Here’s Everything You Need To Know About 2015 Magsaysay Award Winners From India

Activist Anshu Gupta and whistle-blower Sanjiv Chaturvedi are the two Indians among the five people who won the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2015 on Wednesday. Other three winners were activist Kommaly Chanthavong from Laos, actor Kyaw Thu of Myanmar and dancer Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa from Philippines.

But, if you don’t know much about Anshu Gupta and Sanjiv Chaturvedi and the reason they were honoured with this prestigious award, these points might interest you. Here is everything you need to know about 2015 Magsaysay Award winning Indians, Anshu Gupta and Sanjiv Chaturvedi.

1. Anshu Gupta

Introduction

The main aim of Anshu Gupta is to facilitate the economic bridge between wealthy India and impoverished & rural India. Magsaysay Award recognises his creative vision in transforming the culture of giving in India, his enterprising leadership in treating cloth as a sustainable development resource for the poor, and in reminding the world that true giving always respects and preserves human dignity.

The New Idea

Anshu’s dream, Goonj was set up in 1999. Who thought that a humble effort which started with collecting clothes from house, relatives and friends and distributing them on the roads in the chilly winter nights of Delhi would come such a long way. Anshu has not only organised an effective distribution channel but also built a a nationwide movement to encourage and manage a massive transfer of used clothes, household goods etc.

He basically decided to convert the mass stocks of everyday necessities—from clothes to medicines—lying as idle surplus in the homes of the rich into an economic resource for the country. He has affected thousands of lives in need of basic survival.

The Problem

We have a population over 1 billion people, out of which 35% live below the poverty line. The majority of this population is based in villages and fights a dily battle for survival. A new struggle rises everyday pertaining to basic necessitates like clothes, medicine, basic cooking utensils, school books etc.

On the other hand, the urban rich are the only beneficiaries of India’s economic growth. The country’s biggest economic boom is fueled by the purchasing power of the rich. These two Indias (wealthy & impoverished) exist side by side and the economic growth of first hasn’t yet benefited the other.

The Strategy

Anshu decided to focus on

• Logistics management
• Public Education
• Demand specific sourcing
• Creative collaboration with other citizen group

As clothes are essential and yet unaffordable for the poor, he decided to focus on that to when he launched Goonj. He also initiated ‘Vastradaan’ which was a nationwide clothes donation movement.

The Person

He is the eldest among his four siblings and came from a middle class family with limited resources. His upbringing taught him to make the most of the little. He studied Journalism along with Advertising & Public Relations from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, and then Masters in Economics.

When he was a graduate, he traveled to Uttarkashi in 1991 to help the relief efforts after an earthquake and that was the first time he was exposed to the scale of problem of rural masses and that affected him deeply. He left his job in 1998 to give maximum dedication to the cause and started Goonj.

Fact Source 1, 2

2. Sanjiv Chaturvedi

Introduction

The main aim of Sanjiv Chaturvedi is to root out the corruption form the nation. His main focus has been the public sector in order to make India a corruption free nation. In 2015, the media reported that AAP was planning to appoint Chaturvedi as the chief of Delhi anti-corruption bureau.

The New Idea

He has been awarded for “his exemplary integrity, courage and tenacity in uncompromisingly exposing and painstakingly investigating corruption in public office, and his resolute crafting of program and system improvements to ensure that government honorably serves the people of India.”

The Problem

Political corruption is worst in India. The major cause of concern is that corruption is weakening the political body and damaging the supreme importance of the law governing the society. Nowadays politics is only for criminals and criminals are meant to be in politics. Elections in many parts of the country have become associated with a host of criminal activities.

The Strategy

He believes that any struggle for justice doesn’t go unnoticed. He is called ‘the whistle-blower’ because he is known for digging out the cased of corruption and exposing it to media & concerned authorities. One such case was Sanjeev Tomar case in which accused committed suicide because of an anti-corruption inquiry against him.

The Person

Sanjiv Chaturvedi is an Indian Forest Service officer and currently the deputy secretary of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He also served as a Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at AIIMS during 2012-14.

Fact Source

Congratulations to both of them and a big thank-you for making our country proud. 🙂

Cover Image Source 1, 2