What Baba Ramdev wants

Those who oppose and critisize baba ramdev and his demands about corruption, are corrupted pollicians, corrupted officers or relatives to those corrupted persons. Further, we must raise questions about baba's wealth, cos baba is not any corrupted minister or beaurocrat. His earnings (if any)are not unethical or illegal. Baba and Anna are running just a campaign against corruption. We must support them if we wish to clean our country from corruption.

I would also add one more demand as a Tax Paying Indian Citizen. - All CBI cases pending/ongoing ones to be made public under the Right to Information Act. This will allow all culprits to be brought under justice before sooner. - Abolishing all 1000 and 500 rupee notes will also put a dent on all Counterfeit notes being circulated by our very own neighbhouring countries and their agents in India..

Here is a glimpse of how hard our leaders fought for Independence, when then leaders laid out their demands, many would have thought it is impossible. Now we are with freedom trying to settle our internal systems in order. We salute you for doing this for our country. If the sprit wants change, who can stop, we are all one and the change has already begun for good!

Govt. is not focusing on corruption issue and trying to divert attention of public that BJP, VHP & RSS are behind this Satyagrah. I think Govt should be serious on this issue of corruption instead of blaming others. We can't imagine people like Raja behind jail without such type atmosphere in the country. They want to LOOT the country & want people to remain silent.

Malaysia abolished RM1000 and RM500 ringgit currency during their 1998 financial crisis, and it helped them and they did not get help from IMF. I dont see anything else that is wrong with his demands.

One of the best demand is to introduce regional and national languages for school, college and university studies. It is of course not at expense of English. English or German or French or Japanese or any other non-Indian language can be considered foreign languages. In India English for no particular reason enjoys a higher status which is the root of the problem. Of course it is important but one should not decree their mother tongue at the expense of a foreign language. Everywhere in EU, Japan, China, Korea - almost all countries - have their studies in regional languages and English remains secondary. Only in India do we see that regional languages treated as a second class language.

Some of the demands are seriously bizarre.

-Like the death sentence for corrupt officials, this is not possible. Yes a life sentence is fair but death sentence, a little too much to ask for.

-Abolishing Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes, why would he want this?
Infact this will increase the burden on the officials handling money.

-Replacing the british-inherited system of governance, administration, taxation, education, law and order. Instead of replacing improvements in the same would be a better option. There are quite a few loopholes in them so improvements can help solve the issue.

-Revoking the Land Acquisition Act, as farmers should not be deprived of their land for industry. The wont work, instead the Government should be more than reasonable while while offering compensation to farmers for their lands.

-Promoting Hindi at the expense of English. I as an Indian wouldnt want this to happen as this will just make us less competitive in the world. English is the common language of the world so it should be promoted more than ever before. While Hindi should also be promoted but not at the expense of English.
And people Hindi is not the national language of India, infact there is no national language in India. Hindi is the official language of India.

I read all comments and one thing I noticed that many christian name ppl are opposing what Baba Ramdev is proposing. I wonder why - is it because of CONVERSION and your love for foreign country/language !!! Baba Ramdev wants to promote local languages (not just Hindi) at the expense of ENGLISH, the editor did not summarized it properly.

Well all of us wants India to be a better place,but people like Ramdev are not concerned with cleansing the system,rather he is cashing on the political mileage he is getting out of this entire issue.He saw the kind of support Anna Hazare got for his fast unto death,and he is simply creating a platform for launching his candidates for the next elections.
The way his men have been collecting funds in the name of battle against corruption is nothing short of corrupting innocent masses who would follow blindly anybody/everybody in the name of faith.

In Japan there is only one language Japanese and hence they adopt the same. India is a country of multiple language caste and creed. It is easy to adopt English which is also an international language. However it is not wrong to know Hindi or any other foreign language. On the denomination of rupee imagine that we had 5000 rupee notes. Then will it help to eliminate corruption if the 5000 rupee notes are banned. As rightly pointed out only the number of suitcases will increase. It is not a correct perception to note that all the black money are only in cash. If corrupt people are to be hanged then India's population will be 0. The root for corruption lies not with politicians alone we the people are also responsible. How many of you are true and honest? The education system should be revamped. Does the plumber, electrician or common worker who earn more genuinely pay income tax. How many of you are willing to pay sales tax and get the bill for the normal drinks in a petty shop. If all the people including farmers pay the sales tax, property tax, gift tax, income tax etc India will become a rich country within a year.

The demands by the previous group made sense. Baba Ramdev felt cheated that Annaji took the credit of anti corruption movement, which was on his agenda, maybe at a later stage. Baba has a huge following, and he jumped into it. The previous group was rational, but Baba, let me tell you, in behalf of the youth if the nation- MANY OF US DO NOT SUPPORT YOU, AND ON WHOSE BEHALF ARE YOU TALKING? Our skills in English has given us an edge over China, creating lakhs of Jobs, those who fail to move with the times are left behind. The government is doing sincere efforts, do not try to bypass the constitution. We have an elected government, if you wish to change things, stand for elections, and then we'll see how you deliver your promises. You are misusing the trust that our people have put in you.

The yoga teacher's rising popularity and commercial success have created in his mind delusions of statesmanship and sagacity. He displays immense political immaturity in pushing his impractical demands and timelines through satyagraha. His popularity is being exploited by various interest groups including street wise politicians. Ultimately, this will bring discredit to him and bring him down to earth.

Great demands,
1.Death penalty for the corrupt..officials only...why not the attender or the police constable who feed the officials? 2.Bring back the hoarded money...now how do you segregate that from properly earned assets?..catch hold of chart accountants and they will teach all the lessons how to convert white into black. 3.Direct election of the prime minister...raja raam dev zindabad?
4.Ram dev has mixed politics rhetorism,psychotic lunacy,inknown to him politcal opportunism...elections are far away...probably if he were to be the prime minister under Indian (un)civilised system he would have imposed death penalty for himself..What would he do with domestic violence and adultery???pluralism of sex and freedom from all restrictions on marriages..jai raadhekrishn!!

Everyone has voiced their views regarding the satyagrah of Baba Ramdevji. While we agree that it is impossible for Government to accept all the demands, it is ofcourse it is within the realm of the Government to ensure good governance and provide better living conditions to people, in which the Government has failed in toto. On the top of that several ministers and MPs are involved in corruption of all kinds. How do we expect people to live with spiralling prices of etrol, edibles and everything. You may say the prices are bound to increase. Have a look at several european countries, where prices of daily requirements have remained stable for years togather. How many times has the price of petrol and other petroleum products increased in one year ? How are other countries able to provide petrol at a much cheaper price ? Government needs to exercise restrain and the
ministers need to be sincere in their efforts to look at the welfare of people, which is not the case in India. My humble suggestion is we all should rise to the occasion with Baba Ramdevji and ensure that our lives are made a little bearable.

