The adage ‘United we stand, divided we fall’ conveys the power of unity and the failing of division like no other. For ages, the power hungry rulers (and of late the politicians) have used the truth conveyed in the second half of the proverb ‘divided we fall’ to their advantage but fortunately we have had some great people who, having united people, validated the first half of the maxim ‘united we stand’. And like we have seen, read and heard in our mythological stories, in the fight between the good and the evil the good may suffer initially but eventually it prevails over the evil
My fondness for NaMo is known by all my blog readers (read non-existing blog readers!) His life and particularly his attitude towards work has been modivating (read motivating). Hopefully, one day the word ‘modivating’ will officially become part of the dictionary and I will have my share of fame in the process! I remember him addressing an enthusiastic Indian diaspora at Madison square garden where he enthralled everyone present including the US Congressmen who were happy to act as cheer leaders for NaMo when he walked-in to a thunderous applause which was as deafening as a fighter jet! One of the points that he made there will be etched in my memory forever (like most of his other points!) His point was with regards to involving the people of India in every initiative that he would undertake, making it a ‘people’s movement’
Let me elaborate it as per my understanding. Hundreds of freedom fighters fought selflessly and gave up their lives for a nation wanting to free itself from the shackles of British rule. They fought and lost their lives for India but unfortunately their sacrifice went unnoticed. More fortunate freedom fighters managed to survive and fight long enough which ensured them a place in history books so that we could study and learn from them struggles for years to come. Both these kind of leaders; the ones whose struggle were recorded and found a place in history as well those whose sacrifices went unnoticed made immeasurable contribution towards India’s freedom movement with their intellectual as well as physical power. And then there was Gandhiji, who with his enormous work acquired the title of Mahatma. Coming back to NaMo’s speech at Madison square garden, what Gandhiji did differently was NaMo’s answer to challenges faced by India and world in general today. Gandhiji involved the common people in the freedom struggle at a scale which was unprecedented. Be it the conceiving of the idea of ‘Satyagraha’ in South Africa or the civil disobedience movement in India to protest against the salt tax or the non-cooperation movement urging people to say ‘NO’ to British goods, he took the freedom movement to the people making it a ‘people’s movement’ the results of which are well known.
Now compare that the point that NaMo made to his actions and you will realize (in case you have any doubt) that he is a man of his words. Before the elections, we saw all parties in their individual capacities doing TV ads, radio campaigns, hoarding etc to let the people know as to why they should be voted to power. One form of media that played a significant role in turning BJP’s fortunes was the digital media: social networking sites like facebook, Twitter and messengers like WhatsApp. If you think over this a little bit, you would realize by forwarding those messages talking about NaMo’s credentials and the rest of funny stuff floating around with regards the elections at that point in time, we became NaMo’s brand ambassadors! We were campaigning for NaMo without realizing that we had become involved in the people’s movement! (In hindsight, thank god we did!) And what happened after he became the PM? The people’s movement continues!
He got us involved in the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana’ by encouraging people to participate in the naming of the ‘yojana’ including deciding on the logo. He started a website mygov.in where he invites everyone to make suggestions on various topics which is then discussed online and vetted by the experts to check the feasibility of the same. He has instructed ministers to use social media extensively in reaching out to people at large for suggestions and feedback. ‘Swachh bharat abhiyan’ was another initiative where he got the entire country involved and made everyone the stakeholder. He wants to use the digital media in reaching out to those who are still deprived of basic education and then use the same media to create awareness about preventive health care. This is the kind of participatory democracy that we haven’t seen for a while; a democracy where everyone has a say and everyone has a responsibility towards making it a success. We have seen a lot of people who only claim to be Gandhiji’s followers but here is a man who is following him with his actions and how!
When we united (people’s movement) under the leadership of Gandhiji, we gained independence and hopefully, when we unite under the leadership of NaMo, we will develop a better India!
No comments:
Post a Comment