Political revolution in India

Today we are worried about future of India, because we do not see capable and honest politicians in India. We see corruption everywhere, and no politician really cares about growth of people in India. His/her own interests come before those of the country. And, we finally say that perhaps the whole system is like that. Roads are not good, there is no safety in the country and list does not end there. I am sure, most of us would agree with what I said so far.

Apparently there does not seem to be any solution, but wait... there may be. If we, the educated people do not think about it, then who will think? What if we form a political party which has professionals like us as it's members and who work for bringing the new young face of the politics in India. It may appear hypothetical at first look, but the fact is that the change is happening. The political revolution in the country is beginning to take shape.

Few days back, I was going through a discussion on "India Leadership Network" group in LinkedIn and ended up talking to Rahul Pandit, who is based out of Hyderabad and is working on forming a political party named "Yuva Party". With curiosity, I started looking for similar political parties and found that there are parties with similar motto, like:
(1) Professionals Party of India
(2) Bhartiya Rashtravadi Samanata Party

Here is preamble of "Yuva Party", based on my discussion with Rahul.

We, The active Members of the Yuva Party united for the protection and well being of citizens of India, have come together to form a new political party based upon the unbiased principles and values. We subscribe to our adopted Key Values of fighting corruption, Rapid Justice, Minimum health care to all , Social and national Responsibility, Non-violence, Respect for Diversity, Anti-divide and rule policy, Education, Honesty, Human Rights, Child development, Recognition and strengthening validation of media investigations, best utilization of tax money and planned infrastructure development. In addition, we support the Platform adopted by the Members for social activity such as helping the deprived, and elevation of standards of living for the Citizens. Thus, positioning itself on the threshold of a political revolution. We will affiliate with other Parties or groups in India and other countries as they accept and are organized around these or similar principles.

I thought that we all are busy in our professional and personal lives so much, still this person is willing to initiate the change in the country. I was impressed with his ideas and strategy.

Every big change starts from a small initiative. If you feel that you can be part of this revolution in some way, then do get in touch with Rahul at rahulpanhyd@gmail.com. Remember, even a small contribution in form of time, ideas or others can make a huge difference. In my opinion, this is the need of hour and we should contribute in some way.

Your comments are source of encouragement for me. I will be glad to hear from you.
You can also indicate your opinion using the check box below.

The power of will

Wishing you all a very Happy Republic Day of India !!!

Today I watched Gandhi, a great movie by British Director Richard Attenborough. I am thankful to the team of the movie for a bringing the tremendous effort of Gandhiji and all freedom fighters in front of today's generation in India and across the globe. In my view, this movie is a masterpiece of art. You can find more about movie at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhi_(film)

Rather than going more into details of the movie, the key point that I would like to bring out is about the power of will. Gandhiji always said that a person does not need to be physically strong, rather needs to be mentally strong to achieve the goal. I have always been firm believer of "Think Big". Everyday we face problems at work and personal life. It is very easy to blame the circumstances around, but do we have strength to accept the challenges and be mentally prepared to change the things? After watching the movie today, my belief in the power of will has strengthened further. When Gandhiji can bring change in India with his nonviolence approach and will power, why can not we? If I am able to accomplish a very very small fraction of what Gandhiji did in his life, then I will feel that my life has some meaning. So, it is time for each of us to realize our power within and achieve our personal and professional goals in life.

Your comments are source of encouragement for me. I will be glad to hear from you.

India Leadership Network 2009 - A Web meetup

How many times have we actually contributed for our country? Here is an opportunity to discuss with current and tomorrow's leaders about transforming India. A web meeting is being arranged by Manoj Acharya, owner of LinkedIn group "India Leadership Network". This group has been in inception for past one year and today it has 21000+ professionals and leaders as it's members.

Don't miss this opportunity. Go to http://india-leadership-network.blogspot.com/2009/01/iln-2009.html for more details and register for it.

The meeting will start at 8:00 PM IST on 07-Feb-2009 and will continue for few hours. You can even plan to present your ideas in the meeting. You will need Broadband Internet connection to attend it.

Please feel free to contact me, if you have any questions.

Power of RTI (Right to Information) Act in India

The Right to Information Act was brought into action in India in year 2005. Since then, it has proved to be very beneficial for people in India. With this law getting enabled, citizens of India can request information from "public authority" (generally a Government body) which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days. The Act also requires every public authority to computerise their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.

Under the Act, all authorities covered must appoint their Public Information Officer (PIO). Any person may submit a request to the PIO for information in writing. It is the PIO's obligation to provide information to citizens of India who request information under the Act. If the request pertains to another public authority (in whole or part) it is the PIO's responsibility to transfer/forward the concerned portions of the request to a PIO of the other within 5 days. In addition, every public authority is required to designate Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs) to receive RTI requests and appeals for forwarding to the PIOs of their public authority. The citizen making the request is not obliged to disclose any information except his name and contact particulars. To know more about the law, you can visit: http://righttoinformation.gov.in/

So, in effect, one can ask for information, in case of irregularities found at a Government office. Many Indian citizens have to face the brunt of corrupt Government officials even today and I feel that this law is very helpful in such situations. I have read about many cases in past few years, wherein Indian citizens got the information quickly from Government officials and made them to work for their duties.

I would like to cite a recent experience of one of my friends in Kolkata. He applied for passport last year, along with filling all information appropriately in the Passport application. At the time of police verification in Kolkata, Policemen asked him for Rs. 5000 as bribery, which he rejected. As a result, Police submitted wrong report in the Passport Office. After this, my friend went to Passport Office many times, but every times he was treated in an appropriate manner. He could see the corrupt face of country at that time. One day, his fater suggested him to go for use of RTI (Right To Information). He then submitted an application (RTI) to Passport Office and asked the reason for not getting Passport. To his great surprise, one evening he got phone call from Passport Office. The person on phone talked to him very politely and called him to Passport Office next day. On reaching office, my friend was given proposal of withdrawing RTI application and getting Passport within 2 hours. He accepted the proposal and got his Passport on the same day.

So, this is the power of RTI. I hope coming years bring more such laws and more importantly, awareness among all of us about such laws and the power associated. This article of mine is a very small effort in that direction. I am sure, we all can make a difference.

I will be glad to hear your comments. You can also indicate your opinion using the check box below.