresh talent. She was later awarded Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.

In 1984, the State Government of Madhya Pradesh instituted the Lata Mangeshkar Award in honour of Lata Mangeshkar. The State Government of Maharashtra also instituted a Lata Mangeshkar Award in 1992.

In 1974, The Guinness Book of Records listed Lata Mangeshkar as the most recorded artist in the history, stating that she had reportedly recorded "not less than 25,000 solo, duet and chorus backed songs in 20 Indian languages" between 1948 and 1974. Her record was contested by Mohammed Rafi, who was claimed to have sung around 28,000 songs.^[4][22] After Rafi's death, in its 1984 edition, the Guinness Book of World Records stated Lata Mangeshkar's name for the "Most Recordings", but also stated Rafi's claim. The later editions of Guinness Book stated that Lata Mangeshkar had sung no fewer than 30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987.^[23]

Although the entry has not been printed in Guinness editions since 1991, several sources claim that she has recorded thousands of songs, with estimates ranging up to figures as large as 50,000.^[24][25] However, even the earliest Guinness claim of 25,000 songs (between 1948–1974) was claimed to be exaggerated by several other sources, with one of them stating that the number of songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Hindi films till 1991 was found to be 5250.^[26][27][28] Mangeshkar herself stated that she does not keep a record of the number of songs recorded by her, and that she did not know from where Guinness Book editors got their information.^[29] In 2011 Asha Bhosle was officially acknowledged by Guinness as the most recorded artist in music history, surpassing Mangeshkar.^[6]

See also[link]

• Playback singer
• Asha Bhosle
• List of Indian playback singers
• Bollywood songs

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Bichu, Dr. Mandar (2011). Lata - Voice of the Golden Era. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-7991-625-4. 
• Bhimani, Harish (1995). In search of Lata Mangeshkar. Indus. ISBN 978-81-7223-170-5. 
• Bharatan, Raju (1995). Lata Mangeshkar: A Biography. UBS Publishers Distributors. ISBN 978-81-7476-023-4. 
• Kabir, Nasreen Munni (2009). Lata Mangeshkar: In Her Own Voice. Niyogi Books. ISBN 978-81-89738-41-9. 
• Lata, Mangeshkar (1995). Madhuvanti Sapre and Dinkar Gangal. ed (in Marathi). In search of Lata Mangeshkar. Harper Collins/Indus. ISBN 978-81-7223-170-5. . A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952.
• Nerurkar, Vishwas (in Hindi). Lata Mangeshkar Gandhar Swaryatra (1945-1989). Mumbai: Vasanti P. Nerukar. .
• Bichhu, Mandar V. (1996) (in Hindi). Gaaye Lata, Gaaye Lata. Sharjah: Pallavi Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-7223-170-5. . A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lata Mangeshkar

