When Mahatma Gandhi utilised the concept of Satyagraha, he not only had a specific mission in mind but he also knew that the British regime would face a national upheaval if something were to happen with him. The British, therefore, had little option but to sit across the table and negotiate with him. The Mahatma, after all, was a revered figure across the country.

The same is not true of Anna Hazare, a vociferous anti-corruption activist who has used the act of fasting to get the attention of a hopelessly incompetent government and that of the public to root out graft. He has succeeded only partly, because of the incoherence of his team’s communication as well as the inability of his outfit to convince the public of what their real intentions are.