A small correction. The demands included promoting regional languages and not just promotion of Hindi. Other demands may be impractical, but some of them are really worth trying.

I cannot understand any possible politics going on behind this fasting because I am only a young student, but this kind of demonstrations are needed atleast to scare the corrupt politicians. Nobody wants to watch them compete hard with the world's richest! We don't want them to loot all of India's wealth and deposit elsewhere! And, they shouldn't be killed all of a sudden as demanded by Baba Ramdev - instead should be made to serve the country for free for the rest of their life!!

Replacing English with Hindi is an unpatriotic demand. A majority of Indians don't have Hindi as their mother tongue. In a country like India we should celebrate its diversity in languages, arts, music and traditions not try to replace one over all the others. Hindi is only useful in North India whereas knowing English helps global communication. Besides what has forcing Hindi got to do with eliminating corruption? The man is going on a fast with half-baked ideological demands.

excellent swamiji, we want our india place a role model to the world, how can be, less exploiting the nature., together with an easy and comfortable life.
we should also controle, over ruling of the alopathic branch of medicine.

Yes kick out English and replace it with Hindi. Hell with British based laws and education.

Baba Ramdev ji Zindabad,

It shows that Baba Ramdev wants an alternative system of governance in India. Most of demands he has raised are really bizarre and at least he is not in a position to have a debate on them. Can he explain his Swadeshi system of governance?

Let Ramdev come clean for the billions amassed by him. Comments on his demands are as under:-
Death sentence :Talibans says the same.Return of black money stashed abroad: Good idea.Declare wealth held illegally abroad:- Good idea.
Charge them under the sedition laws : Country will go backward.
Abolish Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 currency notes : Non sense.
Disable operations of bank which belongs to tax haven Country: None Sense.Replace the British-inherited system of governance, administration, taxation, education, law and order with a swadeshi alternative : Should we follow Talibans?
Ensure that the Prime Minister is directly elected by people : Will weaken democracy.Ensure that all citizens declare annually their incomes : Non Sense.Bring income-tax details under the Right to Information Act : Non Sense.Increase M.S.P.of grains : A political demand.Uniform wages for different categories of labourers : A political demand.Farmers should not be deprived of their land : A political demand.Promot Hindi at the expense of English.:Will take the country backward.

Underwear (briefs/g-strings/boxers) must be banned completely. Indian men must wear only Lungote., and dhotis. The torso may remain naked or exposed. Indian culture, Hindu culture allows Indians to wear loose cloth (un-stitched)., hence a dhoti for a man., and a larger dhoti for women (sari)., so as to cover her breasts. Stitched garments must be banned in India.

We can continue with English as it is the language of science. But there IS wisdom in teaching (have it as an option - but it has a cost - more staff + teaching material and expertise upgradation in Indian Language will take years); but this IS worth the money and the pain. Unless one understands the CONCEPT in one's mother tongue., we cannot have path-breaking RESEARCH and INNOVATION.

Though it may look weird, there IS merit in this. Have English + have a mother tongue. As APJ Abdulkalam says., ( i do not want to go into the merits of his argument), teach in mother tongue., and English can be picked up later. What we have today is, that we speak English, write English, but there is an element of fake. The heart-connect is missing. We have forced English UPON ourselves to look sophisticated. This makes us charlatans.

500/1000 notes must be banned., but there must be a surprise element in this act., otherwise the Marwaris will convert it into 100s and 50s. (They have already done it it).

Association with RSS/VHP/criminals of society like Ritambhara will destroy BABA RAMDEV'S movement. He must keep it above politics, if he is to succeed.

Baba Ramdev must be put in jail for disturbing peace and when days go, it will be proven either he is acting on behalf of communal forces who is eyeing UP election or just for a fame/money. He has got thousands of crores and developing Ashrams in foreign countries. Why he should not invest the same money in the hospitals in India and help poor sick Indians dying without proper treatment. He is insulting great leaders who sacrificed their lives with REAL Sathyagraha but not this kind of FIVE Star fastings.

His every demand is genuine,on languages,he is advocating the regional language in particular state and hindi in hindi states because local language will help the poor and dalits compete with the rich people. Japan is not teching its people in english and is not any less progressive.On currency notes abolish 1000 and 500 Rs notes because in the age of credit cards and banking transactions use of cash is uncalled for this helps in generating black money and fake currency by Pakistan. These are the curencies used in big bribes and blackmoney dealings.To punish the guilty who have deprived poor indians of their bread and butter by looting our own money with death sentence is only appropriate.

Corruption is deeply settled into our society; even in close relationships, a moneyed relative gets attention over the poor one, irrespective of source of his wealth, which is often obtained by corrupt practices.Unless this tendency is curbed, all protests, fast unto death are a futile exercise.One more point, we should not only believe but practice the maxim 'simple living high thinking",.

They Say that power corrupts everyone and i would like to add: the hunger for power blinds him and turns him into a ruthless loser. Whatever this man wants shows him to be very immature in the requirements of the society of today and especially being a Baba he should have been more concerned about the holistic improvement of the ones left alone under the poverty line and not go for the jugular of the rich and the affluent, of which he is one.

As an Indian I love India only till my mother tongue has its place and respect, it ceases the moment that place and respect is threatened and I will become an Andhraite.

Intention is good, but lacks clarity. Then finally as a Telugu speaking person, with regarding to any idea of replacing English, my soul has only two options of either seeing Telugu as National language or a Prime Minister for AP.

Baba Ramdev revived the feeling when indian were fighting for the independence.This time it is to show the true democracy of ours. The no. of youth that our country have can be a great boon to this movement .Hopefully all the youngsters will get out from the virtual world of facebook to the real world of soulbook

With all due respect, some body please request Baba to sign the agreement in Hindi for the little Scottish island which his acolytes bought. Somebody well said that abolishing currency notes does not remove corruption. Instead of one box, now 5 suitcases will be used. Corruption is something which is a part of our daily life at all levels in this fast moving world. It is impossible to remove, but can be reduced through putting proper checks at all levels by the respective government or department.

Most of it is fine but many are impractical in a large democracy like ours. Of Course, the language one is bizarre. One suggestion I do have is for the Govt to rapidly update their gazette of jobs and include all categories of tradesman into their fold, so tradespeople do pay Income Tax. Today, an electrician who charges min Rs. 200 for a small job probably makes around 1000 a day or more, but does not pay IT. I think this should be closely looked at.

