Baichung Bhutia
Baichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976) is an Indian footballer. He is currently contracted by the club he owns, United Sikkim, although on short term from East Bengal. He is considered to be the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena.[ Currently the captain of the Indian team he plays for United Sikkim FC. He is often nicknamed the Sikkimese Sniper because of his shooting skills in football. Three-time Indian Player of the Year I. M. Vijayan described Bhutia as "God's gift to Indian football"
Bhutia has had four spells at I-League football team East Bengal Club, the club where he started his career. When he signed up to play for the English club Bury F.C. in 1999 he became the first Indian footballer to play professional football in Europe. Afterwards he had a short loan spell at the Malaysian football club Perak FA. As well as this he has played for JCT Mills, which won the league once during his tenure; and Mohun Bagan, which failed to win the league once during his two spells, in his native India. His international footballing honours include winning the Nehru Cup, LG Cup, South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship (three times) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup. He is also India's most capped player, and in the 2009 Nehru Cup he received his 100th international cap.
Off the field, Bhutia is known for winning the reality television programme Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, which caused much controversy with his then-club Mohun Bagan, and for being the first Indian athlete to boycott the Olympic torch relay in support of the Tibetan independence movement. Bhutia, who has a football stadium named after him in honour of his contribution to Indian football, has also won many awards such as the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri.
Bhutia was born in Tinkitam on 15 December 1976 to Dorji Dorma and Sonam Topden. His elder brother was a footballer at the local level. In addition to football, Baichung also represented his school at badminton, basketball and athletics. His parents, both farmers in Sikkim, were originally not keen on Bhutia's interest in sports.However, after encouragement from his uncle Karma Bhutia, he started his education in St. Xaviers School, Pakyong, East Sikkim, and at the age of nine he won a football scholarship from SAI to attend the Tashi Namgyal Academy in Gangtok.
On 28 October 2010 he started Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools in Delhi in partnership with Football by Carlos Queiroz and Nike, Inc
Early career He went on to play for several school and local clubs in his home state of Sikkim including the Gangtok-based Boys Club, which was coached by Karma Bhutia. His performance at the 1992 Subroto Cup, where he won the "Best Player" award, brought him to the notice of the football establishment. Former India goalkeeper Bhaskar Ganguly spotted his talent and helped him make the transition to Calcutta football.
Professional career
Yuva Bharati Krirangan - Home stadium of East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan
In 1993, at the age of sixteen, he left school to join the professional East Bengal Club in Calcutta. Two years later he transferred to JCT Mills in Phagwara, which went on to win the India National Football League in the 1996–97 season. Bhutia was the top goalscorer in the league, and was chosen to make his international debut in the Nehru Cup. He was named "1996 Indian Player of the Year"
In 1997 he returned to East Bengal Club. Bhutia has the distinction of scoring the first hat-trick in the local derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, when he registered one in East Bengal's 4–1 victory in the 1997 Federation Cup semi-final. He became team captain in the 1998–99 season, during which East Bengal finished second behind Salgaocar in the league.[15] Furthermore he became the 19th footballer to receive the Arjuna Award in 1999, which the Government of India gives out to athletes to recognise their "outstanding achievements" in national sports.
Bury Bhutia has had limited opportunities in playing overseas. On 30 September 1999, Bhutia travelled overseas to play for Bury F.C. in Greater Manchester, England, signing a three-year contract, and became the first Indian footballer to play professionally in Europe.[16] This followed unsuccessful trials for Bhutia with Fulham F.C., West Bromwich Albion F.C. and Aston Villa F.C.. He had difficulty obtaining a visa and could not make his debut until 3 October 1999 against Cardiff City F.C..[19][20] In that match he came on as a substitute for Ian Lawson and played a part in Bury's second goal which was scored by Darren Bullock after Bhutia's volley was deflected into his path. On 15 April 2000, he scored his first goal in the English league in the game against Chesterfield. A recurring knee injury limited him to only three games in his final season at Bury and he was released after the club was placed in administration.His final appearance was a 3–0 defeat to Swindon Town on 27 August 2001.
Return to India In 2002 he returned to India and played for the Mohun Bagan AC for a year. However this was largely unsuccessful as Bhutia was injured early in the season and failed to play again that season, missing Mohun Bagan's only trophy win; the All Airlines Gold Cup. Afterwards he again returned to the East Bengal Club, helping them to win the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Cup 2003. Bhutia scored a goal in the final, a 3–1 win over BEC Tero Sasana, and was named the "man of the match". He also finished as the top scorer of the Championship with nine goals Bhutia also scored in the 1–1 draw against Petrokimia Putra and scored five goals in a 6–0 win against Philippine Army FC in the same tournament.
He signed up to play for Perak FA, the Malaysian championship club, from August to October 2003 on loan and returned to East Bengal Club for the regular season.[28] However his stint at Perak FA ended in a 3–1 defeat to Sabah FA in the Malaysia Cup semi-finals, after which Bhutia described himself as the "villain of the piece".[29] In the 2003–04 season Bhutia scored 12 goals as East Bengal won the league by four points from second-placed Dempo SC. During the 2004–05 season, Bhutia scored nine goals for East Bengal, which finished in third place behind SC Goa and champions Dempo. He continued to play for East Bengal until the end of the 2005–06 season. In his final season there he was awarded the "Player of the National Football League" by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in a season where he scored 12 goals. Despite this, East Bengal finished runners-up to Mahindra United in the league.
