Anna Ends His Fast

How did the 12-day standoff end?

It all ended in a photo-frame moment. On the evening of August 27, 2011, Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh arrived at Ramlila Maidan with a letter from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, read it out to a cheering crowd, and set the stage for the end of Anna Hazare's 12-day fast. On the dais: Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, activist Medha Patkar, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, and a sea of supporters waving the Tricolour.

What did Parliament agree to?

Earlier that day, Parliament had debated the Jan Lokpal Bill and passed a "sense of the House" resolution accepting three key demands of the movement: a citizen's charter for public services, bringing the lower bureaucracy under the Lokpal's purview, and establishing Lokayuktas in the states. It was not the strong Lokpal Bill Hazare had demanded — critics would later call the resolution toothless — but it was enough for the 74-year-old Gandhian to declare victory and break his fast.

What made the moment symbolic?

On the morning of August 28, Hazare ended his fast with sips of coconut water and honey offered by two young girls — one Dalit, one Muslim — a deliberate image of the inclusive India the movement claimed to represent. Bollywood stars had visited the protest ground in its final days, swelling the crowds.

What did it achieve?

The fast's end marked the peak of the 2011 anti-corruption wave — the moment a civil society protest forced Parliament to bend. Whether the bending produced real reform is a longer and more cynical story: the Lokpal Bill would take years more, and the movement itself would fracture, with Kejriwal going on to found the Aam Aadmi Party. But for one August evening at Ramlila Maidan, it looked like people power had won.