I totally agree with sankaran, our country is one but in realty it is divided among 2 parts - South India and other India which south Indians call North India and do not like to learn the language that belong to North Indians.
Already there so many complications persisting in India relating to language and this forced flow of Hindi will only increase problems.
My mother tongue is Hindi and I love it but I would not like everything to become Hindi especially Books...no way...are we going back to Maharaja Kingdoms?

logic behind the currency notes demand:
People who are corrupt, they keep their black money at home hiding in different places.
It is very difficult to hide small currency notes, so they turn their money into notes of Rs. 500 & Rs. 1000 so they can very conveniently hide them
If we ban those currencies, normal public with white money will exchange the notes from the banks while people who have these as black money, wont be able to do anything about this and all their money will get wasted. Moreover, if they try to exchange them , transactions will be so huge that they will easily get caught.
So I think this is a very intelligent and indirect measure of teaching lessons to corrupts at least up to some extent but it will not affect economy in any bad way

Hindi at the cost of English looks strange to me.Look at all the Hindi speaking States - Uttar Pradesh,Bihar,Jharkhand,MP,Chattisgarh...these states couldnt grab the fruits of globalization,because they were reluctant to accept English.Thats why if you see the jobs in IT ,BPO , Banking sector,most of them were by people from South India,West Bengal,Orissa,North East,Maharasthra ,Gujarat and Punjab not these Hindi backward states

Death Sentence for Corrupt ? What if the guy is later found to be innocent how would you bring him back to life.
Declaring all money outside India as National Property ?
What about NRI's money would you like to take it too.
I don't his style of working because if he wants to bring a change he should get into politics there is no other way.

This is funny looking at his demands (better to call election manifesto). I am rather surprised to see him dictating his personal agenda in the name of fighting against corruption. Really pathetic government. This so called baba should at first declare his assets and wealth and the source of them. Then he has moral rights to fight for his personal demands. For his promoting Hindi, why cannot we promote any other indian language, just Hindi. totally funny. kudos to The Hindu for exposing this baba's hidden agenda.

It appears that Baba Ram Dev wants to enter politics. He has already mentioned to field candidates in all the constituencies in the next general election. Many of his demands are writing on running water. Why our politicians are running behind this swamy? First, let him declare his wealth and the source. He is one of the wealthiest persons in the subcontinent owning private scotish island, private air craft, etc. Hindi at the expense of English!! Then why did he buy an island in scotland?

The Baba's cause is good, his methods not. This borders on an economic inquisition, complete with death penalties, and intends to jump next to both social and religious inquisitions. Change and reforms are necessary and urgent but such methods carry in them the danger of moral corruption that can play itself out dangerously and righteously over society. The Baba has certainly been a force of good and help for many people in this country and he more than anyone else must know that the causes of corruption cannot be rooted out simply by punishing a number of high profile people. The country will benefit if he helps it with a far deeper solution that goes at the root of bribe culture, the game of world economics everyone is now bound to whatever our language may be, and the addiction to power.

The step you have taken to uplift india is an himalayan task which others could never think nor achieve.I extend my full support and wishes to get all the demands of your agenda are met with.This is the need of the hour for future brighter India.

We Tamilians know Tamil and know English as well. It is just the Hindi speaking people like Baba Ram Dev and others who do not wish to learn or speak any other language other than Hindi. I agree 100% with Sankaran. Hindi is foreign to Tamilans and many other groups, Bab Ram Dev's suggestion is more like promoting Hindi at the expense of many other rich languages. This and many of his demands are silly.

Though the basic intention of Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare to eradicate corruption is good, this way of threatening an elected Govt. is not right for the democratic process.
The people are so frustrated with the elected officials they are ready to support these kind of hunger strikes. People like Anna Hazare and Baba should marshal the people's anger against the politicians by forming a political party and prepare it for the upcoming state and central elections. This may take a while but if they can provide an better alternative it will good in the long run for the country.
Otherwise their efforts will be wasted sooner or later by tactful handling by the seasoned politicians that are part of the Govt. and at the end nothing will be accomplished.

The Hindu seems to have misreported. I read the charter of demands, and it seems to want promotion of ALL Indian regional languages, along with English. Higher denomination currency notes aid corruption, though they do not 'cause' it. Singapore (#1 Clean country on Transparency International Corruption Ranking)does not have higher denomination notes in circulation. Cash transactions are generally discouraged.

No-not promoting Hindi language only , that's wrong reporting , he wants to promote all the indian languages. People are asking what is the problem with this guy ! What is their problem with Ramdev BABA ? All he demands are for national interest

Baba's demands are all very reasonable. Those talks about needing English to be globally competitive are really absurd. Well you need tad bit of english, lot of smartness, lot of technology, plenty of soft skills like communication, leadership, people management skills etc. By having education in Hindi ( or local languages ), opportunity is given to every one to take up higher education and shine in it....Not just the convent going, english speaking elite and upper middle classes only. Also look at a country like China. Their english speaking skill is very very poor compared to Indians. But their economy is way ahead of the Indians.
One major thing English provides is for someone to go to the western countries and work there. That alone is not global competition.

For those wondering what the banning of Rs.1000 and Rs.500 notes will do...if this becomes law, a date will be set before which all citizens will need to come out and convert any 1000/500 currency notes to denominations less than 500. At that point, any money that is unaccounted for (read black money) will just be purged from the system. Very simple way to clear out the money stashed away...it's been done before in India, look it up.

The fact that we're all talking about it shows that he's achieved his end. We should ignore the guy. He'll fade away soon enough. Ignoring him is the best way.

Don't see any sensible demand among Baba Ramdev's wish list, except perhaps electing PM directly. Does great Baba understand an iota of economics? Foreign Policy? Financial Management?

Replacing English with an Indian language is a nonstarter. If India can offer enough employment for all the educated people then we dont need a foreign language as a medium of instruction. Then again India is not a developed country. This is same in 60s the north indians started a campaign to eliminate English and in reality all those leaders send their children abroad to educate and they all prosper and got employed and the ordinary indians got the short end of the stick. We have to be careful what we wish for. If Hindi or any other Indian language can prove that they can hold the prosperity then we can go this route. Till that time don't make any changes in the language.

The demands are bizarre indeed. Sri Ramdev should confine himself to his expertise of teaching yoga and providing spiritual guidance to his pupils. Some of the demands are absurd. Looks like he wants some more publicity to his political aspirations.

Babaji has no idea how the world works and how is wealth created, if these are his demands. Let me go into them one by one: Death sentence for the corrupt? How about speeding up the justice system to bring speedy and accurate conclusions first. Type of punishment is not the problem in India. Getting to a conclusion of a case or even starting a case is the main problem.
- Yes, return of money amassed by corruption and crime is a good idea, but not all black money is the same. Some money is black because of non-payment of taxes. People don't pay taxes because they are too high and oppressive, while the government actually siphons off or wastes much of it instead of providing public goods such as good roads, water infrastructure, energy, basic education and health care.
- Abolishing Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes is one of the dumbest ideas. With inflation as it is, soon even the poor will be carrying these notes (if Baba cannot get his way), and yet be poor. What do you want people to do? Carry chillar (loose change)? And corruption can take other forms even if these notes are banned.

