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Their flesh is weak, but spirit willing: 40 fast with Hazare

Their flesh is weak, but spirit willing: 40 fast with Hazare

Author: Nandini Thilak
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: August 23, 2011
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/their-flesh-is-weak-but-spirit-willing-40-fast-with-hazare/835664/0

A week into Anna Hazare's hunger strike, many people who had begun fasting along with him say they will continue as long as their leader does. Nearly 40 people, including many who began fasting with Hazare at Jantar Mantar, have taken up the hunger strike in a shed near the medical camp at Ramlila Maidan.

Vijay Singh, a farmer from Khar in Haryana, is not new to protest fasts. He was part of Anna's fast at Jantar Mantar in April, and had come to the Maidan during Baba Ramdev's protest. "I have been fasting since August 15. I came with a group of nearly 500 farmers from Haryana, and 20 of us are fasting. We will go on till the government gives in," he said.

Singh said he was among the people beaten up by the police during the midnight operation to evict Ramdev from the Maidan, showing scars on his legs as evidence.

Jeevan Chander Bhatt, a Class XII student from Uttarakhand, said he had skipped school to join the fast on August 16. "I learned about Anna and Lokpal from the television," he said. As his parents are dead, 19-year-old Jeevan lives with his grandparents.

Harpal Singh Mulsam, a farmer from Bagpat in Uttar Pradesh, said he wanted former President A P J Abdul Kalam to support Hazare's campaign because he was "a friend of the country". Mulsam, who is in his seventies, had reached Delhi on August 16 and has been fasting ever since.

Pandit Vijay Kumar Pulastya from Gohana in Haryana, who was seen sitting on a table in the middle of the pavilion, said he had been fasting since August 15 and even had to be hospitalised. "But I refused treatment. Now that the nation's awake, we have to make sacrifices. I can go on for more than two months," he said. Vijay Kumar was with Anna when he was fasting at Jantar Mantar in April.

Sipahi Singh, a farmer from Bihar who has been fasting since August 16, has even shunned water to show his support for the cause. "I will go on as long as I have breath left in me," he said.

Meanwhile, volunteers at the medical camp said they were keeping a tab on the people who were fasting. "Routine checks are being done by doctors two to three times a day. If someone is weak, we recommend that they stop fasting, but we can't make them do anything against their will. Many refuse treatment," said Krishna Gant, one of the volunteers at the medical camp.

Patients who developed respiratory problems, and those who did not respond to treatment, have been referred to the Lok Nayak Hospital, he added.

The camp catered to more than 2,500 people since August 16, and 150 patients were referred to the hospital, he said.


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