Shivam Shankar Singh: Behind the scenes of the great Indian political theatre

ia campaign #WeTheChangeNow. "If there's public awareness first, then we can improve the environment. It will happen if people are aware of climate-friendly behaviours and actions. This is why I want to work in the space of public awareness and mobilization," she said in an interview.

It was lack of environmental and climate awareness in her village coupled with pollution that prompted Hina to take action, and work on the lines of climate change. "I was also the first girl from my village to travel to Lucknow and be part of the Climate Agenda initiative in 2018. I learned about air pollution, the air quality index, and understood that fighting climate change is our collective responsibility and not just of the government," she said in an interview.

At a young age Hina understood that lack of education can lead to other issues, including pollution, improper disposal and drainage system. She saw the ponds in her village filled with garbage and drains overflowing. She knew education was the only route to make people aware of the issues. But her biggest challenge was convincing elders to send their children to school. With most children employed in stone quarries and football factory, parents were happy that they were lending a helping hand financially, and weren't too keen to send their kids to school.

That's when she joined hands with her teacher and visited people in the village, convincing children to not drop out. Moreover, she became an active member of a local NGO, N Block, and started attending workshops and sessions on climate change. Hina didn't leave any stone unturned to convince the villagers to send their kids to school and told them education was the only way to understand the importance of climate change and cleanliness. She believes that change happens at the grassroot level. "I work hard to bring about public awareness and to mobilise positive action through activities like pamphlet distribution, public meetings, door-to-door visits, and surveys. I firmly believe that when individuals change micro-behaviours, they can bring about massive transformational change," added the climate activist.

Her hardwork and persistence helped create a difference as more children have enrolled in the schools now. The Global Indian has become a role model for many children in her village and now many parents want their kids to be like Hina. Moreover, she had led the plantation drive in her village, and often discusses new projects with the village Pradhan.

"Dear human don't become elements of destruction @Climate is changing
Protect your possession pic.twitter.com/rWzZ8LGEIz

— Hina Saifi (@HinaSai03267365) September 16, 2021

Hina, who is currently pursuing an MBA from the Bharti Institute of Technology, Meerut, is among 16 women champions who have been given a platform to address the climate crisis by the Women Climate Collective (WCC). "The Women Climate Collective has given us a platform to raise our voice on environment-related issues. These powerful voices of women will go far in achieving the objective of fighting change and bringing in socio-economic development."

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the US. There was a lot I didn't know," the Global Indian said.

[caption id="attachment_38042" align="aligncenter" width="432"] Shruthi Kumar was one of three students from the class of 2024 who had won the opportunity to deliver an address at the Harvard Commencement Ceremony[/caption]

A star is born

However, there was a lot she did know - growing up, Shruthi was a versatile star student, making the most of the holistic and dynamic education system in the US. Apart from excelling academically, Shruthi plays the violin, has her own non profit and is a prize winning orator. "I just like learning new things about the world," Shruthi said. "You're constantly learning." She was also one of the US' top teen 'yoga athletes'.

Always politically driven and inclined to public speaking, Shruthi Kumar was a finalist in the 2019 NSDA Original Oratory competition, and in that year, named the 2019-2020 Voice of Democracy winner. She's also an experienced yogini, and was the first Indian-American to represent Team USA at the World Championship of Yoga Sports, and is the founder of yo-yogi.org, a non-profit dedicated to making student health and well-being a priority in schools worldwide. As if that isn't enough, she has also won prizes for her neuroscience research and became a published author in 2017, when her poetry was appeared in that year's edition of Creative Communication Celebration of Poets.

Shruthi began doing yoga as a child - "I just like how you have control over yourself. Yoga allows you to have control over your own body." In the early days, her practice was meditative, but by the time she hit her teens, she was on the lookout for a new challenge. She began doing yoga competitively, and by the time she turned 16, she she was ranked in the top three in the US. In 2017, she went on to represent Team USA at the World Championship in China. "I was kind of shocked," she said later. "Going in to this I didn't expect to get any high rankings as I did."

Mindfulness for mental health

However, not everything was rosy and being in high school is a challenging time, especially for immigrant kids in the US, where the pressure to overperform is very high and constant. So when her cousin was diagnosed with depression at the age of 13, Shruthi felt compelled to do something about it. While conversations around mental health are common enough in the US, the treatment options, which include therapy or medication are simply out of reach for most middle class homes, and certainly not for low-income, marginalised communities. However, mental health is a pressing problem, with research showing that 49 percent of students in the Washington DC area report feeling "a great deal of stress on a daily basis." Around 26% of the respondents had been diagnosed with depression.

