Rebel With A Cause A Long Journey On Right Route

In an age where transparency in governance often feels elusive, one man from Madurai district has quietly yet powerfully made the system more accountable—armed with nothing more than a pen and the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

- SARAVANAN MP @ Madurai

In an age where transparency in governance often feels elusive, one man from Madurai district has quietly yet powerfully made the system more accountable—armed with nothing more than a pen and the Right to Information (RTI) Act. NG Mohan, the 73-year-old retired transport conductor from Mannadimangalam in Vadipatti Taluk, has spent the last 15 years exposing fraud, correcting administrative lapses, and empowering citizens through RTI. With over 1,200 RTI petitions to his name and more than 1,200 youngsters trained in using the Act, Mohan has become a formidable figure in Tamil Nadu's grassroots activism landscape.

Reflecting on the inspiration behind his activism, Mohan gives credit to his father, N Gurusamy Pillai, a farmer who was deeply influenced by socialist and communist ideologies.

"During my school days, many top communist leaders, including P Ramamurthy stayed in our house during their political campaigns," he recalled. This early exposure laid the foundation for his political and social consciousness. After schooling in Mannadimangalam, he pursued a BA in political science.