India is passing through serious problems like terrorism, slow down in economy, Pakistan etc. Baba should support govt in that. Threat is no solution. Deeds of 64 years cannot be corrected in one day. In last one year bjp, Anna Hazare and baba ramdev have not allowed this govt to function properly. Govt is taking all necessary steps to protect corruption. Why this high level drama. Baba is saying one crore people will join protest which is less than 1 percent of total population. Let ask all people in ramlila ground whether they are aware of baba's agenda. Let baba donate his 1100 crores to poor people if he is really a well wisher of poor.

I believe Anna movement lost it credibility. Baba Ramdev`s act send out a wrong message, it states that anyone need their wish to be fulfilled can go on fast or threaten to go on fast. These acts are trying to distract public from following the real scam investigations.

All defenders of English Language are hereby asked---
How many percentage of people in non-hindi states know English?
And then what is wrong in learning a less alien language(Hindi)?
And all Swami Ramadev is asking that whever possible promote Hindi i.e not at the expense of Hindi, English should be promoted..
Globally he also spread his words in English only.
He is not against English language.
Using our own language makes us confident and arise a feeling of self worthy.
Just think of China and Japan which uses their own languages for communication. They are self-reliant and hence with high confidence speak their own language.

Religious centres should be transparent, all religious centres should come forward and declare their assets in detail regarding the income and expenditure during the financial year and the source of money. Bring corporates and religious institutions under the ambit of RTI; All the income generated through various sources in religious centres should be audited. Politicians and religious centres should emulate judges who have declared their assets. Most political leaders, bureaucrats and industrialists deposit their “unaccounted wealth” in religious centres to evade tax. Religious institutions should review whether the cash contributions by the politicians was honest or through corrupt practices. If it is illegal, their contributions should be rejected. Spiritual leaders should restrict themselves to spiritual matters and not meddle in political affairs.
I would like to quote Mr. Shivkumar, who unearthed the land de-notification and site allotment scams in Karnataka through RTI applications, "Religious institutions have become like local Swiss Banks. All our hard work in unearthing scams reaches a dead end because of the immunity that these institutions enjoy from the tax net".

Ramdev's demands regarding corruption may be acceptable. But his demand of promoting Hindi (or any regional language) instead of English is absolute nonsense. What about the working class people? For example, is he suggesting to replace the universally accepted medical terms with Hindi ones? Is he suggesting to write engineering and advanced mathematics books in Hindi, Tamil etc. I am surprised by the thoughtless support given to him by many.

Why he needs air-conditioned car? He can use bullock cart. Why not fight for infrastructure, roads, road lights, clean drinking water, etc.

Demands are not practical and all over the place. I would have liked single focus on corruption (bringing black money back and Lokpal bill). He has diluted his message too much by including demands such as Hindi at the expense of English. This is a divisive message even among his own supporters. Demands like these should have been saved for some other time. By the way, I am from UP and do prefer Hindi over English.

Whether Baba Ramdev or Anna Hazare, the question we have to ask is how this pro-active civil society activists are altering the terms of Democracy in our country. And the means they have chosen to bring out such an effect.
These people seem to have stronger effect than the opposition in the parliament. Will this eventually cause a waning effect on the parliamentary institutions? We never voted for Anna Hazare/Ramdev and how can they blackmail our representatives in the Parliament? And if our parliament concedes every single demand of a citizen who goes for a hunger strike, then who is ruling whom in this country?

By arguing out Hindi as a foreign language does the Tamilian not feel that they are being isolated from the whole of India. Definitely the educated have bargaining power for a better living elsewhere. What about others. We should not be selfish; Let us think about others too;

Someone will have to come forward against corruption.first it was Anna hazare ,now it is baba Ramdev.If each person who has a mass following decides to act like this,then corruption will be uprooted from the base.The demand for promoting Hindi against English is unwarranted.

Ramdev's last demand — Promoting Hindi at the expense of English, is at the least foolish. The Nehru govt did this in 1967 and all the southern states especially Tamil Nadu opposed it vehemently. There is 'NO' national language other than English that is acceptable to all the states. May be Sanskrit is an option worth exploring.

Swamiji's demands are very reasonable.It may be that some of the demands cannot be fulfilled overnight but that does not mean that Swamiji is wrong in his demand on behalf of the common people of India.I don't know why many have made comments against Swamiji?Do they support this coruption?Have they faced poverty,illiteracy? Perhaps not.

This Baba seems to have been pushed into the movement as a distraction by the clever Govt after Sibal and Digvijay Singh did their work and drew no claps,much less stumbling blocks to Hazare's movement. Back to Ashram, Swamiji, we need you more there!

It is good to see the Congress jittery and nervous in the face of Ramdev Baba's fast. The only issue that the Congress is comfortable is reservations which divides Hindus and keeps us from solving real issues. So instead of nitpicking on his demands, why not join hands with Baba and stop the endemic disease in our society of corruption which is eating away the fabric of our nation.

The abolition of 500 and 1000 Rs bills is an excellent idea. A lot of the black money is not kept in Swiss banks, rather distributed and stashed away in ranches and godowns owned by the corrupt. It would likely be in the highest denominations to keep the stash unnoticeable to onlookers and the govt sleuths. Therefore abolition of the higher denomination bills would make these worthless.

If all demand is initiate by goverment. I think INDIA will be develop at the end 2015, not more

Remember the movie Indian/ Hindustani with the old Kamal Haasan and his style of dealing with the corrupt? Nothing works with these people like the fear of death. I know that sounds sadistic on some levels, but stop for a second and think about Nothing will stop these people unless you put their heads on the line. Otherwise the millions stashed away in their Swiss account is worth a jolly 5 year jail sentence in Tihar.

I agree with many who responded against colonization by imposing one language over multitude of richer and classical languages. Why Hindi at the expense of English - why not Assamese at the expense of Hindi? of Sanskrit or Tamil Classical languages of rich Indian Heritage? I seriously do not understand this Baba's intention!! First thing is Hindi is not Hindu and anyway we are not going to argue about religion here in a diverse country like India! Baba must understand India in it's "Real" form not through his "Religious and fanatical goggles"!

If non-Hindi speaking states can learn a foreign language like English, why can't they be a little patriotic and learn an Indian language like Hindi?
It is the same old Indian mentality: I will only think about MY culture, MY caste, MY religion, MY mother tongue, MY family, MY film star, MY local politician. We still don't realise that these are the things that are crippling our country and keeping it divided while others are taking the benefit of it, just like the British did about 250 years ago! Have you ever thought, how did a handful of foreigners rule such a huge country populated by so many people? They did it because they knew how to take advantage of our differences.

Currency notes of higher denomination lead to easier money laundering and corruption. This is supported by a World Bank Study across several countries (including the US).I support removing 500 and 1000 Rs notes from circulation. This may make life of a common man a bit tough, but will make the life of a corrupt man as bad as hell. Of course, promoting Hindi at expense of other Indian Languages or English should be ignored.

