The Ramlila Maidan park in New Delhi was the setting for a powerful political moment on Aug. 28. There Anna Hazare, a 73-year-old activist and admirer of Gandhi, broke his 13-day fast, drinking a cup of coconut water while thousands of supporters cheered. Hazare ended his hunger strike after he and his allies had shamed India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh into meeting some of their demands. In an extraordinary weekend session of Parliament, lawmakers pledged to pass a version of an anti-corruption bill championed by Hazare. The legislation will create a graft-busting agency called the Lokpal (Sanskrit for "protector of the people"), with the power to investigate bureaucrats, appoint ombudsmen at the state level, and prepare citizens' charter! that would subject ministries to public scrutiny. "Right now a victim of corruption feels helpless," says Anupama Jha, executive director at Transparency Inter national India. "This will allow people to reach out to the right authority."
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