Post Your Comment
5 People To Impact Our Thinking in the Last Five Years
Image: Amit Verma
The Unique Geek
Nandan Nilekani could have retired as chairperson of Infosys and devoted his ‘golden years’ to philanthropy and mentorship, like many of his peers in the corporate world. His legacy would have been a good one, if not very remarkable. Instead he chose to take on the role of the chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India, which had the Herculean task of providing a unique identification, or UID, to every one of the 1.2 billion residents of India, the largest scheme of its kind ever attempted. Conceived as a way to efficiently deliver welfare services to those who need them most, Nilekani has described it as the world’s largest anti-corruption programme. The UID has the potential to truly change India. Earlier this year, having delivered the 600 million registrations he had committed to in 2009, Nilekani began his political career for the Congress, declaring his candidacy for the Bangalore South parliamentary constituency.
Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom was a world champion before 2009 (she won her first title in 2002). But thanks to our national obsession with cricket, she, like so many other athletes in other sports, soldiered on unrecognised. As a Manipuri from humble beginnings, as a boxer, and as a woman, she was fighting more than the opponents she faced in the ring. She overcame the odds to be a five-time world champion. And she punched her way into our sight when the 2012 London Olympics were on the horizon, as one of the precious few with a credible chance of a gold medal. At the Games, she fought in a weight category several levels higher than her natural category (women’s boxing at the Olympics has fewer categories than the men’s), but still brought home a bronze medal. At 31, she does not have very many years in the sport left, but don’t count her out of another shot at Olympic glory. Plus there’s her boxing academy, which will ensure that the dimunitive champion will help train more like her, and the Priyanka Chopra-starring biopic which will come out later this year. Yes, we’ll see a lot more of our Mary.
The Secret crusader
Julian Assange and his wikileaks, with their trove of secret documents, showed the world things about the US government that it didn’t want us to know. Wikileaks made its first big splash with the release of footage from a helicopter strike that killed civilians in Baghdad, video that came to be known as ‘Collateral Murder.’ Later releases, some in tandem with media organisations, caused the US government even more embarrassment. While WikiLeaks continues to release documents (they claim to have millions), accusations of rape against Assange saw him seek asylum in the embassy of Ecuador in London, where he has been since June 2012.
The Ordinary Man
In 2009, Arvind Kejriwal was just a former civil servant, albeit one who had won the Magsaysay Award. He first leapt into the national consciousness as one of the supporters (and some say, the brains behind) activist Anna Hazare’s 2011 agitation for the creation of the Lokpal, a national ombudsman to deal with systemic corruption. After parting ways with Hazare, in 2012 he founded the Aam Aadmi Party which, a year later, came second in the Delhi Assembly elections and eventually, and briefly, formed the state government, with Kejriwal as chief minister. Shortly after, he resigned. And the party widened its ambitions, deciding to fight seats across the country in the national elections, with Kejriwal standing from Varanasi, one of the two seats that the BJP’s PM candidate, Narendra Modi, was contesting from. Whatever the results of the elections, Kejriwal has forever turned the political game around, providing an alternative to the monoliths of the Congress and the BJP.
The Whistleblower
Snowden has shown that ordinary citizens with technical skills can, and do, fight back, and even win. And he has opened up the debate on privacy by the very simple mechanism of giving the world more information.
Images: Kom: Getty Images; Assange: Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images; Kejriwal: Getty Images; Snowden: Barton Gellman / Getty Images
Check out our Festive offers upto Rs.1000/- off website prices on subscriptions + Gift card worth Rs 500/- from Eatbetterco.com. Click here to know more.
