ASIM SARODE

Up against a system which locks up people and forgets. Asim Sarode is fighting a lone battle to ensure their basic human rights.

He has withstood the anger of police and jail officials, threats from hired goons and organised mafia in the sex industry. For 34-year-old activist-lawyer Asim Sarode, these are common ‘‘occupational hazards’’ that he faces while fighting for human rights or providing legal aid to people with HIV. Assisted by eight youngsters who are part of the Human Rights and Law Defenders — an arm of the Sahayog Trust founded by his father Sarode demonstrates a relentless zeal in helping those who find gaining access to justice difficult and daunting.

 

Intervening in cases of human rights violations, extending legal aid to the poor and knocking on the doors of human rights commissions form the core of his activities. Sarode logged his most spectacular victory when, on September 7, he secured the release of a labourer, Armogam Kounder, who spent 11 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. In 1995, Kounder, who hails from Tirupatur near Chennai and spoke only Tamil, was falsely implicated by the police in a rape-cum-murder case of a six-year-old girl at Andheri. He was convicted in 2000 and handed out a life term. 

AND QUIET FLOWS THE KALI BEIN

The Kali Bein too used to be a river. Guru Nanak bathed in it everyday for 15 years until one day, having surfaced from the river; he felt a deep churning and disappeared into the forests for three days. When he returned, he was ready to lay the foundations of Sikhism. In that time, the Kali Bein was alive. Then one day, in dustrialisation killed it.

The holy river in Sultanpur Lodi, a little distance away from Jalandhar, went on a rapid degeneration spiral in the 1960s. The river battled effluents and garbage, it battled mankind’s disrespect and it battled the apathy of administration In the ’90s it lost the fight. By then, Nanak’s river had turned into a gutter no spirit, only squalor.

Those who had watched Kali Bein's miserable capitulation were either without care or hope except one man Balbir Singh Seechewal. A college dropout, Seechewal had already given up the material world for “environmental spiritualism” and was known in the region as ‘Rodda wala Baba’ (Saint of the Roads) for his missionary zeal to make pathways and connect people When he heard of the river’s plight, he volunteered to battle on its behalf.

Hemant Goswami

On October 2, 2008, when the health ministry announced that all public places in India would be smoke-free, Chandigarh didn't have to do a thing to enforce to the new rules. For, it had already bagged the distinction of becoming the first smoke free city in the country more than a year ago. Kicking the butt is never easy but the initiative of one man made all the difference.

Meet Hemant Goswami, whose commitment against tobacco use goes back to a school project he did in 1987. By 2004, Goswami had become a full-time activist. He filed a writ petition as a result of which the High Court ordered the government to follow the tobacco Act in letter and spirit.

In 2005 when the Right to Information Act (RTI) came into force, Hemant decided to use it to make Chandigarh the first smoke-free city. He filed over 300 RTI petitions with all government departments and offices, raising questions about their adherence to tobacco control laws. In a year, more than 1,800 signboards warning people of the health implications of smoking were up in all government offices. Educational institutes too fell in line.

To keep the momentum going, Hemant lobbied with the Chandigarh police which agreed to initiate an enforcement drive as well as train policemen on provisions of the law.

In just a month, compliance crossed 70% and the administration became serious about the ‘Smoke-Free City' initiative. Finally in July 2007, Chandigarh was declared smoke-free.

But Hemant wasn't about to stop. "We were aware that sustaining this effort is going to be a challenge." Since the Government lacked an enforcement mechanism, Hemant formed independent monitoring teams and made sure violations are reported. He sure is determined to smoke them out.