WHO IS ANNA HAZARE??

Kisan Baburao Hazare (Marathi: किसन बाबुराव हजारे) (born 15 January 1940), popularly known as Anna Hazare (Marathi: अण्णा हजारे), is a pre-eminent Indian social activist who is especially recognised for his contribution to the development of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India and his efforts for establishing it as a model village, for which he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the government of India in 1992.

On 5 April 2011, Hazare started a 'fast unto death' to exert pressure on the government of India to enact a strong anti-corruption act as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, a law that will establish a Lokpal (ombudsman) that will have the power to deal with corruption in public offices. The fast led to nation wide protests in support of Hazare. The fast ended on 9 April 2011, the day after all of Hazare's demands were agreed by the government of India and the government issued a gazette notification on the formation of a joint committee (of government and civil society representatives) to draft an effective Lokpal Bill

Anna Hazare started his career as a driver in the Indian Army in 1963. He spent his spare time reading the books of Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave that inspired him to become a social worker and activist. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he was the only survivor in a border exchange of fire, while driving a truck. During the mid-1970s he survived a road accident while driving.

Awards
2011 - Rabindranath Tagore International Peace Prize, awarded by the Indian Institute of Planning and Management.
2008 - On 15 April 2008, Anna Hazare received the World Bank's 2008 Jit Gill Memorial Award for ::Outstanding Public Service: "Hazare created a thriving model village in Ralegaon Siddhi, in the impoverished Ahmednagar region of Maharashtra state, and championed the right to information and the fight against corruption."
1992 - Padma Bhushan award, by the Government of India
1990 - Padma Shri award, by the Government of India
1989 - Krishi Bhushana award by the Government of Maharashtra.
1986 - Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra award by the Government of India on 19 November 1986 from the hands of Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.