Anna Hazare Refuses Bail, Spending the Night in Tihar Jail

Why did Anna Hazare refuse bail?

In a dramatic turn that transformed a civil society protest into a national political crisis, veteran anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare refused bail after being detained by Delhi Police, choosing instead to remain in Tihar Jail as a statement of defiance against the Congress-led government he accused of stifling legitimate democratic dissent.

Hazare, a Gandhian activist who had launched a high-profile fast-unto-death campaign demanding the passage of a strong Lokpal Bill — a proposed anti-corruption ombudsman with independent powers to investigate and prosecute public officials — was arrested along with hundreds of supporters on August 16, 2011, before his planned protest could begin.

Why did the arrest backfire on the government?

The government's decision to detain Hazare was immediately recognized as a political miscalculation of the first order. Rather than defusing the protest, the arrest turned it into a cause célèbre. Within hours, thousands of Indians gathered at Tihar Jail in solidarity; the hashtag supporting Hazare trended across social media platforms; and opposition parties that had been divided on the Lokpal issue suddenly found themselves united in condemning the Congress government.

Did Congress blame the United States?

The Congress party blamed various forces for stoking the protests — including, controversially, a foreign hand, with some leaders pointing at the United States — a charge that was widely ridiculed as deflection from a policy and political failure of its own making.

What did the movement achieve?

Hazare's movement tapped into deep and widespread frustration with corruption at every level of Indian government — from the massive Commonwealth Games and 2G spectrum scandals that had rocked the UPA government to the petty bribery that ordinary citizens encountered in daily interactions with bureaucracy.

He was released after three days, emerging to a massive crowd and continuing his fast at Ramlila Maidan, which ultimately extracted commitments from the government on the Lokpal issue — commitments that critics would later argue were not fully honored.