In fact, life was hectic for Shruthi herself. "I had to go to bed at 4 am just to finish homework," she recalled. Realising this helped spark the idea for yo-yogi. That year, before she began her sophomore year, she took a spiritual trip to India,. and spent two weeks in the mountains. Her aim was to explore yoga, which, in the west, is often seen as just another physical activity. It gave her confidence and Shruthi learned thorugh experience that five minutes of focussed meditation have the power to change your day.

Since post facto care often requires medical intervention and is also expensive, Shruthi decided to take a preventive approach for which she leaned into her years of experience practicing yoga and meditation. Her focus was on young minds, as their brains are still developing and more open to absorbing new things. She began teaching techniques like mindfulness and meditation, to help students cope with the stress of life in a more holistic fashion. According to research by Harvard Medical School, yoga practice in schools leads to increased productivity, focus and concentration, improves self regulation, reduces anxiety and stress and leads to better academic performance overall.

Go-Yogi

Her organisation, Go Yogi, uses technology to integrate custom stress management techniques, breathing exercises and mindfulness practices directly into school curriculums. The go-yogi app has over 2000 student users, is part of the curriculum in several states and also has over 40 multilingual lessons in mindfulness. They also focus on the mental wellbeing of teachers.

Even in high school, Shruthi was seen as a generous person, who cared for the welfare of other people. She volunteered weekly at the local hospital, and taught yoga to kindergarten students. "Volunteering is important to me because sometimes I take my life for granted, and it's a good reminder every week to go and help someone who really needs it," she said.

Outside of school, she was an active member of the NSAA Student Advisory Committee, a student-run group that helps young people get involved in extracurriculars. At the time, she was interested in law and medicine and eventually hoped to study medicine at Harvard.

[caption id="attachment_38044" align="aligncenter" width="594"] Shruthi Kumar entered Harvard University as a pre-med student before switching tracks to public health.[/caption]

Life at Harvard

As Shruthi Kumar described in her speech, life at Harvard University was very much marked by embracing uncertainty, and the "power of not knowing. "The words 'I don't know' used to make me feel powerless," she admitted in her speech. "Like there was no answer, and therefore, no way. As if I was admitting defeat." That would change on campus.

Shruthi arrived at Harvard as a pre-med student, and boldly decided to follow her passion and switch her major to the humanities. "I didn't know a field called the 'History of Science' even existed. I now find myself a graduate of the Department," she said. "In my freshman year of college, for the first time in my life, I was taught by a professor of colour. A Historian of Science who made clear to me that history is just as much about the stories we don’t know as the stories we do."

The Menstruation Equity Project

She continued her activism too. In 2021, during her sophomore year, she realised she had her period. However, when she checked the women's restroom at the Science Center, she found the dispenser was empty. It made her think. "Why is this installed here, if it's not going to be restocked - if it's not supporting me. And what do I do now?" Her options were to walk across campus to a pharmacy, or back to her dorm and either way meant being late for class. She wondered how many women had to interrupt their education for the same reason.

"It led me to think about ideas of infrastructural equity and what it means for women to be in educational spaces," Shruthi said. And when she did her research, she found that over one-third of women have missed events or activities due to a lack of access to menstrual products. As the founder of the Menstrual Equity Project, she led efforts to make Harvard 100% period secure by ensuring free and accessible menstrual products across campus. This project involved extensive collaboration with university administration and custodial teams, resulting in the installation of menstrual product dispensers in over 817 bathrooms across campus​.

Kumar was also a vocal advocate for affirmative action, organizing protests and speaking out against efforts to end race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard. She highlighted the importance of diversity and the potential negative impacts on campus culture and student life if affirmative action were dismantled​.

[caption id="attachment_38045" align="aligncenter" width="561"] Shruthi Kumar founded the Menstrual Equity Project at Harvard University[/caption]

Kumar's diverse contributions, from menstrual equity to racial diversity advocacy, free speech and mental wellbeing, underscore her commitment to social justice and equity. From her beginnings in Nebraska to her impactful years at Harvard, her experiences blend cultural richness with a drive for social change. Advocating for marginalized communities, she stands as a powerful voice for inclusivity and empowerment, leaving a lasting impact on those around her.

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