Kiran Bedi became famous because she was India's first woman IPS officer & because she towed away Indira Gandhi's car, which was parked in a no parking area. She famously spared no traffic offenders & started out (much like most other oficers in India) with a bang. She just happened to be attracting more attention because India had never seen a lady in khaki pants before!
Fame, they say is a difficult, if not tyrannical mistress. While, the impression that she gained as a tough, upright officer stuck, the lady didn't unfortunately, & she slowly but surely changed. The suave, media savvy Kiran Bedi you see today is a far cry from the gushing lady who first came face to face with the still nascent media in India.
Cut to the early 90s. Kiran Bedi was famous. Full stop. Everyone had heard of her & her honesty & the image stuck. Just as you think of Amjad Khan & Gabbar Singh, no matter what! Because Amjad Khan was always Gabbar Singh. She was however none too popular amongst her colleagues & since the Police force is a team & not a one man show or one woman show, she was rightly or wrongly shunted from Delhi to Mizoram.
She was certainly annoyed at the so called 'punishment posting', but put on a brave face & made all the right noises. Her only daughter came along & studied in the local school. However, after she cleared her 12th board exams, Kiran Bedi did the unthinkable. She claimed one of the medical seats meant ONLY for Mizos for her daughter, who I doubt very much, was interested, in the first place.
The Mizos, peaceful people in general, did not this like. As it is since Mizoram has no professional colleges to date, & all the Mizo students together had to compete for only 10 seats distributed all over India, they erupted in anger. They choked the streets & demanded justice. Kiran Bedi, who had taken the peaceful Mizos & her 'sterling' reputation for granted, was astonished & stunned at the riots & the chaos that ensued. So, in true survivor style, she RAN AWAY in the wee hours of one fine morning, without any information to, much less permission from, her superiors!
Kiran Bedi later changed her daughter's name & claimed that her daughter was entitled to the medical seat as she was
However, none of the chaos and riots that broke out in Mizoram found a voice outside it, in those Doordarshan days. Hell, you have to fast for 10 years before people know you're alive, even in the days of 24x7 news right??
Kiran Bedi fled Mizoram, after stirring a hornets nest there & simply refused to go back! Delhi posted her in Tihar jail, which she did improve a lot, & which today, is a huge celebrity center! People don't change, however, & after a few natty skirmishes here & there, lo & behold, madam was demanding that she be made the Commissioner of Delhi because she was the senior most (?) officer & because she was a woman!!! Thank God, they didn't. So, she fled again - this time, by taking voluntary retirement.
Next thing I know, she's hugging Anna Hazare and shouting "Ye Dil Mange No More". Err.... madam, shouldn't WE be saying that?
Good post and very interesting and well-phrased.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right! Last year, the formidable Kiran Bedi claimed reimbursement of her air fare when she visited a city for a seminar. She claimed a much higher amount, although the actual air fare was 75% less, owing to her entitlement. She claimed that the remaining amount was for her NGO. Why didn't she claim the actual air fare? She could have asked for a donation to her NGO separately! And of course she is a part of a "great" revolution.
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