A thought provoking and must read article written by1965 batch IPS (retd.) Sh.Gautam kaul , about the Nobel peace prize & our indifference Since this morning, my spirits are a bit low. I am deeply ashamed. I am ashamed that I had not heard of Kailash Satyarthi. He was given the Nobel Peace Prize sharing with Malala Yousefzai of whom I knew a lot. My ignorance is a double whammy because I had started bragging lately that I knew a lot on many things and aware of a lot of people who were relevant in social life. To top my sadness was the realisation that this good guy was working in Kalkaji, not Thirunelveli: just eight kilometers away from where I live. All this has set me thinking. whether my sources of information were actually wrong sources. Its not only my sources of information but also your sources of information. We all depend on newspapers for our raw knowledge, then TV news, then periodicals and finally our professional circles; for me its my police circle. I look around if my police circle ever helped me to know my world around. I realise , it has not been of any big help. In the Police, we do not talk of improving overselves intellectually, culturally or even professionally. We are only looking for the next Sunday break! Professionally working within the system, one could wreck ones personality as a thinking person. Indeed thinkers in the department are looked at as revolutioneries and violators of corridor peace. That is why Satyarthi was missed by me. But should we in Delhi have been aware of this man. Yes. He was dealing in matters of crimes of the book which are also the responsibility of the local police. He was dealing in child labour, illegal confinement of children, illegal restraint of children, extortion using children as hostages. He was fired upon by the mafia and his colleagues had been killed. He might have sought police help and I doubt if he was provided that, for the system he was fighting would have seen police on the wrong side of the fence. My IPS colleagues are equally at sea. They have not reacted to the news in this website. I do not know if there is a second IPS officers knowing of the work of Kailash Satyarthi, but there is one junior colleague of mine who has dedicated his life to similar work and he is still unsung. He is Amod Kanth who created about three decades ago, the NGO, PRAYAS which today is an all India organisation equal to Bachpan Bachao Andolan, of Satyarthi. In this work Amod is equally alone. at least when it come to help from his police department which he served for another three decades. Infact he is sneered at privately. Today I am contemplating to dump my primary sources of information. Out, will go those newspapers who are heavy in weight and light in information. Out will go all those advertising journalism that sells only high cost mobiles, BMWs, Benz and flat TV screens, but forget the ilk like Satyarthi. I have also to reconsider seeing TV channels that scream they have got 43 percent of the nations eyeballs for covering Modi in New York. Or the channels that stated they covered maximum news. We may need to seek out those regional channels who send their reporters into villages to pick up nuggests of news of exploitation of the poor, or good work of individuals. And there are plenty of such small channels on the cable. Dump the star nites, and the fashion shows. they are a waste of time and electricity in your home. Did you know Kailash Satyathi has no known awards given in India, and has a bushal of the most prestigous awards in human rights and social activism. The GOI did not give him even a Padma Shri medal, and now they will give him a Bharat Ratna? I feel Satyarthi should reject the Bharat Ratna if it comes his way. Even IB has failed to monitor his progress in his field and nudge the governemnt to get his recognition. It may not be their duty, but IB does a lot of snooping on other persons who are of no consequrence otherwise. Dont suggest to me it was all an international conpiracy of CIA, MI5 and others to bring warring parties to the table. One thing still gauls me, This is the company in which Satyarthi and Malala have been placed....Kessinger, Obama persons not known as peaceniks. Well, we cannot be choosers all the time. I am still cursing myself .... Gautam Kaul1965UT
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 07:24:58 +0000
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