India Habitat Young Visionary Award
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India Habitat Centre ooooo Voices of the Young Voices of the Young Towards Habitat Young Visionary Award 2008 India Habitat Centre India Habitat Centre is involved in building care, commitment and awareness in the citizenship for issues of common concern; and strives to position the Habitat discourse in the public domain for better governance for framers and consumers of public policy. The essays in this publication constitute the short-listed submissions for the Habitat Young Visionary Award and have therefore been carried verbatim. The views expressed in this publication are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the India Habitat Centre. c India Habitat Centre, 2008 Publisher: India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110003 Telephone: 24682000, 43662001 Fax: 24682010 Email: [email protected] Website: www.indiahabitat.org Designed and produced by: Silverline Communications Email: [email protected] Contents G The Jury & Council of Interjectors G Foreword G The Cambridge Diary - Srilata Sircar, Winner, 2007 ...............................................................11 G To Hongkong via the Habitat Young Visionary Award - Vishal Pulikottil, second Awardee, 2007........................................................................................................13 My Journey From The Classroom To The Parliament G Aadarsh Chunkath - St. Stephen’s College, Delhi..................................................................17 G Aditya N. Prasad - Hansraj College, Delhi.............................................................................22 G Appu E. Suresh - St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.......................................................................28 G Jyothsna Elizabeth Verghese - Jesus & Mary College, New Delhi.......................................... 32 G Karan Nagpal - St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.........................................................................36 G L. Gokulahasan - Loyola College, Chennai..............................................................................41 G Meghna Brahmachari - St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.............................................................45 G Neha Chaturvedi - Lady Shriram College, New Delhi.............................................................49 G Rasaal Dwivedi - National Institute of Technology, Raipur.......................................................53 G Rahul Saikia - St. Edmund College, Shillong..........................................................................57 G Saahil Chauhan - Hindu College, Delhi..................................................................................61 G Sarah Cyriac - St. Stephen’s College, Delhi...........................................................................66 G Sayan Ganguli - Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai........................................................71 G mRd”kZ vferkHk - fnYyh dkWyst vkWQ bathfu;fjax.....................................................................75 G Vishes Kothari - St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.........................................................................81 G Xyna Elizabeth Prasad - Women’s Christian College, Chennai...............................................86 The Jury The Jury Council of Interjectors Semi-Finals Finals Prof. Purushottam Aggarwal Mr. Abbas Ali Baig Mr. Nikhil Mirchandani Member, Union Public Service Commission Former Indian Cricketer MD, National Geographic Channel of India & Former Chairperson, Centre of Indian Languages, SLL & CS, Mr. J. K. Dadoo Mr. Lakhan Mehrotra Jawaharlal Nehru University Secretary (Environment), IFS (Retd), Former Ambassador to China & Government of Delhi Sri Lanka Prof. Dinesh Singh Director of South Campus, Prof. Hari Gautam Ms. Renuka Narayanan Delhi University Former Chairman, Renowned Author University Grants Commission Mr. Rajiv Mehrotra Ms. Sonia Jabbar Managing Trustee, PSBT Well known Journalist Mr. Pankaj Pachauri Mr. Sanjiv Kaura Sr. Editor, NDTV Activist and one of the Finalist of Lead India from Delhi Dr. Dilip Simeon Senior Research Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library Name of the finalists Rahul Saikia II Year Geography Honours St. Edmund College, Shillong Saahil Chauhan II Year, Political Science Honours Hindu College, Delhi Sayan Ganguli 7th Semester, Metallurgical Engineering IIT, Chennai Utkarsh Amitabh III year, BE Mechanical Engineering Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi Vishes Kothari I year, Physics Honours St. Stephen’s College, Delhi Foreword The Habitat Young Visionary Award, began as India Habitat Centre’s initiative to connect public discourse to the aspirations