Meet Alok Sagar, a visibly unassuming old man whom you may encounter while visiting the densely vegetated swathes of Betula and Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh.
Sagar, an old resident of New Delhi, had wandered into the wilderness of Betul and Hoshangabad with a god gifted backbone to serve the underprivileged and marginalized classes in those areas. You may wonder why we used the noun ‘backbone’ in describing the mettle of this white-bearded shabby-looking old vagabond.
Here’s why . . .
While postgraduates or postdoctoral fellows, especially from the top schools abroad, may choose to remain aloof from marginalized sects, Sagar—a PhD from Houston University in Texas—is an exception.
Sagar had bagged a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Delhi IIT and a master’s from the same institute before he left to Texas. After the PhD, he returned to his alma mater to a huge student following which included the incumbent governor of the Reserve Bank of India Raghuram Rajan.
Nearly 34 years ago in 1982, this selfless man resigned from his post as an IIT professor and has since been working untiringly for the betterment of the tribal folks in Madhya Pradesh.
He single-handedly planted more than 50,000 trees in Betul district. The eco-conscious citizen also spreads his message of a greener world by collecting and distributing seeds among tribal people at a reasonable rate.
His work with the Shramik Adiwasi Sangathan eventually saw him take on the role of an activist working towards securing tribes their rights.
Sagar’s neighbours and even the tribal people he worked with were unaware of his identity of being a renowned academician. During the assembly elections in the district, when Sagar was unable to verify his background, the Betul district administration asked him to leave. And that is when Sagar revealed his true identity.
“Unlike the baseless fight over degrees of politicians, Sagar has set an example of being a true social worker,” Hindustan Times quoted Sagar’s accomplice Anurag Modi.
“In India, people are facing so many problems, but people are busy proving their intelligence by showing their degrees rather than serving people,” he added.
