MARCH

Point
Out
» VANDANA SHIVA
Environmentalist and womens’ rights activist
Born in India in 1952, Vandana is
one of the Third World’s most
eloquent and passionate voices
on environment, women’s rights,
and sustainable development. She
directs the Research Foundation for
Science, Technology, and Ecology in
New Delhi. She did her Ph.D. on the
foundations of quantum theory. She
gave up her academic career to be an
activist. Vandana Shiva has supported
grassroots organizations in India and
around the world in their struggles against clearcutting of forests,
large-scale dams, the industrialization of aquaculture, and the
invasion of multinational agribusiness. In 1993 she received the
Right Livelihood Award, also known as the alternative Nobel Prize.
» CHHAVI RAJAWAT
Sarpanch, Soda village, Rajasthan
Chhavi Rajawat, is among the
few who left a good corporate
job to work for improving
quality of life and delivery
for poor in villages. She is also the
only woman sarpanch of a village
who has an MBA degree. Rajawat
remains apolitical and is recognized
as the face of changing rural women
in Rajasthan. After becoming the
Sarpanch of the village, she has
implemented several projects such
as rain water harvesting, toilets facilities and public amenities
in villages.Born in Jaipur, she studied at Rishi Valley School in
Andhra Pradesh; Mayo College Girls’ School in Rajasthan and
Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi.
» IROM CHANU SHARMILA
Civil Rights Activist
Irom Chanu Sharmila is a civil rights
activist, who has been fasting for
over 13 years now against Armed
Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958
in Manipur. She resorted to hunger
strike demanding repeal of AFSPA,
on November 2, 2000, after soldiers of
Assam Rifles allegedly killed 10 young
Meitei men in Malom. She is being
forcefully fed through a feeding tube
through he nose. For her conviction,
Irom Chanu Sharmila has earned the
title “Iron Lady of Manipur.”
» KIRAN BEDI
Retd police officer & activist
Kiran Bedi was the first the first
woman to join the Indian Police
Service (IPS) in 1972. She is a
celebrity in India and abroad
over her stand on various issues relating
to policing, prisons and corruption in
public life. During her stint as Inspector
General of Prisons, Tihar Jail, she
instituted a number of reforms in the
management of prison and encouraged
yoga and meditation as detoxification
programme for the inmates. She was
police advisor in the United Nations peacekeeping department,
and has also been honored with UN medal for outstanding service.
In May 2005. Bedi was awarded honorary degree of Doctor of Law
in recognition to her “humanitarian approach to prison reforms
and policing”.
lSPORTS PERSONS
» SAINA NEHWAL
Badminton player, Ranked World No 8
Saina is the first Olympic medal
winner for India in badminton.
She has also won the world junior
badminton title and is ranked
No 8 in the world. Born in Ghaziabad
in Uttar Pradesh and now settled
in Hyderabad, Saina has inspired a
generation of cricket crazy youngsters to
take to badminton. For her remarkable
achievement she was honoured with the
highest sporting award Rajiv Gandhi
Khel Ratna in 2009-2010.
» MC MARY KOM
World Boxing Champion
Born in Kangathei, in
Churachanpur district of
Manipur, Mangte Chungneijang
Mary Kom or MC or Mary Kom
has been World Boxing Champion
for five times and an Olympic medal
winner for India. She is an icon for a
generation of sportspersons, especially
women. After being national and world
champion for so long, she has not lost
the hunger for medals and desire to
perform well in international events. Even after marriage and her
third kid, she was back fighting for a medal kin the Olympics.
22
MARCH 2014