I was sent a link to this campaign by a friend in the wake of 26/11 in Mumbai. Though there has been lots spoken on the blogosphere and the media about the acts themselves and the actions needed after that, I have both hope and skepticism regarding the entire issue. However, its best to try something out rather than sitting back and wondering about it for even if we don't reach the "Dream India" of ours to 100%, even a 50% improvement is way better than what we have now.
There are a number of issues that plague the growth of India. Some of the questions on this survey were ones that I would have discussed with friends. Though I still remain skeptical as what this survey might achieve, I encourage everyone to check it out and answer the questions. For, after all, even a small step forward is better than standing at the same point, right?
5 comments:
For, after all, even a small step forward is better than standing at the same point, right?
Seriously, do you think this campaign is even a small step forward? I feel that we are still standing at the same point, albeit standing there and making a lot of noise - which is totally useless. This is what resulted from the Mumbai attacks - LOT of noise, especially from the media.
I agree with Madhan, just a LOT of noise after the Mumbai attacks. We feel patriotic for a while and after a couple months it is back to normal. Campaigns..Seriously...is that what we can do? Agreeing on major issues is not going to solve those issues.
Madhan, true! I too feel that just talking about it would not achieve anything. But the more people talk about something, the more people think about it. And that might lead to someone(from the billion of us who talk/listen about it) coming up with a solution to solve/reduce the problem, right? And, yes, LOT of noise by the media. Accepted! But as a result of the noise, more awareness has occurred. Not doing something about a problem is bad, but not even being aware of the problem is worse, right? I think the media creating noise(good or bad) has raised the awareness about large-scale terrorism among common man. Though it doesn't change anything immediately, it has planted a seed about change being needed. We have to wait and watch, as to what will happen!
Rajaram, campaigns are not the "only" thing we can do. But campaigns help show that there is a big group of people who think in the same way and that even if one or two people try something, it would be welcomed by this large group of people, if not immediately implemented. For example, some of the questions in the campaign that I have linked to were part of a dinner-table conversation (don't ask me how we got there) that I had with friends some years back. Then, time went by and we even forgot about it all. I used to think if that was the end of conversation and if no one else thought like us, a bunch of college kids. Seeing the questions showed me that our thinking was on the right track. True! Just thinking would not achieve anything. But as I said in the earlier comment, not even thinking about a problem is more dangerous, right? Expecting results immediately is just impossible in a country as big and as complex as ours. It takes time! We've started thinking. Things would slowly change! And, welcome aboard! :)
Thinking and not thinking are one and the same. Suppose you have a malignant tumor, will it be enough if you confirm that its a tumor and think about the intervention that will get rid of the malignancy. You wouldn't even worry about losing your hair for the sake of removing the tumor. so what is required is ACTION, we can make all sorts of questionnaires, polls, debates, discussions, surveys, you name it and think that we are doing something but I am afraid to say we are not doing anything..worthwhile. We just discuss, discuss until we find something else to discuss about. If you ask me all these polls that come out after something like Mumbai attacks happen, are a waste of bandwidth. These things have been happening, are happening and will happen again(I hope I am wrong!). These surveys best act as vents to let out our frustrations, about the kind of government we want, kind of politicians we want. They don't serve any purpose much like the Directive Principles of State Policy in our Constitution.
Rajaram, true. You need action. But to act, you need to know what you should act on and what your action should be. And for that you need to first think about it. Only if you know that you have a tumor, there can be a question of acting on it or not. And, in a country of a billion, to make everyone aware of the tumor(terrorism), it is necessary for polls and suggestions. Even now, in our country, there are people in the villages who don't know much about the Mumbai blasts and their seriousness. Imagine you have a team of 1 billion people. Getting everyone to know something and acting on it takes time. I still have hope that we will get there, despite it taking oodles of time.
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