Does Mr. Baba feel that banning 1000 and 500 Rs notes will bring down corruption? Corruption happens in lakhs of crores of rupees and they dont exchange suitcases in these cases! I mean to say this doesn't make any sense. Also, how will promoting higher education in Hindi or local languages help curb corruption? I guess Baba is trying it as a gimmick to appease some section of the society to come into power.

Hindi is also a foreign language as for as a tamilian is concerned. As a tamilian I prefer English should be promoted at the expense of Hindi for the economic and other growth of India. Does he want another Anti-Hindi Agitation in Tamil Nadu?

What is the problem with this guy? He has got a swathe of followers and sprawling business domain, but that doesn't warrant his power to dictate a whole democracy. It seems that he demands all of his personal conviction to be implemented (Why should we replace English with Hindi in the anti-corruption context?)

This doesnt look like "What Baba Ramdev wants", this is Baba's party manifesto.

These are all right demands except Hindi language. Think about non-Hindi speaking states. Moreover English language is spoken by the most people in the world and studying higher education in English language. Translating most popular and Higher education books and understanding in Hindi is critical more than English language

If he insists on meeting all his demands then he has erred to take up unattainable targets. With these demands I am sure he has to stop midway.

Well thought wish list. If it gets fulfilled, it has potential to bring old Bharatiya glory back. Keep it up Baba, we are with you.

1. It is good to see the corrupt politicians and officials forced to run after a monk who has people power after him.
2. The powerful and the corrupt are just posturing, so the can dilute and derail this movement.
3. Those in power are thinking about the next ELECTION, not the COUNTRY.
4. I hope that there are more social activist who will try to improve the lot of the common Indian and lessen the scope of corruption.
6. I bet, that those in power will precipitate a national crisis to derail any movement that will curtail their power and corruption !!!

A baba asking for death penalty for a human being, well that is bit strange

With due respect to all the above comments, I would like to say that Baba Ramdev's demands are well justified and practical. The common people in India do not have any idea how much money has been looted from us by the corrupt officials and how the government is cheating us. The corruption scene is much worse than what it is believed to be. Ignorance needs to be minimised. Look at our neighbour countries and how they have grown in the last 60 years. 63 years is more than enough to convert a developing country to a developed country. Alas! India still does not have a world class city. Outsiders have looted our country for two hundred years and now sadly our own people are looting us. India is still following the age old British administrative operations which have been changed and modified in Britain itself! The education system in India is suited for making hard working clerks and not creators or designers and needs to be overhauled urgently. Let us come out of this pseudo notion and belief that 'Mera Bharat Mahaan' and let us recognise the need to change our mindsets. We need to think about the country first and not religion, caste and languages. About Hindi language, I think an Indian common language is always better than a foreign language. World leading countries like Germany, France, Japan, China, Spain, Switzerland and Russia use their own language for administration. English is spoken in India and other countries since England had colonised those countries. USA speaks English since most immigrants to USA was from Britain. I am not saying English should be removed. I feel in every Indian state Hindi should be taught as the first language, the mother tongue should be the second language and English the third language. This is a practical approach since unlike other countries every Indian state has its own language and Hindi is already spoken by a vast majority of Indians. Hindi is a popular language and not a language of any particular state. In every state Hindi and the mother tongue should be taught right from childhood, rather than English and the mother tongue. If whole of India starts speaking Hindi as the common language and Hindi is used as the central and state government official language (along with the mother tongue) and we all stop serving the English speaking countries then only India will grow. UK and USA will not get easy IT clerks from India and their economy will decline.
There is much to talk about and discuss. Please type 'Rajiv Dixit' in Google and read his lectures yourself. He was a social activist. I have not seen a bigger patriot in recent times. You will also find his lecture videos in YouTube. Do watch his videos about VAT and how the Indian government cheats the common people. His lectures and videos are stark eye openers and I am sure you will be astonished after knowing the truth about our politicians!

All Indian Citizens abroad must have right to Vote from wherever they stay (out of India) or Online voting system must be implemented. Price fixing of all commodities in same price thoughout India. Examples are: Petrol is sold in different prices across this country. One price to each commodity, no matter what the tax from each State come. Citizens must pay the same price. If a State sales tax is inevitable, the price must be adjusted between the State and Central Government, but consumers should not pay different price.

Baba's demands are valid however he needs to think how his demands have impact on this society. How we can eliminate English, on basis of which we are interacting with other nation and globalization is happening? However I agree with his point to promote Hindi(and also we need to support all Indian languages)but we can't eliminate English as our nation is diversified one.

What credibility he has to ask for this? He's playing the saffron card. This will lead to more problems only. I agree with a couple of his points like reformation of the government, administration and educational system. Also against corruption. But banning 1000 or 500 rupee notes and promoting Hindi at the expense of English are ridiculous. If we promote Hindi at the expense of English what are other native language speakers supposed to do? Learn Hindi?
Death sentence for corruption? This guy must be kidding. The possiblity of this law being misused is greater than any other law as it will be easier for a person to trap one in corruption.
Black money issue should seriously be tangled.
We should not be blaming corrupt politician but oursleves. We are electing them based on the parties they are supporting. We should elect them based on individual capabilities instead we are electing Kalmadis, Karunanidhis, Rajas and Praful Patels and we sack Sasi tharur in the same name.

What is the need of promoting Hindi as it is alien to non-speakers as much as English is alien to Hindi speakers..

For the past one year, entire nation is rocked and shocked with the amount of corruption that took place and taking place in everyday's life. Today every common man knows about Raja and Kalmadi Scam only because of transparency in the CAG report, which made every Indian realize the corruption that takes place in the hands of Netaji’s.
But unfortunately, I don’t see this demand in his wish list of Baba Ramdev rather I find some other ‘s which realistically doesn’t help in eradicating the corruption. I don’t understand what role does language, change of currency notes etc. play in eradicating corruption. Most insane demand is electing PM directly from people’s is like in no man’s land, only Baba Ramdev can answer this question. Only Good demand from his wish list is tough Lokpal Bill. In democratic country like India, changes can happen gradually only through Constitutional changes and from individual attitude but not through instant actions. Its time for Everyone has to analyze what ‘s new Ramdev is trying to bring, there is nothing. Its just for sake of Fame and Publicity Ramdev is created news in media saying “Fast till Death for Black Money”. In India, every street can find ‘N’ no of baba’s like Ramdev, if Government starts accepting or reacting to every baba’s demand then prosperous India will have to see before Independence day day’s.

You are doing the correct work.The whole of India is with you.

@Ningrinla : You are right. He got another chance to chance for his own publicity at his own cost(Because now he got money power).

