One of the best aspects of working in a voluntary organisation are the many wonderful people one gets to meet. Moreover, Gandhiji had said that what India needs is committed and educated youth from the towns and villages for the uplift of every village in India. The huge class, caste and gender oppression that exists in rural Indian society makes it difficult for youth to bring about radical socio-economic transformation in favour of the historically disadvantaged sections. The main reason why this kind of community service on the part of the youth has not materialised in sufficient quantity is that Gandhiji had stressed on the Hindu virtue of “aparigraha” or non-accumulation of wealth without having considered the tendency of modern development to promote exactly the opposite, the accumulation of wealth. Consequently, the dominating obsession of the human race today, after over two centuries of industrial development, is the earning of money. A mindset that considers a whole host of things to be indispensable like camera cell phones, motorcycles and cars, refrigerators and washing machines, to name just a few, makes the youth of today more worried about earning money to own these than about the consequences for society and the environment of such ownership and use. Those who are most talented with numbers join the top management institutes and want to become money managers in investment banks and play around with the immense wealth that has been monetised and concentrated in them. This is a situation that bodes ill for the future of humanity as it leads to a vast majority doomed to living in poverty and deprivation.
Even more so than in his time, Gandhiji’s advice to the urban youth to go to the villages remains relevant today. Most villages and especially those villages that are mostly populated by tribal and dalit people are still in need of activists to catalyse development. It does not matter, whether the youth go to these villages through service oriented NGOs or through activist mass organisations working on various rights issues. This is not the time to fight over ideological issues even though that too is important for framing an overall national or global programme of action. What is important is that educated young people ignore their careers for some time if not wholly and decide to do their mite to change the sorry state of affairs prevailing in rural areas or even in the slums in the cities as a contribution to society. It’s not as if one has to spend a whole life in social service, though that would be excellent. Even a month or a year spent in working among the under privileged makes a visible impact on the quality of their lives and the overall direction of society which is at the moment a highly selfish one.
Thus, now as never before is the time for the youth to take stock and turn away from earning money and enjoying luxuries towards serving the poor and nature. Both young women and men must take part in social rejuvenation and reorientation as the condition of women in this country is even worse than that of the men. In fact it is the deep rooted patriarchy in Indian society that is to blame for most of its ills including the problem of population explosion which has resulted from women being forced to bear more children to ensure male progeny. Youth in short must turn away from the chimera of material prosperity and vote with their hearts and minds for the truth of a new and just society.
There are many ways in which you can get involved in what we do:
You can
donate to the cause by online bank transfers in favour of –
Dhas Gramin Vikas Kendra, Savings Bank Account No. 18590100008520, Bank of Baroda, Transport Nagar, Indore, IFS Code – BARB0TRANSP
However you choose to involve yourself, we will be happy to help.
You can contact us here:
Indore Address:
74, Krishnodaya Nagar Khandwa Naka, Indore Madhya Pradesh – 452001 Contact No: +919425943023 Email: aarohini@yahoo.com Alirajpur Address: 1, Chhitu Kirad Marg Asadpura, Alirajpur Madhya Pradesh – 457887 Contact No: +917394 – 234361 +919424063107