There is a huge uproar about the 'Lead India' initiative started by Times of India, a leading English daily in India. Even though the initiative started as a means to boost the sales of the newspaper, it seems like its doing it the right way. With the prizes announced when the campaign rolled in, a year's leadership programme at Harvard and a 50 lac grant towards a project of the winner's choice, they sure seemed to have started on the right note and given the contestants a big platform.
But where exactly are we going with this? Do we really think that a campaign like this can change the destiny of the Indian politics? Or change would be too big a word to use here? So would it atleast give the country's responsible citizens hope to vote for someone they think would lead the nation with the right attitude and approach? Would it?? Are we forgetting that we are in a country where Narendra Modi gives vote securing speeches whereby he approves the killing of an innocent Muslim because he appeared to be a terrorist and the junta applauds him. He becomes the saviour for them. Are we forgetting that we are from a country where Buddhadeb Bhatacharya will win the elections again and rule the people even after he played an ostrich to the trauma that daunted Nandigram and did nothing to bring the situation under control. We are from the same country where a girl will commit suicide because Abhishek Bachchan didn’t marry her. In other words, we belong to a country of blind faith. We belong to a country where more than 50% of the people live in rural areas and are poor. They have no access to the esteemed newspaper The Times of India and neither do they have the knowledge of the plans that our contestants hold for them. They don’t even understand the language that they are speaking in. They will not vote for them.
I have nothing against my country and I am very very proud of it. But what I am trying to indicate is that there is not much one person can do for the Indian politics. Even before the winner of Lead India will step into the mush of our politics, he will have to pave way for his exit. The best that he can do would be the 50 lac project that he would be entitled to start. Yes, that project might do wonders for a particular section of the society or a particular genre. But expecting that one person to do wonders would be asking for a lot.
But then as Kiran Bedi, one of the judges, said, "Imagine what would be the situation now had Lead India started 30 years go". Well, if I were to think so positively then may be it might do us some good. But the diplomacy that is imbibed in our politicians and the agility to manoeuvre through the complex mesh our politics is made of is a tough art to master.
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I have personally always wanted to work in a social organisation. I have always wanted to work for the rights of women. That has always been a strong thought sitting peacefully in some corner of my mind. And I know I will some day and that would require a lot of preparation. But as of now I would be satisfied to work for any social cause. I really don’t know why I want to get involved? Co-incidently it has become the latest trend-to work for an NGO. It is considered cool. Your market value increases. Thanks to a number of International B-Schools which consider an applicant's profile with a work experience at a social organisation much more appealing than the one without it. A while back as I was working to search for a good NGO, I stumbled upon one which was freshly started by a 23 year old banking student, who had recently started to work for an esteemed investment bank, and his friends/colleagues. As I read about them and their NGO, I was thoroughly impressed with the fresh ideas and views that they held, all clearly put down in a plan. Their website conveyed passion and a zest to work for the cause that you undertake. I, obviously very excited to have found the right place, immediately mailed them and its been more than a month now that I have not received any response. And even today their website which once appeared appealing and active to me talks of the same things it did a month back. I couldn't conclude anything else other than what I mentioned above.
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Ujjawal Bannerjee, one of the contestants of the Lead India campaign and the youngest, works for an NGO - Akanksha. It is a very well known NGO in Mumbai and Pune. It works for the slum children and provides them the right atmosphere to grow and study. It is not an orphanage.
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When in Pune I was more than eager to join this NGO. But.....yes, the mighty BUT takes its very elated place......I couldn't and I have no reasons to explain that BUT. I guess I was just too young and I didn’t want to take it up to leave it in between. I guess that is the reason I am so careful about choosing the right one now. Who knows sometime in future I might start an NGO of my own. A distant thought but I sure can make it happen.
