In july 1979, a long-haired youth walked through the portals of the National Academy of Administrations, Mussoorie, one among that year’s chosen few who had made it the Indian Administrative service. He let his hair be cropped, but he vowed never to let the system cow him down.

Sixteen years later, there are many who will vouch for that. As Sub-Collector in Devikolam. In a novel effort to make the administration accountable to the people, he brought the two together in ‘fairs’ where problems could be sorted out quickly and amicably. As District Collector, Kottayam, he led the town to become the first in the country to be declared filly literate. And in Delhi, he has been in the news over the last few years for his efforts to reclaim government land from the builder;s mafia.

In this free-wheeling account of his career and his credo, he prescribes his own remedies for a very sick nation, where the emphasis is on action rather than theory and idealism. To this end he has founded an organization, Jana Shakti, which will aim to weld the ordinary people of India into an effective task force to address the most important problems in the country today.

And in addition to recounting his own story, Alphons profiles fourteen people who have inspired him –and the country –by taking a stand and fighting to make a difference.