of the undergraduates in the country, who were beginning to weave their personal dreams and what they would do for this world, or do to their world. The award carries a fully funded summer programme at Cambridge University. This course content is flexible and enables the winner to get perspectives on areas of his interest and feel and participate in the thinking and living process of a University with a great academic and social profile. In the four years of this initiative, the journey has been interesting and informative. The screening process for selecting the award winner begins with an evaluation of the statements of vision sent by the participants. The fifteen qualifiers then have to articulate and defend their vision before a panel of eminent judges. The five finalists then compete for the award before another panel of judges drawn from public life. In the last two years, the NATGEO joined us in this partnership. Their support has been invaluable in taking the message of the Young Visionary Award to every corner of the country. They have also added an additional award of an internship with NATGEO at Hongkong. In a sense, the Habitat Young Visionary Award has been well received, for its opportunity as well as for the linkage with East and West for our young undergraduates competing this year. Through this initiative, we hope that the youth has an opportunity to connect with an experience of value for the horizons and frontiers they would extend and reach. Raj Liberhan Director India Habitat Centre My Journey From the Classroom to the Parliament 10 V O I C E S O F G T H E G Y O U N G - 2 0 0 8 Srilata Sircar The Cambridge Diary My Journey From the Classroom to the Parliament hen I first saw the poster for the this, the biggest prize of all, that has been Habitat Young Visionary Award brought to us by India Habitat Centre. This is a W2007, I thought it was some kind unique concept that has the power to harness I do not know what I of a practical joke or a Wodehousean prank. the best in today’s youth. From being just an enjoyed more - the Summer School at Cambridge just for having a incentive for writing an essay, it has now become “vision”? It sounded a bit other worldly. But as the defining moment of my college life that not stimulating academic time has proved, this truly is an out of the world only made me think but also brought out the challenge of sitting opportunity. In the words of Montek Singh socially sensitive and responsible adult in me. My Ahluwalia, the chief guest for the final round, days in Cambridge have been the best learning in a Cambridge “ours is a disgruntled generation. There is a lot experience of my life. Once again it was an University classroom that we are unhappy about and a lot more that opportunity to interact with people of my can be set right, a lot that needs to be set right”. generation, this time from all over the world. I or the sheer joy of At the semi final stage, I came to realise the do not know what I enjoyed more - the exploring the by- power of this platform. There were people of stimulating academic challenge of sitting in a my age from all over the country, each with a Cambridge University classroom or the sheer joy lanes that Lord Byron different set of concerns and a different set of of exploring the by-lanes that Lord Byron and and James Stuart Mill solutions. They were all visionaries in their own James Stuart Mill have walked down. The rights. To be able to air your dissatisfaction and ambience, the ethos and the heritage of a place have walked down. voice your opinion is a rare privilege, and it is like Cambridge cannot be recreated in words. V O I C E S G O F T H E G Y O U N G - 2 0 0 8 11 With her punts, her bridges, the Shakespeare Mr. Liberhan for this wonderful opportunity plays in the college gardens and the that I hope will continue to engage more magnificent library (bigger than Rashtrapati and more students. Thank you for giving Bhawan), Cambridge is paradise for both the me a vision. This has been the most humbling Thanks to India footloose traveller and the knowledge-thirsty and yet the most inspiring experience student. And thanks to India Habitat Centre, of my life. Habitat Centre, all all that it takes to get there is a sensitive mind that it takes to get and some productive imagination. Thank you Winner, 2007 there is a sensitive mind and some productive imagination. My Journey From the Classroom to the Parliament 12 V O I C E S O F G T H E G Y O U N G - 2 0 0 8 Vishal Pulikottil To Hongkong via the Habitat Young Visionary Award My Journey From the Classroom to the Parliament t seems like yesterday. I was about to leave passions. The days went by quickly as I filled my for college when I got the call and was told days with endless, heated debates and late nights Ithat I was among the fifteen semi-finalists of researching and before long the day came