Indian anti-corruption activist ends hunger strike

NEW DELHI – A reform activist has ended his 12-day hunger strike after forcing Parliament to throw its weight behind his crusade against corruption in India.

The 74-year-old Anna Hazare accepted a glass of juice from a 5-year-old girl Sunday, 12 days after he began his fast. Hazare’s protest galvanized an Indian middle class disgusted with the corruption infesting nearly all aspects of public life.

Hazare had initially demanded Parliament pass his sweeping proposal to create a powerful anti-corruption ombudsman to police everyone from the prime minister to the lowest village bureaucrat.

However, he decided to end his fast after Parliament accepted some of his demands in principle in a nonbinding “sense of the house” on Saturday.