I TOO HAVE A DREAM TODAY

Gandhiji said “Beyond a certain limit, one’s wealth should be used for the betterment of the people”

Dhirubhai Ambani believed “Control the policies, the bottom line will take care of itself”

In India we have thousands of NGO, Social Entrepreneurs, and Government Social Development policies working, many with their 200% efficiency and few just in papers. Every day we read couple of articles about a man/women toiling day and night in villages where there is electricity for 1 hour daily and water supply once a week for the melioration of the villagers ( A such man is Narayana Krishnan-an ex-employee of Taj Group of Hotels aka A companion to the Forgotten, is a man who quit his job after seeing a human being eating his own waste because of the hunger. He dedicated his rest of his life in feeding ills and disabled people.). Daily a new organization is originating to create awareness among Generation X about The Joy of Giving. Few MNC had opened a different department in furtherance of the society (To save tax? Indeed! – may be or may be not). Whatever may be the reasons behind the social developments of these men and MNC, the result is that the Grassroots Development is going on. But the question arises here is at What Rate. Even when everyone is working for the benefits of the forgotten then also how many years it would take the two time bread and butter to reach to the forgotten? After how many years we can say that poverty is the word that is found only in dictionary. 20 years, 30 years or 50 years?

I asked my Dad- “Would I be called out as a naïve, if I expect from India to expedite its grassroots development. Dad, it is not even sure that I will be able to live for another 20 -30years. Every second there is a probability of World War 3 or natural Calamity or anything that can take my life. Before I die can’t I see a hunger-free smile on each and every Indian face?” He made me sit in his lap and said “Be the Change You want to see in the World. Don’t expect from anyone to fulfil your dreams. Your dreams are yours only.” These sentences stirred me. How foolish of me to expect someone living up to my dreams. Why would they? I am the creator of my own universe. I dared to dream so it’s my responsibility to accomplish it. This was my first learning.

I HAVE A DREAM TO LIVE FOR OTHERS.

Now shifting my feeling from emotional pitch to reality pitch and discussing why there are no large scale projects by big companies or why the small social enterprise are not becoming large social enterprise. Big companies are trapped by the vicious circle of the myth that social work and money are two faces of a coin- at a time only one will show up. They are pressurized by the stakeholders to perform better than last quarter. On the other hand small social enterprise or individuals’ effort and enthusiasm are chopped down by the bureaucrats or Indian Government working system or by politicians’ benefits (Sorry, I don’t mind being brutally honest). Before stating the possible solution, solution according to me, I would like to quote a chapter from Indian Incorporation. They say when Reliance was growing it was confronted with the big companies of that time. Reliance was unable to find a way to move ahead of them. Then came the most practical solution by Dhirubhai- ‘Be the backhand in Framing the Indian Policies’. They build their network so strong that all the policies became in favour. And having the policies with you means having the vertebrate. After that rest is the history. Mukesh Ambani, son of Dhirubhai Ambani is now one of the richest men in the world. From here comes my second learning-“When you have the political support, all your dreams will come true”. I think the current small social enterprises lack that political support.

I HAVE A DREAM TO LIVE FOR OTHERS.

My third learning comes from Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Group. He believes that when you have done something or you are doing something, why not show it to everyone, why not publicize it. We are in the world where media plays an important role in simulating one’s life and if you can handle media according to needs then the success is all yours. The role of media in Anna Hazare’s struggle has been added as a case study in one of the most respected institutes of India; XLRI, Jamshedpur.

I HAVE A DREAM TO LIVE FOR OTHERS.

If I somehow be able to add my three learning’s I would end up making a perfect recipe to expedite the grassroots development. When I can work on my dream without any thwart of government and publicize it around the globe then my dream would not only be mine only. At that time there would be millions with me to do a cause, to help me to carry out my dream and thus the growth rate would increase by millions fold. Wow! What a wonderful moment it would be. Everyone will be provided with ‘Roti Kapda aur Makan’. Every child would be saying I am an Indian and I am loving it.

 I am Manu Jain, final year engineering student of NIT- Jaipur. I am not a person who has one leg in politics and another in media. I have never experienced the taste of any of them. I am a normal student, just average in studies but having immeasurable desire to live for others. Right now I don’t know what to do, what would be the basic vision of my future social enterprise (either to educate people or to feed people or a mix. Of both) and even worse than that is I don’t know how I would do that. But I know one thing why I have to do that. Newton too did not know how he would proceed in research after seeing a falling apple but he knew why he has to do that. Stephen Hawking too was unaware of the fact that how he could study the black hole with having motor neuron disease, but he knew why he has to do that. Mother Teresa did not know how she would care for the sick having no money in purse but she knew why she has to do that. The Law of Attraction says that when we really know why we have to do regardless of the fact that how to do, the universe aligns itself in a manner to show you the path to do that.

I would like to end up by stating few lines from the speech of Sir Martin Luther King.

“And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

……………….

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!”

I TOO HAVE A DREAM TODAY – Manu Jain