Here is a point by point rebuttal to Baba Ramdev's set of demands:
1. Death to corrupt officials is not a solution to end corruption. The Indian jurisprudence views Death penalty as suitable only in the "rarest of the rare" cases and the definition of this condition is open to interpretation. India does not have a credible record in convicting people charged for Waging War Against the Nation to death penalty. What makes Ramdev feel the case will be any better for corruption cases assuming such a law is enacted. This is an unnecessary mess that we do not want to create.

2. Oversees Black Money Retrieval is beyond the jurisdiction of the Indian government. No matter how many laws we pass, unless the host country agrees to facilitate the transfer money no good could be achieved. This is common sense.

3.Abolishing 1000 and 500 denomination notes makes life of the common man tougher too. If the idea is to stop counterfeiting, demand stricter laws.
4. Indian government cannot restrict the operations of a bank from a tax haven country on its own. The best it can do is to restrict such entities from opening shop in its own land. Then again, most money transfers of illegal kinds happen through wire transfers and a bank need not have a physical office to get this done.
5. What is a Swadeshi alternative of Governance, governance, administration, taxation, education, law and order? Is there a model that Ramdev has in mind? India cannot be treated as a test case for public governance hypotheses. Any such dalliances with so called swadeshi models will plunge the country into severe political uncertainities. Don't make an Egypt out of India, please.
6. Direct election of PM is a good idea. This one seems to have been inspired from the US Presidential election system. Sadly, not feasible in the Indian republic. Has there been one candidate since Indira Gandhi who has had a pan-Indian appeal?
7.Ensuring IT Declarations: Enough laws exist. Law enforcers exist too. What prevents smooth functioning is corruption of such officers and the public at large. Ask any shop owner in any city how much he pays the local IT babu to avoid sales/income tax and you will know the extent of this rot. The salaried class pays its salary pretty diligently. The business class needs to be regulated.
8. IT Details under RTI: Good idea.
9. Increasing Minimum Support Price for Grains: This is a part of a big problem. Infrastructure, demand-supply management, micro financing and a lot more sub-issues need to be cared for so that the average farmer does not have to resort to the "Minimum Price". This is a typical populist solution that treats the symptoms rather than the cause.
10. Uniform labor wages acorss the country: This is impossible. Living standards differ so frastically across the country that implemeting such a policy will run into immediate logjams. You cannot have same wage in a metro as in a Class C city.
11.Revoking Land Acquisition act: If India is to progress, industries must be built at a faster pace and infrastructure must be developed to sustain the growth. Revoking this act will highly impaire this process. Ask for reviews of the act. Increase the price of land. Abolishing the law is not a solution for anyone.

12.Promote Hindi: My question is WHY? What is Hindi but one of the many languages that is spoken in India? Why do we have to attach Hindi with Indianness? This debate is futile. We have an equilibrium in place with speakers of all languages more or less at peace with the idea of gaining education in English while at the same time nurturing their respective languages. Why must we rake the hornet's nest again? Why should Hindi be favored over any other Indian language? For that case, why not promote Tamil or Kannada or Bengali or Marathi?

Let me try to explain the rational behind some of the demands:
— Abolishing Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 currency notes
A lot of Black money is stored as cash and in these denominations, if these denominations are abolished, that Money is essentially worthless unless declared. this helps catch the culprits. also as some one mentioned instead of 1 bag of 1000 notes it will be 5 bags of 100 notes. My friend, you will agree that it is harder to carry 5 bags than 1 bag, without being noticed.
— Reforming the electoral system to ensure that the Prime Minister is directly elected by people
If the PM is outside of the Lokpal purview then the electorate must take responsibility of electing the right person, this is not just about rights, it is about responsibilities as well.

Baba Ramdev is better off in the field of Yoga. If every other some influential person stands up with his demand and threaten people about fasts....Indian govt will face some serious problems. India does promote hindi through the hindi week in the month of september. English helps us connect globally.. Abolishing 1000 and 500 notes does not help in curbing corruption...

"...Ramdev, who has threatened to field candidates in every Lok Sabha constituency in 2014.." - I think that's a threat he will be able to carry out if he wants. His purity and selflessness seems to have empowered his motivation and ability to that extent. It doesn't much matter if individual commands are sane or insane, the spirit behind them is wonderful.

Baba Ramdev's demands are rational, and they make complete sense if seen without any thinking bias. Today, we have political and economic systems which are actually perverse. Farmers, who feed the nation, are dying, while politicians and industrialists are making merry and millions, if not billions because of our corrupt, imported forms of administration. We will never be free unless we come up with our own models of governance, taxation and political society.

He has been able to muster the support of the people of India. They understand and appreciate the spirit behind his movement. Every citizen is now aware of the fact that he and his forefathers have all along been victims of cheat, bribery and corruption by the so called national leaders.

Nice to see Ramdev fighting for the good. Its our responsibility to support him as there are very few movements in this country in teh interest of the people.
Some demands may be impractical but not bizarre. Even those impractical ones may be direct or indirect causes of some corruption. This can be sorted out by discussions. Hope something good emerges out of it.

No admirer of Baba Ramdev till date, I am amazed at the pertinence, immediacy and the ethics of his demands. I hope he does not surrender any of them, though it is desirable that he does not pitch the scales so high, so that the Law Book, as laid down by the Legislature, to the extent upheld by the Judicature and international ramifications are dealt with, without deviating from the agenda, he set.

Except 'Hindi' one... i agree with all. Especially the corrupt officials should be hanged. Even now these corrupts getting VVIP treatment in Tihar. And after the case... they will secure their win with the money power. They should be deprived of all these... They should not allow to speak public or they should not be allowed to contest election.

This Baba Ramdev stunt would be nothing if there was no media attention. There are 100,000 farmers actually killing themselves over poverty and there is no media attention.
Here Ramdev just threatens to kill himself and that too with a bizzare list of demands and look at the media circus.

Concentrate on issues related to corruption. Also sort out what is practical and enforceable.Too many issues will fizzle out soon and nothing will get done. I hope that this Baba is not trying to win election next time.

@Avinash Rajagopal, Logic is simple. Demand is to limit the corruption. (payment given in cash).
Internet transfers are traceable.

All of us need India to get rid of corruption but at the same time our growth should not be hampered. These demands are partially fair for India but if all the demands will be accepted as they are then I think it will have an adverse effect on the growth. So cautious approach is required by the government for handling corruption and black money. I am looking forward for a corruption free growth.

India should implement proportional representation for true democracy as they have done in New Zealand.
This will root out lot of corruption and bad deals and promises given in election time that cost the nation a lot.This will also give representation for silent majority that can add upto half the populace.
All demands of Baba relating to black money and corruption should be implemented .

I just feel that the "Fight against corruption" is being completely hijacked by individual egos and self-interests. Every one now wants to undertake "Fast untill death" for "Fight against corruption". If we as country would like to move towards corrupt free society, it is better that the whole strata of governance and governed - Politicians ; Judges ; Lawyers ; Police ; Administrators ; Social activists ; Corporates come together to find a solution.

