What’s this youth from India – on a mission – doing in Malaysia?
GEORGE TOWN: When Indian national Ji Ingobi Chingtham was only 15, he thought of advocating change and raising awareness of rape cases in India.
Today, the 21-year-old student is walking the talk by cycling over 3,250km through several countries to spread his message to the world.
Having already spent 45 days on the road starting from Manipur, Chingtham has since travelled around India, Myanmar, Thailand and now Malaysia.
“My advocacy work has taken me to over 350 schools, 40 universities and colleges and 100 orphanages.
“This is about women empowerment, which the locals back home call ‘Ima Keithel’,” he said when met at the Esplanade here.
Chingtham said there is also a bazaar in Manipur called the Ima Keithel bazaar, where only women are allowed to man the stalls.
“There are over 4,200 women vendors and traders there and they donated 50,000 rupees (RM2,950) to my cause. That’s why I named my cause Ima Keithel – to attribute it to women empowerment.
“With their donations, I remind myself that I am also bringing along their wishes and blessings for the cause,” he added.
Chingtham said while many parents in India did not like social activism and preferred their children to stay in school to study, his parents had been supportive.
His next stop is Singapore, after which he will go on to Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos, and then back to India.
“By the time I complete my journey, I will have spent almost eight months on the road. I hope I will have been able to increase awareness on this subject.
“I also hope to increase awareness on climate change. My theme is ‘One World, One Family’.
“We have a lot of global problems and to fight them, we need to love each other first,” he said.
Indian police data showed that five women were raped and eight were molested daily on average in New Delhi last year.
One of the most notorious cases was the gang rape of a 23-year-old woman at the back of a bus in New Delhi in December 2012.
She died as a result of the injuries inflicted on her.
It was reported that the Supreme Court of India upheld the death sentence handed out by a lower court to five of the assailants.