It is rare to find an idea that is
floated, to transcend the dream stage and become a reality within no time. I
remember what the South Korean Electronics giant, LG Electronics’ world-wide
Chairman, Kim once told me in an interview: “Everyone has ideas from ordinary
to brilliant. Not everyone is able to translate them into action. Those who
succeed in translating their ideas into reality are the heroes at the end of
the day.”
This kept ringing in my ears when I
looked at the success of the NGO, Prime Point Foundation, its editorial arm,
PreSense, and the team that propelled the Sansad Ratna Awards into an
unparalleled position in polity. It was the initiative of an idea floated by
the then President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, “why not honour the peoples’
representatives for the good work they do for their voters, constituencies and
public at large?”
Dr Kalam had a point. The public in
general seemed to have a wrong notion about parliamentarians as people who
never bothered about their constituencies or voters, once they were elected
into the Parliament. Many doubted their integrity too. Indian films – be they
Hindi, Tamil or Telugu – only reinforce these ideas about the politicians on
the celluloid screen, for private profit through box office. However, it is
probably true for only a miniscule section of politicians. A large majority of
politicians work hard for their constituencies.
So, it was no mean task when a small
group of people from the Prime Point Foundation, present there with Dr Kalam,
began working on that seed of an idea from Dr Kalam, racking their brains on
how to implement such a gigantic scheme against all odds.
Things started falling in place
slowly. The PRS India helped with the data on the parliamentarians’ performance
in terms of raising questions, participation in discussions and debates. Then
came the process of selection based on the PRS data. The PRS data served as a
valuable reference point to select the candidates on merit. Over the initial
years, the first among the award winners were experienced politicians and
parliamentarians, viz. Sarvashri Anandrao Adsul of the Shiv Sena party, Arjun
Ram Meghwal and Hansraj Ahir of the Bharatiya Janatha Party. Shri Adsul is the
leader of his political party in the parliament, and both Shri Meghwal and Shri
Ahir have since become Ministers of State for Finance and Home respectively.
The three senior Parliamentarians
then became the jury for selection of future award winners among the
Parliamentarians. It is a matter of great pride to note that the process of
selection of the candidates by the jury, based on the PRS data, is completely
transparent with credibility attributed to it. Thus, Prime Point Foundation
became the pioneer in the implementation of this unique awards scheme that
recognised performing Parliamentarians.
It was soon felt that the Sansad
Ratna Awards needed a co-partner of national stature, and a venue of pre-eminence
to make the Sansad Ratna Awards more noticeable at the national level, and to
enthuse the younger lot of parliamentarians to set higher benchmarks in
performance in both the Houses of Parliament.
IIT Madras, which now ranks as the
best engineering institution in the country and the second best as an
institution of excellence after the Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru, was
more than willing to partner Prime Point Foundation in this initiative. There
was no looking back thereafter, and the Foundation has mastered the art of
organisation, protocol and other issues connected with a big event.
From a mere presentation of awards’
ceremony, the event also became a platform for meaningful discussions where
eminent politicians, journalists and celebrities from various spheres gathered
to discuss issues of governance, democracy and the politics. There were at
least two sessions of panel discussions, one focusing on national issues and
the other at a regional level governing the state.
The Sansad Ratna Awards has
successfully grown from an idea into an institution of credibility, integrity
and strength, where the civil society recognises the people’s representatives
who do good work for the people at large in a democratic state. In 2010, it was
an idea. By 2017, more than 50 Members of Parliament over the span of the past
seven years, have been honoured for their good work. It is now a matter of time
that the Sansad Ratna Awards will break national barriers, and gain
international recognition for its founders, the Prime Point Foundation.
By
TN Ashok, Editorial Advisor, PreSense
0 comments:
Post a Comment