"I will try to live up to the expectations of Mohun Bagan supporters and bring success to the team this time."
On 15 June 2006, he joined Mohun Bagan AC and formed an attacking partnership with Jose Ramirez Barreto. However the 2006–07 season was a poor one for Bhutia and Mohun Bagan as they finished eighth in the league, just one position above relegation. During the 2007–08 season (the league was now known as the I-League), Bhutia scored 10 goals in 18 matches, and Mohun Bagan finished slightly higher in the league in fourth place. Bhutia won the Indian Player of the Year for the second time in 2008. In winning the award he became only the second footballer to win it more than once; the other was I. M. Vijayan. In the 2008–09 season, despite a 10-match winning streak, Mohun Bagan finished in second place behind Churchill Brothers because of a final day loss to Mahindra United. Bhutia finished the season with six goals.
On 18 May 2009, Bhutia announced he would quit Mohun Bagan, due to the questioning of his footballing commitment by the club's officials. As a result of the Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa incident he was suspended for six months by Mohun Bagan. Bhutia was quoted saying "It is just a ploy to keep me at Mohun Bagan for another season. But I will not play for them any more."
East Bengal "homecoming" Bhutia was reported to have officially signed for East Bengal on 22 June 2009, on a one-year contract, announcing that he would end his playing career at the club. Upon signing for East Bengal, Bhutia declared it to be his homecoming, "This is really my homecoming. This is the club from where it all started and it is here where it is going to end." The situation was further complicated, however, as Mohun Bagan's general secretary Anjan Mitra said "Our contract with Bhaichung is perfectly legal and he has one more year left with us." Bhutia’s lawyer Usha Nath Banerjee countered this, "I doubt the legality of Bagan’s contract. In any case, according to FIFA and AIFF rules, a player who is above 28 years of age is free to make a choice of club in the third year of his contract".Bhutia and Mohun Bagan were set to meet on 17 August in the AIFF headquarters to settle their differences with AIFF general secretary Alberto Colaco. On 29 August, it was announced that the issue had not been resolved yet and the outbound Colaco was set to meet Bhutia on 30 August. No compromise was reached, however, and on 5 September former additional solicitor general Amrendra Sharan was appointed to look into the dispute. On 10 September, Bhutia filed defamation charges, claiming damages of Rs.10 million, against Mohun Bagan for "trying to tarnish his reputation". Bhutia was granted interim relief on 26 September, but the case between Mohun Bagan and Bhutia is set to continue until a final verdict is reached. On 4 November, it was revealed that Mohun Bagan had approached football's governing body FIFA to intervene in the dispute with Bhutia.
The start of the 2010/11 season will go without Bhutia until the end of January as the Indian national team will prepare and participate in the Asian Cup from November to January. Though laid low by injuries in recent months, Baichung believes he would return next season after taking a three-month break and if he ever decides to quit, he would do it from East Bengal.
International career
Indian Team during Asian Cup 2007 Qualifiers. Bhutia standing rightmost.
Bhutia scored in his international debut for India against Uzbekistan in the 1995 Nehru Cup becoming India's youngest ever goalscorer, at 19. In the 1997 SAFF Championship, India beat the Maldives 5–1 in the final, Bhutia was responsible for one goal.[55] Two years later the tournament was held in Goa and India successfully defended their title by beating Bangladesh 2–0 in the final. Baichung Bhutia scored the second goal for India after Bruno Coutinho opened the scoring and Bhutia was named as the tournament's most valuable player.[56]
He also netted two goals in the final of the 2002 LG Cup held in Vietnam, in which India beat the host nation 3–2, Bhutia's goals came either side of half-time. The football tournament of the 2003 Afro-Asian Games saw India finish as runners-up behind Uzbekistan. Bhutia scored two goals in the tournament, both of which came in the 5–3 semi-final win over Zimbabwe. In the 2007 Nehru Cup, Bhutia scored a penalty in a 6–0 victory over Cambodia in the opening match of the tournament. He also scored in a 1–0 win over Bangladeshand a 3–0 win over Kyrgyzstan. Bhutia played a significant part in the final as he was involved in the build-up to N. P. Pradeep's winning goal against Syria during which India won 1–0 to become champions.
The next successful SAFF Championship was in 2005 where Bhutia was captain, in the group stages he scored a goal in a 3–0 victory over Bhutan but did not score in the other two matches. India progressed to the semi-finals during which Bhutia played in the 1–0 win over the Maldives. The final was a repeat of the 1999 final, as Bangladesh were the opposition, and once again India triumphed 2–0 during which Bhutia scored the second goal in the 81st minute from close range after Mehrajuddin Wadoo's 33rd minute opener. He received the award for the Most Valuable Player and also the Fair Play trophy. The 2008 SAFF Championship started with a 4–0 win over neighbouring Nepal, Bhutia scored the second goal in the 34th minute. It turned out to be Bhutia's only goal of the tournament, however he did have several chances to score in the semi-final against Bhutan which saw India win 2–1 to reach the final. In the final India failed to defend their title after losing 1–0 to the Maldives.
