“I worked among the poor families in Kalighat... ...along with Mother Teresa's missionaries and it was an eye-opening experience for me”

His work as a social volunteer shaped his thinking and led him to confront the rampant corruption in the government. He quit the IRS and formed an NGO to address people’s grievances. That laid the foundation for the Aam Aadmi Party

- SHWWETA PUNJ

ARVIND KEJRIWAL, 52

Arvind Kejriwal captured the imagina­tion of millions of Indians across the world as he, along with social activist Anna Hazare, raised difficult questions for the government of the day. The year was 2012, and Kejriwal’s stirr­ ing speeches raised pertinent issues like the abuse of power and taxpayers’ money—questions that dominated the national conscience. The movement redefined the spectre of national poli­tics in many ways—a Lutyens outsider, he stormed the Delhi bastion. Eight years on, his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is in its second term in power and has made a place for itself in the national discourse.

Kejriwal’s journey really started when he was 24 and volunteered to work at Mother Teresa’s Missionar­ies of Charity in Calcutta. In an e­mail interview, he writes, “I worked among the poor families in Kalighat.