• Lata Mangeshkar at the Internet Movie Database

Awards for Lata Mangeshkar v t e Bharat Ratna laureates Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1954) C. Rajagopalachari (1954) C. V. Raman (1954) Bhagwan Das (1955) Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya (1955) Jawaharlal Nehru (1955) Govind Ballabh Pant (1957) Dhondo Keshav Karve (1958) Bidhan Chandra Roy (1961) Purushottam Das Tandon (1961) Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1962) Dr. Zakir Hussain (1963) Pandurang Vaman Kane (1963) Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966) Indira Gandhi (1971) V. V. Giri (1975) K. Kamaraj (1976) Mother Teresa (1980) Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1983) Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987) M. G. Ramachandran (1988) B. R. Ambedkar (1990) Nelson Mandela (1990) Rajiv Gandhi (1991) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1991) Morarji Desai (1991) Abul Kalam Azad (1992) J. R. D. Tata (1992) Satyajit Ray (1992) A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1997) Gulzarilal Nanda (1997) Aruna Asaf Ali (1997) M. S. Subbulakshmi (1998) Chidambaram Subramaniam (1998) Jayaprakash Narayan (1998) Ravi Shankar (1999) Amartya Sen (1999) Gopinath Bordoloi (1999) Lata Mangeshkar (2001) Bismillah Khan (2001) Bhimsen Joshi (2008) v t e Dadasaheb Phalke Award 1969–1980 Devika Rani Chaudhuri Roerich (1969) B. N. Sircar (1970) Prithviraj Kapoor (1971) Pankaj Mullick (1972) Ruby Myers (1973) Bommireddy Narasimha Reddy (1974) Dhirendranath Ganguly (1975) Kanan Devi (1976) Nitin Bose (1977) Rai Chand Boral (1978) Sohrab Modi (1979) Paidi Jairaj (1980) 1981–2000 Naushad Ali (1981) L. V. Prasad (1982) Durga Khote (1983) Satyajit Ray (1984) V. Shantaram (1985) Bommireddy Nagi Reddy (1986) Raj Kapoor (1987) Ashok Kumar (1988) Lata Mangeshkar (1989) Akkineni Nageswara Rao (1990) Bhalji Pendharkar (1991) Bhupen Hazarika (1992) Majrooh Sultanpuri (1993) Dilip Kumar (1994) Rajkumar (1995) Sivaji Ganesan (1996) Pradeep (1997) B. R. Chopra (1998) Hrishikesh Mukherjee (1999) Asha Bhosle (2000) 2001–present Yash Chopra (2001) Dev Anand (2002) Mrinal Sen (2003) Adoor Gopalakrishnan (2004) Shyam Benegal (2005) Tapan Sinha (2006) Manna Dey (2007) V. K. Murthy (2008) D. Ramanaidu (2009) K. Balachander (2010) Soumitra Chatterjee (2011) v t e National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer 1968–1980 No Award (1968) P. Susheela (1969) K. B. Sundarambal (1970) Sandhya Mukherjee (1971) P. Susheela (1972) Lata Mangeshkar (1973) No Award (1974) Lata Mangeshkar (1975) Vani Jairam (1976) P. Susheela (1977) S. Janaki (1978) Chhaya Ganguly (1979) Vani Jairam (1980) 1981–2000 S. Janaki (1981) Asha Bhosle (1982) P. Susheela (1983) P. Susheela (1984) S. Janaki (1985) K. S. Chithra (1986) K. S. Chithra (1987) Asha Bhosle (1988) K. S. Chithra (1989) Anuradha Paudwal (1990) Lata Mangeshkar (1991) Vani Jairam (1992) S. Janaki (1993) Alka Yagnik (1994) Swarnalatha (1995) Anjali Marathe (1996) K. S. Chithra (1997) K. S. Chithra (1998) Alka Yagnik (1999) Jayshree Dasgupta (2000) 2001–present Bhavatharini Ilaiyaraaja (2001) Sadhana Sargam (2002) Shreya Ghoshal (2003) Tarali Sarma (2004) K. S. Chithra (2005) Shreya Ghoshal (2006) Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar (2007) Shreya Ghoshal (2008) Shreya Ghoshal (2009) Nilanjana Sarkar (2010) Rekha Bhardwaj (2011) Rupa Ganguly (2012) v t e Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer 1959–1960 Lata Mangeshkar (1959) No Award (1960) 1961–1980 No Award (1961) No Award (1962) Lata Mangeshkar (1963) No Award (1964) No Award (1965) Lata Mangeshkar (1966) No Award (1967) Asha Bhosle (1968) Asha Bhosle (1969) Lata Mangeshkar (1970) Sharda (1971) Asha Bhosle (1972) Asha Bhosle (1973) Asha Bhosle (1974) Asha Bhosle (1975) Sulakshana Pandit (1976) Hemlata (1977) Preeti Sagar (1978) Asha Bhosle (1979) Vani Jairam (1980) 1981–2000 Nazia Hassan (1981) Parveen Sultana (1982) Salma Agha (1983) Aarti Mukherji (1984) Anupama Deshpande (1985) Anuradha Paudwal (1986) No Award (1987) No Award (1988) Alka Yagnik (1989) Sapna Mukherjee (1990) Anuradha Paudwal (1991) Anuradha Paudwal (1992) Anuradha Paudwal (1993) Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun (1994) Kavita Krishnamurthy (1995) Kavita Krishnamurthy (1996) Kavita Krishnamurthy (1997) Alka Yagnik (1998) Jaspinder Narula (1999) Alka Yagnik (2000) 2001–present Alka Yagnik (2001) Alka Yagnik (2002) Kavita Krishnamurthy and Shreya Ghoshal (2003) Shreya Ghoshal (2004) Alka Yagnik (2005) Alisha Chinai (2006) Sunidhi Chauhan (2007) Shreya Ghoshal (2008) Shreya Ghoshal (2009) Kavita Seth and Rekha Bhardwaj (2010) Mamta Sharma and Sunidhi Chauhan (2011) Rekha Bhardwaj and Usha Uthup (2012) v t e Filmfare Award for Lifetime Achievement 1991 – 2000 Amitabh Bachchan (1991) Dev Anand (1992) Dilip Kumar (1993) Lata Mangeshkar (1994) Shammi Kapoor & Waheeda Rehman (1995) Ashok Kumar, Sunil Dutt & Vyjayanthimala (1996) Dharmendra, Mumtaz & Pran(1997) Sharmila Tagore (1998) Manoj Kumar & Helen (1999) Vinod Khanna & Hema Malini (2000) 2001 – 2010 Feroz Khan & Asha Bhosle (2001) Gulzar & Asha Parekh (2002) Jeetendra (2003) Sulochana Latkar, Nirupa Roy & B.R. Chopra (2004) Rajesh Khanna (2005) Shabana Azmi (2006) Javed Akhtar & Jaya Bachchan (2007) Rishi Kapoor (2008) Bhanu Athaiya & Om Puri (2009) Shashi Kapoor & Khayyam (2010) 2011 - present Manna Dey (2011) Pyarelal & Aruna Irani (2012)

Anna Hazare
Anna Hazare in Nanded, Maharastra
Born	Kisan Hazare (1937-06-15) 15 June 1937 (age 75) Bhingar, Bombay Province, British India
Nationality	Indian
Other names	Kisan Baburao Hazare
Known for	Indian anti-corruption movement - 2012, Indian anti-corruption movement - 2011, Watershed development programmes, Right to Information
Influenced by	Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda
Political movement	Indian anti-corruption movement, Peace movement
Religion	Hinduism
Spouse	Never Married
Parents	Laxmibai Hazare Baburao Hazare
Awards	Padma Shri (1990) Padma Bhushan (1992)
Website
www.annahazare.org www.beinganna.org

Kisan Baburao Hazare  pronunciation (help·info) (Marathi: किसन बाबुराव हजारे, Kisan Bāburāv Hajārē ^?) (born 15 June 1937), popularly known as Anna Hazare  pronunciation (help·info) (Marathi: अण्णा हजारे, Aṇṇā Hajārē ^?) is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish official corruption. In addition to organizing and encouraging grassroots movements, Hazare frequently conducted hunger strikes to further his causes—a tactic reminiscent, to many, of the work of Mohandas K. Gandhi.^[1][2][3] Hazare also contributed to the development and structuring of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan—the third-highest civilian award—by the Government of India in 1992 for his efforts in establishing this village as a model for others.^[4]

Anna Hazare started an indefinite hunger strike on 5 April 2011 to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a stringent anti-corruption law, The Lokpal Bill, 2011 as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, for the institution of an ombudsman with the power to deal with corruption in public places. The fast led to nation-wide protests in support. The fast ended on 9 April 2011, a day after the government accepted Hazare's demands. The government issued a gazette notification on the formation of a joint committee, consisting of government and civil society representatives, to draft the legislation.^[5][6]

For the year 2011 Foreign Policy magazine named him among top 100 global thinkers.^[7] Also in 2011 Anna was ranked as the most influential person in Mumbai by a national daily newspaper.^[8] He has faced criticism for his authoritarian views on justice, including death as punishment for corrupt public officials and his alleged support for forced vasectomies as a method of family planning.^[9][10]

Early life[link]

