Wednesday, November 19, 2025 | 12:42 AM ISTहिंदी में पढें
Business Standard
Notification Icon
userprofile IconSearch

The epic fraud that was 'India Against Corruption'

The outspoken "independent" heroes of a decade ago -people like Vinod Rai, the auditor who couldn't count, remember him? - have quietly vanished into sinecures provided by the next government

Image
premium

Mihir S Sharma
Ten years ago this month, a little-known activist from Maharashtra began a fast unto death in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. In a remarkably short time, Kisan Baburao Hazare’s demonstration turned into a “movement” — or at least that was what an enthusiastically supportive media would have had us believe.

A decade on, please admit it, India: You were duped. “India Against Corruption” was nothing of the sort. It was a vehicle for personal ambitions, of Arvind Kejriwal in particular; it was an arena for middle-class play-acting at protest; it was an operation to discredit the government and reposition the Bharatiya Janata Party,
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper