Do you recognise him? I couldn't, until we talked.
He's Tej Bahadur Yadav, who shot a selfie video to complain about the alleged low-quality food being served to jawans. He was expelled from the BSF after that incident.
I was in Haryana recently for a shoot, and bumped into him purely by chance. He has probably grown camera shy and wasn't very keen to come on video. He agreed to a still photo, which I clicked on my phone.
After Yadav’s video went viral, counter-allegations swirled that Yadav is unfit for the army and was about to be court-martialled. He later faced disciplinary action and was expelled.
Yadav said he's "enjoying his retirement", apart from fighting the case for "his rights". He told me that he shot the selfie video because "Modi ji asked people to share any incident of corruption the citizens come across." "I wanted to help,” said Yadav.
I asked him about his "sudden disappearance" after the controversy. He smiled, as if he was expecting the question. "I don't like media attention. I am happy away from the limelight. I don't seek anything. I am a simple man, not much educated. I am fine."
We also discussed a piece of fake news which claimed he has been killed. He brushed it off as “complete nonsense” and “the imagination of anti-social elements”.
Yadav said that his relatives have started keeping a distance from him because they feel they may get harmed too. "Maut to jab aani hai to aayegi hi, darr darrke uss din ka intezar karte rahein kya?"
He's vehemently against those who divide the country on religion or caste-based differences. And he ripped into all political parties – those on the left, right and the centre – for their corruption and inaction.
Yadav and I met a couple of times during my stay in Rewari. We greeted each other, engaged in small talk, but got seriously chatting only while having lunch at Gothra village sarpanch Suresh Chauhan’s house.
In our brief earlier meetings, I had understood Yadav is a man who doesn’t mince his words. “I speak my mind,” Yadav concurred. “I wish to point out corruption wherever it exists.”
“For example, our sarpanch saab sitting here would’ve spent a significant amount in contesting the panchayat elections,” Yadav said, pointing to the village head sitting next to us. His face flushed, the sarpanch countered saying he was getting work done in the village with his own money.
“Arrey, I was just giving an example. If a local politician invests an amount to win an election, will he work on development projects, or try to recoup his expenses from their budget?” Yadav explained. “Then they’d also need money to fight the next elections too, where would that money come from? Yes, you guessed it,” Yadav added with a snarky grin. The sarpanch looked away.
Tej Bahadur Yadav definitely knows how to ruffle feathers.
Yadav told me he's working to end the Yadav-Thakur conflict in his village. "I wish to establish peace. Slowly and steadily, I will try to include other castes, religions and beliefs," said Yadav, his eyes glinting with pride and conviction.
We gossiped a bit, which Trump would describe as "locker-room talk”. We were bonding over a thali of desi food, cream-rich chai and lassi. "Ye lassi hi aapko Haryaane ki garmi mein thanda rakhegi," he advised with a smile.
As they say about soldiers never being off duty, Yadav clearly seems to be on a mission even now.
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