“Reshaping India’s Future: an Anti-Corruption Jan Lokpal Bill”
Saturday, October 22, 2011
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Venue:
Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University
2160 S. First Ave Maywood (888-LUHS-888)
and
Saturday, October 22, 2011
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Venue:
Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University 430 S. Michigan Ave., 7th Floor Chicago (312-341-3780)
Free Admission but Limited Seating
Please RSVP @ www.facebook.com/PBinChicago or
Contact for details:
Shalini Gupta: (630)-346-2332
Nilesh Kothari: (630)-430-7613
The goals for these events are: to raise awareness of social and economic change in India and the US, to promote greater participation in international dialogue and exchange and, by doing so, to strengthen the social and economic change movement locally, nationally and internationally
The International Studies Program at Loyola University, Department of Economics and Social Justice Program at Roosevelt University along with India Development Service (IDS), India against Corruption (IAC), Association for India’s Development (AID, and People for Loksatta (PFL) are hosting these events and supporting the effort to take this movement to the International level
To learn more about this movement against corruption, please visit www.indiaagainstcorruption.org
Prashant Bhushan has been referred to as “the cause man” and “2 G’s Dabang man” in different media articles with just cause. An eminent Supreme Court lawyer and social activist in India, he has been defending democratic and people’s rights in India all his adult life. He has fought over 500 Public Interest Litigation cases without charging any money. These include the recent 2G Scam of historic proportions, which has shaken the nation and put many high profile corrupt people behind bars. Some other high profile public interest cases he has fought are appointment of P.J. Thomas as Chief Vigilance Officer for India, Doon Valley case, Bhopal gas tragedy litigation, Narmada dam case, and many more to protect the environment, to defend the rights of indigenous people, and to fight rampant corruption in the government and the judiciary. He represents the conscience of the Indian judiciary system. In 1990, he focused on the issue of corruption in government and authored the book, Bofors: The Selling of a Nation. He was recently appointed as a member of the committee constituted in April 2011 for drafting the Jan Lokpal bill and has played a crucial role in India’s anti corruption movement. It is his legal expertise that has created the platform for the fight against corruption in India.
August 2011 will be remembered as the beginning of new era, ushering in social and personal change that lays the foundation for a corruption free India. What made this possible was the ‘India against Corruption’ movement, a peaceful social revolution initiated by the Gandhian follower Anna Hazare and his core team of advisors. Since April 2011, when Anna Hazare first went on fast to demand the Janlokpal Bill (an ombudsman program that allows an independent and transparent body, the Lokpal, to investitgate charges of corruption), this anti corruption campaign spearheaded by Anna Hazare and his core group of advisors (referred to as Team Anna), has galvanized the masses and united millions of people in India across religions, geographies and social and economic groups. With the spectacle witnessed at the Ramlila Maidan for the 13 days of Anna Hazare’s second fast in August, it appeared as if all of India had come to the streets with a single voice to say “No to Corruption”. The government had to concede to the will of the people and passed a resolution to bring a Lokpal Bill which met Anna Hazare’s key conditions.
As many of India’s coming generations will remember Anna Hazare, he will always be associated with his team, including Arvind Kejariwal, Prashant Bhushan, Shanti Bhushan and Kiran Bedi. As the world has celebrated the birth of a miracle and proved the cynics wrong, the people of India will thank Team Anna for leading the country in the right direction. It has been 64 years since India achieved independence, but some say it is way behind in giving “real” independence to many Indians who have never benefited from the policies and development of India. In fact, the Times of India editorial states that corruption and inflation are two reasons India’s growth story may not even materialize. For this reason, this anti corruption campaign has been hailed as “India’s second freedom struggle” and Anna Hazare has been termed the “second Gandhi” by many major newspapers across the globe.
Prashant Bhushan is visiting Chicago, USA on Oct 22nd, 2011 to educate people on India’s Anticorruption Janlokpal Bill and to strengthen the “India against Corruption” movement. His talk will inform us why this bill can be such a powerful instrument for social change. He will also share his thoughts on the future vision for this movement and how the international and NRI community can support it.
