Veteran Indian social activist Anna Hazare waves from a vehicle after being detained by police in the Indian capital, New Delhi, August 16, 2011.
Indian police has arrested leading anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare as well as 1,400 of his supporters in the capital, New Delhi.
"People have been detained at different places," Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram was quoted by AFP as saying on Tuesday.
A massive demonstration led by Hazare, who was due to begin a fast to the death, was expected to be held before he was detained.
Chidambaram said organizers had refused to guarantee to obey police orders that the rally should be limited to 5,000 people and that it could only last three days.
The minister also denied that the Indian government was quashing dissent and stressed that "this government is not against peaceful protest."
In April, Hazare staged a 98-hour hunger strike that led to the government drafting a new anti-corruption law, called the "Lokpal" bill.
The bill would create a new ombudsman tasked with investigating and prosecuting politicians and bureaucrats. Hazare, however, wants India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and higher judiciary officials to come under scrutiny.
The social activist had planned to begin a second hunger strike on Tuesday as he argued that his recommendations had been ignored.
Hazare is a social conservative who dreams of an India centered around self-sufficient villages -- inspired by the leader of the India national movement, Mahatma Gandhi.
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