Anna Hazare is a good man, but what is Lokpal, ask UP farmers

Anna Hazare’s indefinite fast may taken his name to rural areas in northern India, but it will be long before the poor farmers here actually understand the Lokpal Bill, for which he has been fighting.

Among the thousands of farmers who had reached Aligarh for the kisan mahapanchayat addressed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, only a few knew about the Lokpal Bill movement which has spread like wildfire among the urban middle class.

“I have read about Anna Hazare, he is a good man. I know about Lokpal also but I don’t know the details — as to how it would help us in fighting corruption and solving our land problems,” said Ashok Kumar, a farmer who had come from Basauti to participate in the mahapanchayat.

“Our problem is land acquisition. We will see how it can help us in that,” Kumar said.

Aligarh-based Sadakat Ali, who was there for the programme, also knew about Anna and his movement. “Anna is good .... We have read a lot about him. But what can we do about Lokpal ... we have so many of our own problems,” Ali said.

Like Kumar and Ali, there were several others who knew about Anna Hazare but not much about Lokpal.

Mithlesh Kumar, a farmer from Hardoi in UP, said: “I know about Anna Hazare but what is Lokpal? We have just come here to listen to Rahul.”

It seems that as Hazare continues the Lokpal battle with government, poor farmers in rural areas continue their own struggle for a proper life.