ONE INDIA ONE PEOPLE

The Common Man

The political uprising in our country has brought to the forefront the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spearheaded by social activists who wanted to bring about change, but the sequence of events landed them in becoming change agents themselves. The political party in the capital has totally hijacked the term ‘aam aadmi’ who was earlier referred as ‘common man’--- the ordinary Indian who was most suitably depicted in the cartoons of noted R K Laxman for more than 50 years before the birth of AAP.

Common man is the person who everyone relates to, who the masses identify with. The common man is the one who survived the Mumbai floods in July 2005, who endured the terrorist attacks in the financial capital in November 2008, who died in the Uttarakhand floods. The common man is time and again bogged down by corruption and inflation, and the common man is the one who is thought of and remembered by politicians every five years when the election bells are ringing. The common man is the one who lives on hope that there will be a change, and his dream of India will come true very soon. The common man is no more a passive observer, but is making his voice heard.

We are saluting the spirit and strength of this common man who lives through all this and much more each and every day in different parts of the country. We have handpicked six ordinary people who have provided extraordinary service to the common man to change their lives forever. The February issue highlights all the dimensions of the multifaceted common man.

In the lead article ‘The Common Man is surging’, Prof. Yogesh Atal says, the recent happenings in the political arena have changed the very perception of the Common Man. He is not the beggar waiting to receive the doles or relief; he has begun to demand what is his due.

Prof Atal is an internationally acclaimed sociologist who has authored a number of books and edited nearly 40 books and monographs for UNESCO including a trilogy on Poverty. He worked with UNESCO for nearly 23 years and retired as its deputy assistant director general in 1997. He is among the pioneers in the social sciences to write and publish in Hindi, and popularise social sciences through the medium of Hindi. He is also a poet and litterateur.

In ‘The ubiquitous ‘Common Man’ of India’, Prof. P. Radhakrishnan says, corruption, misrule, crony capitalism, lack of accountability and transparency all have exacerbated the condition of India’s common man. Further, the manner in which the Constitution has been worked over in the years has proved that the common man has been squeezed out of politics.

The writer is a Professor of Sociology at the Madras Institute of Development Studies and is a media commentator on public affairs.

In ‘An Uncommon Common Man’, well known satirist, V. Gangadhar talks about the common man immortalised by the iconic cartoonist of India, R.K. Laxman. Laxman’s themes, says Gangadhar, were not lofty, as his common man was someone who every Indian could easily identify with. His sketches exposed the rot in the system, which angered the aam aadmi, but never failed to bring a smile on his face.

In ‘The rise of the Aam Aadmi’, Dr. Bhalchandra K. Kango, Secretary, state council CPI, Maharashtra says, the ‘aam aadmi’ of the 70s and 80s was a composition of emerging middle class and toiling masses who got lost in identity politics. Today, with corruption and problems of governance taking centre stage along with growing concern about inflation and economic slowdown, we see a commonality of interests amongst the two classes re-emerging and bringing the common man or the ‘aam aadmi’ into focus.

The Right to Information (RTI) is one of the simplest and most powerful tool in the hands of the common man to seek information on a number of issues, in order to minimise corruption and get what is rightfully due to him, writes Shailesh Gandhi in his article ‘Right to Information (RTI) – path to Swaraj.’

Gandhi is former Central Information Commissioner. A distinguished alumnus awardee of IIT Bombay and a first generation entrepreneur, he sold his business to become a RTI activist in 2003. He gave many landmark decisions on RTI, apart from organising the first digital fileless Commission office.

Aam Aadmi Crusaders

In Aam Aadmi crusaders, India One People Foundation salutes the spirit and achievements of six ordinary people who have changed the lives of the aam aadmi. Read the struggle and achievements of the crusaders:

Baba Amte

One man crusade

Baba Amte was a one man crusade and messiah for the people struck with leprosy. He served them till his last breath.

(Contributed by Veena Adige, Associate editor of Bhavan’s Journal, the fortnightly magazine of Bharatiya Vidya BhavanShe has authored four books including The Legacy of Baba Amte.)

Advocate Varsha Deshpande

Her fight to save the girl child

Advocate Varsha Deshpande has been striving to save and protect the girl child. She founded the ‘Lek Laadki Abhiyaan’ that upholds the mantra ‘Eliminate Inequality not Women, Destroy Dowry not Daughters’.

(Contributed by Prof. Vibhuti Patel, Director, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai.)

Rajendra Singh

A man, water and a revolution

Rajendra Singh’s message to people is to see the earth like a bank. If you regularly deposit water, you’ll always have some to withdraw. If you are just taking, you will have nothing in your account.

(Contributed by Rajlakshmi Pillai, former sub-editor, OIOP)

Dr. Anil Joshi

He makes the mountains smile

Dr. Anil Joshi set up an organisation that looks into need-based science and technology developments and execution for the mountains. He is rightly called the ‘Mountain Man’ for he makes the mountains smile.