(This story appears in the 30 May, 2014 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
Comments 57
-
Maqbool#KejriwalFirse Salute for the Honesty AK
on Nov 25, 2014 -
Ankesh
I am proud to support AK sir ..
on Nov 23, 2014 -
Bheeshm Narayan Singh
is Idealistic politics is possible?\'...we all are sceptic on this question. But i\'m sure Arvind Kejriwal will make it possible.
on Nov 6, 2014 -
Rakesh Sinha
Lacs of salute to u Arvind Kejriwal.... You make us proud to be indians
on Oct 29, 2014 -
Sunil
Arvind K great person
on Oct 27, 2014 -
Manjot Singh
We proud of u arvind sir
on Oct 22, 2014 -
Sadhana Pandey
Thanks for this wonderful article
on Jul 12, 2014 -
Nihal Kumar
proud to be arvind sir\'s follower :)
on Jul 12, 2014 -
Pretty
Congrats to Mr. Arvind Kejriwal :)
on Jul 11, 2014 -
Hp
We are proud of you Arvind Sir! India loves you and India needs me! He\'s the greatest blessing to India of this decade, I think. God bless him.
on Jul 9, 2014 -
Manmeet
We are proud of Arvind Kejriwal
on Jul 9, 2014 -
Shamsudeen
Congratulations Arvind kejriwal ji
on Jun 1, 2014 -
Sahil
we proud of u arvind sir.
on May 31, 2014 -
Baljit Boparai Aap
Congratulations Arvind Sir... we are proud of you
on May 31, 2014 -
Raju Shinde
Congratulations Arvind kejrival
on May 31, 2014 -
Dr.a.jagadeesh
Infact IMPACT of our Thinking by some of these doubtful ! Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India
on May 30, 2014 -
Suraj Jha
nilakani doesn\'t impact anyone\'s thinking. How does heading an IT project impact mass thinking. writer please explain.
on May 30, 2014 -
Manoj
Though Nandan Nilekani's was being looked upon highly when he took over his role in the UID project, his association with the Cong gives rise to serious doubts about his intentions for Cong is kown to be 100% corrupt and anyone associated with it will be seen as corrupt too. Besides the UID hasn't been effective and in fact it is a highly dangerous system where it allows the govt to fulfill its malafide acts of misappropriation of public funds by doling out newer subsidies instead of cutting most of those as most of these work against the citizens.
on May 27, 2014 -
Avinash
You are putting Nandan Nilekani\'s name up there with Su Ki and Snowden and Assange? What has he done besides amass assets worth 7710 crore INR? Really? What is his achievement? Did you see the margin of votes he lost by? 285000 i believe is the figure.
on May 26, 2014 -
Ashok Kamboj
I salute Sh AK whatever be final result but he has shown new ways to us. Now everyone is talking about corruption. True son of India
on May 26, 2014 -
Preet
Mr.Avind Kejriwal ..lesson to all of us....life is not to collect money in bank,life is to make difference in the world
on May 26, 2014 -
Ganeshbaskaran
Symbols of dedication and sacrifice.
on May 26, 2014 -
Kapil Nayyar
Arvind Kejriwall is a real life hero of India.
on May 26, 2014 -
Syed
no pun intended..but can i ask about Nandan Nilekani ... Whole UID was to give money to big corporations Like TCS and Infosys. Prove me wrong Forbes. Everyone from the grass root level knew that this kind of mapping is impossible for india and Finallys supreme court rules that its Meaning less for any reson.
on May 26, 2014-
Saka
Are you serious? Have you read its plan at all? Just don\'t go by what politicians talk about it. Don\'t go by our media (which are again paid by political parties) as well. 1. The bidding was one of the cleanest one could see. In fact, to avoid any confusion from Nandan\'s background - he excused himself from selection committee. Infy did not qualify! 2. Execution was transparent. RTI reports are already there to prove a point. Now politians like Mulayam, Lalu, and many more did not want this to come up completely - hence started pushing it back. As this would have reduced their earning sources!
on May 26, 2014
-
-
Manas
What has Forbes been reduced to !! I pity.
on May 26, 2014-
Harpreet
I think honesty is one of the main criteria in this list. Someone who from the last ten years could swear to \"control price hikes\", \"corruption\", and \"bringing black money from Swiss banks\" at least a few hundred times in front of thousands of people, when approves monthly price hikes, doesn\'t do a damn thing about corruption, and oversees 80% rise in black money in Swiss banks, his name could come in Guiness Book of world records for breaking maximum number of promises rather than in the most influential persons list.
