Veteran social activist and Gandhian Anna Hazare has been admitted to the intensive care unit of Bombay Hospital in Mumbai after his health deteriorated during treatment near his village of Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra.

The 89-year-old activist was moved to Mumbai for specialised medical attention after reportedly developing a serious viral infection accompanied by acute dehydration.

Hazare is being treated under the supervision of Dr Gautam Bhansali at Bombay Hospital.

Doctors are carrying out a detailed evaluation to determine his present condition and the further course of treatment. He remains under close medical observation in the ICU, while additional information regarding his health is awaited.

The hospitalisation comes at a time when Hazare, who has largely maintained a lower public profile in recent years, had once again begun speaking on issues involving public protests and the concerns of young people.

Hazare had recently backed Jantar Mantar protesters

Hazare recently expressed support for protesters demonstrating at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over the NEET paper-leak controversy.

He criticised the reported violence surrounding a July 20 march towards Parliament and subsequently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for dialogue between the government and protesting students.

Hazare argued that concerns involving examination paper leaks, delays in recruitment, unemployment and related grievances among young Indians should be treated as symptoms of deeper public anxiety rather than viewed solely through the prism of maintaining law and order.

He also expressed concern over reports of violence and police action during the demonstrations.

Drawing upon his own history of protest movements, Hazare reiterated his commitment to peaceful agitation and stressed that public demonstrations should remain non-violent and avoid damage to public property.

He pointed to the numerous hunger strikes he has undertaken during his lifetime while emphasising that non-violence had remained central to his method of protest.

Hazare subsequently staged a two-hour silent demonstration in solidarity with the Jantar Mantar protesters on July 23, observing the protest between 11 am and 1 pm.

The movement that made Hazare a national figure

Hazare became one of India's most recognisable civil-society figures during the anti-corruption movement that swept the country around 2011.

The India Against Corruption campaign and Hazare's hunger strikes generated enormous public attention and placed the demand for a stronger institutional framework against corruption at the centre of national political debate.

His protests attracted thousands of supporters and helped transform anti-corruption into one of the defining political issues of the period.

More than a decade later, Hazare continues to be closely associated with Gandhian methods of public protest, particularly hunger strikes, peaceful demonstrations and appeals for greater accountability in public life.

His admission to the ICU in Mumbai is therefore likely to be closely watched by supporters across Maharashtra and elsewhere in the country.

Doctors at Bombay Hospital are expected to determine the next stage of his treatment after completing their assessment.

Further information on Hazare's condition is awaited.