India has deIndia has without it is stifling democratic protest after police arrested 1,300 people to halt a starvation strike by an anti-corruption activist.
A famous campaigner Anna Hazare was arrested hours before his fast against a proposed new anti-corruption law.
India's Home Minister P Chidambaram said the detentions were because protesters had not obeyed police circumstances for the demonstration.
"We are not ruling out a peaceful democratic protest we are trying to find a reasonable set of conditions under which protests can take place."
Mr Hazare says India's anticipated anti-corruption should be able to investigate any official including the prime minister and judges.
Correspondents say he has accessible a growing challenge for the Indian government on corruption in Asia's third leading economy, where a series of new high profile scandals have tarnished the government's image.
As news of Mr Hazare's arrest increase, his supporters came out on the streets of many Indian cities in complain.
Those peoples were arrested at different places in Delhi, with most of them being taken to a stadium in the city.
Mr Hazare, 74, had pledged to go on famine strike in the capital, Delhi, on Tuesday despite police denying him permission to fast for more than three days.
India's Home Secretary RK Singh said Mr Hazare had been seized because he said he "intended to challenge prohibitory orders" and go on fast at a park in Delhi.
The police laid down six conditions for the swift to take place, which included the following.
'Corruption culture'
Mr Hazare has called the proposed anti-corruption legislation a "nasty joke" and has described the fight against corruption as the "second war of independence".
He said the society would not stop with his arrest.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, a famous supporter of Mr Hazare, said his detention proved that the government was "arrogant and not heeding to the democratic rights of the people".
On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said hunger strikes by campaigners would not help to undertake corruption.
India has recently been hit by a thread of high profile corruption scandals, including a multibillion dollar supposed telecoms scam, alleged financial malpractices in connection with the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and allegations that houses for war widows were diverted to civil servants.
Critics of the government say the scandals point to a pervasive culture of dishonesty in Mr Singh's administration.
India's Home Minister P Chidambaram said the imprisonment were because protesters had not obeyed police conditions for the demonstration.
India's Home Secretary RK Singh said Mr Hazare had been detained because he said he "intended to defy prohibitory orders" and go on fast at a park in Delhi.
The police laid down six conditions for the fast to get place, which included the following: the fast should be restricted to three days, no more than 400 to 500 people are allowed to meet, and there is parking for a certain number of vehicles.