Kisan Hazare was born on 15 June 1937^{[citation needed]} (some sources say 1940)^[11] in Bhingar, near to Ahmednagar. The eldest son, with two sisters and four brothers, the later adoption of the name Anna in Marathi it uses for elder person which is equal to "father". His father worked in a pharmacy and struggled to support the family financially. In time, the family moved to their ancestral village of Ralegan Siddhi, where they owned a small amount of agricultural land. A relative took on the burden of providing Kisan with an education, taking him to Mumbai because the village had no primary school. The relative became unable financially to continue the support and Kisan's schooling ended in the Standard Seventh grade; his siblings never attended school.^[12] He started selling flowers at the Dadar railway station in Mumbai and eventually managed to own two flower shops in the city.^[13] He also became involved in vigilantism, joining groups who acted to prevent landlords' thugs from intimidating the poor out of their shelter.^[14]

Military service[link]

The Indo-China War of 1962 caused the Indian Army to commence emergency recruitment measures. Hazare was drafted in April 1963, despite not meeting the physical requirements, and was attested as a soldier on 16 November of that year after undertaking training at Aurangabad.^[12][15]

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Hazare was posted at the border in the Khem Karan sector. He was the sole survivor of an enemy attack—variously claimed to have been a bomb, an aerial assault and an exchange of fire at the border—while he was driving a truck.^[12][13][16] The experiences of wartime, coupled with the poverty from which he had come, affected him. He considered suicide at one point but turned instead to pondering the meaning of life and death.^[12] He said of the truck attack, "[It] sent me thinking. I felt that God wanted me to stay alive for some reason. I was reborn in the battlefield of Khem Karan. And I decided to dedicate my new life to serving people."^[13] He spent his spare time reading the works of Swami Vivekananda, Gandhi, and Vinoba Bhave.^[17] In a blog post, Hazare expressed his views on Kashmir by saying that it was his "active conviction that Kashmir is an integral part of India" and that if required once again for service, he would remain "ready to take part in war against Pakistan."^[18]

During the mid-1970s, Hazare survived a road crash while driving for the army. He interpreted his survival as a further sign that his life was intended to be dedicated to service.^[14] Despite subsequent allegations that he had deserted from the army, official records show that he was honourably discharged in 1975 after completing 12 years of service.^[15]

Transformation of Ralegan Siddhi[link]

Hazare returned to Ralegan Siddhi, a village then described by Satpathy and Mehta as "one of the many villages of India plagued by acute poverty, deprivation, a fragile ecosystem, neglect and hopelessness."^[19]

Although most of the villagers owned some land, cultivation was extremely difficult due to the rocky ground preventing retention of the monsoon rains, this situation was worsened by gradual environmental deterioration as trees were cut down, erosion spread and droughts were also experienced. The shortage of water also led to disease from unsanitary conditions and water reuse for multiple purposes. The economy of the village had become reliant on the illegal manufacture and sale of alcohol, a product on which many of the villagers had become dependent. Many inhabitants borrowed from moneylenders to survive, paying monthly interest rates of as much as 10%. Crime and violence (including domestic violence) had become commonplace, while education and employment opportunities were poor.^[14][20]

Hazare was relatively wealthy because of the gratuity from his army service. He set about using that money to restore a run-down, vandalised village temple as a focal point for the community. Some were able to respond with small financial donations but many other villagers, particularly among the elderly, donated their labour in a process that became known as shramdaan. Some youths also became involved in the work and these he organised into a Tarun Mandal (Youth Association). One of the works of Vivekananda which he had read was Call to the youth for nation building.^[21]

Prohibition of alcohol[link]

Hazare and the youth group decided to take up the issue of alcoholism to drive a process of reform. At a meeting conducted in the temple, the villagers resolved to close down liquor dens and ban alcohol in the village. Since these resolutions were made in the temple, they became, in a sense, religious commitments. Over thirty liquor brewing units voluntarily closed their establishments. Those who did not succumb to social pressure were forced to close their businesses when the youth group smashed their premises. The owners could not complain as their businesses were illegal.^[22]

Drunken villagers were tied to pillars and then flogged, sometimes personally by Hazare. He justified this punishment by stating that “rural India was a harsh society”,^[23] and that

Doesn’t a mother administer bitter medicines to a sick child when she knows that the medicine can cure her child? The child may not like the medicine, but the mother does it only because she cares for the child. The alcoholics were punished so that their families would not be destroyed.^[24]

Hazare appealed to the government of Maharashtra to pass a law whereby prohibition would come into force in a village if 25% of the women in the village demanded it. In 2009 the state government amended the Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949 to reflect this.^[25]

It was decided to ban the sale of tobacco, cigarettes, and beedies (an unfiltered cigarette where the tobacco is rolled in tendu also known as Diospyros melanoxylon leaves instead of paper) in the village. In order to implement this resolution, the youth group performed a unique "Holi" ceremony twenty two years ago.^[when?] The festival of Holi is celebrated as a symbolic burning of evil. The youth group brought all the tobacco, cigarettes, and beedies from the shops in the village and burnt them in a Holi fire. Tobacco, cigarettes, or beedies are no longer sold.^[26][27]

Grain Bank[link]

In 1980, Anna started the Grain Bank at the temple, with the objective of providing food security to needy farmers during times of drought or crop failure. Rich farmers, or those with surplus grain production, could donate a quintal to the bank. In times of need, farmers could borrow the grain, but they had to return the amount of grain they borrowed, plus an additional quintal as an interest. This ensured that nobody in the village ever went hungry or had to borrow money to buy grain. This also prevented distress sales of grain at lower prices at harvest time.^[12]

Watershed development programme[link]

Ralegan Siddhi is located in the foothills, so Hazare persuaded villagers to construct a watershed embankment and associated works to stop water and allow it to percolate and increase the ground water level and improve irrigation in the area. These efforts solved the problem of water scarcity in the village and made irrigation possible.^[14][17]

Cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane was banned. Crops such as pulses, oilseeds, and certain cash crops with low water requirements replaced them. The farmers started growing high-yield varieties and changed cropping pattern. Hazare has helped farmers of more than 70 villages in drought-prone regions in the state of Maharashtra since 1975.^[28] When Hazare came to Ralegan Siddhi in 1975 only 70 acres (28 ha) of land was irrigated, Hazare converted it into about 2,500 acres (1,000 ha).^[22]

