Kiran Bedi not only in the close quarters but also the realm of the entire nation is known as a leading advisor, admired and loved by many in India. She was born on June 9,1949 in Punjab and created a history by joining the elite Indian Police Service in 1972, the first woman in India to do so. But her long association with the police service did not convert her to a heartless, brutal human being. On the contrary, her humane and fearless approach has contributed greatly to innumerable innovative policing and prison reforms. It is her glaring contribution to the police administration in India that has earned her the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service as the most celebrated police officer . This very award is also called the Nobel Prize of Asia, the Joseph Beuys Award by a German foundation and the Asia Region Award for Drug Prevention & Control by the International Organization of Good Templars (IOGT) a Norwegian organization.
Apart from her professional contributions , she has also founded two voluntary organizations and also totally guided by her. They are the Navjyoti, which was established in 1988 and India Vision Foundation in 1994, reaching out to thousands of poor children daily for primary education; women for adult literacy; provide vocational training and counseling services in the slums, rural areas and inside the prison apart from treatment for drug addiction. She and her organizations today have been found nationally and internationally recognized, with the latest award being given by the United Nations — the Serge Sotiroff Memorial Award for drug abuse prevention. But nothing has come to her easily. She has had to struggle for every inch. She was born into an extraordinary family with visionary parents, Kiran is the second of four daughters. On her personal level, she has been an Asian Tennis Champion, holds a law degree, has a Doctorate in the field of drug abuse and domestic violence, and is an author and subject of various books and films.
