NEW DELHI: An Indian activist has launched a new hunger strike to demand strong anti-corruption legislation but so far has not attracted the massive crowds that marked the early part of his campaign.

A year ago tens of thousands of middle-class Indians crowded a New Delhi fairground to support Anna Hazare as he fasted for 12 days to pressure the government into creating a wide-ranging anti-corruption watchdog.

Only a few thousand people gathered on Sunday as 75-year-old Hazare began his fast, joining three other activists who launched fasts last Wednesday. This is Hazare's fifth fast since April last year.

Hazare initially found enormous support in a country where corruption is endemic but the repeated use of hunger strikes and allegations of corruption against some of his own aides have hurt his image.