Milk production[link]

As a secondary occupation, milk production was promoted in Ralegan Siddhi. Purchase of new cattle and improvement of the existing breed with the help of artificial insemination and timely guidance and assistance by a veterinarian improvemd the cattle stock, increasing milk production.^{[citation needed]}

Education[link]

In 1932, Ralegan Siddhi got its first formal school, a single classroom primary school.^{[clarification needed]} In 1962, the villagers added more classrooms through community volunteer efforts. By 1971, out of an estimated population of 1,209, only 30.43% were literate (72 women and 290 men). Boys moved to the nearby towns of Shirur and Parner to pursue higher education, but girls were limited to primary education. Hazare, along with the youth of Ralegan Siddhi, worked to increase literacy rates and education levels. In 1976 they started a pre-school and a high school in 1979. The villagers formed a charitable trust, the Sant Yadavbaba Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, which was registered in 1979.^{[citation needed]}

Removal of untouchability[link]

The social barriers and discrimination that existed due to the caste system in India have been largely eliminated by Ralegan Siddhi villagers. It was Hazare's moral leadership that motivated and inspired the villagers to shun untouchability and caste discrimination. Marriages of Dalits are held as part of community marriage program together with those of other castes. The Dalits have become integrated into the social and economic life of the village. The upper caste villagers built houses for the lower caste Dalits by shramdaan and helped to repay their loans.^[29][30][31]

Collective marriages[link]

Most rural poor get into a debt trap as they incur heavy expenses at the time of marriage of their daughter or son. It is an undesirable practice but has become a social obligation in India. Instead, Ralegan's people started celebrating marriages collectively. Joint feasts are held, where expenses are further reduced by the Tarun Mandal taking responsibility for cooking and serving the food. The vessels, the loudspeaker system, the mandap, and the decorations have also been bought by the Tarun Mandal members belonging to the oppressed castes. From 1976 to 1986, 424 marriages have been held under this system.^{[citation needed]}

Gram Sabha[link]

The Gandhian philosophy on rural development considers the Gram Sabha as an important democratic institution for collective decision-making in the villages of India.^[32] Hazare campaigned between 1998 and 2006 for amending the Gram Sabha Act, so that villagers have a say in the village's development. The state government initially refused, but eventually gave in to public pressure. It became mandatory to seek the sanction of the Gram Sabha (an assembly of all village adults, and not just the few elected representatives in the gram panchayat) for expenditures on development works in the village.^[25]

Activism[link]

Anti-corruption protests in Maharashtra[link]

Anna Hazare listening to the problems of people at Nanded, Maharashtra.

Anna Hazare's Supporter's cap which reads " I am Anna Hazare".

In 1991 Hazare launched the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA) (People's Movement against Corruption), a popular movement to fight against corruption^[33] in Ralegaon Siddhi. In the same year he protested against the collusion between 40 forest officials and timber merchants. This protest resulted in the transfer and suspension of these officials.^[34]

In May 1997 Hazare protested alleged malpractice in the purchase of powerlooms by the Vasantrao Naik Bhathya Vimukt Jhtra Governor P. C. Alexander.^[35] On 4 November 1997 Gholap filed a defamation suit against Hazare for accusing him of corruption. He was arrested in April 1998 and was released on a personal bond of 5,000 (US$100).^{[36][dead link]} On 9 September 1998 Hazare was imprisoned in the Yerawada Jail to serve a three-month sentence mandated by the Mumbai Metropolitan Court.^[16][37] The sentencing caused leaders of all political parties except the BJP and the Shiv Sena to support him. ^[38] Later, due to public protests, the Government of Maharashtra ordered his release. Hazare wrote a letter to then chief minister Manohar Joshi demanding Gholap's removal for his role in alleged malpractices in the Awami Merchant Bank.^[39] Gholap resigned from the cabinet on 27 April 1999.^[40]

In 2003 corruption charges were raised by Hazare against four NCP ministers of the Congress-NCP government.^[41] He started his fast unto death on 9 August 2003. He ended his fast on 17 August 2003 after then chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde formed a one-man commission headed by the retired justice P. B. Sawant to probe his charges.^[42] The P. B. Sawant commission report, submitted on 23 February 2005, indicted Sureshdada Jain, Nawab Malik, and Padmasinh Patil. The report exonerated Vijaykumar Gavit. Jain and Malik resigned from the cabinet in March 2005.^[43]

Three trusts headed by Anna Hazare were also indicted in the P. B. Sawant commission report. 220,000 (US$4,390) spent by the Hind Swaraj Trust for Anna Hazare's birthday celebrations was concluded by the commission as illegal and amounting to a corrupt practice,^[44][45] though Abhay Firodia, an industrialist subsequently donated 248,000 (US$4,950) to the trust for that purpose.^[46] The setting apart of 11 acres of its land by the trust in favour of the Zilla Parishad without obtaining permission from the charity commissioner was concluded as a case of maladministration. The commission also concluded that the maintenance of accounts of the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Janandolan Trust after 10 November 2001 had not been according to the rules and 46,374 (US$930) spent by the Sant Yadavbaba Shikshan Prasarak Mandal Trust for renovating a temple thwarted its object of imparting secular education.^[44][45]

Right to Information movement[link]

In the early 2000s Hazare led a movement in Maharashtra state which forced the state government to enact a revised Maharashtra Right to Information Act. This Act was later considered as the base document for the Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI), enacted by the Union Government. It also ensured that the President of India assented to this new Act.^[47]

On 20 July 2006 the Union Cabinet amended the Right to Information Act 2005 to exclude the file noting by the government officials from its purview. Hazare began his fast unto death on 9 August 2006 in Alandi against the proposed amendment. He ended his fast on 19 August 2006, after the government agreed to change its earlier decision.^[48]

Regulation of Transfers and Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act[link]

Before 2006 in the state of Maharashtra, honest government officers were transferred to other places according to ministerial wish, while some corrupt and favoured officials stayed put for decades. Anna fought hard for a law whereby a government servant must clear a file within a specified time and that transfers must take place only after three years. After many years of Anna's relentless efforts, on 25 May 2006 Maharashtra issued a notification announcing the Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act 2006. This act provided for disciplinary action against officials who move files slowly and enabled monitoring of officials who overstay a post, and for involvement in a corrupt nexus.

