The courage of conviction and dedication with which two public-spirited Indians have gone about doing their bit for the country has drawn high praise from the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation of the Philippines. They share the prize with citizens from Laos, Philippines and Myanmar who have rendered service to their societies either in serving the poor or preserving art forms that are also livelihoods.
The Establishment will probably not be pleased with the zealous work of dedicated people who are prone to taking on the system to correct it, but Sanjiv Chaturvedi has shown great courage to be a whistle-blower. His exposes when serving in the forest service threw light on malpractice that denudes the country of its natural wealth. “His exemplary integrity, courage and tenacity” have been commented upon. People like him are most needed if a bloated system of bureaucratic venality is to change.
The charitable work of Anshu Gupta through his NGO, Goonj, is probably easier to understand. The sheer number of poor people means there is tremendous scope for people to devise ways to help them. Anshu has found in old clothes a medium for an empathetic expression of support for the poorest of the poor. Old clothes are the easiest thing to give away and, in times of disaster, are often the first gifts to be spurned or adversely commented upon. But Anshu has found ingenious ways to transform old clothes into useful articles to be sold and the money used to fund the neediest.