He scored twice in a 2–1 victory in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup against Turkmenistan to reach the semi-finals. The Sikkimese Sniper scored a goal in the final against Tajikistan during which India won 4–1 thanks to a Sunil Chhetri hat-trick; the victory also allowed them to automatically qualify for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. He was also selected as the most valuable player of the tournament, finishing with three goals.
The 2009 Nehru Cup was significant for Bhutia as he earned his 100th cap for India in a 2–1 win over Kyrgyzstan, becoming the first Indian player to reach this milestone. He also scored the first goal in this match to help the team recover from their opening day defeat to Lebanon. In the match against Sri Lanka, Bhutia again scored an opening goal which helped India to win 3–1 and solidified their chances of reaching the final. He was adjudged as the "man of the match" for his performance. Bhutia missed the final match of the round-robin as India were already guaranteed a spot in the deciding match. He was also adjudged as "Player of the Tournament" for his stellar performances in all of the matches, including the decider where they beat Syria in a penalty shootout.
At the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar he was injured for there first two games vs Australia and Bahrain but he came on as a secound half subsitute vs Korea Republic but he couldent save India and they lost 4-1 and where eliminated. After the tournament he anncoced he has no plans of retirement and hopes to help India qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
- Awardee in Football : 1998
- Padma Shri : 2008
THE REAL HERO OF INDIA
Kisan Bapat Baburao Hazare (born 15 January 1940), popularly known as Anna Hazareis an Indian social activist who is especially recognized for his contribution to the development of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India and his efforts for establishing it as a model village, for which he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by Government of India, in 1992.
On April 5 2011, Hazare started a 'fast unto death' to exert pressure on the Government of India to enact a strong anti-corruption act as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, a law that will establish a Lokpal (ombudsman) that will have the power to deal with corruption in public offices.
Early life Anna Hazare was born in Bhingar village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state in western India to Baburao Hazare and Laxmi Bai, an unskilled labourer family who owned five acres of land. He has two sisters. Due to adverse conditions in 1952 they had to move to their family home in Ralegan Siddhi. He was raised by his childless aunt in Mumbai but could not continue beyond VII standard and had to quit midway due to problems.
In the Indian Army Anna Hazare started his career as a driver in the Indian Army. He spent his spare time reading the books of Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave that inspired him to become a social worker and activist.[1] During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he was the only survivor in a border exchange of fire, while driving a truck.[2] During the mid-1970s he was involved in a road accident while driving.[3]
In Ralegan Siddhi After voluntary retirement from the army, Hazare came to Ralegan Siddhi village in 1975. Initially, he led a movement to eradicate alcoholism from the village. Next, he motivated the residents of the village into shramdan (voluntary labour) to build canals, small-scale check-dams and percolation tanks in the nearby hills for watershed development; efforts that solved the problem of scarcity of water in the village that also made irrigation possibile. He also motivated the residents of the village to build a secondary school in the village through voluntary labour. He helped farmers of more than 70 villages in drought-prone region in the state of Maharashtra since 1975.
Right to Information movement The dream of India as a strong nation will not be realised without self-reliant,
self-sufficient villages, this can be achieved only theough social commitment
& involvement of the common man." - Anna Hazare
In the early 2000s, Anna Hazare led a movement in Maharastra state, which forced the Government of Maharashtra to repeal the earlier weak act and pass a stronger Maharashtra Right to Information Act, which 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.[
Movement against corruption in the Maharashtra state government On 10 September 1998, Anna Hazare was sentenced to simple imprisonment for three months by the Mumbai Metropolitan Court during Shiv Sena-BJP rule in Maharashtra when a defamation suit was filed against him by then Maharashtra Social Welfare minister Babanrao Golap of Shiv Sena, for accusing of corruption. He was released following public uproar.[2][6] Hazare was released on bond of Rs 5000.