This act mandated the government to effect transfers of all government officers and employees, except Class IV workers, no sooner and no later than three years, except in emergency or exceptional circumstances. Maharashtra was the first state to have introduced such an act.^[25] However, like others, this law was not fully followed.^[49][50]

Campaign against liquor from food grains[link]

Article 47 of India's Constitution commits the State to raise the standard of living, improve public health and prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs injurious to health.^[51][52][53]

In 2007 Maharashtra rolled out a grain-based liquor policy aimed to encourage production of liquor from food grain in light of the rising demand for spirits—used for industrial purposes and liquor. It issued 36 licenses for distilleries for making alcohol from food grains.^[53]

Anna Hazare opposed the government's policy to promote making liquor from food grains. He argued that Maharashtra had to import food and referring to food grains observed that promoting producing liquor from food grains was nappropriate.^[54] One of the State ministers Laxman Dhoble said in his speech that those opposing the decision to allow use of food grains for the production of liquor were anti-farmers and that opponents should be beaten with sugarcane sticks.^[55][56] Hazare began fasting at Shirdi, but on 21 March 2010 the government promised to review the policy and Anna ended his 5 day long fast.^[57] But the government later granted 36 licences and grants of 10 (US$0.2) (per litre of alcohol) to politicians or their sons who were engaged in making alcohol from foodgrains. Recipients included Amit and Dheeraj Deshmukh, sons of Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde's daughter Pankaja Palwe and her husband Charudatta Palwe, sons-in-law of P.V. Narasimha Rao and Rajya Sabha MP Govindrao Adik.^[54][58][59] The government approved the licenses despite stiff opposition from the planning and finance departments, saying there was a huge demand in other countries for distilled spirits compared to that of molasses.^[60] Anna sued Maharashtra over the policy in the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. On 20 August 2009 Maharashtra stopped the policy. However, distilleries sanctioned before that date and those who started production within two years of sanction were entitled for subsidies.

On 5 May 2011 court refused to hear the suit, saying, "not before me, this is a court of law, not a court of justice" as a reason for not hearing the plea.^[61][62] A Maharashtra Principal Secretary, C.S. Sangeet Rao, stated that no law existed to scrap these licences.^[54]

Lokpal Bill movement[link]

Anna Hazare's hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

In 2011, Hazare initiated a Satyagraha movement for passing a stronger anti-corruption Lokpal (ombudsman) bill in the Indian Parliament, the Jan Lokpal Bill (People's Ombudsman Bill). The Jan Lokpal Bill was drafted earlier by N. Santosh Hegde, former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka, Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court and Arvind Kejriwal, a social activist along with members of the India Against Corruption movement. The draft incorporated more stringent provisions and gave wider power to the Lokpal (Ombudsman) than the government's 2010 draft.^[63] These included placing "the Prime Minister within the ambit of the proposed lokpal’s powers".^[64]

Hunger strike[link]

Wikinews has related news: Anna Hazare begins "fast-unto-death" hunger strike to end corruption.

Hazare began his Indefinite Fast^[65] on 5 April 2011 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to press for the demand to form a joint committee of the representatives of the Government and the civil society to draft a stronger anti-corruption bill with stronger penal actions and more independence to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Ombudsmen in the states), after his demand was rejected by Prime Minister Singh.^[66] He stated, "I will fast until Jan Lokpal Bill is passed".^[67]

The movement attracted attention in the media, and thousands of supporters. Almost 150 people reportedly joined Hazare in his fast.^[68] Social activists, including Medha Patkar, Arvind Kejriwal, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, and Jayaprakash Narayan lent their support. People showed support in social media. In addition to spiritual leaders Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Ramdev, Swami Agnivesh and former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev, many celebrities supported him.^[69][70] Hazare decided that he would not allow any politician to sit with him. The protesters rejected Uma Bharti, Om Prakash Chautala and others when they visited the protest.^[71] On 6 April 2011 Sharad Pawar resigned from the group of ministers formed for reviewing the 2010 draft.^[72]

Protests spread to Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Shillong, Aizawl and other cities.^[73]

On 8 April the Government accepted the movement's demands. On 9 April it issued a notification in the Gazette of India on formation of a joint committee. It accepted the formula that there be a politician chair and an activist, non-politician co-chair. The notification stated, “The Joint Drafting Committee shall consist of five nominee ministers of the Government of India and five nominees of the civil society. The five nominee Ministers of the Government of India are Pranab Mukherjee, Union Minister of Finance, P. Chidambaram, Union Minister of Home Affairs, M. Veerappa Moily, Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resource and Development and Minister of Communication and Information Technology and Salman Khursheed, Union Minister of Water Resources and Minister of Minority Affairs. The five non-politician nominees were Anna Hazare, N. Santosh Hegde, Shanti Bhushan Senior Advocate, Prashant Bhushan, Advocate and Arvind Kejriwal.^[74][75]

On the morning of 9 April Hazare ended his 98-hour hunger strike. He addressed the people and set a deadline of 15 August to pass the bill.

"Real fight begins now. We have a lot of struggle ahead of us in drafting the new legislation, We have shown the world in just five days that we are united for the cause of the nation. The youth power in this movement is a sign of hope."

