Indian Guru fasting till death, page 1

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 09:53 AM

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"Ramdev said that he has rejected the prime minister’s appeal and will go on a fast-unto-death in order to save his country from corruption. This he announced in Madhya Pradesh in a congregation.

He will start his fast-to-death from Saturday, June 4 in New Delhi."
(Source)

Thousands of people are joining this brave man, in his cause to save India from the extreme deep corruption which exists, and sanctioned by the government.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked him to not start the fasting, but he rejected.

I think this is the demands, not quiet sure though:

"1. Declare accounts of Indians in tax havens as national property - GOI must declare all tax haven accounts of Indian corrupts to be national property through an ordinance and later with enactment of a bill. This is a very easy step to execute and does not conflict with any foreign policy, treaty or agreement.

2. Declare stashing away black money in tax havens as national crime - GOI must declare the act of stashing away of black money in swiss banks as a ‘Rajdroh’ or national crime because it has led to disasters in our country. 883 people die every HOUR just because of malnutrition and hunger whereas corrupt people out there are carrying out scams worth lakhs of crores which could be used for the development of our nation. Such big scams are only because stashing away of money in swiss banks is very easy for the corrupt.

3. Death penalty and lifetime imprisonment for the corrupt - GOI must pass a law to enforce death penalty or lifetime imprisonment on people who are found to be guilty of corrupt practices. The only reason that corruption is so widespread today is that there is no punishment for the corrupt and they enjoy luxurious freedom inspite of putting the nation at stake.

4. Enactment of a strong Lokpal - The government must now enact a strong Lokpal which can control corruption in the country. Corruption is now a cancer for us and Lokpal is a great weapon against it. India Against Corruption is heading this movement and we give full support to them.

5. Setting up of fast track courts in all states to deal specially with corruption issues - The government needs to setup fast track courts in all the states so that punishing the corrupt becomes easy. Crores of cases are pending in courts at the moment which would take years to clear up. We need faster execution and stronger laws to deal with this cancer.

6. Removal of high denomination currency notes from the economy – Government should immediately recall high denomination notes from the economy to prevent internal black money formation. Today we have 100 lakh crores of black money circulating inside our economy and thats because Rs. 1000, Rs.500 notes make it easier for corrupt people to transport, carry and store large sums of money for purpost of illegal and corrupt dealings. These notes should be removed immediately. There is no use of these notes when 80 crore+ people in our country live on a daily income of Rs.20 and never get the luxury of even seeing a Rs.500 note.

7. Educational curriculum in Bharatiya Languages - Curriculum and examinations of engineering, medical, agriculture should be made available in Bharatiye languages too and as fast as possible so that even a villager can get education properly instead of being deprived on the name of a foreign language(English) which we are using as the primary mode of education even after 64 years of independence. What a shame! We are not against english. But we must learn to respect our own languages first.

8. Ban the Land Acquisition Act - This act was brought by the Britishers to loot us and what a shame that we still have this law and its also being used to loot the poor farmers till date who are the people providing and catering to the hunger needs of our nation. This agricultural loot needs to be stopped NOW!

9. Direct election of the Prime Minister - History has shown that indirect selection of Prime Ministers has only lead to political troubles because most of the time the PM is busy safeguarding his chair putting national interest at stake. Political instability and personal conflicts in parties lead to instability in the governance just because of this reason. So the PM should be directly elected by the people and should be directly accountable to the citizens of this country.

10. Enactment of a strong Public Service Delivery Guarantee Act - If any citizen is denied service by any govt official within a stipulated period of time then the concerned official will have to pay penalty in the form of money to the particular citizen on a daily/weekly basis. This will help to make execution of government offices faster and prevent laziness and bribery."

(Source)

I think over 100 million Indians have joined in the fast, thousands are with him, you can watch it live here.

The people in the crowd are asking him questions, one man asked whether he could get arrested for causing harm to public, as thousands, if not millions have joined in the fast.