This happened after Hazare forwarded documentary evidence to the then Maharashtra Governor P.C. Alexander about the alleged amassing of wealth by Golap who, as per Hazare, was a cinema black ticket tout before he became a minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government. He alleged corruption to the tune of 6 crore rupees in power loom purchase and the land deals by his wife and lashed out at the saffron alliance by pointing out a similar rags-to-riches story of Shashikant Sutar, another Shiv Sena minister. This came as huge shock at that time to all social activists. Leaders of all political parties except the BJP and the Shiv Sena, in particular V. N. Gadgil, spokesperson of the Congress party and former Member of Parliament (MP) from Pune - came in support of him [7] [8] [9]
Lokpal Bill movement In 2011, Anna Hazare led a movement for passing a stronger anti-corruption Lokpal (ombudsman) bill in the Indian Parliament. As a part of this movement, N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka, Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court along with the members of the India Against Corruption movement drafted an alternate bill, named as the Jan Lokpal Bill (People's Ombudsman Bill) with more stringent provisions and wider power to the Lokpal (Ombudsman).[10] Hazare has started a fast unto death from 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 new bill with stronger penal actions and more independence to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Ombudsmen in the states), after his demand was rejected by the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh [11] Before commencing his 'fast unto death' he stated, "I will fast until Jan Lokpal Bill is passed".[12]
The movement attracted attention very quickly through various media. It has been reported that thousands of people joined to support Hazare's effort. Almost 150 people are reported to join Hazare in his fast.[13] He said that he would not allow any politician to sit with him in this movement. Politicians like Uma Bharti and Om Prakash Chautala
were shooed away by protesters when they came to visit the site where the protest was taking place.[14] A number of social activists including Medha Patkar, Arvind Kejriwal and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, Jayaprakash Narayan of the Lok Satta have lent their support to Hazare's hunger strike and anti-corruption campaign. This movement has also been joined by many people providing their support in Internet social media such as twitter and facebook. In addition to spiritual leaders Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Ramdev, Swami Agnivesh and former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev,[15] many celebrities showed their public support through micro-blogging site Twitter.[16] As an outcome of this movement, on 6 April, 2011 Sharad Pawar resigned from the group of ministers formed for reviewing the draft Lokpal bill 2010.[17]
The movement gathered quite a significant amount of support from India's youth visible through the local support and on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.[18] There have also been protests in Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad among other cities of India.
Background of the movement The movement started due to the resentment because of the serious differences between the draft Lokpal Bill 2010 prepared by the government and the Jan Lokpal Bill prepared by the members of this movement,[19] which has received significant public support:
Differences between Draft Lokpal Bill 2010 and Jan Lokpal Bill
Draft Lokpal Bill 2010
Jan Lokpal Bill
Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by LS Speaker or RS Chairman.
Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body. Its part is only limited to forwarding its report to the "Competent Authority"
Lokpal will be much more than an Advisory Body. It should be granted powers to initiate Prosecution against anyone found guilty.
Lokpal will not have any police powers. It can not register FIRs or proceed with criminal investigations.
Lokpal will have police powers. To say that it will be able to register FIRs.
CBI and Lokpal will have no connection with each other.
Lokpal and anti corruption wing of CBI will be one Independent body.
Punishment for corruption will be minimum 6 months and maximum up-to 7 years.
The punishment should be minimum 7 years and maximum up-to life imprisonment.
Lokpal will not be a monopoly for particular area
If we can’t join him at Jantar Mantar, let’s join him in this cyber petition to the PM. http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_anna_hazare/?fbad2
Awards and honours Awards - received by Anna Hazare
LOK PAL BILL
In India, the Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's ombudsman Bill) is a draft anti-corruption bill that would create a Jan Lokpal, an independent body like the Election Commission, which would have the power to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.[1]
The bill was drafted by Shanti Bhushan, former IPS Kiran Bedi, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, advocate Prashant Bhushan, former chief election commissioner J. M. Lyngdoh in consultation with the leaders of the India Against Corruption movement and the civil society. The bill proposes institution of the office of Lokpal (Ombudsman) at center and Lok Ayukta at state level. The Jan Lokpal Bill is designed to create an effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal systems and to assure that an effective deterrent is created against corruption and to provide effective protection to whistleblowers.[2][3]
The Lokpal Bill drafted by the government has failed to pass the Rajya Sabha for 42 years.[4] The first Lokpal Bill was passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969 but could not get through in Rajya Sabh. Subsequently, Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008. Yet none of these bills were ever passed.
Background The movement for Jan Lokpal Bill started due to the resentment because of the serious differences between the draft Lokpal Bill 2010 prepared by the government and the Jan Lokpal Bill prepared by the members of this movement, which has received significant public support. There are currently no laws aimed at addressing government corruption in India.
Key features of proposed bill
On April 5, 2011, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare began a fast unto death till Jan Lokpal Bill enacted[7] Around 6,000 Mumbai residents also started a one-day fast to support the demand for implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill.[8] Hazare also announced plans to start a Jail Bharo Andolan protest on 12th April, 2011 if the Jan Lokpal bill is not passed by the government. Hazare stated that his group has received six crore (60 million) SMSes in its support. [9] He is further supported by a large number of Internet activists[10]
A group of Delhi residents dressed in white shirts and t-shirts took a four-hour drive around the city on March 13, 2011 to support a campaign against corruption and the Jan Lokpal Bill.[11]
Color of protests Protesters have chosen yellow as the color of protests. They were seen wearing yellow dresses, T shirts and were having yellow banners. Protesters in different cities are co-ordinating to observe Yellow Sunday.