Baba Ramdev has started a historical movement against corruption,electoral reforms and black money which is a cause of national importance neglected by politicians for long. The movement should remain the movement of "Aam Adami" Some political parties like BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad etc. want to grab the opportunity in the name of support to movement. Baba Ram Dev has kept it in suspense whether he has a think tank, intellectuals, policy makers. There are people outside Parliament and Assemblies who know Constitutional proceedure and having knowledge of policy making & Laws , implementation, enforcement and punishment. The corrupt politics is the root of all these abuses.Electoral reforms along with right to recall public representative can do good for Indian society. I admire Mr. T.N.Shesan who took initiatives towards electoral reforms. There is much space for reforms in election proceedure. Until and unless we have MLAs and MPs with national character. We must hopeful for positive outcome of the movement and efforts rendered by Baba Ramdev.

These are right demands, we support Baba Ramdev fully except ""— Making wages of different categories of labourers uniform across the country " and "Reforming the electoral system to ensure that the Prime Minister is directly elected by people" demand.

Baba's intention is good; A tougher Lokpal bill is what we all want; But I don't see any logic in the following demands:
>Promoting Hindi at the expense of English. [Let's go back to the Dark Ages??]
>Abolishing Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 currency notes [!!]
>Death sentence for the corrupt. [Death Sentence??]

At least in urban areas in the entire country, only Debit Cards should be used for all the purchases like gold ornaments, flight tickets, fuel, kirana, cloths and such items which can be bought through Debit / Credit Cards only and money transactions should be minimised in almost all day today transactions. this will curb black money use.

Baba Ramdev thinks he has a big follwing, and he can dictate his terms with a elected Goverment. The best way is let him contest an election to Lok Saba and implement his wishes. I do not aggre with many of his demands to be resonable.

Excepting the last one, I did not find any of the demands "bizarre'.

If not all, even if 2 points implemented will make big difference for the future generations of our country. Will our PM oblige?

Really good for the country

I have been in America since 1982. The One thing that I have not seen in America is corruption. The only thing that I have seen in India is corruption. You can apply for things in America and if you meet the requirements you will get, it no matter what. If you don't meet the requirements you will not get it even if you are the President of America. The other greatness of America is the willingness to accept other cultures, nationalities, languages etc. etc. This has made it dynamic. There is a long history of proper thinking in this country. Baba Ramdev, India is one, please do not insist on dividing it on the basis of language.English is more an Indian language than it is in England. I love you, I love what you are doing. All over the middle east we are seeing dictators go. Please let us see them go from India also.

Only the demands under heading 2,3,4,5,7 is practical and possible. The point to develop Hindi at the expense of English is ridiculous.As far as possible one should know English to keep himself familar and the same is not practical with with the case in Engineering,Science,Medical Sciences. It may be only possible in the Baba Ashram,where one can manage with Hindi.

Except for the last one all others are designed to deal with corruption directly or indirectly. The only reason congress/govt would not want to implement those would be if they were depending on entities who would stand to lose if they did. Nice going! Hope this leads to an Indian spring !!

Baba ramdev demands
- — Immediate return of all black money stashed away in tax havens abroad to the country?
BUT - What process does he want the govt. to follow? Like Anna Hazare was clear with the actions to be taken does he have any process in place. He should state issues and the process of action.

How about finding a formula for turning mud into gold? Surely, the Baba's spiritual powers can find a way for us to achieve this? Hindi at the expense of English? How about he exchange his island in Scotland for a slum in Mumbai?

Baba Ramdev got another good oppurtunity to promote himself! And our poor government is giving him all the cheap publicity that he craves!

I definitely want a corrupt free India. But these laws are too tough to be implemented - atleast half of them. Baba needs to relax certain requests such as Hindi at the expense of English and revoking land acquisition act. May be a better act so that people get the value of their land...

May I know the possible reason behind the demand for abolishment of Rs. 1000 and Rs. 500 currency notes?

A couple of them are good and practical. How are these possible without sending growth backwards? Increasing substantially the Minimum Support Price of grains. Making wages of different categories of labourers uniform across the country. Same wages in big city and a small town ....? Revoking the Land Acquisition Act, as farmers should not be deprived of their land for industry - govt can be careful not to grab unnecessarily but not always practical Promoting Hindi at the expense of English. - what is this going to do?

Baba's attempt to fast seem to go beyond black money. He has an agenda that is not just and fair. Like why Hindi should be promoted at the cost of English. We need English if we need to be globally competitive. Why talk about pricing for grains and Land Aquisition act? He is out of focus.Some of his demands are simply not practical. He is simply exploiting the public sentiments which were suppressed for long tolerating the corruption and the free flow of black money all over. He wants to outdo Anna to get into the limelight. Black money can be tackled later on but lets attack corruption the root cause of black money. It's a pity that such a big issue like black money is getting diluted by mixing it with unrelated subjects. Let the media get some news to keep their channels buzzing with some silly discussions on the points raised by Baba. Black Money is the result of corruption. Let the government ignore Baba and cooperate with Lok Pal. It will be fitting if recovery of black money is made part of the agenda for the Lok Pal bill.This fast will fade out with a lame excuse if ignored by the government.

I see nothing wrong with these demands. India will be a better place if these are implemented.

Baba Ramdev is doing a great disservice to the Civil Society Movement by taking up a competitive fast on the lines of Anna Hazare , with a list of demands , that borders on the absurd and impractical.
The Civil Society Movement must consolidate all like-minded forces and focus only on bringing up a good Lok Pal Bill. This must be done in an orderly way and must involve experts in Constitution and Law , and must be comprehensive in its content. If needed, the Civil Society movement must broad-base itself according to the needs of the issues that come up during talks with the Govt.
Baba Ramdev may be an expert on Yoga , but he should not be allowed to adopt a mobocracy approach and make the geniune fight against corruption lose its course by creating a law or order situation. People like Anna Hazare and Ramdev, can at best be harbingers of a new beginning, but they dont have the werewithal to be able to deliver a proper solution.
Baba Ramdev should not be a distraction in the geniune fight of the Indian people against corruption by his individualistic agenda and bravado, instead he must provide a solid backing to the Civil Society movement like Kiran Bedi, Anupam Kher etc. so that the people get a good Lokpal who makes a change for the better.

All looks good but for replacing Hindi at the expense of English...Baba will not get support for this from many quarters

Looks like there is a concerted attempt in the media too (Scottish Island, jet setting Baba etc) to blacken Baba's image. But let me tell this author that the common man like me are with the Baba. One side section you write about Baba's threat to clean up the system and on the same page you guys write about Maran and his corruption !! As person who has had chance to study western economies in detail and its association with the European dark ages last a 1000 years, I can surely say what Baba is requesting is in the correct path. The British system needs to go. The large denomination currency helps black marketeers and money launderers more than the common man. I hope the average Indian puts more attention to study the impact of Baba's requests now that IPL is over. Great timing Baba. We are with you.