on Jul 18, 2014
-
-
Ramesh
Kejriwal has awakened crores of Indians who were otherwise had lost all hope.
on May 26, 2014 -
Bharat
mr. arvind kejriwal is man who is trying to give a chance to indians to make their country better to live for a comman man. each n every one must help him and proud of him.
on May 26, 2014 -
Rihit Nath
Wonderful to see Arvind Kejriwal in the list. He surely has rattled the Indian political system since Independence of India. Unfortunately, the Indian political system is so rotten and corrosive that it might need 100s of more like him to change India.
on May 26, 2014-
Sudeep
Yes agreed with u bro @Rihit Nath .. and thats 99 people are One of Us .. so Lets start and chage d nation .. we r Future Of India ... Jai Hind ...
on May 26, 2014
-
-
Seena Joseph
Arvind Kejriwal is a noble soul who awakened Indians from its slumber, he is here to refine the rotten politics and the corrupt system. Indians must be proud of him. May God bless him.
on May 26, 2014 -
Jaykumar Vitthal Hankare
India needs \"ARVIND KEJRIWAL\",Not \"BJP\" or \"CONGRESS\"
on May 26, 2014 -
Robin George B
Great Work by Mr Arwind. His struggle to sweep India clean without corruption will never go in vain. He has ignited the flame in the hearts of many especially those who believed firmly that India would never see a change in politics. He is the man to bring substantive governance...
on May 26, 2014 -
Dhiren
Only that person falls who try, the person who never tries he never falls. Arvind awoke India from sleep. We know He did gr8 work and he will continue in future also. At least we are talking about clean politics. We are hoping now from NDA government \"Achhe Din Aa Gaye hain\". Lets hope politicians will think about this great country and about its citizens. This NDA government should think about education system, corrupt bureaucrats, Police reform and Judgment procedure because they are root cause of all our problems.
on May 26, 2014 -
Sumit C.
Jan lokpal movement and beginning of AK era are the best development that has happened in India after independence. Though he lost the recent election due to highly -ve image created by media and powerful persons but I still hope India can\'t afford to loose him. His failure will india back to traditional politics of gunda Raj.
on May 26, 2014 -
Bill Cromer
When the truth comes out about the gun-site video Julian Assange titled “Collateral Murder, he will go down in history as one of the biggest con artists of all time. Fact is, the sixteen men in that open courtyard, the Reuters employees, van driver and so-called rescuers, were all complicit in an effort to attack and destroy an American Humvee (Hotel 2/6). Then publish photographs of the event to support the insurgent war effort. Anyone willing to analyze events on the ground that day using a satellite map of the area, route of the photographers shown on the Reuters map imposed onto this satellite map, and complete transcript from the video cannot possible come to any other conclusion,
on May 25, 2014 -
Rajeev
Arvind - Is simply fantastic. If people of India understand and accept this \'alternate\' way of politics i.e. AAP , rather than \'substitute\' i.e. BJP/Congress - India will change forever.
on May 25, 2014-
Abraham
I have another view.... With 70 crore poverty... 8000 children under-5 die EACH DAY of malnutrition... Lakhs of tons of food rot in FCI warehouse... Women get raped in hundreds of thousands... Many elected become millionaires... And, few others become billionaires... That\'s what 96% people voted for this time decisively... PERHAPS, THAT\'S WHAT THEY WANT... ARVIND KEJRIWAL and AAP are fighting for just under 4%... It\'s a battle, much ahead, ahead by over a century of time... Media says ARVIND\'S a drama... Our people don\'t perceive the torture, his parents, wife
on May 27, 2014
-
-
Johnson, Perth Australia
Big Salute to Aravindji. In fact BJP and Modi have been the beneficiaries of his efforts this time, ending a full-stop to Congres\'s corrupt rule!
on May 25, 2014 -
Jaycee
A million salutes for Mr. Arvind Kegriwal. Our India needs such personalities who has a clean thinking - thoughtful of the poor. He is an eye-opener, but the people of India are blind to the truth. I know Mr. Kejriwal is a courageous and a brave man. He may not have a 56\" size chest but he has a clean and a strong heart. May God bless him and protect him always!