I'm not quiet sure where to put this, as this goes in philosophy, news and politics.

Philosophy because of fasting, and fasting till death, but this fasting, and fasting till death is for protest against corruption, for a good cause, which could make it political.

Very interesting approach, he is doing it live too, so it will cause quiet a stir if the government does not fight corruption seriously.

edit on 4-6-2011 by confreak because: (no reason given)

MJZoo

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 09:56 AM

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Are they all going to fast until they die?
I get grumpy after not eating for 3 hours. I wouldn't make it a day without giving in.

SaturnFX

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 10:01 AM

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Thats a bold move...I do hope their demands are met as it seems it would be beneficial to not just all of india, but have ripple effects throughout the region, and perhaps even the chinese may take note.

I just don't like the idea that in order to counter the rampant corruption, the non-corrupt are contemplating suicide.

confreak

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 10:07 AM

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Originally posted by SaturnFX
Thats a bold move...I do hope their demands are met as it seems it would be beneficial to not just all of india, but have ripple effects throughout the region, and perhaps even the chinese may take note.

I just don't like the idea that in order to counter the rampant corruption, the non-corrupt are contemplating suicide.

Well in some mentalities when hope is gone, you either sacrifice yourself so others may live better lives through peaceful means, or through fighting.

That's how it has been for a long time.

I think this will evolve from 'fasting till death', to something similar to the non-cooperation movement.

This will be interesting.

satron

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 10:10 AM

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They got awhile to die for fasting, what does it take? Three weeks? Maybe it's enough time for the officals to change their minds.

eXia7

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 10:20 AM

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if this takes hold globally, that could be a huge eye opener.

This story will be an interesting one to follow, I like the idea.

S+F good find

domasjefferson

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 10:26 AM

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I dont think this is a good idea for anyone involved.... oh well!

jjjtir

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 10:35 AM

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AFP - India yoga guru launches anti-graft fast
by Penny MacRae | June 04, 2011

www.thejakartaglobe.com/afp/india-yoga-guru-launches-anti-graft-fast/445049

Yoga guru's political foray has India in a roil
MUNEEZA NAQVI, Associated Press
Updated 02:02 a.m., Saturday, June 4, 2011

www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Yoga-guru-s-political-foray-has-India-in-a-roil-1409123.php

confreak

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 10:56 AM

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India guru’s fast gains momentum

"The Indian government suffered a fresh blow on Thursday in containing growing anger over corruption from million of voters as leading civil activist Anna Hazare joined forces with influential yoga guru Swami Ramdev in a “fast-until-death” against graft."
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When this gains world wide attention, it would be almost impossible to stop. The government will either have to make changes, or face the wrath of Indians, peacefully, or not so peacefully.

edit on 4-6-2011 by confreak because: (no reason given)

SaturnFX

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 11:35 AM

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Originally posted by confreak[/i
or face the wrath of Indians, peacefully, or not so peacefully.[

Keep in mind, these are followers of gandhi...passive aggressive movements do tend to have alot of strength in numbers, be it through this (food strikes) or other things...such as simply sitting down and not moving in mass numbers. that mixed with todays network age and you got yourself some potential.

I don't think it will turn to violence (on behalf of the demonstrators anyhow)..and I think even the indian police and military would have issues in following any orders that would show them clearly on the wrong side of history..so, really, the only result of this will be either they let them starve to death (even a million people dying from starvation is a drop in the bucket there...would barely be noticed...I recommend the sit down technique personally...more will join if they just sit, but are able to eat and drink) or they will change.

The sit technique is better because then you could have almost instantly tens, if not hundreds of millions join in and choke out entire cities within a few days, along with it lasting as long as needed if necessary. then its not just a matter of waiting till they starve to death...then its waiting for the will to break. and after a few days of sitting, you become pretty resolute in not moving an inch until victory comes

confreak

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 08:40 PM
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reply to post by SaturnFX

Sit ins are not that effective, the Indian government might not look brutal, but that is because brutality is not used against passive populations. We have seen glimpses of its brutality in the Kashmir region.

