After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May
Protesting against the selling of drinking water, Amrut, a social worker, is completely silent for the last five years, confident that his silence would soon transform into a thousand cries.
At times silence can be more powerful than a thousand words. Cinema and theatre regularly use this tool to sprinkle the element of drama. In real life, too, we use silence to register protest when we are miffed with somebody. But for how long? Hardly a few minutes or may be hours if the case is too extreme. Bute here is a man who is silent for the last five years' five-and-a- half-years to be precise. Why? Well, he is protesting against the price tag some money minded companies have attached with the drinking water. Water is a basic need of human beings and it must not be sold for profit making, feels 53-year-old Amrut. A post-graduate from Bangalore University, Amrut is on his 'Satyagraha of Silence' since March 1, 2005, protesting against the selling of drinking water.
A few books, one set of cloths, a pen and a writing pad to interact with people around and a shawl that protects him from cold are the total belongings of Amrut alias Ambrose. With no permanent house, he usually sleeps on the road side. And yes, he wears no shoes. But unlike MF Husain' the other famous guy who goes without footwear' he hardly gets to walk on expensive carpets and fancy flooring.
Amrut interacts by writing on a piece of paper and through gestures. His passion is more visible in the latter mode. 'Selling of drinking water is a new phenomenon that these profit mongers' the multi-nationals' invented in the era of globalization. New and unique problems need new and unique ways of protest. The ready made protest models won't work here,' he explains of his way of protest.
He recalls the incident that forced him to take up this struggle five years back. It was a hot Bangalore afternoon. A few labourers at a construction site asked for water from a local resident. But the person refused to give them any water. The poor labourers' pockets did not allow them the luxury of buying bottled water from the nearby shops. Amrut, who was watching all this, came forward and fetched water for them. The incident enraged him enough to launch a protest against the selling of water. 'Water is nature's gift and selling it is a crime. Several local and multi-national companies are minting money through this crime,' he writes.
The passionate social worker hates packaged drinking water so much that if he finds mineral water bottles on the stage in any programme he attends, he does not hesitate in raising voice against it. Once he was even beaten up for this and that too by his own party men. It so happened that a few years after the demise of MD Nanjundaswamy, the leaders of the warring factions of the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha (KRRS) met in Bangalore to discuss the possibilities of a merger. What terribly irked Amrut there was the presence of branded water bottles bought to be served during the meeting. He instantly wrote a placard and displayed it outside the venue, exposing the leaders' real face. (The leaders had promised to wage a resolute struggle against the sale of drinking water just a year ago). 'They brutally assaulted me. I had honestly worked in KRRS for a cause for so many years and this was the way they treated me,' he jots down. He has worked with many other social organisations too. Since 2007, Amrut has intensified his struggle by cutting his food down to one meal a day. He doesn't take even a glass of water till five in the evening! He usually takes his supper at the roadside food venders' in the city or at any farmer's house if he is in the countryside.
Amrut participated in the recently concluded Congress party's padayatra and walked from Bangalore to Bellary barefooted, taking a single meal a day. He became the centre of attraction throughout the walk as the word about him spread. 'I am not a Congressman. I participated in the walk just because they have raised an important issue concerning the ordinary people of the state. For me it was an opportunity to spread awareness about my cause,' writes down an excited Amrut.
Amrut's protest against the anti-begging law was also unique. To register his protest he started begging on the streets of Bangalore. Then he organised his co-beggars and marched to Delhi, begging all through the way, to oppose the law. 'It is the state that has created the circumstances where a section of people is forced to beg. If the government is really concerned about its citizens and is feeling ashamed of having such an inhuman practice on its land, it should address the conditions that have given rise to begging,' he opines.
For the last one year or so, he has started selling revolutionary and progressive books in public programmes, mass protests and demonstrations. He feels that it is not just a means of filling his stomach, but an effective medium of spreading awareness among the people. 'A year back, I was just distributing some progressive literature in front of the Lawyers Bhavan in Bangalore. Some people claiming to be from the Sangh Parivar snatched the papers from me, physically assaulted me and handed me over to the police accusing me of distributing anti-Hindu literature. I took it as a challenge and thenceforth started selling all kinds of revolutionary and progressive books to spread awareness. I sell the books keeping a little profit margin to earn a few bucks for a cup of tea and a roadside meal in the evening,' he conveys with a note of triumph. He is confident that one day his silent protest will translate into thousands of voices for his cause. 'Till then, I will keep it up. I may not be able to see it in my lifetime, but the future generations will surely do,' he concludes.
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Protesting against the selling of drinking water, Amrut, a social worker, is completely silent for the last five years, confident that his silence would soon transform into a thousand cries.