Prominent Non Political Supporters Main article: Prominent personalties Supporting Jan Lokpal Bill
Political support The protests are non political in nature. The political parties are being discouraged to take advantage of the issue.[12]
The response of prominent political parties and leaders is:
The National advisory Council is against the government on the Lokpal bill. On the 5th April 2011, the National Advisory Council rejected the Lokpal bill draft of the government.[19] Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday met social activists Swami Agnivesh and Arvind Kejriwal to find ways to bridge differences on the anti-graft Lokpal Bill.[20]
Status of bill The government is again thinking of introducing a Lokpal Bill in parliament this year, and the National Advisory Council (NAC) chaired by Sonia Gandhi is considering it. But as it stands today, the bill is riddled with loopholes, defeating its very purpose.
Anna Hazare wants 50% of the committee of lokpal bill drafting committee from the public.
Jan Lokpal Bill
Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by LS Speaker or RS Chairman.
Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body. Its part is only limited to forwarding its report to the "Competent Authority"
Lokpal will be much more than an Advisory Body. It should be granted powers to initiate Prosecution against anyone found guilty.
Lokpal will not have any police powers. It can not register FIRs or proceed with criminal investigations.
Lokpal will have police powers. To say that it will be able to register FIRs.
CBI and Lokpal will have no connection with each other.
Lokpal and anti corruption wing of CBI will be one Independent body.
Punishment for corruption will be minimum 6 months and maximum up-to 7 years.
The punishment should be minimum 5 years and maximum up-to life imprisonment.
Lokpal will not be a monopoly for particular area
Criticism of U.P.A's Lokpal bill 1. Lokpal will not have any power to either initiate action suo motu in any case or even receive complaints of corruption from general public. The general public will make complaints to the speaker of Lok Sabha or chairperson of Rajya Sabha. Only those complaints forwarded by Speaker of Lok Sabha/ Chairperson of Rajya Sabha to Lokpal would be investigated by Lokpal. This not only severely restricts the functioning of Lokpal, it also provides a tool in the hands of the ruling party to have only those cases referred to Lokpal which pertain to political opponents (since speaker is always from the ruling party). It will also provide a tool in the hands of the ruling party to protect its own politicians.
2. Lokpal has been proposed to be an advisory body. Lokpal, after enquiry in any case, will forward its report to the competent authority. The competent authority will have final powers to decide whether to take action on Lokpal’s report or not. In the case of cabinet ministers, the competent authority is Prime Minister. In the case of PM and MPs the competent authority is Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, as the case may be. In the coalition era when the government of the day depends upon the support of its political partners, it will be impossible for the PM to act against any of his cabinet ministers on the basis of Lokpal’s report.
3. The bill is legally unsound. Lokpal has not been given police powers. Therefore Lokpal cannot register an FIR. Therefore all the enquiries conducted by Lokpal will tantamount to “preliminary enquiries”. Even if the report of Lokpal is accepted, who will file the chargesheet in the court? Who will initiate prosecution? Who will appoint the prosecution lawyer? The entire bill is silent on that.
4. The bill does not say what will be the role of CBI after this bill. Can CBI and Lokpal investigate the same case or CBI will lose its powers to investigate politicians? If the latter is true, then this bill is meant to completely insulate politicians from any investigations whatsoever which are possible today through CBI.
5. There is a strong punishment for “frivolous” complaints. If any complaint is found to be false and frivolous, Lokpal will have the power to send the complainant to jail through summary trial but if the complaint were found to be true, the Lokpal will not have the power to send the corrupt politicians to jail! So the bill appears to be meant to browbeat, threaten and discourage those fighting against corruption.
6. Lokpal will have jurisdiction only on MPs, ministers and PM. It will not have jurisdiction over officers. The officers and politicians do not indulge in corruption separately. In any case of corruption, there is always an involvement of both of them. So according to government’s proposal, every case would need to be investigated by both CVC and Lokpal. So now, in each case, CVC will look into the role of bureaucrats while Lokpal will look into the role of politicians. Obviously the case records will be with one agency and the way government functions it will not share its records with the other agency. It is also possible that in the same case the two agencies arrive at completely opposite conclusions. Therefore it appears to be a sure way of killing any case.
7. Lokpal will consist of three members, all of them being retired judges. There is no reason why the choice should be restricted to judiciary. By creating so many post retirement posts for judges, the government will make the retiring judges vulnerable to government influences just before retirement as is already happening in the case of retiring bureaucrats. The retiring judges, in the hope of getting post retirement employment would do the bidding of the government in their last few years.
8. The selection committee consists of Vice President, PM, Leaders of both houses, Leaders of opposition in both houses, Law Minister and Home minister. Barring Vice President, all of them are politicians whose corruption Lokpal is supposed to investigate. So there is a direct conflict of interest. Also selection committee is heavily loaded in favor of the ruling party. Effectively ruling party will make the final selections. And obviously ruling party will never appoint strong and effective Lokpal.
9. Lokpal will not have powers to investigate any case against PM, which deals with foreign affairs, security and defence. This means that corruption in defence deals will be out of any scrutiny whatsoever. It will become impossible to investigate into any Bofors in future.
Criticisms for the Jan Lokpal Bill Some people have expressed the opinion that the Jan Lokpal Bill is 'naive' in its approach towards combating corruption. "It(The Jan Lokpal Bill) is premised on an institutional imagination that is at best naïve; at worst subversive of representative democracy." says Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President, Center for Policy Research, Delhi
On April 5 2011, Hazare started a 'fast unto death' to exert pressure on the Government of India to enact a strong anti-corruption act as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, a law that will establish a Lokpal (ombudsman) that will have the power to deal with corruption in public offices.