Anna Hazare said that if the bill did not pass he would call for a mass nation-wide agitation.^{[76][77][dead link]} He called his movement as "second struggle for independence" and he will continue the fight.^[78]

Draft bill[link]

During the meeting of the joint drafting committee on 30 May, the Union government members opposed the inclusion of the prime minister, higher judiciary and the acts of the MPs under the purview of the Lokpal in the draft bill.^[79] On 31 May, Mukherjee sent a letter to the chief ministers of all states and party leaders seeking their opinion on six contentious issues, including whether to bring the prime minister and judges of India's Supreme Court and High Courts under the law's purview.^[80] But the civil society members of the drafting committee considered that keeping them out would be a violation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.^[81]

Anna Hazare and other civil society members decided to boycott the 6 June drafting committee meeting to protest the forcible eviction of Swami Ramdev and his followers by the Delhi Police from Ramlila Maidan on 5 June, while they were on a hunger strike against black money and corruption and doubting the government's seriousness.^[82]

On 6 June, the civil society members wrote to Mukherjee, explaining reasons for their absence and also asking government to go public on the major issues. They also decided to attend only future meetings that were telecast live.^[83] On 8 June at Rajghat, describing his movement as the second freedom struggle, Anna criticised the Government for trying to discredit the drafting committee and threatened to go on indefinite fast again from 16 August if the Lokpal Bill had not passed. He also criticised the Government for putting hurdles in front of the Bill and for maligning the civil society members.^[84][85][86]

Indefinite fast[link]

India Against Corruption campaign in Whitefield, Bangalore.

On 28 July the union cabinet approved a draft of the Lokpal Bill, which kept the Prime Minister, judiciary and lower bureaucracy out of the ombudsman's ambit. Hazare rejected the government version by describing it as “cruel joke’’ and wrote a letter to Singh announcing his decision to begin an indefinite fast from 16 August at Jantar Mantar, if the government introduced its own version of the bill without taking suggestions from civil society members.^[87][88] Hazare wrote:-

Why are you (government) sending the wrong draft? We have faith in Parliament. But first send the right draft, our agitation is against government, not Parliament. The government has overlooked many points. How will it fight corruption by excluding government employees, CBI and prime minister from the Lokpal's purview? We were told that both the drafts would be sent to the Cabinet. But only the government's draft was sent. This is a deceitful government. They are lying. How will they run the country? Now I have no trust in this government. If it is really serious about fighting corruption, why is it not bringing government employees and CBI under Lokpal?^{[89][dead link]}

Within twenty four hours of cabinet's endorsement of a weak Lokpal Bill, over ten thousand people from across the country sent faxes directly to the government demanding a stronger bill.^[90] The Mumbai Taxi Men’s Union, comprising over 30,000 taxi drivers supported Hazare’s fast by keeping all taxis off the roads on 16 August.^[91] Lawyers of Allahabad High Court described the government proposal as against the national interest and pledged their support to Hazare by hunger striking at Allahabad on 16 August.^{[92][dead link]} On 30 July Vishwa Hindu Parishad supported his fast by saying movement for an effective anti-corruption ombudsman needed the people's backing.^[93]

On 1 August, Public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court of India by Hemant Patil, a Maharashtra-based social worker and businessman, to restrain Hazare, alleging that Hazare's demands were unconstitutional and amounted to interference in the legislative process.^[94]

Arrest and aftermath[link]

Wikinews has related news: Anna Hazare to resume "fast-unto-death" hunger strike from August 16, 2011.

On 16 August, Hazare was arrested, four hours before the planned indefinite hunger strike.^[95] Rajan Bhagat, spokesman for Delhi Police, said police arrested Hazare for illegally gathering in a Delhi park to begin his hunger strike, claiming that Hazare refused to meet police conditions for allowing the protest.^[96] The conditions included restricting the fast to three days and the number of protesters to 5,000. Later in the afternoon, Hazare refused bail. The magistrate dispatched him to Tihar jail for seven days.^[97] After announcements by Prashant Bhushan, local television, and social media sites (including Facebook), thousands marched in support from the India Gate to Jantar Mantar.^[98]

Media reported that about 1,300 supporters were detained in Delhi, including key members of the India Against Corruption movement such as Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia.^[99] Other reports other protests with people courting arrests in different parts of the country. Opposition parties came out against the arrest, likening the government action to the emergency imposed in the country in 1975. Both houses of Parliament adjourned over the issue.^[100]

After four hours in detention he was released unconditionally on a request by the police, but refused to leave Tihar Jail.^[101] He demanded unconditional permission to fast at Ramlila Maidan (Ground) and refused to leave.^[102] Hazare continued his fast inside the jail.^[103]

After his arrest, Hazare received support from people across the country. There were reports of "nearly 570 demonstrations and protests by Anna supporters across the country".^[64][104] Due to the millions of protesters nationwide,^[105] the government allowed him to begin a public hunger strike of fifteen days.^[106] After talks with public authorities, Hazare decided to hold his protest at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi.^[107] On 20 August Hazare "left the Tihar Jail for the Ramlila Grounds".^[108] Hazare promised reporters "he would fight to the 'last breath' until the government gets his team's Jan Lokpal Bill passed in this session of Parliament, which ends on 8 September."^[64]

Fast at Ramlila Maidan[link]

Anna Hazare on fast unto death protest.

On 20 August thousands came to show their support for Hazare,^[109] while "his advisers made television appearances to rally public support and defend themselves against criticism that their protest campaign and refusal to compromise is undermining India's parliamentary process."^[110] The National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) condemned Hazare's deadline for passing the bill as undermining democracy, which operates by

"holding wide-ranging consultations and discussions, allowing for dissent and evolving a consensus. ...He [Hazare] has the right to protest and dissent. But nobody can claim it as an absolute right and deny the right of dissent to others."^[111]

The Congress party confirmed that Maharashtra Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Umesh Chandra Sarangi (who has a history of mediating between Hazare and officials) was meeting with him again "to find points of consensus and defuse the situation".^[112] On 21 August "tens of thousands" watched Hazare as he sat on an elevated platform.^[113] It was reported that Hazare at that point had "lost more than seven pounds since beginning his fast". Despite this he stated, "I will not withdraw my hunger strike until the Jan Lokpal bill is passed in the Parliament. I can die but I will not bend."^[113] Hazare ended his fast on 28 August, after the Lokpal Bill passed unanimously.

