Manjunath Shamugam -- A Voice that shall not fade

It is one thing to talk about an issue and another to do something about it. Lip service is the order of the day in our society. All the current talk of standing against corruption sounds too glitzy to be true. Only a select few choose and dare to be the crusaders we badly need. When we get such luminaries of morality and action, we should do whatever we can to start understanding and following them. One such noble human being was Manjunath Shanmugam.

Manjunath Shanmugam was born on February 23rd, 1978. He was the oldest of three siblings and is survived by his parents, a younger brother and sister. His father works retired from BEML in Kolar Gold Fields, a township about 100 km from Bangalore. After finishing his engineering from SJCE Mysore, Manjunath completed his MBA from I.I.M. Lucknow, and graduated in 2003. He joined IOCL during campus placements, and was the first sales officer to manage the Lakhimpur Khiri region of UP – a known hotbed of petroleum adulteration. Manjunath was a terrific singer, full of verve and heart, part of the campus band – ‘3.4’. He was popular for his sincerity, honesty and friendliness. He was murdered on 19th November, 2005 while on duty with IOCL.

This gruesome murder, coming just two years after the assassination of the IES officer Satyendra Dubey, sent a shock wave across his contemporaries. Some of his alumni friends came forward and formed a trust named Manjunath Shanmugam Trust. The trust played a pivotal role in pursuing his murder trial and making sure that the culprits got their dues. It was established on 23 February, 2006. It is an international corporate initiative with an objective of improving governance in Indian public life. It runs a RTI helpline [080-666-00-999] which disseminates information about RTI Act across India.

You must be feeling very sympathetic about Manjunath right now. How good he was, a real brave-heart, one to be admired and followed, and many more such emotions would be niggling you. If you have taken any consideration/oath/pledge towards doing something on the lines of Manjunath, I pray to Almighty that you stick to it for the rest of your life.