Early life Anna Hazare was born in Bhingar village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state in western India to Baburao Hazare and Laxmi Bai, an unskilled labourer family who owned five acres of land. He has two sisters. Due to adverse conditions in 1952 they had to move to their family home in Ralegan Siddhi. He was raised by his childless aunt in Mumbai but could not continue beyond VII standard and had to quit midway due to problems.
In the Indian Army Anna Hazare started his career as a driver in the Indian Army. He spent his spare time reading the books of Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave that inspired him to become a social worker and activist.[1] During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he was the only survivor in a border exchange of fire, while driving a truck.[2] During the mid-1970s he was involved in a road accident while driving.[3]
In Ralegan Siddhi After voluntary retirement from the army, Hazare came to Ralegan Siddhi village in 1975. Initially, he led a movement to eradicate alcoholism from the village. Next, he motivated the residents of the village into shramdan (voluntary labour) to build canals, small-scale check-dams and percolation tanks in the nearby hills for watershed development; efforts that solved the problem of scarcity of water in the village that also made irrigation possibile. He also motivated the residents of the village to build a secondary school in the village through voluntary labour. He helped farmers of more than 70 villages in drought-prone region in the state of Maharashtra since 1975.
Right to Information movement The dream of India as a strong nation will not be realised without self-reliant,
self-sufficient villages, this can be achieved only theough social commitment
& involvement of the common man." - Anna Hazare
In the early 2000s, Anna Hazare led a movement in Maharastra state, which forced the Government of Maharashtra to repeal the earlier weak act and pass a stronger Maharashtra Right to Information Act, which 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.[
Movement against corruption in the Maharashtra state government On 10 September 1998, Anna Hazare was sentenced to simple imprisonment for three months by the Mumbai Metropolitan Court during Shiv Sena-BJP rule in Maharashtra when a defamation suit was filed against him by then Maharashtra Social Welfare minister Babanrao Golap of Shiv Sena, for accusing of corruption. He was released following public uproar.[2][6] Hazare was released on bond of Rs 5000.
This happened after Hazare forwarded documentary evidence to the then Maharashtra Governor P.C. Alexander about the alleged amassing of wealth by Golap who, as per Hazare, was a cinema black ticket tout before he became a minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government. He alleged corruption to the tune of 6 crore rupees in power loom purchase and the land deals by his wife and lashed out at the saffron alliance by pointing out a similar rags-to-riches story of Shashikant Sutar, another Shiv Sena minister. This came as huge shock at that time to all social activists. Leaders of all political parties except the BJP and the Shiv Sena, in particular V. N. Gadgil, spokesperson of the Congress party and former Member of Parliament (MP) from Pune - came in support of him [7] [8] [9]
Lokpal Bill movement In 2011, Anna Hazare led a movement for passing a stronger anti-corruption Lokpal (ombudsman) bill in the Indian Parliament. As a part of this movement, N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka, Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court along with the members of the India Against Corruption movement drafted an alternate bill, named as the Jan Lokpal Bill (People's Ombudsman Bill) with more stringent provisions and wider power to the Lokpal (Ombudsman).[10] Hazare has started a fast unto death from 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 new bill with stronger penal actions and more independence to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Ombudsmen in the states), after his demand was rejected by the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh [11] Before commencing his 'fast unto death' he stated, "I will fast until Jan Lokpal Bill is passed".[12]
The movement attracted attention very quickly through various media. It has been reported that thousands of people joined to support Hazare's effort. Almost 150 people are reported to join Hazare in his fast.[13] He said that he would not allow any politician to sit with him in this movement. Politicians like Uma Bharti and Om Prakash Chautala
were shooed away by protesters when they came to visit the site where the protest was taking place.[14] A number of social activists including Medha Patkar, Arvind Kejriwal and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, Jayaprakash Narayan of the Lok Satta have lent their support to Hazare's hunger strike and anti-corruption campaign. This movement has also been joined by many people providing their support in Internet social media such as twitter and facebook. In addition to spiritual leaders Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Ramdev, Swami Agnivesh and former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev,[15] many celebrities showed their public support through micro-blogging site Twitter.[16] As an outcome of this movement, on 6 April, 2011 Sharad Pawar resigned from the group of ministers formed for reviewing the draft Lokpal bill 2010.[17]
The movement gathered quite a significant amount of support from India's youth visible through the local support and on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.[18] There have also been protests in Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad among other cities of India.
Background of the movement The movement started due to the resentment because of the serious differences between the draft Lokpal Bill 2010 prepared by the government and the Jan Lokpal Bill prepared by the members of this movement,[19] which has received significant public support:
Differences between Draft Lokpal Bill 2010 and Jan Lokpal Bill
Draft Lokpal Bill 2010
Jan Lokpal Bill
Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by LS Speaker or RS Chairman.
Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body. Its part is only limited to forwarding its report to the "Competent Authority"
Lokpal will be much more than an Advisory Body. It should be granted powers to initiate Prosecution against anyone found guilty.
Lokpal will not have any police powers. It can not register FIRs or proceed with criminal investigations.
Lokpal will have police powers. To say that it will be able to register FIRs.
CBI and Lokpal will have no connection with each other.
Lokpal and anti corruption wing of CBI will be one Independent body.
Punishment for corruption will be minimum 6 months and maximum up-to 7 years.
The punishment should be minimum 7 years and maximum up-to life imprisonment.
Lokpal will not be a monopoly for particular area
If we can’t join him at Jantar Mantar, let’s join him in this cyber petition to the PM. http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_anna_hazare/?fbad2
Awards and honours Awards - received by Anna Hazare
- 2008 - On April 15 2008, Anna Hazare received the World Bank's 2008 Jit Gill Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service: "Hazare created a thriving model village in Ralegan Siddhi, in the impoverished Ahmednagar region of Maharashtra state, and championed the right to information and the fight against corruption."[20]
- 1992 - Padmabhushan award, by the Government of India
- 1990 - Padmashri award, by the Government of India
- 1986 - Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra award by the Government of India on November 19, 1986 from the hands of Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.
- 1989 - Krishi Bhushana award by the Government of Maharashtra.
LOK PAL BILL
In India, the Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's ombudsman Bill) is a draft anti-corruption bill that would create a Jan Lokpal, an independent body like the Election Commission, which would have the power to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.[1]
The bill was drafted by Shanti Bhushan, former IPS Kiran Bedi, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, advocate Prashant Bhushan, former chief election commissioner J. M. Lyngdoh in consultation with the leaders of the India Against Corruption movement and the civil society. The bill proposes institution of the office of Lokpal (Ombudsman) at center and Lok Ayukta at state level. The Jan Lokpal Bill is designed to create an effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal systems and to assure that an effective deterrent is created against corruption and to provide effective protection to whistleblowers.[2][3]
The Lokpal Bill drafted by the government has failed to pass the Rajya Sabha for 42 years.[4] The first Lokpal Bill was passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969 but could not get through in Rajya Sabh. Subsequently, Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008. Yet none of these bills were ever passed.
Background The movement for Jan Lokpal Bill started due to the resentment because of the serious differences between the draft Lokpal Bill 2010 prepared by the government and the Jan Lokpal Bill prepared by the members of this movement, which has received significant public support. There are currently no laws aimed at addressing government corruption in India.
Key features of proposed bill
- A central government anti-corruption instituion called "Lokpal", supported by state institutions called "Lokayukta" will be set up
- Like the Supreme Court and the Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.
- Members will be appointed by judges, private citizens, and constitutional authorities through a transparent and participatory process.
- Investigations in each case will have to be completed in one year. Trials should be completed in the following year, meaning the total process will take place within two years.
- Any loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.
- Help to common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.
- Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and, if found to be substantive, will result in the the officer being dismissed within two months.
- The existing anti-corruption agencies(CVC, departmental vigilance and the anti-corruption branch of CBI) will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and authority to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
- The agency will also provide protection to whistleblowers who alert it of potential corruption cases.
On April 5, 2011, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare began a fast unto death till Jan Lokpal Bill enacted[7] Around 6,000 Mumbai residents also started a one-day fast to support the demand for implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill.[8] Hazare also announced plans to start a Jail Bharo Andolan protest on 12th April, 2011 if the Jan Lokpal bill is not passed by the government. Hazare stated that his group has received six crore (60 million) SMSes in its support. [9] He is further supported by a large number of Internet activists[10]
A group of Delhi residents dressed in white shirts and t-shirts took a four-hour drive around the city on March 13, 2011 to support a campaign against corruption and the Jan Lokpal Bill.[11]
Color of protests Protesters have chosen yellow as the color of protests. They were seen wearing yellow dresses, T shirts and were having yellow banners. Protesters in different cities are co-ordinating to observe Yellow Sunday.
Prominent Non Political Supporters Main article: Prominent personalties Supporting Jan Lokpal Bill
Political support The protests are non political in nature. The political parties are being discouraged to take advantage of the issue.[12]
The response of prominent political parties and leaders is:
- Bhartya Janta Party have extended support to the bill.[13] The principal opposition demanded that the Centre convene an all-party meeting to discuss the ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’ issue. [14]
- Uma Bharti and Chautala tried to visit the Jantar Mantar. But both of them were booed by the people. They had to leave the agitation area immediately as people did not want them to be there. Also, Anna Hazare did not allow them to sit on the dais as it was feared that these politicians will misuse the platform for their own benefit.
- RLD chief Ajit Singh today expressed support to the anti-corruption campaign.[15]
- Jayaprakash Narayan (Lok Satta) - Ex-IAS officer, Social Reformer and Politician
- People's party of Punjab - Former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal[16]
The National advisory Council is against the government on the Lokpal bill. On the 5th April 2011, the National Advisory Council rejected the Lokpal bill draft of the government.[19] Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday met social activists Swami Agnivesh and Arvind Kejriwal to find ways to bridge differences on the anti-graft Lokpal Bill.[20]
Status of bill The government is again thinking of introducing a Lokpal Bill in parliament this year, and the National Advisory Council (NAC) chaired by Sonia Gandhi is considering it. But as it stands today, the bill is riddled with loopholes, defeating its very purpose.
