Month of November it was last year, Nepal was going through a tough time, not only because of the economical blockade but also because the nation had broken into several pieces. It seemed like an unannounced war had started between Madhesh and Pahaad. People were busy blaming each other for everything bad happening in the country. It was back then when I came to know about two youngsters who I heard had started a campaign for which they were walking all the way from Mahakali to Mechi. The purpose of their journey was to meet people from all around the country and spread the message of unity and harmony. They were also distributing these handouts to the people they met.

Today, while I was scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook; I came across various posts regarding a person named Iih. I came to know that he has currently been arrested for splashing red color on the gate of Singha Durbar. I immediately went through his profile and came to know that he has started an initiation called Satyagraha and wants the state to apologize for all the innocent lives that were lost during the Madhesh protests and the red color symbolizes the blood of those innocent people.

I am sure many people might have a lot of questions about Iih. Who is this crazy fellow? Why is he doing so? Is he doing all this for some publicity? Is fame what he wants? Well, I don’t know him personally and of course, we have never met. But he is one of the two campaigners who completed the Mahakali – Mechi Padyatra and I had an opportunity to interview him during their journey. Two days after the journey was started, I talked to him on November 7th. They had started their journey from Tanakpur and had planned to continue till they reach Mechinagar, Jhapa. Iih and the other campaigner, Lochan Acharya, were given shelter by the family of Rajkumar Rana in Dhakka, Kanchanpur when I talked to him. This is how our conversation started.

Me: “I came to know about your campaign and would like to write about it. What is your name?”

Him: “Thank you. I am Iih.”

Me: “Iih? Can I have your real name?”

Him: “It’s Ishan but could you please just mention Iih? It’s not my identity which is important, it’s the initiation we have started that matters.”

Me: “Sure, not a problem. By the way, off the record, what’s your full name, Ishan?”

Him: “Does that actually matter? Isn’t it enough that I am a Nepali? Can’t I be just known as a Nepali instead of by my ethnicity?

That sentence from him literally made me speechless and confused me. I was kind of surprised that a person so young has such a determined purpose and he can differentiate between things which actually matter and the others that don’t. Then I just asked him about the plans with the journey. (You can read that story HERE.)

That was the last time I talked to him until recently when I came to know that he is raising funds for some families of the innocent people who were killed during the Madhesh Protests. (Read about it HERE.)

Why I decided to write about him today is because people need to know about him. They need to know that there is this 21-year old who is not out there partying or clubbing, not hanging out with his friends and planning to do some fun things together, or not even leading a regular life with a job or studies but instead, who has chosen not to be one of those 98% people who are busy complaining about everything wrong with the country but are not ready to do their part. He could have just chosen to be a keyboard warrior just like you and me. He could just write big things on social media instead of doing them in real life. That would have brought him some popularity on the internet and he wouldn’t even be arrested. But this crazy fellow, who the hell does he think of himself? Why does he need to make so much noise when we are all sleeping? Can’t he just sleep or at least pretend to be sleeping like the rest of us? Why does he have to go against the government, that too alone? Does he want to become a hero?

I’ll tell you what he wants. He wants a good and peaceful life just like you and I do. But while the rest of us wait for a miracle to make it happen for us, he is doing what he believes is needed to be done. Otherwise, what kind of a fool will take a journey around the nation just to tell everyone that we are one. Yes, that’s what he is, a fool. The situation of the nation was extremely risky to travel around back then, he could have been harmed. Did I tell you yet that while he was taking a shelter at some man’s house, he attempted to sexually exploit him? Yes, that happened during his journey. Fortunately, he had a chance to call a policeman he knew who sent a van with some cops to rescue him from there.

I don’t think he will like to be called a hero, but in my opinion, he is one. Because that’s what heroes do, they don’t think about themselves but others and would do anything they can to comfort the people they even don’t know about. Take a bow, Iih.

If you want to stay updated with the activities about him, you can join this Facebook event HERE. Netizens have also started a hashtag #iamwithishan to show their support for him. You can use the same hashtag on any social media platform to let everyone know that he is not alone.