The real Kiran Bedi

Growing up, our generation saw Kiran Bedi as a willful,formidable public figure - India's first lady police officer who towed Indira Gandhi's car from a no-parking zone !!! The media never tried to balance this lop-sided perception nor did the great lady herself. But then, concern for public perceptions was never a priority, she had mountains to scale and lives to change. So our generation grew up never realising the full scope of her wisdom and sagacity as is evident from her transformation of the Tihar Jail during her term.


A rivetting account of Tihar's reality pre-Bedi can be read  here


It takes a rare spirit to even perceive, let alone implement the steps Kiranji took at Tihar. Turning around hardened criminals, drug addicts and the like who were infact running gangster operations in collusion with the staff ... Her approach is a far cry from the tough woman, daredevil rebel image that she was annointed with by the press . By tackling the rampant drug abuse within Tihar she went for the jugular. Few realise how big a part drugs play in churning criminals from the poorest sections of our society. She enlisted help from reputed NGO's and left no stone upturned in the detoxification of her wards. But her love offensive is what struck the final nail in the coffins of the prison demons.


She made hardened murderers, gangsters and rapists celebrate Rakhi in addition to every single religious festival. A smart move that bolstered their self-esteem and put them in touch with their humanity and divinity, reminding them that are citizens like the rest of us.  She turned revengeful, blood-thirsty criminals into Zen afficianados by introducing them to Vipassana. She was recently quoted as admitting that it was Meditation that turned such endemically negative humans around.  How many of us can even imagine a murderer cross-legged on a mat in silence ?


If there is a more holistic way to turn around the darkest rung of society this was it. This offers us a glimpse into Kiran Bedi, a nurturing woman and mother. No man would have accomplished with the toughest control at Tihar that Kiranji's feminine approach did. And yet so important a study in reform and social bettterment is hardly ever remembered by us when we react with judgemental disdian at the crimes and criminals around us. If there is anything that can destroy negativity conclusively at it's roots and arrest it's spread it's not punishment or control but genuine, sincere healing. 


And Light bursts forth from the darkest hearts.