Indian anti-corruption crusader breaks fast

Indian anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare ended his 12-day fast on Sunday morning before thousands of cheering supporters at New Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, the Times of India reports.

Hazare had agreed to end his hunger strike on Saturday night, after parliament adopted a resolution to implement the main principles of the national ombudsman law, or Jan Lokpal Bill, that Hazare and his supporters have been advocating for months.

According to TOI, Simran and Ikra, two small girls from a village called Sundar Nagri in west Delhi helped Anna Hazare break his fast. Hazare's first meal comprised an electrolyte-rich sip of honey and coconut water, the paper said.

A member of Hazare's team said the leader may be hospitalized for a day or two to allow doctors to monitor his condition.

Both the lower and upper houses of India's parliament unanimously resolved that a standing committee would consider Hazare's three demands – including the lower bureaucracy in the Lokpal's purview, creating a central law for creating ombudmans in India's states and drafting a citizen's charter for government departments providing public service. It was this resolution that finally paved the way for Hazare's 12-day fast to end.

Even after Hazare agreed to end his vigil, around 4,000 people stayed overnight at the protest venue while hundreds of others arrived early in the morning to witness him taking his first sustenance, the paper said.

Given the fraught nature of India's street politics, the nation heaved a sigh of relief that the government was able to reach an accommodation that allowed Hazare to end his hunger strike before serious health complications set in.

However, Hazare said Sunday that he is only "suspending" his hunger strike, in a not-so-veiled threat to resume his fast if the Jan Lokpal Bill languishes in committee too long.

Hazare, a 74-year-old former soldier and follower of Gandhi, first began his protest to force the government to adopt a bill to fight corruption. But more recently, his hunger strike was intended to force the parliament to adopt the bill designed by his team rather than a bill put forward by the government, which was perceived to be weaker. Huge crowds of supporters have participated in peaceful protests and rallies across India, with numbers reportedly crossing 100,000 protesters at New Delhi's Ramlila Maidan last weekend.