Whistleblower Sanjiv Chaturvedi, Anshu Gupta win Ramon Magsaysay Award

New Delhi, July 29

Whistleblower Indian Forest Officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, who was removed from the post of Chief Vigilance officer at the AIIMS, and founder of NGO Goonj Anshu Gupta are the two Indians selected for this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Three others who have been selected for the award include Kommaly Chanthavong from Laos, Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa from Philippines and Kyaw Thu from Myanmar, the board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) announced.

Forty-year-old Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service officer and currently the deputy secretary of AIIMS, has been selected for the award under the 'Emergent Leadership' category for his "exemplary integrity, courage and tenacity in uncompromisingly exposing and painstakingly exposing corruption in public office"

In his reaction to announcement of the award, Chaturvedi, said the recognitiion was a "strong morale booster" for honest officers and added that he was able to "survive" only because of an "independent judiciary".

Chaturvedi said he was hugely disappointed with the PMO and that he had taken action in a number of graft cases allegedly involving "powerful" people, getting inspiration from the Prime Minister's slogans like 'na khaunga, na khane dunga' (neither will I take bribe, nor will I allow anyone to take bribe).

"There should be a zero tolerance to corruption and not against honest officers. I am hugely disappointed with the functioning of PMO as I worked with policy of zero tolerance as espoused by the Prime Minister. I took this message to heart and took considerable personal risks to break corruption in AIIMS," he said.

Chaturvedi, who has been transferred 12 times in the last five years, had taken on land sharks during his stint in Haryana government. He said that although he had sent documentary proof to the PMO of irregularities in AIIMS, no action was taken against those involved: in fact, the harassment only increased.

Announcing the award, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) also credited Chaturvedi for his "resolute crafting of programme and system improvements to ensure that government honourably serves the people of India."

The Foundation said that Chaturvedi is being recognised for “his exemplary integrity, courage and tenacity in uncompromisingly exposing and painstakingly investigating corruption in public office, and his resolute crafting of program and system improvements to ensure that government honourably serves the people of India.”

Gupta, who left his corporate job to start Goonj in 1999, is being recognised for “his creative vision in transforming the culture of giving in India, his enterprising leadership in treating cloth as a sustainable development resource for the poor, and in reminding the world that true giving always respects and preserves human dignity.”

Established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia’s highest honour.

It celebrates the memory and leadership example of the third Philippine President after whom the award is named, and is given every year to individuals or organisations in Asia who manifest the same selfless service and transformative influence that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.

The 2015 Magsaysay awardees join the community of 307 other Magsaysay laureates who have received Asia’s highest honour till date.

This year’s Magsaysay Award winners will each receive a certificate, a medallion bearing the likeness of the late President, and a cash prize. They will be formally conferred the Magsaysay Award on August 31 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, social activist and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, social activist Aruna Roy are among other Indians who have received the award in recent years. — PTI