That being said, I think this is more effective as it hits the heart of the Indian population, knowing that someone is starving himself to death, to protest the deep corruption in India, and trying to make change by sacrificing himself.

That's my opinion though.

Dinogur

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 09:05 PM
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Just saying, if you all dont know this India's Police is Really Really corrupt. My uncle got arrested once and he paid the cop 10000 Rp, to let him go. And there have been many case's in which the police illegally raids and seizes farm property and land. (trying to find vid, cant). So basically they will do anything for money. The officials and State ministers are corrupt through the roof, theres a lot of favoritism in politics in India.

Ex; A minister would have no problem giving a high position job to his son or nephew rather that a person who is actually qualified for that job.

confreak

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 09:22 PM
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reply to post by Dinogur

Exactly true, which is why I stated it is deep, it isn't just the police, but goes way deeper than that.

In India you don't get tickets for speeding, or other traffic offenses, you have to pay the cop. It is the same in Pakistan. You have two options, either pay the cop a bribe, or go to the station and be forced to face all the hassle, if not a good beating.

People fear cops to the max, if there is a car crash, people don't want to call the cops, because then they would have to bribe the cops for taking action against the wronged person.

Huge problem..

Turq1

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 09:43 PM
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India is sure an interesting country. I think they have a lot of potential all around. They've grown a lot needless to say over the last couple decades, and with that growth comes corruption. Luckily, I think it helps that India is united largely by Hinduism. It supports an ethic that is missing in other Asian countries.
edit on 4-6-2011 by Turq1 because: (no reason given)

polarwarrior

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 10:55 PM
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If you were prepared to die to make your country better, then fasting to death would seem to me to be a much more effective method than the violent alternatives. War and violence just breeds hatred and revenge in a viscous cycle. Whereas this mans method causes sympathy and empathy for his plight, breeding compassion. His enemy (the corrupt government) will have no solid reason to hate him and hopefully be more inclined to realize their own injustices from the contagious positivity spawned from this man. Someone has to be the one to break the viscous cycle of negative actions against each other.
edit on 4-6-2011 by polarwarrior because: (no reason given)

crazydaisy

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 11:01 PM
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Just took a look at the livestream and
it says police have broken up the fast.
I suppose they could relocate,
we will have to wait and see. Not sure
if this is a good idea or not, actually will
the govt care of they starve or not.

confreak

posted on Jun, 4 2011 @ 11:32 PM
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reply to post by crazydaisy

I'm not surprised, the government is not willing to tackle the issue at hand.

30 people got injured in the break up of the protest:

"NEW DELHI (AFP) – Around 30 people were injured when Indian police fired teargas to break up a protest centred around a yoga guru on a "fast unto death" against government corruption, local media reported."
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SystemResistor

posted on Jun, 5 2011 @ 06:42 AM
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reply to post by confreak

They need to protest, en masse.

Dinogur

posted on Jun, 5 2011 @ 02:00 PM
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How Ironic.

The guru just claimed the the Indian Police tried to assassinate him.
Strike turns violent

Firefly_

posted on Jun, 5 2011 @ 02:16 PM
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While I admire what they are doing, it is not the right thing to do. Its a huge risk.

What we are looking at here is something that can completely end the lifestyles of the Indian elite. They will obviously go into self-preservation mode. If they cared about what their people wanted they would not be in the position they are now. So this means they will just let the protesters starve to death, or attempt to silence their cause through other methods. They are more than likely responsible for many deaths as a direct result of their corruption so a few more wont matter to them.

Also, and this bugs me a lot, when a good person sacrifices themselves, be it from their job by resigning in protest, or in this case, their life, that means there is one less good person in a position to be able to do something. When a good politician resigns that means their post can be filled by someone who has less of a conscience.

So I do not support this man's actions. It is counter productive. They need to find a better way.