Speech by Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan at Mumbai University

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan is a physician by training, a public servant by choice, and a democrat by conviction. He joined the IAS in 1980. During his 16 years of public service in various capacities, he had many accomplishments to his credit. He is still remembered fondly by the people of the districts he once worked for. In spite of an impressive personal achievement, Dr. JP’s experience in government convinced him that faulty governance process is the biggest hurdle in India’s path of progress. In order to translate his vision into practical reality, he resigned from the IAS in 1996, and with like-minded citizens formed Lok Satta Movement in 1997. Lok Satta has now emerged as India’s leading civil society initiative for political and governance reforms with wide popular base in Andhra Pradesh.

Personally I think this is one of the best speeches I have ever heard to. The insights Dr. Jayaprakash has into the current political scenario are awesome. JP believes that no politicians are villains. All of us are just caught up in the messed up system. And the solution to this he says is not lesser politics but more politics and better politics. This is the main reason why Lok Satta highly encourages participation of the youth in politics.