Noted rights activist and lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy made it to the India Book of Records recently.
Recognising his effort to dedicate a day for the neighbours, the Record Book acknowledged the same. Being the founder of “Universal Neighbourhood Day” that is celebrated on October 15, Tripathy propagates duties and responsibilities for the neighbours.
last year he celebrated the day with the villagers of Dagamunda leprosy colony in Bhadrak district. This village is a non-descript village where the head of families of 18 families suffer from leprosy.
All the villagers are landless poor and belong to ST community.
Tripathy not only brought smiles in the face of the villagers by celebrating the day but also filed two cases before the NHRC for ensuring basic human rights of the villagers.
Not only this, lakhs of voiceless and remediless people in India would not have known him personally nor have heard of him from the media, but for his over 10,000 human rights cases filed before the National Human Rights Commission of India.
A substantial number of cases relate to the denial and deprivation of basic human rights of the SCs, STs, socially margnalised and the destitute living in the remote part of Odisha. Even if none has paid a penny for his endeavour, his tireless effort made social justice a reality.
Another day in the field of environment protection the “World Clay Day” has already been recognised by the limca Book of Records. The day is celebrated since 2010 on June 16 each year.