With a wave to thousands of supporters, Anna Hazare was freed from an Indian jail today to begin a 15-day hunger strike against government corruption.
A shower of rose petals and wild cheers of 'Long live Mother India' greeted his appearance on an open truck in New Delhi.
Nearly 2,000 men, women and schoolchildren- some on top of parked cars - gathered outside Tihar Jail this morning to catch a glimpse of the 73-year-old crusader.
He was taken to a fairground to start his hunger strike and told the crowd: 'This is the beginning of a revolution. Don't allow this flame to fade out until we have achieved our objective.
'The traitors who have robbed this country will no longer be tolerated.'
His stand-off with the authorities after his arrest on Tuesday sparked the nation's anger at series of corruption scandals that have rocked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government.
Hazare has cloaked himself in the mantle of freedom fighter Mohandas K Gandhi claiming he is fighting to force the government to adopt his proposals for an anti-corruption law.
The demonstrators erupted in applause as he said he was merely continuing the liberation leader's struggle that led to independence in 1947.
'We are yet to achieve full freedom,' he told the crowd. 'A second battle for independence started on Aug. 16.'
On the way to the fairground, Hazare stopped off at the Raj Ghat memorial to Gandhi, where 7,000 had gathered to see him despite the rain.
Hazare supporter Prakash Khattar, a bank employee, said: 'The government will have to bend in front of this movement. This is just the trailer, the film is yet to start.'
Police had briefly arrested Hazare after he declared his intention to hold a public hunger strike in defiance of their restrictions on the demonstration.
But he began his fast in jail anyway and then refused to leave when they tried to free him, demanding the right to hold a long public demonstration.
A compromise was reached yesterday, but Hazare opted to stay in the jail an extra day as the protest venue was being prepared.
Hazare's protest is aimed at pushing the government to pass his version of a proposed bill to create a powerful ombudsman to police top officials. Activists have criticized the current bill tabled in Parliament as too weak to be effective.
Government officials have criticized Hazare in turn, saying he was twisting time-honored protest tactics to subvert the legislative process and force elected officials to bow to his own agenda.
In a sign of the deep anger at the government, one poster held aloft outside the jail showed cartoons of government ministers with fangs and looking like donkeys. They had dollar signs emblazoned on them.
'I am Anna, you are Anna. Now the whole country is Anna,' read another poster.
'(He) has come like a god to save this country,' said Asha Bansal, a home maker. 'Everyone is so sick of these politicians who are only out to make money.'
Hazare is a retired army driver who transformed himself into the most prominent social activist in his home state of Maharashtra in recent decades.
He has held a series of hunger strikes to force the state government to enact reforms and on at least one occasion forced it to capitulate by taking a vow of silence until he got his way.
He shot to national prominence in April when he held a four-day hunger strike to demand the government draft legislation for an anti-corruption watchdog.
But this week - though he was hidden inside a jailhouse and only seen in a brief YouTube video - Hazare turned into a symbol of the national anger over corruption.
After his arrest, thousands of mainly middle-class Indians marched in cities across the country in support of him. With hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the jail, authorities capitulated to many of his demands and granted him permission for a 15-day public protest.
A shower of rose petals and wild cheers of 'Long live Mother India' greeted his appearance on an open truck in New Delhi.
Nearly 2,000 men, women and schoolchildren- some on top of parked cars - gathered outside Tihar Jail this morning to catch a glimpse of the 73-year-old crusader.
He was taken to a fairground to start his hunger strike and told the crowd: 'This is the beginning of a revolution. Don't allow this flame to fade out until we have achieved our objective.
Hero: Thousands of supporters greet Anna Hazare as he waves from the top of a truck in New Delhi after being freed from jail
Liberation: With soldiers on one side of the prison gates, the diminutive campaigner addresses his supporters
Child's play: A young boy waves his flag in celebration at the release of the anti-corruption crusader
His stand-off with the authorities after his arrest on Tuesday sparked the nation's anger at series of corruption scandals that have rocked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government.
Hazare has cloaked himself in the mantle of freedom fighter Mohandas K Gandhi claiming he is fighting to force the government to adopt his proposals for an anti-corruption law.
The demonstrators erupted in applause as he said he was merely continuing the liberation leader's struggle that led to independence in 1947.
'We are yet to achieve full freedom,' he told the crowd. 'A second battle for independence started on Aug. 16.'
Sit-in: Shouting demonstrators show their support for campaigner Anna Hazare with a one-day strike
Protest: Anna Hazare gestures to the crowd on his way to the fairground where he addressed supporters
Hazare supporter Prakash Khattar, a bank employee, said: 'The government will have to bend in front of this movement. This is just the trailer, the film is yet to start.'
Defiant: Anna Hazare greets his supporters at the gates of Tihar prison in New Delhi
But he began his fast in jail anyway and then refused to leave when they tried to free him, demanding the right to hold a long public demonstration.
A compromise was reached yesterday, but Hazare opted to stay in the jail an extra day as the protest venue was being prepared.
Hazare's protest is aimed at pushing the government to pass his version of a proposed bill to create a powerful ombudsman to police top officials. Activists have criticized the current bill tabled in Parliament as too weak to be effective.
Government officials have criticized Hazare in turn, saying he was twisting time-honored protest tactics to subvert the legislative process and force elected officials to bow to his own agenda.
In a sign of the deep anger at the government, one poster held aloft outside the jail showed cartoons of government ministers with fangs and looking like donkeys. They had dollar signs emblazoned on them.
'I am Anna, you are Anna. Now the whole country is Anna,' read another poster.
'(He) has come like a god to save this country,' said Asha Bansal, a home maker. 'Everyone is so sick of these politicians who are only out to make money.'
Freedom: Anna Hazare leaves the prison to go on a 15-day hunger strike over government corruption
Flag-waving protest: Thousands voice their backing for Hazare as they wait for him to emerge from prison
He has held a series of hunger strikes to force the state government to enact reforms and on at least one occasion forced it to capitulate by taking a vow of silence until he got his way.
He shot to national prominence in April when he held a four-day hunger strike to demand the government draft legislation for an anti-corruption watchdog.
But this week - though he was hidden inside a jailhouse and only seen in a brief YouTube video - Hazare turned into a symbol of the national anger over corruption.
After his arrest, thousands of mainly middle-class Indians marched in cities across the country in support of him. With hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the jail, authorities capitulated to many of his demands and granted him permission for a 15-day public protest.
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