Jharkhand Finance Minister and senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Kishore on Sunday pledged to donate his eyes, making an emotional appeal to his family members not to obstruct the process when the time comes.
“I have pledged my eyes. When I am no more, and a medical team comes to take my cornea, please do not stop them,” he said, addressing his kin from the stage at St Xavier’s College auditorium in Ranchi.
Highlighting the acute shortage of corneas in India, medical experts at the event said that while nearly one crore people die every year, only around 50,000 pledge their eyes. Against the requirement of 2.5 crore corneas nationwide, merely 50,000 become available annually, leaving millions in darkness.
Kishore, who attended the “Blindfolded Run for Vision” programme, urged people across Jharkhand to come forward for this “life-giving act.” “When you are no longer in this world, someone else will see through your eyes. The very thought is deeply fulfilling,” he said, while stressing the need for the government and society to treat health initiatives like eye donation as a collective priority.
Moving beyond the medical context, the finance minister linked the idea of vision with social equality. “I am not an eye specialist, but as a public representative I believe governance should have the same vision for everyone. Who is forward or backward, high or low, these divisions must not influence policy. The system should see every citizen equally,” he said.
Speakers at the event also noted that several eminent figures, including President Droupadi Murmu, former chief ministers Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda, have pledged their eyes, thereby setting an example for others to follow. Families of 30 eye donors were honoured on the occasion, and winners of the ‘Run for Vision’ were felicitated.