Location: A forgotten hamlet near Dhamtari district, Chhattisgarh.
Name: Kanta Bai, 54 years old. No education. No fame. But her voice shook a corrupt system.
For decades, her village didn’t exist on paper. No ration. No road. No school. The nearest health center was 12 kilometers away and reaching it meant walking barefoot through forest paths that turned into rivers during the monsoon.
Kanta Bai had never seen a government office, but she saw enough pain to question it.
One Child. One Death.
In 2017, a toddler in her hamlet died of malaria. The government had said their area had been “covered under the mosquito net distribution scheme.” But not one net had reached them.
While others mourned, Kanta walked.
She walked 12 kilometers to the nearest panchayat, barefoot, carrying a clay pot with the names of 42 children scratched onto it children who had no access to health care, food, or clean water.
She didn’t give a speech. She simply kept the pot in front of the Block Officer and said:
“Ee matki mein hamre bachpan band hai. Unke liye jawab chahiye.”
(This pot carries our stolen childhoods. We need answers.)
What She Did Next Changed Everything
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She learned how to file an RTI from a local NGO volunteer.
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Filed over 19 RTIs – on ration, health, teacher vacancies, NREGA.
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Got government records that proved crores were sanctioned — but nothing reached them.
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Started a ‘Kagaz Ki Choupal’ (Paper Assembly), where villagers read out RTI replies publicly under a neem tree.
In 2 years:
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A health center was opened.
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A mud road was built.
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27 families got ration cards.
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Most importantly fear was replaced by awareness.
No Award. No Camera. No Credits.
Kanta Bai still lives in her small mud house. She doesn’t use WhatsApp, doesn’t know YouTube, and never stepped into a studio or Parliament. But she gave her people a voice and taught them to demand answers.
“Sach bolne se darr lagta tha… ab chup rehne mein darr lagta hai.”
(Earlier, I was afraid to speak the truth. Now, I’m afraid of staying silent.)
Because change doesn’t always roar.
Sometimes, it walks quietly… barefoot… carrying a pot full of hope.
