Time for an Independent Change from Within

In her 67^thyear of independence, India has much to be proud of. From humble beginnings to the beginnings of a global presence; it’s been a long trek. Along the way, while we have tremendously evolved, many things haven’t always worked out as envisioned.

On August 14, 1947, the eve of Indian Independence; the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru called on the country to realize Gandhi’s dream to “wipe every tear from every eye”. Today, tears remain. We cry because of the rampant corruption that threatens to destroy the dream that was India. We were born of non-violence, yet bombs rip into our social fabric. We were taught unity by the Mahatma, yet divided we live, for the most part. Children constitute over a third of the country’s 1.21 billion population; yet they are the most neglected segment in India. Every second child is malnourished in our country. Almost half of all child brides worldwide live in South Asia; 1 in 3 is in India, India has 10.1 million children in labour. Every year, more than 90,000 kids go missing as the demand for child domestic labourers has become a lucrative business for traffickers; 18 children go missing from the national capital every day. Where does Independence stand in the midst of this?

In the past, political, social and economic revolutions that we have witnessed, have had their own significance and have often than not, stemmed from a necessity. However, superficial reforms or structural changes aren’t going to help unless the change begins at the people level, from each one of us, from within. And India is changing in a positive direction. More and more of us are vehemently supporting causes that we feel for, the change that we wish to attain. Our philanthropic urges have found many manifestations.  Findings of Bain & Company annual India Philanthropy Report, proves just that.  This year’s survey reveals that more than 70% of the donors were novices, with less than three years of philanthropic experience. More than a third of those surveyed were 30 years old or younger. Such data underscores the fact that Indian philanthropy is a nascent sector, with enormous room for growth and tremendous promise. Their 2011 report found a significant rise in private donations to philanthropic causes. The findings showed that such donations increased by 50% between 2006 and 2011. A year ago, their research showed that India was a leader in private charitable giving among developing nations, with donations totaling between 0.3% and 0.4% of GDP.

This is not to suggest that we live in a completely new India. Every now and then, we come across self-centered politicians, crony capitalists, corrupted judges, compromised media and events that shake our belief in our country being progressively on the right track.  And yet, every time you are pushed to the edge of despair, the sunshine of hope filters through when people unite to stand up for a cause. Angry citizens had taken to the streets in protest against the gangrape of the Delhi braveheart which eventually resulted in a strong anti-rape law, giving the Indian woman a sense of genuine empowerment. It is amazing the extent to which the conscience of an entire nation was stirred at the unfair acquittal of the culprit in Jessica Lal murder case. There was an uproar in Karnataka assemble over rape of a six year old girl while hundreds of parents came on the streets in protest.

This reflects the gradual change in mindsets and attitudes.  It is not just the collective public sentiment that is stirred; it ignites a change in each individual.  We see how so many of us are willing to take ownership of the change, how we are willing to stand up against injustice in whatever capacity we can.

We see this change in our spirited volunteers, passionate to stand up for a cause. What prompts a young engineer to get out of his comfort zone every weekend and work relentlessly for the cause of children, for their rights? It is the sense of ownership that he feels for the children of his country, the sense of social responsibility he thinks he needs to fulfill. And in doing this, he inspires hundreds of others to take up the cause.

Driven by their own convictions, most of them have fought established biases and inherent failings in the system to do what they could and think is right. Not selfishly, but for the societies and communities they live in. We may feel how one volunteer or maybe 10,000 like them can bring a change in a country with a population of 125 million. But we must not undermine the power of one. This may sound all very idealistic and utopian. But what’s wrong with having ideals? Even Mahatma Gandhi faced nothing short of the stick and the gun butt when he started out with his ideal of non violence. Something he believed in passionately, something that came from within and promoted a human revolution of the kind the world had not seen before. And we all know what that led to. Our independence.

Any one person with a iron- hard determination can bring the desired change. Like our young volunteers ignite the fire of hope, step -up and make a difference. The passion with which these volunteers work as advocates of children’s rights inspires hundreds of others to follow suit. It creates for us child rights champions who go out of their way to wholeheartedly and selflessly work for a cause, for a future they dream of, for the underprivileged. For them to be the reason for lasting change, they hope they are able to achieve.  

After all, we will achieve real independence, only when each one of us takes the onus to bring about the change- in our community, our society, our country!!!

Happy Independence!!!