Listen to Baba Ramdev; he is sincere, honest.
Many of his demands are practical, will bring black money back
money to India, thus will be used for development in the real sense.
Prompt decisions on corrupt officials, politicians, others - high and low will give society a great relief. Simplify laws so that every Indian can understand them, will help eradicate corruption. In British ruled India, a post card to the Governor or high officer could shake the Government, now even a row of letters will not shake even the highest. I have lived & seen the era before Independence, my father was a Congressman, went to Jail with Mahatma Gandhi, I still have vision of those happy days, when congress leaders used to meet, share food, dine with congress workers, at equal level, now the leaders used ten feet high dais or long barriers to meet their grass root congress workers. Gandhi did not expect it.

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. The jet-setting false guru should declare his wealth and explain his Scottish island first

Its silly and stupid. Takes away the credibility the movement build so far.

All these demands are legitimate and there is nothing bizarre about them. Well may be having an option of death sentence for the corrupt. These demands should have been part of the election manifesto of major parties but sadly many bizarre promises which bankrupt government treasury are made and fulfilled so that the government can stay in power. This is the first time I am hearing about baba Ramdev and not sure if he has support base to field candidates from all constituencies. Hopefully this is not a trick played by powerful corrupt people to pit civil society leaders and people against each other to derail the recent progress on Lokpal bill. People have to be aware of leaders who make big promises because the bigger the promises are the lesser the probability they get passed by the legislature.

I agree to his point view for the below items.
However I would like to add one more point over here.
- We should check the Chartered accountants and CA related companies ethical practices. They are the main people who suggest you the loop holes in the financial matters.

- Tough Lokpal Bill, with a provision for death sentence for the corrupt, especially corrupt officials

— Immediate return of all black money stashed away in tax havens abroad to the country

— Declaring all wealth in foreign countries being held illegally by Indians as national property and charging those with such accounts under the sedition laws

— Signing and ratifying the United Nations Convention against Corruption

— Disabling the operations of any bank which belongs to a country that is a tax haven. If done, All the corrupt people will have a new dimension to save the black money.

— Replacing the British-inherited system of governance, administration, taxation, education, law and order with a swadeshi alternative. I storngly agree to this.

— Reforming the electoral system to ensure that the Prime Minister is directly elected by people. 100 % correct.

- If new projects like Ratnagiri project are to be approved. people's safety should considered instead of the Development growth.

— Ensuring that all citizens declare annually their incomes

— Bringing income-tax details, CA under the Right to Information Act

— Increasing substantially the Minimum Support Price of grains.

— Making wages of different categories of labourers uniform across the country

— Revoking the Land Acquisition Act, as farmers should not be deprived of their land for industry

"Hate the sin, not the sinner", may be very important in this case, where almost everyone may be touched by corrupt practices, wittingly or unwittingly, for gain or for expediency, as a bribe-taker or a bribe-giver. Any solution cannot be seen to be vindictive, and must carry most people with it, and has to be therefore forward looking. Asking for "death penalty" is OTT - confiscation + min 20 years hard labour might be sufficient.
Also there is very real danger of the movement fizzling out by moving away from a "single issue" platform.

Some of them are ridiculous and the Government is justified in not acting on most of the demands - without a proper public debate

Excellent and they all are needed.
I was not in support of this moment before reading it. but now, I am.
Jai ho Ram Dev Baba...
Pl do not mix your hands with those guys to make this movement dirty.
Thank you in advance.

Let him starve!

It looks very awkward for the largest democracy in the world,running behind swamiji( The worst offender group in the entire world is someone cheating people in the name of God which is non-existent). The way in which the ministers are running behind him looks pathetic.Even though what Ramdev is asking may be partially reasonable that can't be implemented overnight. Since he has said that he will contest in all the Lok Sabha constituency that would be the most sensible way of implementing all his wishes. He should be alowed to do that. Instead of that an entire government is begging the swamijis will through ugly picture for a secular country.
Undergoing fast is a personal right and govt. should not interfere in that. Government should imediately amend the suicide law making it legal for a sane person to commit suicide which is the norrm in all European countries and let him to die if he wishes to. Government should never give up to all these swamijis black mailing. If the govt. keeps on pacifying him, tomorrow another swamiji will ask for other demands will come form kasi or himalayas.
But simultaneously govt should seriously act now to curb the corruption and take serious action against the black money.

Whats wrong with these demands? i salute the man and his methods

Already the government has floundered by a number of issues from corruption to recently concluded Mr.Anna Hazare's hunger strike baba's satyagraha will be a big blow for the government and especially for UPA which is struggling to win a trust vote from the people of India. Imagine on Mr. Hazare's hunger strike only thousands have joined and it has made the government to agree with the demands which led to the formation of joint drafting committee for lokpal bill. Now its Baba's turn and imagine over a million of people will be joining him for the satyagraha which ultimately shows the people's discontent over the government and now the government will be forced to step up measures for more Transperancy,Accountability.

The only problem I have with his demands is promoting Hindi at the expense of English when in fact there are 14 national languages and Hindi is only one of them, plus we have 843 dialects. Giving up English will also largely disable us on the global economy front. No one would want their kids not to speak English this day and age. I think Baba Ramdev should replace that clause with the demand for eradication of all nuclear power plants in India which are a danger to Indian citizens as they cause cancer and also could entirely ruin our air, water and food in the event of an accident. Our scientists may be very capable but accidents are in the hands of nature and providence and out of human control. So we cannot risk a technology that cannot be controlled when it is out of control due to some unexpected accident or terror attack. It was so easy for Pakistani terrorists to enter the Taj with all it's security and kill and maim people at will, how difficult do you think it will be for them to break into one of our nuclear power plants and damage it's cooling system?

Most of his demands are insane and are not directly / indirectly linked to prevent corruption. I don't know how promoting Hindi at the expense of English would help curtail corruption? Electing prime minister directly by the people? Changing all statutes, names etc.? He is talking like a politician to win votes. By abolishing 500 and 1000 notes, what is he achieving? Instead of 1 suitcase full of 500 notes, it would be 5 suitcase full of 100 notes. That is not going to solve the problem.

Demands are good but impossible and this is just a publicity gimmick and he should have been leading and minding his own business and should have done some home work before jumping into demands. Just making castle in air and disturbing peace.

Sitting outside India, I really can't tell if this man is being serious.

Death Penalty? and what's the logic behind the currency notes demand?

Ranging from the serious to the bizarre? I don't see any serious demands listed here. They are all quite bizarre.

Excellent Swami Ji.We must have our own Tamil,Telugu,Hindi and other languages.This is re-colonization.We are with you..