India faces risk of its own Arab Spring over anti-graft protests*
>
> [image: Activists from Communist Party of India (CPI) and supporters o=
> veteran social activist Anna Hazare burn an effigy representing the UPA
> government during a protest in support of Hazare and against corruption, =n
> Hyderabad August 17, 2011. REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder]
> By Paul de Bendern
> NEW DELHI | Wed Aug 17, 2011 5:44pm IST
> (Reuters) - An anti-corruption movement led by the feisty 74-year-old soc=al
> activist Anna Hazare is snowballing into one of the biggest challenges in
> decades for the ruling Congress party and if not contained risks sparking
> India's own version of an Arab Spring revolt.
> While no one is expecting an Egypt-like overthrow in the world's biggest
> democracy, a galvanised and frustrated middle class and the mushrooming o=
> social networking sites combined with an aggressive private media may be
> transforming India's political landscape.
> Hazare has quickly become a 21st century Mahatma Gandhi inspiration for
> millions of Indians fed up with rampant corruption, red tape and inadequa=e
> services provided by the state despite the country posting near-double di=it
> economic growth for almost a decade.
> "Democracy means no voice, however small, must go unheard. The
> anti-corruption sentiment is not a whisper-it's a scream. Grave error to
> ignore it," Anand Mahindra, one of India's leading businessmen and managi=g
> director of conglomerate Mahindra Group, wrote on Twitter.
> Hazare's arrest on Tuesday, only hours ahead of a planned fast until deat=
> against graft was the last straw and sparked spontaneous protest across t=e
> country of 1.2 billion people.
> The young and old, rich and poor, without apparent political affiliations=
> took to the streets in a rare voice of solidarity -- a potential lethal
> cocktail for any party in power in India.
> Politicians are increasingly being judged on governance rather than old
> caste and regional ties - as has already happened in states like Bihar - =nd
> the new social shift will push national parties to be more responsive to
> voters' needs.
> Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Congress party of the Gandhi-Nehru
> dynasty and the police stood isolated over the decision to arrest a man f=r
> planning a peaceful fast.
> The Congress has for the past year reeled from mounting corruption scanda=s,
> including allegations of millions of dollars in kickbacks in the sale of
> mobile phone licences in what is emerging as India's biggest-ever graft.
> Former telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja, top corporate executives and sen=or
> Congress party officials are in jail awaiting trial.
> Indians have routinely voted out governments and in that sense the
> anti-graft movement is different from those sweeping the Middle East.
> The next election is due in 2014 and an opinion poll last week by India
> Today showed that if elections were held today, Congress would just about
> lose out to the main opposition party.
> WAKE-UP CALL
> In a passionate speech in parliament, 58-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party
> (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley said protests witnessed over the past 24 hours,
> reaching even the remotest villages, were something he had not seen in hi=
> lifetime and must be a "wake-up call" for politicians to put their house =n
> order.
> Students, lawyers, teachers, and business executives have taken to social
> networks like Twitter and Facebook to spread the message and vent
> frustration against corruption.
> "These protests are part of a global phenomenon, thanks to technology and=a
> more proactive media," said N. Bhaskara Rao, social researcher and chairm=n
> of independent think-tank Centre for Media Studies.
> Most people do not expect India to follow the example of North Africa and
> the Middle East. But one of five Indians go hungry and almost half the va=t
> population is poor -- causes for potential unrest.
> India has been governed for most of the time since Independence in 1947 b=
> the same family dynasty. For decades Indians united under these leaders b=t
> this year has seen a seismic gap emerging between the old guard and a
> vibrant and younger population.
> "This has the ingredients of being India's own non-violent Arab uprising,=
> said Savio Shetty, a stock market analyst in India's financial hub Mumbai=
> "But the dish needs to be cooked and looked after! Tahrir square was a
> rebellion against the government itself ... of a 40-year tyrannical rule =..
> things are quite different here."
> Singh remained defiant in parliament over the arrest of Hazare, maintaini=g
> that anti-graft laws should be discussed and passed in parliament and not=by
> activists in the streets.
> "When people exhaust their capacity for tolerance, then you should take i=
> that it is a beginning of some kind of revolution. Now it has gone above
> people's tolerance level," Hazare told Reuters in a recent interview in h=s
> home village.
> India ranked 87 in Transparency International's index on corruption in 20=0,
> behind rival China and polls show corruption vies with the high cost of
> living as the number one voter issue.
> What is also apparent is that the anti-corruption protests have shown the
> limited influence of opposition parties, largely sidelined. They will nee=
> to reform to win over an increasingly disenfranchised population.
> NEW POWER -- MIDDLE CLASS
> The bulk of India's political activism has been those aligned to politica=
> parties or paid to protest on their behalf.
> But in recent years a growing and more prosperous middle class has given =p
> its traditional distaste for politics and is seeking ways to exert greate=
> influence.
> "The new corporate middle class has little patience with the politics of
> dignity and identity that are -- for better or worse -- central to Indian
> politics," wrote Vinay Sitapati in the Indian Express newspaper.
> Almost half of India's 1.2 billion population are farmers, many live on
> government subsidies and are reluctant to challenge local and national
> governments over endemic graft.
> But with costs of living rising fast and daily news reports of state
> officials with meagre salaries caught with bags of cash and kilogrammes o=
> gold, or registered as owners of multi-million-dollar homes, patience see=s
> to have been snapped.
> "Now citizens want to play a more participatory role in governance," said
> Rao. "This will bring in a sea change in Indian politics."