At times silence can be more powerful than a thousand words. Cinema and theatre regularly use this tool to sprinkle the element of drama. In real life, too, we use silence to register protest when we are miffed with somebody. But for how long? Hardly a few minutes or may be hours if the case is too extreme. Bute here is a man who is silent for the last five years' five-and-a- half-years to be precise. Why? Well, he is protesting against the price tag some money minded companies have attached with the drinking water. Water is a basic need of human beings and it must not be sold for profit making, feels 53-year-old Amrut. A post-graduate from Bangalore University, Amrut is on his 'Satyagraha of Silence' since March 1, 2005, protesting against the selling of drinking water.
A few books, one set of cloths, a pen and a writing pad to interact with people around and a shawl that protects him from cold are the total belongings of Amrut alias Ambrose. With no permanent house, he usually sleeps on the road side. And yes, he wears no shoes. But unlike MF Husain' the other famous guy who goes without footwear' he hardly gets to walk on expensive carpets and fancy flooring.
Amrut interacts by writing on a piece of paper and through gestures. His passion is more visible in the latter mode. 'Selling of drinking water is a new phenomenon that these profit mongers' the multi-nationals' invented in the era of globalization. New and unique problems need new and unique ways of protest. The ready made protest models won't work here,' he explains of his way of protest.
He recalls the incident that forced him to take up this struggle five years back. It was a hot Bangalore afternoon. A few labourers at a construction site asked for water from a local resident. But the person refused to give them any water. The poor labourers' pockets did not allow them the luxury of buying bottled water from the nearby shops. Amrut, who was watching all this, came forward and fetched water for them. The incident enraged him enough to launch a protest against the selling of water. 'Water is nature's gift and selling it is a crime. Several local and multi-national companies are minting money through this crime,' he writes.
The passionate social worker hates packaged drinking water so much that if he finds mineral water bottles on the stage in any programme he attends, he does not hesitate in raising voice against it. Once he was even beaten up for this and that too by his own party men. It so happened that a few years after the demise of MD Nanjundaswamy, the leaders of the warring factions of the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha (KRRS) met in Bangalore to discuss the possibilities of a merger. What terribly irked Amrut there was the presence of branded water bottles bought to be served during the meeting. He instantly wrote a placard and displayed it outside the venue, exposing the leaders' real face. (The leaders had promised to wage a resolute struggle against the sale of drinking water just a year ago). 'They brutally assaulted me. I had honestly worked in KRRS for a cause for so many years and this was the way they treated me,' he jots down. He has worked with many other social organisations too. Since 2007, Amrut has intensified his struggle by cutting his food down to one meal a day. He doesn't take even a glass of water till five in the evening! He usually takes his supper at the roadside food venders' in the city or at any farmer's house if he is in the countryside.
Amrut participated in the recently concluded Congress party's padayatra and walked from Bangalore to Bellary barefooted, taking a single meal a day. He became the centre of attraction throughout the walk as the word about him spread. 'I am not a Congressman. I participated in the walk just because they have raised an important issue concerning the ordinary people of the state. For me it was an opportunity to spread awareness about my cause,' writes down an excited Amrut.
Amrut's protest against the anti-begging law was also unique. To register his protest he started begging on the streets of Bangalore. Then he organised his co-beggars and marched to Delhi, begging all through the way, to oppose the law. 'It is the state that has created the circumstances where a section of people is forced to beg. If the government is really concerned about its citizens and is feeling ashamed of having such an inhuman practice on its land, it should address the conditions that have given rise to begging,' he opines.
For the last one year or so, he has started selling revolutionary and progressive books in public programmes, mass protests and demonstrations. He feels that it is not just a means of filling his stomach, but an effective medium of spreading awareness among the people. 'A year back, I was just distributing some progressive literature in front of the Lawyers Bhavan in Bangalore. Some people claiming to be from the Sangh Parivar snatched the papers from me, physically assaulted me and handed me over to the police accusing me of distributing anti-Hindu literature. I took it as a challenge and thenceforth started selling all kinds of revolutionary and progressive books to spread awareness. I sell the books keeping a little profit margin to earn a few bucks for a cup of tea and a roadside meal in the evening,' he conveys with a note of triumph. He is confident that one day his silent protest will translate into thousands of voices for his cause. 'Till then, I will keep it up. I may not be able to see it in my lifetime, but the future generations will surely do,' he concludes.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Marches Ahead in B-School Rankings...
IIPM in sync with the best of the business world.....
IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board
An array of unconventional career options
Indian universities and higher education institutes seem to be caught in a time warp teaching things
Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU): Students' Unions can not be banned
Best Colleges for Vocational Courses in India
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