Anna Hazare undertakes silent protest to support students

Social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday observed a two-hour-long maun andolan (silent protest) at Ahilyanagar in Maharashtra to extend his support for protesting students in Delhi.

Anna began his protest at 11 am at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Ahilyanagar and ended it at 1 pm, before leaving for his village Ralegan Siddhi, located in the same district.

Hazare wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, saying “the news of violence and police action is extremely painful”.

In a letter to Modi, Hazare said the resentment of the protesters must be viewed “not as a law-and-order problem, but as the agony and expectations of society”. If Union Education Minister is asked to resign, “it will not cause the Government to fall; rather, it will make its functioning more accountable and effective”, Hazare wrote.

He requested the Government to “listen to (the protesters) patiently, create an atmosphere of trust, and find solutions through positive dialogue”. Hazare told reporters that he wrote to Modi as the prime minister is “the supreme leader and should be apprised of people’s issues”.