Voice of the unheard voices
India is a land which has given birth to many great people, legends in their own rights. There have been a rare breed of people who've proved their mettle in their respective areas of working and have touched the lives of many. We've had the likes of Bhagat Singhs, Gandhis, Nehrus, Sarabhais, Kalams, Ambanis, Premjis and the list goes on. But there are two genres of work whose heroes have been given larger than life images in our country- The Indian Film Industry and the cricket team. The likes of Bachchans, King Khans in cinema and Gavaskars, Kapil Devs, Tendulkars, Dravids and Dhonis have attained the status of demi Gods in our counntry. The pure mania that these two sectors evoke in the AAM AADMI is unparalleled and bound to only grow with time. Nothing wrong with it, people getting due recognition for the quality work they've put in is the richest dividends they can get back. This is something they deserve and have acquired with sheer hard work and dedication towards their work.
The problem comes when people refuse to look beyond these heroes. In such a big country, there are people who've made a big difference to all around them but still there names are obscure in the murky waters. Barring a few who bother to understand and appreciate the contributions of these unsung heroes, the majority of the population is still oblivious of their tremendous contribution. The picture looks more gloomy when we claim that 54% of our population is YOUNG INDIA who are ready to take on the world. But how do we expect to bring out a global change when we dont even recognize the contributions of these unsung national pictures. Its a pretty unfortunate situation and to be honest shameful on the part of us youngsters. But its never too late. We can still take the step, and i'm sure that would be the one in the right direction.
One such unsung hero is a gentleman called Arvind Kejriwal.Hearing the name for the first time????? Never mind, hope atleast now we'd be more concerned about the state of affairs around us. Well Arvind Kejriwal is a social activist and an instrumental figure in bringing about one of the biggest revolutions. He worked unceassingly to bring about greater transparency in Government's functionality and his constant efforts led to a big accomplishment- THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT. This right has actually given a lethal weapon in the hands of the AAM AADMI and has made the Government accountable to its people. Now any individual discontent with the working of the Government can ask WHAT? WHY? HOW? Is it not something we should all be proud of? I think it is. Arvind kejriwal made it a point that THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT is activated at the grass root level, because that's where corruption is at its worst form and poor illiterate people are unable to understand the malicious intent of the authorities. The result- predominant oppression, suppression of these people and the same status quo of these people over the years.
He graduated as a mechanical engineer from IIT Kharagpur in 1989, then he went about to join the prestigious civil services in the Indian Revenue Service in 1992. But what he saw there came as a rude shock to him. He was taken aback by the widely prevalent corruption and malpractices amongst the Government officials. When he came to terms to this unfortunate reality, he decided that things need to change and there has to be some ray of light somewhere to combat this darkness of mala fide activities. He started working on it and realized that the main reason for this corruption is basically accounted to the lack of transparency in the Government functionalities and policies. The Government was pretty active in framing laws but pretty lethargic when it came to implementing them. This weakness leveraged the uncanny miscreants to mould the law by their whims and fancies, as there was no stringent monitoring tool to keep track of their accountability towards their work. Arvind Kejriwal recognized the flaw and worked on ways to eradicate it. Even during his working years, he stood like a Rock Of Gibraltar between the miscreants and mischief.
He worked against the system from within the system for a while, but when he realized that his hands were tied down he made a brave decision of putting in his papers and taking the entire battle on his own shoulders. After that he went about devoting his full time to his mission work by becoming the founder of an NGO- PARIVARTAN. its a Delhi based citizens' movement trying to ensure a just, transparent, people friendly and accountable governance.
The journey to the right to information act has been an onerous one for Arvind kejriwal. But like Rome was not built in a day, his efforts took a lot of time to bear the fruits. He was a major warrior in bringing in a number of changes to increase the transparency in the Income Tax. TOgether with his colleague Aruna Roy and others, he started his vigorous campaign for the mission of his life- THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT. His vociferous efforts bore fruits in 2005 when Government passed this law in 2005. And he carried on his fight to create awareness about the RTI later on as well. This was the biggest challenge as has always been in India. So this guy made sure that people actually got what was promised to them.
His NGO has also been pivotal in the satyendra Dubey murder case and are leaving no stones unturned to get justice for the deceased's family. Thus, one point is quite clear, Arvind's life is an inspiration for the millions of young turks who dream to make it big in their lives.
He has got laurels at both national and international levels as a testimony to his spectacular work. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Emergent Leadership award in 2006 and was also awarded CNN-IBN Indian of the year for Public Services in 2006. Thus, the point i'm trying to raise is pretty straightforward. Let's now broaden our area of perception beyond the Dhonis and King Khans to understand and appreciate the contributions of such unsung heroes who've been instrumental in their contribution towards their country and their fellowmen. Let's salute these true Guardian Angels and pray that our land is bestowed by many such jewels.
Kudos to you Gentleman.
