Binayak Sen to Irom Sharmila: A look at India's post-independence social activists
It’s not just politicians, India’s social activists have brought about considerable changes in the country in the last 68 years of independence. Here’s a look at some of the prominent social activists born post-independence.
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Binayak Sen: He has played multiple roles over the years; academician, pediatrician, public health specialist and human rights activist. For more than 25 years, Sen provided health care to the adivasi people of Chhattisgarh. Sen was among the first to draw public attention to widespread human rights violations in the wake of the Salwa Judum. In 2010, he was convicted of conspiring to commit sedition and other charges and sentenced to life in prison.
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Ashok Row Kavi: One of the first openly gay men in India, he almost single-handedly pushed the LGBT movement out of the closet. He started the gay magazine Bombay Dost and then the NGO Humsafar Trust in Mumbai. Long before Section 377 became a cause, Ashok Row Kavi has been fighting the fight and he has the scars to prove it.
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Kiran Bedi: She became the first woman police officer in 1972 and is known for actively helping introduce the prison reform in India.In Tihar, where she was the inspector general in 1994, she targeted sanitation and nutrition problems and also implemented new literacy and drug treatment programs.
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Medha Patkar: Known chiefly for her work with people displaced by the Narmada Valley Development Project (NVDP), Patkar established the Narmada Bachao Andolan in 1986 and sought help for those rendered homeless and without livelihoods because of the construction of the Sardar Sarovar and other large dams along the Narmada.
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Rajendra Singh: Popularly known as ‘Jal Purush’ or Waterman of Rajasthan, Singh is an inspirational figure who has transformed the life of people in more than 1000 villages in Aravalli Hills. The Guardian named him amongst its list of “50 people who could save the planet” in 2008
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Sandeep Pandey: This Magsaysay Awards winner quit his job at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, and plunged into working for Asha – an education programme for underprivileged children. Pandey’s work at Asha Parivar is focused on Right to Information and other forms of citizen participation in removing corruption and improving the efficiency of governance.
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Irom Sharmila: Also known as the “Iron Lady of Manipur”, she is a civil rights activist, political activist, and poet from Manipur. She is on hunger strike on 2 November, 2000, and has decide not to end her hunger strike until the Indian government completely repeals AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act).
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Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand: Journalists, and civil rights activists– this husband-and-wife duo are quite the lightning rod and very controversial. They are known for fighting for justice for the victims of 2002 Gujarat violence and seeking criminal trial of Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat. The couple runs two NGOs– ‘Citizens for Justice and Peace’ and ‘Sabrang Trust’and have been alleged of having misappropriated funds of Rs 1.51 crore collected by them for turning the 2002 riot-affected Gulbarg Society into a museum.
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Dayamani Barla: An indigenous tribal journalist and activist from Jharkhand, she became notable for her activism in opposing Arcelor Mittal’s steel plant that would displace 40 villages.Barla owns and runs a tea shop that effectively supports her journalistic desire and career.
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