Location: Solapur District, Maharashtra
Occupation: Auto Rickshaw Driver
Mission: Free rides to education, truth through RTI
Prakash Jadhav is not a journalist. He’s not an IAS officer. He doesn’t even have a college degree. But he carries something far more powerful a deep sense of duty to society.
By day, he drives an auto rickshaw in the small town of Barshi in Solapur district. But what makes him remarkable is what he does in between rides.
Free Rides for Education
Every morning, Prakash sets aside two hours to pick up and drop off underprivileged children to their government schools for free. “Education should never be stopped because of ₹10 or ₹20,” he says. His passengers? Over 15 children from slum colonies whose parents can’t afford a school bus.
He even buys them notebooks or umbrellas if donations fall short which he collects from local shops quietly, without fanfare.
RTI Activist in Disguise
But Prakash didn’t stop at just transportation. When his area suffered water shortages and the local councillor ignored repeated complaints, Prakash filed an RTI guided by a youth volunteer group.
That RTI exposed a ₹7 lakh misused water supply fund.
Since then, he’s filed 27 RTIs about garbage contracts, ration shop irregularities, and even poor school facilities. “I might not read English newspapers,” he laughs, “but I can still ask questions that matter.”
Recognition from the People
Though the government never gave him a medal, his auto now reads “RTI Rickshaw” — and people from nearby villages come to him for help drafting RTI applications.
Children call him “Bhaiya Ji”, and local shopkeepers sometimes cover his fuel costs in gratitude.
Why His Story Matters:
In a time when people wait for others to bring change, Prakash became the change, quietly, without an NGO, without a media mic.
Bharat Aawaz Message:
We salute unsung heroes like Prakash Jadhav.
You don’t need a platform to raise your voice just courage, a conscience, and compassion.
If a rickshaw driver can file RTIs, protect the right to education, and question misuse of public funds, what’s stopping the rest of us?
