23 Rays of Hope

Today my nation India celebrates the 69th republic day. Many would say, a lot of things that is happening around need to make us of our freedom and the status of the country as democratic republic. I detest the politics of hate, and many other instances on which we should be ashamed of. But still, the ray of hope is not completely missing; simple citizens being the beacon of hope in many situations. I would list down a few of them, to be exact 23. I wanted to write 69 of such…But I don’t have enough time today, so atleast one-third of 69 which is 23. Hope this inspires; hope this leads to greater Hope.

1. Over 90 Women achievers of India meeting the President of India recently; it is wonderful to recognize atleast a few of them.
2. One of the most prominent among them is a women coolie (porter), the first in North Western Railway. [It is interesting to contrast such things happening in Rajasthan which is also the place of Padmavat controversy].
3. Madras High Court apologizes to a freedom fighter for the delay in his pension for nearly 38 years [The gesture is a significant one].
4. The recent outburst by 4 senior supreme court judges against the functioning of the top-most court also shows the right to dissent is exercised even in the midst of all struggles.
5. The Bombay High Court today struck down the media gag order passed by Special CBI judge over the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, Tulsiram Prajapati and Kausar Bi. [It is a victory for free press].
6. Triple Talaq Judgement. I feel there is a lot of politics associated with it, still I feel this is a positive judgement for the dignity and rights of Muslim women.
7. A Christian priest in Kerala is invited to give a talk on Belief in God and Family Life during a temple festival. [An amazing example of religious harmony and humanity beyond the differences].
8. I would appreciate those Rajputs who had the courage to condemn the violence in the name of a film called Padmavat.
9. Two recent movies [Padman and Super 30] are a wonderful depictions of the pioneering services of 2 great personalities. The movie also points to important social realities.
10. Teenager Angad Daryani from Mumbai used open-source hardware to come up with a virtual e-reader for the blind, a boat that runs on solar power, an automated gardening system called Garduino and also India’s cheapest 3D printer called Sharkbot. He started his own kit company knowing that kids in India cannot afford expensive DIY kits. Oh yeah, he also dropped out of school.
11. A lot of youngsters entering into serious activism and fighting for the rights of all kinds of people despite all opposition and mud slinging.[I won't dare name them as they are so many].
12. Young engineers from Kerala have built a robot called Bandicoot, which could do the sewage cleaning job. Probably manual scavenging would be a thing of the past soon.
13. Kailash Satyarthi and his work for children's rights. [There are many more people and associations who could be included in this category].
14. Many news anchors, who does their job with utmost neutrality, sincerity and courage. [I hate the other set who are the propagandists of a party or an ideology]
15. Girls of a village in MP who are fighting against the evil practice naming some of them as witches, which affects their social and personal life to a great extend. [It is unimaginable that such things exist even today, but Kudos to those girls (and their friends) who fight against this abominable practice].
16. Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil from Gujarat (who is a gay) has thrown open his palace for the vulnerable sections of the LGBT community.
17. The recent survey by OXFAM international on the increasing rate of inequality in India is a gentle reminder. If we are developing, GDP is growing and economy is on a high rise, then the situation projected by OXFAM is alarming. The report is depressing, but invitation to fight against differentiating structures. #RewardWorkNotWealth
18. Jeevan shalas are the schools run by Narmada Bacchao Andolan in the Narmada Valley, where many of the government schools are not functional. [I have seen it few years before, hope the situation of government schools are better now]. But the schools run by many such organizations are a real hope. [On a personal note, Jesuit run REAP foundation is a great hope for the street children of the slums of Mumbai by providing supplementary classes in more than 200 locations].
19. The work done by Kavitha Krishnan (and many like her) for the rehabilitation and re-integration of sex-trafficked victims into the society is another ray of hope.
20. Another group that is worth mentioning is the group of activists like Anand Patwardhan, Medha Patkar, Ram Puniyani, Arundhati Roy, Jogendra Yadav and many others who fight against all forms of injustice.
21. Armstrong Pamay is an exceptional young IAS officer from Manipur. He built a 100 km long road in a remote hill of Manipur without the government’s help. People came forward and supported him in large numbers and gave shape to the “people’s road” which connects the hill to the rest of the state. He used his own savings and turned to social networking sites to raise funds for the project and is fondly called “miracle man” by the villagers. [Salute to him and all other model bureaucrats].
22. Doctor couple Abhay Bang and Rani Bang’s medical centre in rural Gadchiroli in Maharashtra caters to Adivasis in the region. They also train community health workers to provide home-based neo-natal care, thus reducing the infant mortality rate sufficiently in one of the worst poverty affection regions of the country. [I mentioned one couple, many model doctors are there. We bow before all their service]
23. Most of us destroy forests and Shubhendu Sharma has created more than 75 man-made forests (he is still very young). He considers that forest could be an integral part of the urban existence. He says that you could create in 10 years.

[This is just a randomly selected list.. So forgive me for missing so many important personalities and their initiatives. I hope I have acknowledge the major sources].