tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581324636265208267.post2669783657380685159..comments2024-03-16T02:09:28.604-07:00Comments on random thoughts: Social initiatives & IITkgpGoutam Sahahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14667983695459031826noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581324636265208267.post-78745756940065388812008-09-30T19:41:00.000-07:002008-09-30T19:41:00.000-07:00Thanks Sushil for your comments which definitely w...Thanks Sushil for your comments which definitely would make one think and look deep. Let me present my views here. Pls. feel free to critcise/accept/reject/... them.<BR/><BR/>On NGOs making government backward/slack : If NGOs stop working, I doubt, whether the government which is 'highly corrupt'(as pointed out by you) will become benovalent. Till the common man becomes educated, organized and assertive they will continue to be ignored. There are many Government schemes to help them but it goes to wrong person. Once Prime Minister of India said that a tiny fraction of Govt.spent money on social welfare reaches the target group. One of the activity of NGOs could be to bridge the gap between Govt. and people.<BR/><BR/>On donation/saving individual/village, deriving satisfaction and making Govt. corrupt/cascade effect : I think there is a very weak correlation, if any, in making Govt. corrupt while one helps distressed people. Can we do the same for anyone in our family? Do we sit idle and find out whether it is Govt. responsibility, or whether it will make the Govt. corrupt if I act? If NGOs or an individual rushes to help the distressed, couldn't it be their fellow feeling? For Govt. people it is mostly a job, for NGOs it is mostly a labour of love. One Ramakrishna Mission monk told me how they worked in recent flood affected villages of Midnapore where relief didn't reach even after weeks. Next issue is satisfaction. Should we stop somebody helping one who is suffering/oppressed because of this? I think what drives a person to come out of his personal comfort and help others is something bigger than 'selfish satsfaction'. A selfish person cannot serve people and satisfaction is only a by-product and nothing more than the feeling - Thank God, I could do my part of the duty! (Pls. don't consider some of your friends who do few months of social service only to add one more bullet in their resume and boost it, that is not only selfish - a kind of crime, impersonification, deceiving people) <BR/><BR/>On true capitalist and broadminded individual initiating Govt. help and not just donating - I fully agree with you on individual initiating Govt. help. besides coming forward on his own. I don't know much about capitalism/socialism etc. but I feel as a human being if one feels for the others he/she should try on his own as well as initiate Govt. help - the first one is immediate but short lived and the second requires more time but will be long term in nature. If there is a fire in a neighbour's house, you call fire service but before they arrive don't we try our bit?<BR/><BR/>I'll end the reply adding two more points here.<BR/>(1)Some NGOs are using the sentiments of people to amass fund and then misusing it. For some, it is a fashion. For some it is simply time-pass. Without the spirit of sacrifice and service of persons behind, it cannot function properly. Can a surgeon operate a person with instruments that are not sterilized? I know one NGO who refused a large donation from abroad saying - first we collect donation from members to the extent possible, then we go to neighbourhood people where we are taking up the project (that helps in social audit, whether we are actually doing the work or misusing the money) and this usually is sufficient for us. Pls. give the money to some other organization who needs it. I am now taking care of a NSS team(http://gskgp.blogspot.com/2008/08/nss-first-day.html). We have initaited many smal small things. But I categorically stated that there wont be any fund collection under any pretext. First let us do our part, give ourselves, earn the credibility and then people will come forward if we are found acceptable and finally, owned by the society. Till then serve silently.<BR/>(2)To start with one can forget about donation/helping others/Govt. responsibility etc. My simple suggestion is : Be true to youreself in every relation - family, professional, friend circle, your interface with the society and become a better man, that will do. Each of us has a sphere of influence where we can make things happen even at individual level. Let us play an active role there and earn some experience/credibility to create public opinion on Govt. policy changing/implementation etc. <BR/><BR/>We'll talk someday when we meet each other.Goutam Sahahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14667983695459031826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581324636265208267.post-82769657140282118722008-09-30T13:19:00.000-07:002008-09-30T13:19:00.000-07:00Hi Sir,I am Sushil Subramanian, your student from ...Hi Sir,<BR/><BR/>I am Sushil Subramanian, your student from a long time ago. I was just wondering if social initiatives just makes our government become more and more backward. I mean... according to Wikipedia, India has one of the largest number of NGOs in the world. I believe that the mere existence of NGOs in India is giving our highly corrupt government an opportunity to slack off more. This results in a cascade: few NGOs, Govt. takes it more easy, more underdevelopment, more NGOs.... that eventually converges to a failed state. I don't blame an individual if he adopts a child or a village. But what happens in the future? The person donates, teaches and nurses the child indirectly... and ultimately gets something everyone takes for granted... satisfaction. Are we being selfish in attaining more and more satisfaction? When we save one village, the cascade created by our corrupt government is eventually resulting in more villages that need saving. <BR/><BR/>I think a true capitalist and broadminded individual should initiate government help, and not just donate or adopt. This way people know what development is... and will probably truly know what suffering is too.Sushil Subramanianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09148805476612323417noreply@blogger.com