Anna was an afterthought in anti-corruption crusade

If the figure of Anna Hazare has become a larger-than-life symbol of the anti-corruption movement in India, the real story is a bit more complicated. Anna wasn’t always the leader in waiting, and a strong Lokpal Bill wasn’t the destination of the movement. In fact, it wasn’t even a movement to start with.
The story doesn’t begin with Anna starting out as an anti-corruption crusader building his movement brick by brick and finding followers along the way. In fact, corruption wasn’t the focus of the initial movers and shakers in this story.
It began with different civil society activists pursuing their own goals before it all fell into place as events unfolded over 2010. Anna Hazare was grafted onto the movement at the last stage — once the activists decided they needed a credible face to show the world.
The first chapter begins with 43-year-old Arvind Kejriwal’s quest for a role in the Central Information Commission, the apex oversight body under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
When the post of Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) fell vacant, Kejriwal and his associate Manish Sisodia started a campaign to promote the idea that the job should not be reserved for retired government servants. Kejriwal felt that the RTI structure had itself become very corrupt, and probably nursed thoughts of taking on the job himself. But the fact is he didn’t stand a chance.