Social worker Indrani Malkani has been commemorated with the Ashoka Fellow, a prestigious honour that is conferred after an arduous process. She talks about it in a candid interview
“When I went for my selection process, I met several other shortlisted candidates who had also done phenomenal work in their respective fields; the experience was quite humbling. I met the candidates during the interview round of the arduous selection process at Bengaluru. I am so overwhelmed by the number of congratulatory messages I received, and it feels good to know that I have so many well-wishers.
The process starts when an existing Ashoka Fellow nominates you. I was nominated by Dr. Subroto Das in Vadodara. When he proposed my name for the fellowship, he mentioned me as a ‘serial innovator’, which is quite apt as this Ashoka fellowship’s title is ‘Ashoka Innovators for the Public’. The title sits well because when I did some introspection, my work during all these years has had a common thread— safety of self and safety of others.
My second round of interview and interaction happened in Mumbai, where the panellists spent three days with me. This was followed by a process involving three to four testimonials that were given for me. Since my motto has always been to work in partnership with the authorities, my testimonials too came from the authorities who have worked with me all these years and who were interviewed later, as part of the process. Apart from this, the panel members get to know the candidate’s personal life; they meet with the candidate’s family and spend a lot of time to understand the candidate better.”
About Indrani Malkani:
She has always believed that there should not be a parallel system for better governance; in fact, people should support the government. If there has to be a change in the system, it can be done only by being a part of it and by strengthening and supporting it. Amongst the various kinds of work that Malkani has done, her idea and execution of the Model School Bus Services steal the show. In 2002, as a mother of a school-going child, Malkani experienced the hassles of the school transport system and realised the urgent need to have an orderly, safe and efficient transportation system for school children. She took the initiative and met with Himanshu Roy, the then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, as well as Meera Isaacs, Principal of The Cathedral And John Connon School. A model bus policy was thus initiated, which included a set of rules, safety measures and more, to be implemented in the school. Few years later, the Model School Bus Services was adopted by the State Government.
About Ashoka Fellowship:
The Ashoka organisation is registered in Washington DC with a presence in all continents. It is one of the largest networks of social entrepreneurs worldwide and has about 3,000 Ashoka Fellows in 70 nations.
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 "Indrani Malkani")
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