Baba Ramdev's 'satyagraha' against corruption

Baba Ramdev, India's most well known yoga guru, has now taken centre stage as a crusader against corruption and black money hoarded abroad. He began a “satyagraha” on June 4, 2011 to goad the government into checking corruption and recover crores of black money buried in foreign bank accounts.

Thousands of Baba Ramdev's supporters were gathered at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on Saturday, June 4 2011 and many more were expected to join him through the day.

Ramdev had earlier said that he expects hundreds of thousands of people to join him when he goes on a hunger strike.

His supporters clearly did not let him down.

Former VHP leader Sadhvi Ritambara also shared the stage with him.

Before launching the fast, Baba Ramdev held a yoga and bhajan session during which he told the gathering that his protest was intended to "save the country from corruption and ensure that the poor get a good life."

Speaking to his supporters on Friday, from a special stage that has been constructed for him at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, Baba Ramdev said his campaign was not a communal or a political movement. "Some people have hijacked democracy, given in to corruption," he said, as the crowds that arrived at dawn for an early workout with him, clapped loudly.

All eyes are on whether this campaign will match up to the public movement that was launched by Gandhian Anna Hazare in April. Like Baba Ramdev, Hazare used his individual credibility to galvanized the support of lakhs of Indians as he demanded that the government start work on a new tough law against corruption. Anna Hazare has said he will support Baba Ramdev.

What Baba Ramdev wants:

Bring back black money stashed in banks abroad

Death penalty for those guilty of corruption

Currency notes of high denomination withdrawn

Making Hindi compulsory in higher education

Baba Ramdev's anti-corruption campaign has the support of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). RSS chief Ram Madhav instructed cadres "to participate in Ramdev's fight against corruption in Delhi and in districts." The government will, therefore, have to tackle the combined force of an Opposition eager to ride the goodwill that activists like Baba Ramdev generate.

Ramdev's agenda and his supporters have the government tense and coiled. The tinge of saffron that the RSS could lend to the Ramdev campaign will have the government seeing red.

At the Ramlila grounds, hundreds of fans and toilets have been installed for what the yoga guru is billing as a people's revolution. The scale of the stage being set up for Baba Ramdev hints at what some believe is his real motive - to eclipse Anna Hazare as the face of the campaign titled India Against Corruption. Over 50 lakh people have called a toll-free number to pledge their support to Baba Ramdev. Online, Ramdev got the thumbs up on Facebook and other sites.

Baba Ramdev muscled his way into India's consciousness in 1995 when his mass yoga sessions started being televised. He used his classes to preach against corruption in the system, and occasionally to promote a swadeshi ideology that was welcomed by saffron groups.

As his popularity grew, so did the controversies. His Divya Yog Mandir Trust was accused of using animal and human remains in medicines - charges that were never proved. Undeterred, he debated launching a political party named Bharat Swabhiman in 2010.

As Swamis go, he is rather young - turned 45 last year. Before Baba Ramdev became the latest crusader against corruption, he was best known for his efforts to popularise yoga among increasingly health conscious Indians.

Ramdev is largely a television and video phenomenon. He fired the imagination of an entire segment of TV watchers, who tuned out of daily soap opera to tune into and do yoga with Baba Ramdev. Now, thousands turn up at his camps to do mass yoga with him.