Monday, 22 August 2011

Freedom fighters in Assam hail Anna bid to clean India

GUWAHATI: As Anna Hazare's anti-corruption crusade kept on drawing supporters from across the country, 88-year-old Hem Kakati could not keep herself away from the nationwide movement against graft. The octogenarian freedom fighter, who was imbibed by Mahatma Gandhi's ideology when she was barely nine and got herself actively involved in the Independence struggle, spent the sultry Sunday with supporters of the Anna's India Against Corruption (IAC) at the NCP office ground in Dighalipukhari here.

For Kakati, Anna's movement has evoked the memories of the heydays of freedom movement when she was young. "When I see Anna's fight against corruption, the memories of our freedom struggle keep coming back. I am convinced that there is still someone who has kept alive the ideology of Gandhiji. I am more attracted to Anna for the fact that he has managed to inspire such a huge number of youth in the Gandhian ways of protest." Kakati was among other freedom fighters who joined the movement here on Sunday with a conviction that Anna's Gandhian ways of struggle would go a long way in curbing corruption in country.

"Anna launched his crusade against corruption at the right time. Gandhiji did not want India to be a land of corruption. But it's an irony that India is neck deep in corruption. In such a situation, the emergence of Anna has helped millions of Indians to hope that the situation will change. Our only wish is that the country shows respect to Gandhiji's vision," Kakati said while addressing a large gathering of IAC supporters and students.

Like Kakali, 83-year old Anjali Baruah, who also accompanied her father during the Freedom struggle in Assam, is also inspired by Anna's movement against graft. Baruah, too, attended Sunday's protest programme at Dighalipukhri. "Gandhiji is my ideal. During the freedom struggle, we used to keep in touch with him. While studying in Kolkata, we used to meet Gandhiji whenever he was in the city. Today, when we see when someone like Anna carrying forward a movement on Gandhian values, we feel happy," Baruah recalled.

Both Kakati and Baruah compared Anna's movement with freedom struggle on the ground that the anti-corruption crusade could united people across the country against corruption. "During our struggle for Independence, people from all parts of the country were involved to free India from the British rule. Similarly, we are now seeing that people are joining the movement against graft in overwhelming numbers," Baruah said,. All religion prayers were also held in Dighalipukhri for Hazare's health. Besides, about 100 NCC cadets from B Barooah College took part in the IAC protest programme.

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