Anna Hazare fever spreads to Hong Kong, Singapore; expat Indians join protests
Anna Hazare fever spreads to Hong Kong, Singapore; expat Indians join protests - The Times of India
BEIJING: The Anna Hazare fever has spread to Hong Kong and Singapore with expatriate Indians holding relay fasts, meetings and demonstrations. More demonstrations and a drive to raise funds for the movement back home have been planned for the next weekend.
Volunteers posted at the entry gates of subway stations in Hong Kong are distributing a two-paper leaflets explaining why it was necessary for Indians living abroad to express their support for the anti-corruption movement and comparing the official and the Anna Hazare versions of the Lokpal Bill.
"We are telling people we should the pain felt in India over issues like corruption. Sharing the nationality is not enough," Dilip Pandey, a Hong Kong-based IT expert, who played a key role in organizing a meeting attended by 80 local Indians last Sunday told TNN. Pandey, his wife and another local Indian have been on relay fast for the past two days.
Another meeting is scheduled for the coming Sunday when Pandey and his friends expect a larger turnout. Plans include launching a fund raising drive to send donations for Jan Lokpal movement in India. They also plan to collect signatures of the attendees on a memorandum to be submitted to the Indian Consulate in Hong Kong.
"We also want to approach the United Nations saying that the main principals in the UN Convention against corruption have not been implemented in India," Pandey said.
A group of Indians based in Singapore has approached the local police for permission to hold a meeting at the Speaker's Corner, a place designated by the government for the purpose of holding protests. They are also implementing a signature drive in order to submit a memorandum to the Indian High Commissioner demanding implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill.
"We are expecting the permission to come through soon. We have provided the police with details about the nature of our demonstration including the banners we will be carrying and protest T-shirts to be worn by us," Aashis Sharma, a financial consultant organizing Indians in Singapore, said.
Singapore is holding its presidential election on Saturday. Sharma expects the police to give him permission to hold the meeting on another day. "There is a huge amount of interest from Indian citizens involved in a wide range of professions in Singapore," he said. He expects at least 700 people to turn up at the forthcoming meeting.
Indians in Hong Kong were early starters submitted a memorandum to the local Indian Counsel-General on April 9 and holding a bicycle rally with volunteers wearing T-shirts carrying the " India Against Corruption" logo on April 16. Two local Indians, Sailesh Saraf and Ajay Sharma have already gone to India to join the Anna Hazare movement.
Ohh my god. So much thing happening in you country but you are worried about India? lol
