A Comparative Study of Lokpal Bills and Jan Lokpal Bill of 2011

In 2010‚ a series of big-ticket scams had been exposed in Bharat (India).Over the next year‚ a political response gathered momentum via the Anna Event (AE) which however fizzled as suddenly as it had erupted.Anna emerged as the face of the India Against Corruption (IAC) Agitation in the AE.This chapter refers to the philosophy of language in order to understand the import of "Anna" (elder brother) as a name and an appellation that explains the rise of the septuagenarian as an anti-corruption activist.Groups across the social spectrum responded to his demand for the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill (JLB) to bring down corruption.Several versions of such an ombudsman bill had been on the anvil since 1968.But it had never achieved the status of law despite eight rounds of introduction and discussion in the parliament.This essay provides the irresolute history of legislative attempts to institute a rational authority which was expected to arrest corruption.It then analyses the differences between the JLB and versions of the ombudsman bill since 1968.