Anna Hazare's Anti-corruption struggle

A local fight with international implications?

Additional tags: India Hazare civic action social activism local international implications

Amidst the European Headlines of the Euro-crisis, Anna Hazare's fight against corruption in Indias seems a rather marginal affair for developments in Europe. Yet, argues Peter Konijn from the 'Knowing Emerging Powers Programme', domestic affairs in emerging powers like India are increasingly global in nature and so we have to get used to considering their international implications.

Reading a Dutch newspaper it was easy to miss the news last week about  the arrest, release and still continuing hunger strike of mr. Anna  Hazare in India. Mr. Hazare is a long-time social activist who leads an anti-corruption campaign. He is pushing for strong legislation –the Lokpal  Bill- that can punish corrupt politicians and civil servants. On 16  August mr. Hazare was arrested from his home, after he had threatened to  start a hunger strike. The next day hundreds of thousands of Indians  were on the streets all over the country in support of mr. Hazare and the anti-corruption movement.When the Indian government realized their  mistake they released mr. Hazare from prison. At first he refused to  leave the prison and successfully pressured the Indian government to allow him to start a hunger strike on a central square in New Delhi.
 
To be fair, my newspaper ‘de Volkskrant’ did run a story for some days. In several short articles Mr. Hazare was portrayed as a new Ghandi and  leader of the anti-corruption movement. The story was however hidden  behind the headline stories about the Euro crisis and the political  standoff over debt reduction in the United States. 
 
Although the Euro and debt crises are primarily domestic problems of the European Union and the United States, they are seen to have global  implications and rightly so.
If not handled well, the Euro crisis and US debt will seriously disrupt  the global economy. The dire consequences will be felt all over the  world. The current events in India, on the other hand, are seen as a  domestic issue without global implications.

I wonder if we look back say 15 years from now, will we still think of  the anti-corruption struggle in India as a domestic affair or will we  emphasize its international implications? 
 
The problems of the most powerful nations in the world are global  precisely because these countries play a crucial role in the global  system. For centuries Europe and the United States were the most  powerful countries in the world and dominated the global system. This  domination has ended and ‘new’ global powers like China, India and Brazil have emerged. As a consequence the domestic issues of these  emerging powers also become global in nature.
 
Seen in this perspective the anti-corruption fight is really about the  identity of the Indian society. India’s best-selling author Chetan  Bhagat writes in the Guardian:‘India seems to have suddenly woken up to an intense craving for the  good and the honest’. Mr. Bhagat sees the ‘mass infusion of morality in  young Indians’ as the most important contribution of the anti-corruption  movement. Mr. Hazare non-violent protest against the Indian government  has struck a cord deep in Indian society. The younger generation believes that change is possible and demands for responsible, competent  and accountable government.

What will be the identity of India as a global power? Will it be an India inspired by the actions of mr. Hazare? Will it be an India that, in the words of mr. Bhagat, craves for the good and the honest? An India that strives for social justice and accountable governance at home and  abroad? If the anti-corruption movement succeeds in changing India, this will be seen and felt all over the world.
 
In the West, we might not yet be used not to think like this. It will require a major mind shift to understand the changing power dynamics in a multipolar world. This column is the first of a series  that looks at the impact of the global power shift on development,  poverty and social justice. How will emerging powers like China, India  and Brazil change the way we think about these issues? What does it mean  for civil society activism and social struggles?

This series of columns is part of ‘Knowing Emerging Powers’. A  collaborative effort of Dutch development organisations and academic institutes. For more information, visit www.emergingpowers.org.