Sunday Celebrity: N. Vaseekaran is active as social activist; as a party president his cudgel is up

Journalist turned Social Activist and political leader is N. Vaseekaran. He is doing useful service to the society with a difference, holds dynamic views and ideas. He has taken up cudgel to cleanse the society, creating awareness and rooting out evils. And so Asian Tribune has selected him for this week’s ‘Sunday Celebrity.”

Vaseekaran met this writer this morning. It was interesting talking to him. His vision is great. The task is good, enormous. Will he be able to mouth or swallow things and follow his ideals? When the whole atmosphere is like that?

Vaseekaran says after 1967 people are gripped with fear and no body comes forward to ask why about happenings of the society with the politicians, officials and the powerful. “Democracy is in danger. Corruption is rampant. Rowdyism rules.”

“Politics has today become the handmaid of the scoundrels. The good and service-minded ones have apprehension and fear to step into politics. Taking advantage of this, the role of politicians is misused by vested interests. Unlike during pre and immediate post independence days when there were service-minded people into politics, the present day politicians step in to make money, money is only their goal by getting elected as MLA or MP; Or Municipal Councilors or any local body members,” Vaseekaran goes on.

“People do not know what is truth, what is good—a gullible lot. To create an awareness and bring true people’s rule, we thought a political party in its perfection is needed—a model political party.” The result was the birth of Vaseekaran’s new political party—Desia Jananayaka Katchi (DJK), of which Vaseekaran is the founder-president and the famous social activist ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy, it Special Advisor.

“If we are successful in our attempt, it will be next liberation of the people. Whereas the first liberation was from the bondage of British rule, this one will be from the clutches of the self-centered politicians. Real power to the people. Democracy is power of the people, by the people and for the people. But what is happening is: power of the politician, by the politician and for the politician,” he goes full throat.

‘Party at people’s door steps’

“Politicians after capturing power, become kings and monarch like. Dishing out some favours and chunks every now and then, the people are silenced, fooled. General public don’t realize they have the powers in their hands. To create awareness is the prime goal of our party, the DJK, the party at peoples’ door steps,” he says.

What is the awareness among the people he is creating? Vaseekaran says he is enlightening the people about the usefulness of Right to Information (RTI) Act. “If you don’t have courage to question openly the politicians, the officials, the written route is there. File as much as RTI you can. This Act is blessing in disguise. Questioning straightens things, brings truth out; or at least it will send fear ripples to the power that be, and they might slow down atrocities.”

Vaseekaran besides is a noted RTI activist and Public Interest litigator. Not only on the political platform he questions injustices, corruption and mistakes of the rulers, he also does it through RTI and PILs.

His noted PIL questioned the digital banners occupying nook and corner of the city. The banner, sometimes 40 to 50 feet tall besides causing hindrance to the pedestrians, becomes reason for accidents on the road. As safety measures are not taken, come rain season it falls on the people, causing deaths and injuries. There is mafia handling this, who are all round players, who give a go-by to the well drafted norms and specifications, the social activist says.

There are so many political parties in Tamil Nadu, and so many leaders, present and past, and all their birthdays and death anniversaries; their functions and thanks-givings bring up huge banners, posters, cut outs and graffiti filling the walls, filing the roads. Not only that, the party flags and festoons; lights and decorations fill the roads

His noted PIL on power thefts by political parties

On top of it the power thefts from the public transformers, by the political parties for the lighting the road ways and for the public meetings, which he questioned in PIL, making the government, Electricity Minister and officials Respondents. He won the case. But still power used to be tapped. Common man is charged high; if he does a violation, he is fined. If his bill payment is delayed, he is exorbitantly fined. And for the all the political violations, the common man suffers power cut for hours together, Vaseekaran charges.

What is interesting in Vaseekaran is he follows and monitors the judgments and Government Orders (G.Os). Whenever it is breached, the active social activist swings into action, sends the order copy to the violators. And if they fail to take note of, he goes for contempt.

Whenever DJK conducts political meeting, they print a line “meeting without power theft.” The party never puts cut outs or fill the walls with graffiti. Of course hand bills are circulated. And meeting will be conducted without hindering traffic, he says.

His another noted PIL was on removal of Wine shop in front of Madras High Court. The rule says within 50 metre of any worship place or educational institution there should not be any TASMAC shop. Arguing himself as party in person, Vaseekaran countered that Law College was in the vicinity, and court was a temple of justice. When the shop argued it was a little beyond 50 metres, he pressed exact 50 metre does not matter, a vicinity is vicinity, and won his case. Two days back the shop was closed.

Noted social activist and ‘PIL King’ Traffic Ramaswamy is his Guru, Philosopher and Guide. When Vaseekaran files his PIL against digital banners, Ramaswamy came to the court to appreciate him and gave his support. Since then their association continues. When Vaseekaran started his political party DJK, he took Traffic Ramaswamy as the Special Advisor of the party. The party unsuccessfully contested the Parliamentary elections last year fielding Ramaswamy from South Madras.

His Media Guild honours to only service-minded

Born in Chennai and bred in Thanjavur, when he came back to live in Chennai, Vaseekaran began his career as a journalist, working for a few small papers. Why as a scribe, he describes: “even as a Plus Two student in Thanjavur, he was running a magazine titled “Sangamam” with his friends in 1986.

In 2001 Vaseekaran started his own magazine titled “Master Report” in Tamil. And it wound up after three years. But before that it had made big exposes like Kanchipuram swamigal. Then he launched his awareness campaigns, giving lectures on moral topics etc. Not filling his bill, Vaseekaran started a political party in 2008.

In the two years after DJK has come into being what he has achieved, he was asked. “We have created awareness about the rights of the people; encouraged questioning spree of the people. And also been building a string of human rights and non-governmental organizations and also individual social activists and service-minded people in the link”

In an effort to encourage the service-minded people, Vaseekaran started an organization called “Media Guild” which honours service to society minded people, social activists and good societal performers. In the past two years the Media Guild has honored 22 such people. This year the function would be held on July.

Gallery – Click on picture to zoom.

- Asian Tribune -