He was admitted to Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon for post-fast care.^[114] He had lost 7.5 kilograms (17 lb)^[114] and was very dehydrated after the 288 hour fast.^[115]

I Am Anna Chant[link]

Within a few days of Anna Hazare's first fast demanding a strong Lokpal (on 5 April 2011), supporters started a campaign known as "I Am Anna Hazare", which was similar to the "We Are All Khaled Said" campaign from the Egyptian uprising.^[116] During Anna Hazare's second fast, his topi, the cap which became synonymous with Anna Hazare, became almost a fashion statement.^[117] Sales of the topis hit an all-time high.^[118] Kiran Bedi recommended that the "I am Anna" topi be displayed whenever someone asked for a bribe.^[119]

Fast on MMRDA ground[link]

On 27 December, Hazare began a 3–day hunger strike at MMRDA grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex, to demand a stronger Lokpal bill than was in debate.^[120] Hazare ended the fast on 28 December, after his doctors said that his kidneys might fail if he continued.^[121]

Before reaching the venue, Anna paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Juhu Beach. On his way to a rally with several thousand people,^[120] he took two-and-half hours to reach the ground, passing through Santacruz, Tulip Star Hotel, Mithibai College, SV Road, Vile Parle, Khar and Bandra Highway.^[122]

A PIL petition filed against the fast was turned down by the Karnataka High Court. A judge noted that there was no public interest in the petition.^[123]

Electoral reform movement[link]

In 2011, Anna Hazare demanded an amendment to the electoral law to incorporate the option of None of the above in the electronic voting machines during the Indian elections.^[124][125] The "None of the above (NOTA)" is a ballot option that allows an electorate to indicate disapproval of all of the candidates in an electoral system, in case of non-availability of any candidate of his choice, as his Right to Reject. Soon, the Chief Election Commissioner of India Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi supported Hazare's demand for the electoral reforms.^[126]

Protest against atrocities against Swami Ramdev and his supporters[link]

On 8 June Anna Hazare and thousands of his supporters fasted from 10 am to 6 pm at Rajghat to protest against the midnight crackdown of 5 June by the Delhi Police on Swami Ramdev’s fast at Ramlila ground protests.^[84][127] Anna Hazare held the Prime Minister of India responsible for the atrocities^[128] and termed the police action as an attempt to stifle democracy.^[84] According to one of Anna's young supporters, the large presence of youths at the protest was due to his use of nonviolent protest, similar to Gandhi.^[129]

Controversies and criticism[link]

Alleged link with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh[link]

Anna Hazare has been criticized for being an agent of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) a right-wing Hindu body.^[130] United Progressive Alliance,the present ruling government in India has seldom made that charge. According to Digvijay Singh a senior leader of the Indian National Congress the entire crusade of 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement was planned by RSS in which Plan-A was Baba Ramdev while Plan-B was Anna Hazare. Their basic job was to disturb national security.^[131] Further Digvijay Singh had charged Hazare for having links with late RSS leader Nanaji Deshmukh^[132] with whom he worked as a secretary.^[133] Anna denied any such associations.

Views on Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar[link]

In a press conference in April 2011, Anna Hazare praised Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat and Nitish Kumar, chief minister of Bihar for his efforts on rural development, saying that other chief ministers should emulate them.^[134] Subsequently, Modi wrote an open letter to him, hailing him as a Gandhian anti-corruption activist^[135] while Digvijay Singh, the General Secretary of the Congress party, criticised him for his comment.^[136] In May 2011, during his visit to Gujarat, Hazare changed his view and criticised Modi for rampant corruption. He urged Modi to appoint a Lokayukta. He also commented that the media had projected an incorrect image of Vibrant Gujarat.^[137]

Fraud during fasts[link]

A cardiologist from Pune, Abhijit Vaidya—founder of Arogya Sena, a non-governmental agency active in public health, disaster management and social campaigns—claimed that he was informed by Hazare's close associates that during a fast in Ralegan-Siddhi, Hazare was given glucose and electrolyte solutions during a fast. Hazare and his associates refused to comment on the allegation.^[138]

Accusations of corruption[link]

The government of the state of Maharashtra instituted a Commission of Inquiry under Justice PB Sawant in September 2003 to enquire into allegations of corruption against several people, including four ministers in the state as well as the "Hind Swaraj Trust" headed by Hazare. The Commission submitted its report on 22 February 2005, indicting the Trust for corruptly spending Rs. 2.20 lakhs on Hazare's birthday celebrations.^[139]

Two days ahead of Hazare's Lokhpal fast, the Indian National Congress, attacked him, alleging that "the moral core of Hazare has been ripped apart" by the Justice P B Sawant Commission.^[140]

Hazare's lawyer Milind Pawar responded that the commission had remarked about "irregularities" in the accounts, but had not held him guilty of any "corrupt" practices. Pawar said that on 16 June 1998, a celebration was organised to congratulate Hazare on winning an award from a US–based NGO and it coincided with his 61st birthday. The trust spent Rs 2.18 lakh for the function. Abhay Phirodia, a Pune-based industrialist, who took the initiative to organise this function donated an amount of Rs 2,48,950 to the trust by cheque soon afterwards.^[141] Hazare dared the government to file a First Information Report (FIR) against him to prove the charges.^[142]

Accusation of being anti-democratic and anti-Dalit[link]

An article written in Kolkata Telegraph by Ramchandra Guha stated that that environmental journalist Mukul Sharma claimed that Anna Hazare forced the Dalit families in Ralegan Siddhi to adopt a vegetarian diet, and that those who violated the decree were tied to a post and flogged.^[143] Mukul Sharma also found that no panchayat elections have been held in the village for the past two decades, and that no campaigning was allowed during state and national elections, upon Hazare's instructions.^[143]

Dalit columnist Chandrabhan Prasad opined that Hazare's anti-corruption movement rejected representative democracy and alleged that it was an upper-caste uprising. He also claimed that centralising powers in Lokapal, which was a non-elected entity, was anti-democratic.^{[citation needed]}

