It is hard not to get energized by supercop, mother, social worker and TV anchor Kiran Bedi (born 9 June, 1949). She is a bundle of energy and is always in a hurry. Her diminutive frame is deceptive. She is a woman of conviction and resilience to do what she has set out to. She has always attracted admirers and critics in equal measure.Kiran Bedi was the first woman to join the Indian Police Service way back in 1972. Never a darling of the establishment, they have seen her challenging the status quo and disrupting the existing order. Her peers detest her celebrity cop status and say she seeks the spotlight wherever she goes. When the Beijing Olympics torch was to pass through India, she boycotted the torch run and kicked up a storm. Yet, there are an equal number of people who see in her all what the Police force could and should be – honest, approachable and reliable.Kiran has always been in the limelight but for different reasons. Sometimes as a tennis champ, then as the first woman IPS officer, then for taking on the establishment and sometimes for the accolades and brickbats. She first shot into the national media very early in her career when she singlehandedly took on a sword brandishing mob. She once again came into the glare of the media when she ordered the car of Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, to be towed away. The press named her “Crane” Bedi. She writes columns in the national press and hosts a TV show Aap Ki Kacheri – where she dispenses her verdict over numerous domestic spats.She was awarded the Magsaysay award in 1994 for her work as the Inspector General of Prisons, Tihar Jail (Delhi) (1993-1995), for initiating a number of prison reforms and initiating several innovative programs yoga, vipassana meditation and literacy programs for the inmates of the jail. She also ensured that jailed mothers could keep children born in prison for five years, with their schooling and healthcare guaranteed. In December 2007, she took voluntary retirementand quit the Police force after being denied her next promotion. She launched her own e-portal, www.saferindia.com, where anyone who is refused help at a police station can write in to seek redressal.She has since been working with two NGOs – Navajyoti (which literally means New Enlightenment), set up in 1987, and India Vision Foundation, set up in 1994, which were established by her with the objectives of improving the condition of the drug addicts and the poor people. Her energy and impatience is contagious. “I want to die with my boots on. I dread being dependent on others!”, she says.She is the subject of a documentary Yes Madam, Sir produced and directed by Australian film-maker Megan Doneman. The documentary has won the USD 100,000 Best Documentary award and the USD 2500 Fund for Santa Barbara’s “Social Justice Award” at the festival.I caught up with her at her home in New Delhi which was teeming with volunteers and employees of her NGOs. Over a cup of chai, we taught about what makes her tick.
Abhijit Bhaduri: In a country where Police and corruption have become synonymous, what do you see is the way out? Kiran Bedi: The Police has to build trust. It is this trust that gets passed down from generation to generation. When you see the Police applying the law selectively, the common person feels let down. The law needs to be applied uniformly regardless of the person being impacted. The rich and powerful have a different set of laws and get preferential treatment. They have are immune to the consequences of breaking the law. This situation can never generate trust. The leaders of the country must vow to build back the confidence of the common person in the country’s administration in a time-bound manner.Abhijit: How could you personally stay away from the temptation of corruption?Kiran Bedi: I believed that I would always do the right thing and worry about the consequences later. I came into the Police force having been a tennis champ. Then with each assignment, the deeds built a track record on which my reputation was built. Then there was a time when my reputation preceded me in every new assignment. People would know that I was incorruptible and that I would not spare anyone who broke the law – no matter who they were.Abhijit: Where does your conviction come from?Kiran Bedi: From my parents. Being a tennis champ (national and Asian tennis champion) the game taught me to win in an environment that was transparent. You learn to play before the spectators and win. That gives you the confidence to do your best always. If you do the right thing, then the worst that can happen in a Government job is that you may get transferred to another location. That’s the worst someone could do. They can’t sack you for doing the right thing.
Abhijit: You won the Magsaysay award and many others. What do they mean to you?Kiran Bedi: I feel good momentarily and then continue working.Abhijit: In 2002 you were voted as India’s most admired woman and fifth amongst all Indians. What is it like being a role model?Kiran Bedi: You have to always self audit. You cannot remain inconsistent in your thoughts and actions. It is a responsibility that you bear. So even if I think of taking a vacation, I just think of my responsibility and turn it away.Abhijit: Your NGOs reach out to about 10, 000 people everyday. What do you see as the goal that you personally wish to accomplish through these two organizations?Kiran Bedi: My father taught me to believe in the saying you can do it, no matter what. I would like these two NGOs to help 20,000 people every day and be able to run on their own withoutmy being there.Abhijit: You are the subject of the documentary by Helen Mirren called Yes Madam, Sir. What happens if the documentary wins the Oscar?Kiran Bedi: It would be a dream come true. I want the world to know my parents. Through the documentary the world will know who they were and why we as daughters (four of us) were ahead of our times. It is such parents (like them) who produce daughters like me. (That is, if u like my kind).So if you appreciate what I stand for, you will know what brought that about.
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