The price they pay
Irom Chanu Sharmila
Age: 47
Activity: Fast against AFSPA
Irom Sharmila Chanu, a political activist from Manipur, fasted 16 years against the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) in the north-east. She started her fast in 2000 after 10 civilians were shot down at Malom in Manipur, in an episode which is called the ‘Malom Massacre’. During her fast, she was arrested multiple times on charges of committing suicide and met her mother only once. She gradually became an icon of civilian resistance and her resolve attracted the attention of several human rights bodies around the world. She ended her fast in 2016 and announced that she would form her party and contest elections. She formed the People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance and contested from two Assembly constituencies. However, she received only 90 votes, the lowest among five candidates. Soon after the defeat, she married her British partner Desmond Anthony Bellarnine Coutinho and was blessed with twin daughters this year.
Vijay Gopal
Age: 30
Activity: Social causes across different areas
30-year-old Vijay Gopal, a Hyderabad-based activist and the president of Forum Against Corruption NGO has been ceaselessly working towards causes that have a direct impact on the common man. Sacrificing social life with family and friends is no easy matter. Add irregular and long working hours, and it seems to be extremely difficult to stay on the path. Vijay says he constantly reminds himself of the number of people affected by the issue, and the number of people who will be helped once the issue is resolved.
A notable victory during his journey was the abolition of parking charges levied by managements of malls, multiplexes, etc., resulting in free parking across these establishments in the state. His other achievements include – making restaurant chain Paradise and DMart to stop selling branded bags, regulating the fee structure of degree colleges, making Inox Movies at Kachiguda to start screening the movie as per the time mentioned on the ticket (earlier, they used to play it after 15 to 20 minutes of ads), among others. “An issue very close to my heart which I worked on for about three years is that police personnel do not work as per the norms of specific hours in a day, or have a week off, or avail overtime. This is slavery. Every police station is operating at only 40% availability of police force. We will be filing a PIL in the Supreme Court against abolishing this,” adds Vijay.
Chinmayi Sripaada
Age: 34
Activity: Prominent voice of India’s MeToo movement
Chinmayi, who has excelled as a singer and voice artiste in the South Indian film industry for more than a decade, has been at the forefront of India’s MeToo movement, which began last year. She highlighted many victims’ claims of sexual harassment, primarily in the Indian music and film industry. She also accused prominent lyricist Vairamuthu of sexual harassment in a series of tweets. In addition, she also underscored claims made by individuals against OS Thyagarajan, Raghu Dixit, Mandolin U Rajesh, playback singer Karthik, and several other Carnatic musicians.
Though Vairamuthu denied the allegations with a statement on Twitter, several victims continued to call out his name, with Chinmayi posting more accounts from people, at great personal and professional cost. Soon enough, she was unceremoniously terminated from the Tamil Nadu dubbing union, which cited the non-payment of ‘subscription fees’ for two years. This effectively meant that she could no longer dub in Tamil films. The singer was then asked to pay a fee of `1.5 lakh and tender an apology letter if she wanted to be reinstated into the Tamil Nadu Dubbing union. Chinmayi went to court and as a response to her plea, got an interim stay on her ban, and later, an extension of the stay. Unperturbed by all the negativity, she continues to mount resistance against social media vitriol and patriarchy, and speak out for issues that matter to women across the country.
tomic existence of the populace is next to impossible given the world around is witnessing political unrest, forcible accession of land, oppression of those belonging to lower castes, sidelining minorities, violation of human rights, mob lynching, deaths of sanitation workers, and many more issues that have eaten the socio-cultural fabric, thanks to the distribution of power in wrong hands and their ignorant worshippers. As India celebrates its 73rd Independence Day, we take a look at several activists from the country who put everything on stake, some of them even their lives, to attempt to wipe out the evil practices and customs. A few have succeeded in getting their mission(s) accomplished. We bring to you the profiles of some of these individuals, remembering them and the need to continue what they were/are fighting for.
Gauri Lankesh
Age: 55 Death: September 5, 2017, shot dead
Activity: Journalist-activist who stood up against right wing fundamentalists, oppression of women, and caste-based divide.The assassination of 55-year-old Gauri Lankesh at her Bangalore home in 2017 by unidentified assailants was similar to those of Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar and MM Kalburgi which signifies what they stood for looked threatening for the modus operandi of the right wing fundamentalists holding positions of power. The editor of Gauri Lankesh Patrike, she would severely criticise right wing political ideologies. Way back in 2003, she stood up against the saffornisation of Sufi dargah at Baba Budan Giri, Karnataka.
She also demanded a ban on groups involved in communal activities in Mangalore. She vehemently opposed the caste system and supported Perumal Murugan, an author belonging to the lower caste who was targeted by right-wing Hindu groups for depicting Niyoga practice in his book. She was known for her left-wing ideologies. Trouble started when she accused three BJP leaders of cheating and fraud. She was charged with defamation and was dragged in court cases. After her murder, a collection of her essays, journalistic pieces and write-ups on her by others were compiled and released in the book ‘The Way I See It’. Malyalam writer Paul Zacharia sums it up in the introduction of the book: “Gauri’s death also marks a decisive turning point in the nation’s battle against Fascism”.
MM Kalburgi
Age: 76 Death: August 30, 2015, shot dead
Activity: Vehemently opposing blind superstitions
Being a voice of reason was the only crime that MM Kalburgi had done, which led to his death. Not only was this linguistic scholar ostracised for his progressive takes on the Lingayat community of Karnataka but also had to endure a police complaint for “hurting religious sentiments” by speaking against blind superstitions. He was shot dead in Dharwad district at his residence. MM Kalburgi was a scholar in his field – a Vachana sahitya (Vachana literature) scholar and an academic who served as the vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi.
He was a noted epigraphist of Kannada, and received the National Sahitya Akademi Award in 2006 for a collection of his research articles. Kalburgi was first accused of derogatory comments in his book ‘Marga 1’, by the Lingayat Community, about the founder of the community Basava and his wife. Kalburgi, being a man of intellect, relied on historical records to make the claims that he had in his book. He however ended up recanting his statements “to save his and his family’s life”. In June 2014, Kalburgi addressed a seminar on Anti-Superstition Bill in Bangalore and cited a narrator in his book where he as a child urinated on idols checking to see if there would be divine retribution. This led to protests and Kalburgi saw red flags. After receiving special protection, he had them removed in August 2015. Later, two men posing as his students entered his home and gunned him down point blank. His murderers are still on the loose, despite the sketches of the two suspects being released to the public.
Tenzin Tsundue
Age: 44
Activity: Poet-author, an activist for the freedom of Tibet from China
A published author of four books, 44-year-old Tenzin Tsundue lives in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. He’s known to wear a blazing red headband which, he has sworn to not take off till Tibet becomes independent from Chinese occupation. He was voted among one of the 50 most stylish men in India by international lifestyle magazine Elle. He was born on a roadside in Himachal Pradesh where his parents, after being forced to leave Tibet, worked as construction labourers. As a young child, he stayed in refugee camps with his family in Karnataka.
He studied in Dharamshala, Mumbai and Chennai. He published his debut book of poems ‘Crossing the Border’ while he was still pursuing a post graduation degree from Mumbai University. One of his powerful lines reads as: I sit on my island-nation bed / and watch my country in flood, / notes on freedom, / memoirs of my prison days. He has been an activist since he was a student. He gained spotlight in 2002 when he went up a scaffolding opposite a hotel in Mumbai where Zhu Rongji, Premier of China, was staying. Tenzin was shouting while holding the banner which read: ‘Free Tibet: China, Get Out’. He again received attention from the world in 2005 when he repeated it while Chinese President Hu Jintao came to Bangalore. He was slapped with a travel ban. The activist continues to write and demand freedom for Tibet.
Narendra Dabholkar
Age: 67 Death: August 20, 2013, shot dead
Activity: Fought against superstition, and stood for the rights of Dalits
A rationalist through and through, Narendra Dabholkar had no fear. He knew the risk of the work he did and yet never seeked protection. A medical doctor by profession, he moved on to activism after 12 years of service in the 1980s. He believed in social justice and fought for inclusion and equality for Dalits. He fought actively against the Indian caste system and caste-based violence. His goal in life eventually turned to eradicating religious superstitions, particularly those leading to human suffering. He criticised the country’s “godmen”, self-styled Hindu ascetics who claim to perform miracles and have many followers.
He formed many groups, committees, and campaigns that worked for social equality. An author of numerous books and as a person who spoke at over 3,000 gatherings against superstitions was fighting against the system which claimed that his suggestions would adversely affect the Hindu culture. His efforts to get the anti-superstition law enacted in Maharashtra went in vain several times. Although political parties led by religion claimed that he was anti-religion, he stood his ground stating that in nowhere in the Bill is there a mention of God or religion. Despite his repeated efforts over years, the Bill hadn’t been discussed in the state assembly. Post his death in December 2013, the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Ordinance was finally passed, albeit with 29 amendments.
Arunachalam Muruganantham
Age: 57
Activity: Awareness about menstrual hygiene
Arunachalam Muruganantham, whose life has been immortalised in the movie Pad Man, invented a low cost sanitary pad-making machine. When he saw his wife using dirty rags for her menstrual cycle, Arunachalam decided that there should be sanitary pads that can be afforded by women from all classes. Initially, his wife and sisters used to be his guinea pigs, but when they refused, the relentless inventor tried his innovations on himself with the help of animal blood.
The ‘Pad Man’ has campaigned tirelessly, raising awareness about unhygienic menstruation practices in rural India, and now his machine manufactures sanitary pads that cost less than a third of the commercial ones. Arunachalam has not only enabled thousands of women to work during their menstrual cycle, but has also provided employment to women in his pad-making factories. He has delivered lectures in many reputed institutions, including the Harvard University, and many short films have been made on his life.
Bezwada Wilson
Age: 52
Activity: Eradication of manual scavenging
National Convenor of Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), 52-year-old Bezwada Wilson has been campaigning for the eradication of manual scavenging since 1993. Founded in 1994, SKA’s goal is to end manual scavenging and rehabilitate those involved in the act. Along the way, the organisation has helped in directly changing the lives of thousands of people, who are now working as shopkeepers, milk vendors, etc. Wilson’s decades-long, steady resolve to fight manual scavenging stems from the fact that he experienced it from close quarters. His father worked as a safai karamchari, and upon learning what he did for a living, Wilson reportedly contemplated suicide.
Later, he resolved to dedicate his life to the cause of ending the inhuman practice. The recipient of Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2016, Wilson and SKA have indeed, come a long way. Numbering over 15 lakh in 1996, the manual scavengers in the country have come down to a little over fifty thousand in 2018. Despite Parliament outlawing the practice in 1993, manual scavenging takes place in many parts of the country. Wilson’s aim is to continue the fight till the number becomes zero, with all of them being employed in something better than cleaning up the excreta of others.