Jailed activist starts hunger strike

NEW DELHI (AP):

An anti-corruption activist arrested yesterday for planning a public hunger strike began his fast behind bars, as his supporters held protests across the country, with thousands detained by police.

Anna Hazare's demand for tougher anti-corruption laws has tested the beleaguered government and galvanised Indians fed up with seemingly endless scandals exposing bribery and favouritism and paralysing efforts to address poverty and speed up development.

Hazare, a 73-year-old social activist clad in the simple white cotton garb of India's liberation leaders, has become an anti-corruption icon by channelling the tactics of freedom fighter Mohandas K. Gandhi.

In April, he used a four-day fast to force the government to draft legislation to create an anti-corruption watchdog. He had planned to begin another public fast yesterday to press for a stronger bill.

Police barred his latest protest after organisers refused to limit the number of fasting days and participants, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said. "Protests are perfectly permissible and welcome, but it must be under reasonable conditions," he said.