Chandra Shekhar Aazad features on TIME's list of 'emerging leaders'
Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad has been featured in the TIME magazine's annual list of 100 "emerging leaders who are shaping the world." The TIME100 Next, published on Wednesday, highlights influential leaders from around the world across different walks of life - including artists, leaders, phenoms, advocates, and innovators. Besides Aazad, five Indian-origin personalities are also part of the list.
TIME recognizes Aazad's contribution for justice
The US-based magazine noted how Aazad-led Bhim Army runs schools to help "Dalits escape poverty through education." The organization "practices a distinct brand of assertiveness, sweeping into villages on loud motorbikes to protect victims of caste-based violence," it further said. It also recognized how the Bhim Army had campaigned for justice after the gang-rape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh last year.
The five Indian-origin persons on the list
The five Indian-origin people who made it to the list are Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer in the UK; Vijaya Gadde, Twitter's top lawyer; Apoorva Mehta, founder of Instacart; Dr. Shikha Gupta, executive director of the non-profit Get us PPE; Upsolve co-founder Rohan Pavuluri.
Rishi Sunak
In a span of around one year, Sunak rose from "an unknown junior minister in the British government" to the "benevolent face of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic," the magazine wrote. Notably, he was chosen to lead the government's Treasury in February 2020. The report, however, also pointed out that Sunak has received widespread criticism for advocating early relaxation of lockdown rules.
Vijaya Gadde
Gadde, Twitter's head of policy, as TIME notes, was the one who had informed the company's CEO Jack Dorsey that former US President Donald Trump had been suspended from the platform following the January 6 Capitol attack. "Gadde's influence is slowly turning the company into one that sees free speech not as sacrosanct—but as just one human right among many (sic)," the report says.
Apoorva Mehta
Mehta is the 34-year-old founder and CEO of Instacart, a grocery pick-up and delivery service based in the United States that gained unprecedented popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown. The company also raised more than $500 million in venture-capital funding last year. "The smartphone is the supermarket of the future," says Mehta, adding, "We are going to help co-create that."
Dr. Shikha Gupta
Dr. Shikha Gupta, the executive director of the non-government organization Get us PPE, has helped in distributing more than 6.5 million PPE kits to frontline workers across the United States thus far. "She held no title other than doctor and citizen. But when she and her colleagues saw a need—and a hashtag—they met the moment and took action," TIME said of Dr. Gupta.
Rohan Pavuluri
About Pavuluri, TIME notes that his non-profit Upsolve has helped relieve more than $300 million in debt. Upsolve offers a free online tool to help users fill out bankruptcy forms on their own. "We have found a way to use technology to address a civil rights injustice at scale," Pavuluri was quoted as saying by the magazine.