on May 25, 2014 -
Abraham
The things that 2014 India General Elections proved.... The greatest problem in India... CORRUPTION! The only party that promised to fight corruption... AAP - Aam Aadmi Party! The votes AAP got across India... 4% ! TOI : "Every third newly-elected MP has criminal background Every third of the newly-elected member of Lok Sabha has a criminal background, an analysis of the disclosures they have made in their affidavits has shown. http://toi.in/FS-jga " 96% votes didn't go to the party fighting corruption..... WOULDN'T THAT MEAN, MOST PEOPLE LIKE CORRUPTION ?
on May 25, 2014-
Sudeep
My friend Abraham ... u know how many candidate Aam admi party have .. those candidate also have Criminal background .. if u dont belive me check on this website .. www.india.sudeepdk.com and www.myneta.info on this website .... One portal is created by me .. and their you can search details of candidate By party name , assets , liability , no of criminal case on thats person ... place where he is fighting election ....... just go and Read details and then tell me If i m wrong .... in loksabha election 2014 ...\" NOTA \" is my party i have elected thats option .... bcoz .. none of candidate i thik deserve my vote .... and i came to this option after i have read all this data and at D End i have Created website on that ..... thanks sudeep.
on May 26, 2014-
Abraham
My dear friend Sudeep ... I never claim to know any data on criminal background... I was just sharing the TOI article Our country deserves what it elected for....
on May 27, 2014
-
Rajesh
@Sudeep, you are right that AAP initially fielded 30% candidates with minor/major charges. So if you only see the numbers AAP is no different that other parties. But... do you know... - Most of the candidates were charged with cases when they were protesting in Kisaan Andolan, Anna Hazare Andolan, etc. - Many are RTI activists on whom defamation cases have been slapped (Arvind Kejriwal himself is in this list) - Yes there were few candidates (around 10) who had some serious charges like murder and rape. Their candidature has been cancelled by AAP (after internal investigation). But, media will only highlight \"30% criminals in AAP\" and not the other side of the coin. (Disclosure: I\'m an AAPtard)
on May 28, 2014
-
-
-
Biswajit Mishra
Very wonderful personality.i love his work
on May 25, 2014 -
Dharmpal Panchal
arivend kejariwal is futer of india we should sport him his effort for indian clean and fare democracy
on May 25, 2014 -
Nadish
Governance change is short term relief, system change is long term requirement. Long live the crusader.
on May 24, 2014 -
Mahmood Khan
Salute to Arvind Kejriwal Sir. for honest
on May 24, 2014 -
Burair
Big salute to Arvind Kejriwal . He has awakened Indians.. Time to change politics . God bless this noble soul!!!
on May 24, 2014 -
Arif Siddiqui
indeed,the contribution made by 5 gentlemen is important great sooner or later the world will acknowledge it. It is said Mr.Neilkeni was defeated by mining mafia in Karnataka and stopped from playing a role in national Politics.
on May 24, 2014 -
Arif Siddiqui
indeed,the contribution made by 5 gentlemen is important great sooner or later the world will acknowledge it. It is said Mr.Neilkeni was defeated by mining mafia in Karnataka and stopped from playing a role in national Politics.
on May 24, 2014 -
Dr Sumit Kapur
Big salute to Arvind Kejriwal . He has awakened Indians.. Time to change politics . God bless this nobel soul !!
on May 24, 2014 -
Sachi Mohanty
I would have thought Mr. Snowden is associated more with the electronic surveillance organization, NSA; though he was associated with the CIA too before his tour of duty with the NSA. And it\'s not about his \'technical skills\' but moral courage. Of course, his specific job responsibilities made him privy to the egregious abuses which prompted him to take the steps that he did.
on May 22, 2014-
Sudeep
agreed but we have belive that ... this man have a guts .. and he showed Real face of NATION Govt to People .. thats y he got support from Hongkong .... and other part or world also ....
on May 27, 2014
-
