Some time ago, at a meeting organised by the Moneylife Foundation, one of the guest speakers was Dr Prakash Baba Amte with Dr Mrs Mandakini Amte. This was the second generation of Amtes, contributing their whole life‘s work to provide medical help to poor people in rural India in the backward areas of Maharashtra. The father, Baba Amte was well known for many decades for the work that he had done for the leprosy patients and for others who needed medical help. It would seem that this worthy contribution would go on to the third generation—leaders who provide much-needed help and support, especially in the medical area, to the poor and needy of the country.
Fortunately, the Amtes did have some mention in the media of the good work that they are doing, just like Mother Teresa did, working in the backwaters of Calcutta for the poor and the dying.
But there are many, many others who do good work and who do not receive any media coverage, and sometimes not even an acknowledgement of their good work from their own beneficiaries—which is a great pity!
The media, whether print or electronic, is always full of sensational news—rape, murder investigations on Susairaj or Arushi cases, the violence in Kashmir or Nandigram. There is so little on the positive side, on the good that has been done by so few to benefit so many, and done in their own quiet way, with little or no support from government.
That is why I was happy to read a story in the Times of India, some years ago of a young man called Vikas Kurme, who spends all his spare time promoting awareness of AIDS and spends one-fourth of his monthly income to finance the activities of his NGO—Sweekar. This has now grown into a large organisation, doing significant work in this area in Mumbai.
There is also another report on a young man studying at Sydenham college in South Bombay, who travels all the way from Virar, in the far north of Mumbai, but spends all his spare time after college to teach young street children and help them move on. Vikas is not a child from a rich family. In fact, Vikas’ father is a police inspector, and he has two young sisters. But Vikas has a commitment—to improve the world!
There is Dr Armida Fernandez, former dean of Sion Hospital, who started the first breast milk bank to help women in Dharavi and whose NGO, SNEHA has now grown into a large operation managed by Vanessa who quit her well-paid job at Citi, to run and expand this operation- silently doing significant work with little or no media coverage.
Another issue of Economic Times carried a supplement ‘Corporate Dossier‘, where top managers gave advice on how to improve India. Most of them did little directly to improve the lot of the poor. Generally, their companies did CSR (corporate social responsibility). They themselves, perhaps, can find little time to get directly involved. In these articles, they bemoaned the fact that the political system was corrupt and inadequate to bring about social equity. Social equity is what all political parties are shouting about from the rooftops!
Who is going to change the political system? It will not change by writing articles. It will change when the large numbers of educated young people join political parties (any party they may choose), therefore have voting rights at the party conclave; and elect people like themselves to positions within the party. When these people elect people like themselves for the legislature and Parliament, that is how the whole political structure will improve. We will have ‘leaders for causes’. Keeping away and describing ‘politics as a dirty game’, will not help to cleanse the system. We need to dirty our hands in order to clean the structure.
At present, we have the strange situation where some candidates have to be called out from jail to take the oath, having been elected to the legislature!
There are those who deserve high honours for continuously fighting corruption, and for the rights of the poor or the deprived or the persecuted. People like Baba Amte and his son Dr Prakash and his daughter-in-law Dr Madakini, Medha Patkar, Bunker Roy and others deserve the appellation of ‘heroes’ of our time.
But all of us cannot devote all our time to fighting causes. It is enough if we can at least embark on a political affiliation and be active (not passive) participants. In the US, most people are either Republicans or Democrats. In the UK, they are Conservative, Labour or Liberal. They belong ‘somewhere’. They participate in governance. Indirectly may be, but effectively nevertheless.
Let us now do something our parents perhaps did not do. Let us actively involve ourselves in the process of bringing about change to build a better India!
(Walter Vieira is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of India - FIMC. He was a successful corporate executive for 14 years, capping his career as Head of marketing for a Pharma multinational, for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka- and then pioneered marketing consulting in India in 1975. As a consultant, he has worked across four continents. He was the first Asian elected Chairman of ICMCI, the world apex body of consultants in 45 countries , in 1997. He is the author of 16 books, a business columnist, international conference speaker and has been visiting professor in Marketing in the US, Europe and Asia for over 40 years. He was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award for Consulting in 2005, and for Marketing in 2009. He now spends much of his time in NGO work - Consumer Education and Research Centre, IDOBRO, and some others.)
