![]() Nor was Kalpa completely out of the way of the world it lay close to the border with Tibet, and therefore in the shadow of China. But he was well-informed, constantly listening to the news, alone in his room, holding his heavy transistor radio up close to his ear. It took him to the age of 20 to pass the 9th Standard exam, and the classes he taught for 23 years at Kalpa’s Lower Middle School were junior basic level. He was not an especially educated man, and had barely left Kalpa in his life-staying there, he said, like a frog in a well, content with his work, a good marriage and nine children. The way to help India develop was to vote out the bad and vote in the best, and he would joyfully set the example. ![]() People, he continually said, had a duty to exercise their franchise. And since then he had not missed a single election, whether for the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament), the state legislative assembly or the district panchayat. For he was not only very old, but the first person who had ever cast a vote in independent India. The old man, Shyam Saran Negi, then 97 and quite forgotten, became a household name. ![]() It went viral, drawing three times as many views as one that featured a superstar actor, a glamorous model and a famous cricketer. The video was made in 2014, a general election year, for India’s #PledgeToVote campaign.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |