Swami Shivanand Breaks 36-day Fast for the Ganges

Swami Shivanand of the Matri Sadan ashram in Haridwar, India, breaks a 36-day fast to protect the Ganges River.

Details to come. I first wrote about Shivanand and his band of dedicated and embattled saints last December for National Geographic ( http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/12/09/a-swamis-hunger-strike-ends-mining-on-a-stretch-of-the-ganges-river/ ) and the New York Times ( http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/a-sacred-river-under-assault/ — http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/indias-anticorruption-guru-anna-hazare-is-a-hunger-strike-opportunist/ ).

Shivanand is fearless, and says he’s not afraid of death. Just the same, I am very glad he’s alive.