> (Additional reporting by Anurag Kotoky in New Delhi; Henry Foy and Divya
> Chowdhury in Mumbai; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Sanjeev Miglani)
>
>
> [image: Activists from Communist Party of India (CPI) and supporters o=
> veteran social activist Anna Hazare burn an effigy representing the UPA
> government during a protest in support of Hazare and against corruption, =n
> Hyderabad August 17, 2011. REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder]
> By Paul de Bendern
> NEW DELHI | Wed Aug 17, 2011 5:44pm IST
> (Reuters) - An anti-corruption movement led by the feisty 74-year-old soc=al
> activist Anna Hazare is snowballing into one of the biggest challenges in
> decades for the ruling Congress party and if not contained risks sparking
> India's own version of an Arab Spring revolt.
> While no one is expecting an Egypt-like overthrow in the world's biggest
> democracy, a galvanised and frustrated middle class and the mushrooming o=
> social networking sites combined with an aggressive private media may be
> transforming India's political landscape.
> Hazare has quickly become a 21st century Mahatma Gandhi inspiration for
> millions of Indians fed up with rampant corruption, red tape and inadequa=e
> services provided by the state despite the country posting near-double di=it
> economic growth for almost a decade.
> "Democracy means no voice, however small, must go unheard. The
> anti-corruption sentiment is not a whisper-it's a scream. Grave error to
> ignore it," Anand Mahindra, one of India's leading businessmen and managi=g
> director of conglomerate Mahindra Group, wrote on Twitter.
> Hazare's arrest on Tuesday, only hours ahead of a planned fast until deat=
> against graft was the last straw and sparked spontaneous protest across t=e
> country of 1.2 billion people.
> The young and old, rich and poor, without apparent political affiliations=
> took to the streets in a rare voice of solidarity -- a potential lethal
> cocktail for any party in power in India.
> Politicians are increasingly being judged on governance rather than old
> caste and regional ties - as has already happened in states like Bihar - =nd
> the new social shift will push national parties to be more responsive to
> voters' needs.
> Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Congress party of the Gandhi-Nehru
> dynasty and the police stood isolated over the decision to arrest a man f=r
> planning a peaceful fast.
> The Congress has for the past year reeled from mounting corruption scanda=s,
> including allegations of millions of dollars in kickbacks in the sale of
> mobile phone licences in what is emerging as India's biggest-ever graft.
> Former telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja, top corporate executives and sen=or
> Congress party officials are in jail awaiting trial.
> Indians have routinely voted out governments and in that sense the
> anti-graft movement is different from those sweeping the Middle East.
> The next election is due in 2014 and an opinion poll last week by India
> Today showed that if elections were held today, Congress would just about
> lose out to the main opposition party.
> WAKE-UP CALL
> In a passionate speech in parliament, 58-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party
> (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley said protests witnessed over the past 24 hours,
> reaching even the remotest villages, were something he had not seen in hi=
> lifetime and must be a "wake-up call" for politicians to put their house =n
> order.
> Students, lawyers, teachers, and business executives have taken to social
> networks like Twitter and Facebook to spread the message and vent
> frustration against corruption.
> "These protests are part of a global phenomenon, thanks to technology and=a
> more proactive media," said N. Bhaskara Rao, social researcher and chairm=n
> of independent think-tank Centre for Media Studies.
> Most people do not expect India to follow the example of North Africa and
> the Middle East. But one of five Indians go hungry and almost half the va=t
> population is poor -- causes for potential unrest.
> India has been governed for most of the time since Independence in 1947 b=
> the same family dynasty. For decades Indians united under these leaders b=t
> this year has seen a seismic gap emerging between the old guard and a
> vibrant and younger population.
> "This has the ingredients of being India's own non-violent Arab uprising,=
> said Savio Shetty, a stock market analyst in India's financial hub Mumbai=
> "But the dish needs to be cooked and looked after! Tahrir square was a
> rebellion against the government itself ... of a 40-year tyrannical rule =..
> things are quite different here."
> Singh remained defiant in parliament over the arrest of Hazare, maintaini=g
> that anti-graft laws should be discussed and passed in parliament and not=by
> activists in the streets.
> "When people exhaust their capacity for tolerance, then you should take i=
> that it is a beginning of some kind of revolution. Now it has gone above
> people's tolerance level," Hazare told Reuters in a recent interview in h=s
> home village.
> India ranked 87 in Transparency International's index on corruption in 20=0,
> behind rival China and polls show corruption vies with the high cost of
> living as the number one voter issue.
> What is also apparent is that the anti-corruption protests have shown the
> limited influence of opposition parties, largely sidelined. They will nee=
> to reform to win over an increasingly disenfranchised population.
> NEW POWER -- MIDDLE CLASS
> The bulk of India's political activism has been those aligned to politica=
> parties or paid to protest on their behalf.
> But in recent years a growing and more prosperous middle class has given =p
> its traditional distaste for politics and is seeking ways to exert greate=
> influence.
> "The new corporate middle class has little patience with the politics of
> dignity and identity that are -- for better or worse -- central to Indian
> politics," wrote Vinay Sitapati in the Indian Express newspaper.
> Almost half of India's 1.2 billion population are farmers, many live on
> government subsidies and are reluctant to challenge local and national
> governments over endemic graft.
> But with costs of living rising fast and daily news reports of state
> officials with meagre salaries caught with bags of cash and kilogrammes o=
> gold, or registered as owners of multi-million-dollar homes, patience see=s
> to have been snapped.
> "Now citizens want to play a more participatory role in governance," said
> Rao. "This will bring in a sea change in Indian politics."
> (Additional reporting by Anurag Kotoky in New Delhi; Henry Foy and Divya
> Chowdhury in Mumbai; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Sanjeev Miglani)
>
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