Anna Hazare wants 50% of the committee of lokpal bill drafting committee from the public.
Jan Lokpal Bill
Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by LS Speaker or RS Chairman.
Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body. Its part is only limited to forwarding its report to the "Competent Authority"
Lokpal will be much more than an Advisory Body. It should be granted powers to initiate Prosecution against anyone found guilty.
Lokpal will not have any police powers. It can not register FIRs or proceed with criminal investigations.
Lokpal will have police powers. To say that it will be able to register FIRs.
CBI and Lokpal will have no connection with each other.
Lokpal and anti corruption wing of CBI will be one Independent body.
Punishment for corruption will be minimum 6 months and maximum up-to 7 years.
The punishment should be minimum 5 years and maximum up-to life imprisonment.
Lokpal will not be a monopoly for particular area
Criticism of U.P.A's Lokpal bill 1. Lokpal will not have any power to either initiate action suo motu in any case or even receive complaints of corruption from general public. The general public will make complaints to the speaker of Lok Sabha or chairperson of Rajya Sabha. Only those complaints forwarded by Speaker of Lok Sabha/ Chairperson of Rajya Sabha to Lokpal would be investigated by Lokpal. This not only severely restricts the functioning of Lokpal, it also provides a tool in the hands of the ruling party to have only those cases referred to Lokpal which pertain to political opponents (since speaker is always from the ruling party). It will also provide a tool in the hands of the ruling party to protect its own politicians.
2. Lokpal has been proposed to be an advisory body. Lokpal, after enquiry in any case, will forward its report to the competent authority. The competent authority will have final powers to decide whether to take action on Lokpal’s report or not. In the case of cabinet ministers, the competent authority is Prime Minister. In the case of PM and MPs the competent authority is Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, as the case may be. In the coalition era when the government of the day depends upon the support of its political partners, it will be impossible for the PM to act against any of his cabinet ministers on the basis of Lokpal’s report.
3. The bill is legally unsound. Lokpal has not been given police powers. Therefore Lokpal cannot register an FIR. Therefore all the enquiries conducted by Lokpal will tantamount to “preliminary enquiries”. Even if the report of Lokpal is accepted, who will file the chargesheet in the court? Who will initiate prosecution? Who will appoint the prosecution lawyer? The entire bill is silent on that.
4. The bill does not say what will be the role of CBI after this bill. Can CBI and Lokpal investigate the same case or CBI will lose its powers to investigate politicians? If the latter is true, then this bill is meant to completely insulate politicians from any investigations whatsoever which are possible today through CBI.
5. There is a strong punishment for “frivolous” complaints. If any complaint is found to be false and frivolous, Lokpal will have the power to send the complainant to jail through summary trial but if the complaint were found to be true, the Lokpal will not have the power to send the corrupt politicians to jail! So the bill appears to be meant to browbeat, threaten and discourage those fighting against corruption.
6. Lokpal will have jurisdiction only on MPs, ministers and PM. It will not have jurisdiction over officers. The officers and politicians do not indulge in corruption separately. In any case of corruption, there is always an involvement of both of them. So according to government’s proposal, every case would need to be investigated by both CVC and Lokpal. So now, in each case, CVC will look into the role of bureaucrats while Lokpal will look into the role of politicians. Obviously the case records will be with one agency and the way government functions it will not share its records with the other agency. It is also possible that in the same case the two agencies arrive at completely opposite conclusions. Therefore it appears to be a sure way of killing any case.
7. Lokpal will consist of three members, all of them being retired judges. There is no reason why the choice should be restricted to judiciary. By creating so many post retirement posts for judges, the government will make the retiring judges vulnerable to government influences just before retirement as is already happening in the case of retiring bureaucrats. The retiring judges, in the hope of getting post retirement employment would do the bidding of the government in their last few years.
8. The selection committee consists of Vice President, PM, Leaders of both houses, Leaders of opposition in both houses, Law Minister and Home minister. Barring Vice President, all of them are politicians whose corruption Lokpal is supposed to investigate. So there is a direct conflict of interest. Also selection committee is heavily loaded in favor of the ruling party. Effectively ruling party will make the final selections. And obviously ruling party will never appoint strong and effective Lokpal.
9. Lokpal will not have powers to investigate any case against PM, which deals with foreign affairs, security and defence. This means that corruption in defence deals will be out of any scrutiny whatsoever. It will become impossible to investigate into any Bofors in future.
Criticisms for the Jan Lokpal Bill Some people have expressed the opinion that the Jan Lokpal Bill is 'naive' in its approach towards combating corruption. "It(The Jan Lokpal Bill) is premised on an institutional imagination that is at best naïve; at worst subversive of representative democracy." says Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President, Center for Policy Research, Delhi