Dalit activist Kancha Ilaiah commented in a similar fashion, that "The Anna movement is an anti-social justice, manuvadi movement. The Dalits, tribals, OBCs and minorities have nothing to do with it. We oppose it."^[144] Activist Anoop Kheri claimed that "The language, symbols used by the movement clearly reflects its upper caste Hindu nature, a very rightwing Hindu patriotism is being used to get the entire country against corruption. And as a dalit, I have a problem with it."^[144]

There was also an allegation that an RTI activist was denied permission to protest by having a fast-unto-death at Ralegan Siddhi, the grama sabha stating that the reason was that only Anna Hazare can hold such fasts in his village.^[145]

Activist Udit Raj was denied permission to protest against Anna Hazare, whom he claimed was against parliamentary processes. Raj warned that succumbing to Hazare's demands would set a dangerous trend rendering the "backward" classes more vulnerable. He claimed that mass mobilisations coerced the government into a "set of solutions" against constitutional processes could be used against affirmative action and threatened democracy.^[146] Later, it came to light that poor dalits had been paid up to 200 each to shout slogans against Anna, although the organizers denied it. Some protesters said that they had been told that it was a pro-Anna protest, but felt cheated after realising that it was against Hazare.^[147]

Accusation of being anti-Muslim[link]

On 22 August 2011 writer-actor Arundhati Roy accused Hazare in a newspaper article of being nonsecular. She questioned his secular credentials, pointing out his "support for Raj Thackeray's Marathi Manoos xenophobia and [has praised] the 'development model' of Gujarat's CM who oversaw the 2002 pogrom against Muslims". The website of the newspaper published many responses to her article and these were mostly critical of her views.^[148] Activist Medha Patkar criticised Roy, saying that her views were misplaced.^[149]

Hazare in the past stood in firm opposition to the Shiv Sena and BJP governments in Maharashtra. Activist and writer Asghar Ali Engineer in an EPW article on Communalism and Communal Violence reported,^[150]

The Shiv Sena is also facing serious problems from the social activist Anna Hazare who has accused its ministers of corruption and demanded their resignation. The SS-BJP government is facing serious corruption charges and is greatly worried. The Anna Hazare movement began in late November when he went on fast against the corrupt practices of the Shiv Sena ministers. The BJP initially supported the Hazare movement and now its deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde is also under a cloud. Initially the Hazare movement had created a rift between the Shiv Sena and the BJP but with Gopinath Munde himself under a cloud, both may close ranks. The Anna Hazare movement has certainly posed a great challenge for the saffron government at the end of 1996.

Hazare was accused of working for RSS and BJP's behest, and against Muslims by cleric Bukhari of the Jama Masjid. Bhukhari was subsequently criticised for being a Royal Imam and for claiming that his personal views represented the view of ordinary Muslims.^[151]

Support for selective violence[link]

Hazare acknowledged his belief in violence after his "just one slap" remark in which the victim of violence was Sharad Pawar, a rival in Maharashtra.^[152]

Conspiracy to murder Hazare[link]

Anna Hazare exposed corruption in cooperative sugar factories in Maharashtra, including one controlled by Dr.Padamsinh Bajirao Patil, a member of Parliament of 15th Lok Sabha and higher-ranking Leader of Nationalist Congress Party from Osmanabad. Patil was accused in the 2006 murder case of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimabalkar.^[153][154]

The conspiracy to kill Hazare was exposed when Parasmal Jain, an accused in the Nimbalkar murder case, in his written confession before a magistrate said that Patil had paid him 3,000,000 (US$59,850) to murder Nimbalkar, and also offered him supari (contract killing sum) to kill Anna Hazare.^[155][156] After this written confession, Anna appealed to the state government of Maharashtra to lodge a separate First Information Report ( FIR ) against Patil but the government declined. On 26 September 2009 Hazare lodged his own complaint at Parner police station of Ahmednagar District in Maharashtra against Patil.^[157] Patil approached the High Court seeking anticipatory bail but on 14 October 2009, the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court rejected his application, observing that there was prima facie case against him.^[158][159] Padmasinh Patil appealed to the Supreme Court of India losing again, on 6 November 2009.^[160] On 11 November 2009 Patil surrendered before the sessions court in Latur and was sent to judicial remand for 14 days.^[161] On 16 December 2009 the Aurangabad bench granted bail.^[162] As of 16 August 2011 (2011 -08-16)^[update], the verdict is pending.

As of December 2011, Anna Hazare received Z+ security. ^[163]

Honours, awards and international recognition[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2011)

Personal life[link]

Anna Hazare is unmarried. He has lived in a small room attached to the Sant Yadavbaba temple in Ralegan Siddhi since 1975. On 16 April 2011, he declared his bank balance of 67,183 (US$1,340) and 1,500 (US$30) as money in hand.^[165] He owns 0.07 hectares of family land in Ralegan Siddhi, which is being used by his brothers. He donated for village use two other pieces of land donated to him by the Indian Army and by a villager.^[166] His only income is his Indian Army pension.^{[citation needed]}

Writings[link]

• Hazare, Anna; Ganesh Pangare, Vasudha Lokur (1996). Adarsh Gaon Yojana: government participitation in a peoples program : ideal village project of the Government of Maharashtra. Hind Swaraj Trust. p. 95. http://books.google.com/books?id=Eh4pHAAACAAJ&dq=inauthor:%22Anna+Hazare%22&hl=en&ei=OHudTcvOOsXjrAfavIWqBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
• Hazare, Anna. My Village – My Sacred Land. New Delhi: CAPART. 
• Hazare, Anna (1997). Ralegaon Siddhi: a veritable transformation. Translated by B.S. Pendse. Ralegan Siddhi Pariwar Prakashan,. http://books.google.com/books?id=mCENHAAACAAJ&dq=Anna+Hazare&hl=en&ei=ZnSdTZGjBsmYhQeK3-26BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAg. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 
• Hazare, Anna (2007) (in Marathi). वाट ही संघर्षाची. Pune: Signet Publications. 
• Anna Hazare: The Face of Indias Fight Against Corruption. Pentagon Press. 2011. p. 124. ISBN 978-81-8274-545-2. http://www.sparkbooks.in/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_49&products_id=62580. Retrieved 14 June 2011. 

References[link]