Afroz Alam Sahil, BeyondHeadlines
Malegaon. Every generation needs heroes, some are made by luck, others by media and there are also some who are made by Difficulties.
Now we introduce a hero of new class. The world tried to make him a villain. You google his name and you will find him as a terrorist. You read mainstream media reports about him and you will hate him. But in most adverse circumstances the best of him came out and he proved that he is made of some metal that cannot be melted by mere heat of allegations or torture.
With his belief in law of land and the Almighty God, determination to good cause and dedication towards making things better he made himself what the world around him needed the most.
He was branded as a terrorist and sent to jail. And in Jail he transformed himself into an RTI activist and became an agent of change to fight devil of corruption. Some laws of land landed him in jail and he used other laws of land to make jail a better place to live for thousand of inmates. The more he was tortured the stronger he become. Torture can injure his body not his belief in laws of land.
Now you might be guessing the name of this person. Well his name is Dr. Farog Maqdoomi. You know him as terrorist behind the Malegaon blasts and we introduce him to you as a man who ranked among top ten students, when he passed high school with 92 percent marks, topped Maharashtra among Urdu medium students and earned a gold medal in intermediate examinations, secured seat in 3 MBBS colleges but took admission in BUMS. Got a Diploma in Optometry and degree in Dental Mechanics along with certificate courses in Child Health and Gynecology and is a member of Royal Society of health.
And when he was sent to Arthur Road Jail he filed more than 7oo RTI’s and changed the atmosphere there. It is with his efforts that now any inmate can file RTI without paying fee for information. The Maharashtra State Information Commission ordered that every RTI coming from a jail should be considered an RTI from a Below Poverty Line person as inmates cannot earn.
He completed His master Degree in Jail and opened new ways for many others to Study from Jails. He motivated more than 100 inmates to apply for various courses in IGNOU. He has also trained more than 100 inmates in filing RTI. Beyond Headlines has interviewed him in detail and very soon we will bring it to you. Till then you google headlines about him.
