Hi Gaurav - I am glad to see that there is someone thinking on the same lines that I have been for the past year or so, more so in the past few months. I think it all changed for me watching Obama triumph on Nov 4. I too have lived and studied in the US, watched its politics and social structure up close.
I have also been reading up on Lincoln's brilliant bio by Doris Kearns Goodwin called 'Team of Rivals' and have in fact just finished this 1000 page epic. It says a lot about the human spirit and the courage of a few men who brought about historic changes in America during the time of their civil war. It is also a brilliant account of how Lincoln became a leader. There was a lot of ground work and keen sense of connecting to the people and the issues of that time. Obama could be the Lincoln of our times and that is why we as Indians need to stand up and take notice. Being the largest democracy we have a lot to live up to and it is upon this current generation and the coming ones to really bring about change in India. I think what the Internet has provided is an open platform where people like you and me can really drive this change, not just talk about it in our living rooms. The cynicism of the past has been quelled to some extent, however a lot needs to be done.
I too have started a small group on Facebook which is aimed at gathering people together to discuss and chart the next steps towards bringing about political, social and moral change in our country. I would urge you to check it out at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100512845230
I agree that we should all come together and join hands in making this possible. And ideas should be followed up by actions. What I like about your movement is that it is specific and is going for a step by step, ground-based movement that begins in small constituencies around the country. Here are some ideas that I would like to bring to the table apart from the ones that you have already suggested.
1. Apart from the social networking aspect of this which is what will drive it, I seriously think we should organize a Barcamp like event in various cities of India where people can come together and speak on the various issues that affect that city, town be it education, sewage, roads, water. 2. These Barcamp like events will help to identify new leaders and will add some reality to the movement apart from it being managed and run virtually. 3. I am glad that you are talking about including media people in this, because without an effective PR/media campaign which goes beyond Facebook, Twitter and blogs, neither of our goals will be achieved. We need a brand, an image, a slogan that speaks for itself. We need designers to help us with that too. 4. We need to make sure that this does not become a campaign that only includes people who have Internet access and are on social communities. We need people to go out door to door, talking about issues, suggesting solutions and involving the vast amount of people that have no Internet access. 5. We could learn something from the ITC e-chaupal initiative where one villager was trained to operate the Internet, in that case to help farmers get a better price for their crops. In this case it could be used for gathering the views of a community, constituency on a wiki. 6. Another thing that you have to remember is that there a lot of smart, educated, young people in India who are not on social networks. They see all of this as being something that teenagers do. I have a lot of lawyer friends in India who are smart, educated, are in my view make great politicians, but they do not use Facebook, Twitter etc. How do we engage them? 7. There is a very big risk of having extreme voices on social forums like Twitter, Facebook where they talk about nuking Pakistan or killing the politicians. I am scared to see such extreme voices on the IBNLive forums, even educated guys from IITs, IIMs have such extreme views. We want to make sure that there is sensible discussion and the emotional outbursts are kept at bay.
I hope this adds to the discussion. I look forward to working with you and contributing as much as I can.
gsik
· 1 year ago
Thanks for your comment! I joined your facebook group and feel like you've articulately mentioned all the issues we're facing. The biggest challenge for us will be to unite under a single voice and act together but I'm confident that we'll be able to create a framework that will bring change. I've updated this post with my communications with the Professionals Party of India and hope to work with you on this endeavor.
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· 11 months ago
nice post, thank you for sharing :D
jason
· 11 months ago
Dear All,
Such an initiative already exists! and the website is www.riseupindia.in
i think the site is under beta testing and is launching formally on tuesday.
check it out!
they'r widely known and their leader Kaizad is hailed as the next leader for India. Perhaps it's worth you'll to have a look?
they'r widely known on facebook as well.. u can search for rise up mumbai! rise up india!
Hey friend finding continues good news of latest art please give me some ideas to find updated news. I also want to promote my site by updated news of latest arts and designs.
All Comments
I have also been reading up on Lincoln's brilliant bio by Doris Kearns Goodwin called 'Team of Rivals' and have in fact just finished this 1000 page epic. It says a lot about the human spirit and the courage of a few men who brought about historic changes in America during the time of their civil war. It is also a brilliant account of how Lincoln became a leader. There was a lot of ground work and keen sense of connecting to the people and the issues of that time. Obama could be the Lincoln of our times and that is why we as Indians need to stand up and take notice. Being the largest democracy we have a lot to live up to and it is upon this current generation and the coming ones to really bring about change in India. I think what the Internet has provided is an open platform where people like you and me can really drive this change, not just talk about it in our living rooms. The cynicism of the past has been quelled to some extent, however a lot needs to be done.
I too have started a small group on Facebook which is aimed at gathering people together to discuss and chart the next steps towards bringing about political, social and moral change in our country. I would urge you to check it out at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100512845230
I agree that we should all come together and join hands in making this possible. And ideas should be followed up by actions. What I like about your movement is that it is specific and is going for a step by step, ground-based movement that begins in small constituencies around the country. Here are some ideas that I would like to bring to the table apart from the ones that you have already suggested.
1. Apart from the social networking aspect of this which is what will drive it, I seriously think we should organize a Barcamp like event in various cities of India where people can come together and speak on the various issues that affect that city, town be it education, sewage, roads, water.
2. These Barcamp like events will help to identify new leaders and will add some reality to the movement apart from it being managed and run virtually.
3. I am glad that you are talking about including media people in this, because without an effective PR/media campaign which goes beyond Facebook, Twitter and blogs, neither of our goals will be achieved. We need a brand, an image, a slogan that speaks for itself. We need designers to help us with that too.
4. We need to make sure that this does not become a campaign that only includes people who have Internet access and are on social communities. We need people to go out door to door, talking about issues, suggesting solutions and involving the vast amount of people that have no Internet access.
5. We could learn something from the ITC e-chaupal initiative where one villager was trained to operate the Internet, in that case to help farmers get a better price for their crops. In this case it could be used for gathering the views of a community, constituency on a wiki.
6. Another thing that you have to remember is that there a lot of smart, educated, young people in India who are not on social networks. They see all of this as being something that teenagers do. I have a lot of lawyer friends in India who are smart, educated, are in my view make great politicians, but they do not use Facebook, Twitter etc. How do we engage them?
7. There is a very big risk of having extreme voices on social forums like Twitter, Facebook where they talk about nuking Pakistan or killing the politicians. I am scared to see such extreme voices on the IBNLive forums, even educated guys from IITs, IIMs have such extreme views. We want to make sure that there is sensible discussion and the emotional outbursts are kept at bay.
I hope this adds to the discussion. I look forward to working with you and contributing as much as I can.
Such an initiative already exists! and the website is www.riseupindia.in
i think the site is under beta testing and is launching formally on tuesday.
check it out!
they'r widely known and their leader Kaizad is hailed as the next leader for India. Perhaps it's worth you'll to have a look?
they'r widely known on facebook as well.. u can search for rise up mumbai! rise up india!
i think kaizad's email id is kaizad@riseupindia.in
- jason