(Contributed by Rajlakshmi Pillai, former sub-editor, OIOP)

Advocate Mahesh Chandra Mehta

Lawyer with a cause

Advocate Mahesh Chandra Mehta, is a practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court since 28 years. He pledged his life for environment and has held the baton to achieve environmental sustenance through the legal route. He is the first Indian lawyer to indulge in legal activism and to show the path on how to protect and safeguard environment.

(Contributed by Sonam Saigal, sub-editor, OIOP)

Anna Hazare

The man behind the change

Anna Hazare, single handedly won the hearts of millions of Indians across the country when he sat on an indefinite fast in New Delhi in 2011. His cry was to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a stringent anti-corruption law, the Jan Lokpal Bill. This septuagenarian made the entire country shout in unison, ‘main bhi anna, tu bhi anna, ab toh saara desh hain anna, (I am anna, you are anna, now the entire country is anna)

(Contributed by Sonam Saigal, sub-editor, OIOP)

Know India Better

Know India Better is on the paradise on earth --- Kashmir, a year-round destination with each season showcasing a different facet of the valley. In ‘How beautiful is my valley’ Gustasp and Jeroo Irani, who are uabashed Kashmir lovers, visit the valley in winter, when snow-cuddled mountains and valleys and half frozen lakes and rivers take centre stage. They cruise on the Dal Lake in colourful shikaras , stroll the famous Mughal Gardens, learn to ski on the slopes of Gulmarg and enjoy the mountain view in pristine Aru and Betab valley, while indulging in local Kashmiri cuisine.

Gustasp and Jeroo are travel companions for whom life is a never-ending journey. Over the last 25 years they have travelled extensively across India and the globe, taking the rough with the smooth; sampling different cultures and cuisines. In the process they have trekked in the Australian Outback, slurped snake soup in Hong Kong, have danced with the Samburus in Africa, stayed with a local family in a Malay village, cracked the Da Vinci Code in Pari. For them, writing and photography are more than just freezing moments of that journey; it’s a passion.

In Face to Face, Shoma Chatterjee has a tête-à-tête with noted English fiction writer Shashi Deshpande who was recently bestowed an award for her contribution to creative fiction by women by Soi (meaning female soulmate), an organisation of women writers in West Bengal founded by Nabaneeta Deb-Sen. Daughter of the renowned Kannada dramatist and Sanskrit scholar Shriranga, Shashi has authored eleven novels, several short story collections, four books for children and one book on essays. She has won many awards including the Sahitya Academy Award and the Padmashri. Shashi talks of her journey as a writer for nearly 45 years.

In Youth Voice, Urvish Paresh Mehta a F. Y. B.Com student at Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, shares his thoughts on “Learning by doing”. Urvish who is also pursuing Chartered Accountancy has a flare for writing, and regularly participates in Inter-Collegiate Debate Competitions. His articles have been published in newspapers and magazines. He follows cricket religiously and dreams of living in a ‘happier India’.

In the General section, the spotlight is on the future of the AAP. In the article Will Aam Aadmi Party survive as a National Party?, Prof. P.M. Kamath uncovers the AAP by looking at its strengths and weakness and puts forward a valid argument of whether or not the party will be a national player.

The writer is a former Professor of Politics, University of Bombay. Currently, he is Hon. Director, VPM’s Centre for International Studies (Regd.) and adjunct Professor, Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal University.

While pointing out that India-US bilateral relationship is too vital for both sides to allow incidents such as the recent Devyani Khobragade episode to vitiate the atmosphere, Dr. B. Ramesh Babu, in ‘Khobragade episode triggers a much needed correction’ contends that the archaic legacy of diplomatic immunities between the nations need a critical re-evaluation and re-tooling in tune with the transformational changes sweeping the world in the era of globalisation.

Dr. B. Ramesh Babu is a specialist in International Relations and American Politics and Foreign Policy. He is currently scholar in residence, Foundation for Democratic Reforms, a think tank and advocacy group based in Hyderabad. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Hyderabad. Formerly he was the Sir Pherozeshah Mehta Professor and Head of the Department of Civics and Politics at the then University of Bombay.

In the first in our series on Indian classical dance, noted dancer and academic, Dr. Kanak Rele classifies the various dance styles and explains the meaning of the many techniques used to convey a theme, mood or idea in this time-space art.

She is the Director, Nalanda Dance Research Centre.

In Gems from the past, B.M.N. Murthy writes on Navigation in India. He explores the navigation expertise in ancient India and says that the social taboo that existed against crossing seven seas raised from a myth without any scriptural sanction.

The writer, a retired chief Engineer from the Life Insurance Corporation of India, is a prolific writer. He writes regularly on Indian heritage, tradition, Vedic wisdom, etc. If you wish to be on his mailing list, contact him at bmnmurty@gmail.com