It was in Sunder Nagri, a resettlement colony in North East Delhi, that Arvind Kejriwal gave shape to the two objectives of his political career—taking on corruption and serving the urban poor. About two decades ago, in these congested lanes that he called his karmabhoomi (land of duty), Kejriwal launched an NGO called Parivartan that used the Right to Information Act to expose corruption in the lower levels of government.
He operated out of a one-room office in Sunder Nagri; there was minimal furniture and a small team of youngsters drawn mostly from the area. One of them was Santosh Koli, a chirpy girl who was knifed by the ration mafia in 2005, and who died in a road accident in 2013. Once, Kejriwal, with Koli, had taken a bunch of South Asian journalists—there as part of a UNDP workshop— around Sunder Nagri and enthusiastically briefed them about the work they were doing. It was about exposing corruption and giving the residents of the area the amenities they were entitled to.
Kejriwal had quit the Indian Revenue Service to become a transparency activist and was awarded the Magsaysay award in 2006 for his social work. Soon, he would put together what was to be independent India’s biggest people’s movement—the India Against Corruption campaign—which not only changed the course of politics in the country, but also paved the way for Kejriwal to become part of the system he was railing against.
What is ironic is that, now, the 55-year-old Delhi chief minister, who started his public life as an anti-corruption crusader, finds himself in judicial custody in a graft case. The Enforcement Directorate arrested him on March 21 in connection with alleged corruption in the framing and implementation of Delhi’s excise policy.
This story is from the April 14, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 14, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Trump And The Crisis Of Liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
