Kiran Bedi

By Siddharth Iyer

Writing this book came into my mind when I was selected under a special scholarship programme to represent India as its cultural ambassador to Japan in 2009. And this was the time when my association with Dr. Kiran Bedi began and I became her 'Dear Student'. The very purpose of connecting with Dr. Bedi was because I wanted to place forward an example in the front of Japanese people that how an Indian woman can emerge out to be one of the most dedicated and phenomenal change agents in the country. Since I was representing India, and Indian culture, I felt the need of sharing something about Dr. Kiran Bedi, who had been my guide & inspiration. This book is all about my experience and reminiscences with Dr. Bedi and how with her blessings she inspired me to address a huge gathering of 1500 people at the famous Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, comprising students and teachers from 7 Asian countries and included local Japanese school/university students, and delegates from the japanese Embassy. There are leaders who show direction to the others, and there are followers who tread the path. When Kiran Bedi became the first Indian lady IPS officer way back in 1972, getting on to the pedestal of success was a pipe dream for most Indian women. Kiran Bedi's success story inspired many into believing that the fairer sex could achieve what they wanted only if they followed their dream with an iron will. Dr. Kiran Bedi rose to her present position through sheer hard work, dedication and a commitment to the objectives she had set for herself. This book brings out success and failure she battled her way upward. This will have a significant influence on young minds, on how they can also succeed if they really try hard. On a larger scale that is also the message for the country. This book is a tribute to the legendary Dr. Kiran Bedi from her student who through her story, wants to inspire everyone, especially the youths of this country, that nothing is impossible if one's mission is undertaken with discipline and dedication.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diamond Books
• Release date: Sep 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9789352613823

Book preview

Introduction

Serving humanity even beyond the responsibilities of one’s duty calls for special human beings. Kiran Bedi is one of them. As a woman and as an officer, her compassion, concern and total commitment towards social issues, whether in the fields of drug control or prison administration, have earned her unusual distinction. This is the saga of India’s first and highest ranked woman police officer in the Indian police Service- who pioneered a humane methods of policing- marked by willpower, devotion to duty, innovation, compassion, and above all, a never say die attitude.

Chosen as ‘India’s most admired woman’, Dr. Kiran Bedi is a highly recognized and decorated police officer, who has won several accolades, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service. Her prestigious Magsaysay Award stems from her path breaking reform while she was posted as Inspector General Prisons in Tihar Jail (Delhi) from 1993 to 1995. She influenced several decisions of the Indian Police Service, particularly in the areas of narcotics control, traffic management, and VIP security.

Throughout her career, Kiran Bedi (who joined the Indian Police Service in 1972) dared to remain innovative to meet the challenges posed by her different assignment: be it policing, prison management, or imparting training. She won the admiration and respect of millions, both outside and within the country.

She all along kept on facing obstacles put forward by strong forces. But she remained unmoved and faced her opponents and their machinations resolutely. Her professional accomplishments are legendary. Her crime prevention strategies were reformative. Her work style was courageously unsparing for even the high and mighty.

She has worked with the United Nations as the Police Advisor to the Secretary General, in the Department of Peace Keeping Operations. She has represented India at the United Nations, and in international forums on crime prevention, drug trafficking, and abuse, prison reforms, women’s issues and peacekeeping operations.

She is the author of 5 books and a regular columnist with leading newspapers, dailies and magazines. She is also a very sought after speaker on various social, professional and leadership issues at both national and international forums.

She is the founder of two nonprofit organizations: Navjyoti and India Vision Foundation. She closely steers these organizations, which reach out to over 11,000 beneficiaries every day. These both NGOs provide drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation, residential schooling for children of prisoners, in addition to education, training, counselling, and health care to the urban and rural poor.

She appears as a judge in a highly acclaimed TV show Aap Ki Kachehri (Your Court), which helps individuals and families to get a fair resolution to their problems and disputes. She is also an author, a columnist and a radio show host. She is also the key subject of a bio-documentary film called Yes, Madam Sir, based on her life which is an award winning film internationally.

1. Childhood Days

On 9th day of June 1949, a girl child was born as the second of four daughters to Prakash and Prem Lata Peshawaria, in Amritsar, Punjab. She was named Kiran (ray). She is a widely recognized as a woman with a great sense of mission, someone who will struggle against any obstacles in order to chase her dreams.

She was born into a predominantly patriarchal joint family with paternal roots in Peshawar (now in Pakistan) but which latter settled in Amritsar. She comes from a landed family and was the first in her family to enter the government service, let alone the police. Born just after Partition, in the wake of Indian Independence, Kiran was raised in a family with strong nationalistic feelings. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru were revered figures for her family.

Kiran grew up in a large, two-storey house with multiple rooms and extensive grounds and stables owned by her paternal grandparents. She, her parents, and her siblings lived on the ground floor; her paternal grandparents lived upstairs. She was aware of how special her life was compared to the majority of Indian children.

Kiran’s mixed Hindu-Sikh family was not an overly religious one. The children were brought up in both traditions. Within the family, she participated in various moral discussions which would teach her the importance of tolerance, sacrifice, and reliance.

The evening meal at her home was the time when each daughter had the opportunity to share. The talk would move from challenge to challenge, in both school and sports. Her parents would listen attentively and pose questions. The sisters would ask each other how they could have done more, or better. Such debates were great morale boosters. They taught Kiran to assert herself in the service of right behaviour and always respect the rights of others.

Kiran’s parents never looked upon their daughters as ‘liabilities’. They provided their offspring with maximum opportunities for the best education, for the best sports facilities and for all possible creative activities so that they emerged self-assured, self-confident, and self-dependent. They were never looked upon as girls for whom husbands had to be found, but as children who would grow up and carve out careers for themselves. Her father would often explain to them how Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had always urged woman to come forward and how he envisaged the role of women in the future of India. And Kiran’s mother would warn her daughters about the dangers of being dependent on others. ‘Self-reliance’ was her ‘mantra of life’, which she instilled in all her children and Kiran followed this mantra as the gospel