Once upon a time in a small village in
India
, there lived a landlord who had five sons.
Their constant fighting and bickering was a source of constant worry to him. Finally one
day he called all of them together and threw a bunch of sticks tied with a string on the
floor in front of them. He asked each one of them to try and break the bundle as a whole.
No one could. Then he untied the string, separated each of the sticks and asked his sons
to try and break each one separately. Within no time the floor was littered with tiny
broken pieces of the sticks that his sons could so easily break.
The moral of the story: Unity is Strength
If you are reading this very paragraph, then you must be asking yourself why I have
chosen to repeat this story that each and everyone of us must have heard sometime in our
lives. And my question is if each one of us knows this story well by heart, then what is
keeping us from implementing it in our daily lives? Why aren't we coming together to
form a citizen's group and then complaining that we cannot wage a lone battle against the
non-functional system ?
Of course, no one is expecting you to fight alone. Voice of a group is certainly heard
louder and clearer than the protest of one human being. There is not only strength but
also safety in numbers. One person can be targeted for raising his/her voice but not the
entire group. One person might not have the time or energy to pursue a matter relentlessly
but the group has both. Newspapers are likely to give more attention to what the group
has to say. And forming a group directly translates to pooling the resources and making
effective use of your professional expertise to make the system work.
Citizen's Group
needs people like:
1)
Doctors who can help in forming first aid squads and medical wings of the disaster
management teams.
2)
Lawyers who can help citizens with legal advice whenever needed.
3)
Engineers
4)
Journalists who can help out with the media coverage so that the protesting voice is
carried where it can be heard.
5)
People with good management skills and expertise to not only formulate and execute
group's activities but also to keep the group from falling apart.
6)
Senior citizens, teenagers, housewives and people who have taken up Voluntary
Retirement Scheme (VRS) – get ready for action. You are the most important part of this
group.
And the most important of all, the group needs people who are determined to chip in:
Wherever they can
Whenever they can
With whatever they have to offer
Without charging anything
With a will to make a difference.
Do you have this will to make a difference?
Then
START
by talking to people – colleagues, neighbours and friends.
Form a group – at home and at office.
Identify the first task to be undertaken and executed successfully.
Get started.
There are a lot of issues
out there that need your attention. Take your pick
:
Home
Front:
Garbage Collection and disposal system problem
Library Management
First aid education and Disaster management squads
Controlling stray animals
Campaign against painting of walls for advertisements or posters.
Neighbourhood Security Squads
Planting more trees in the area
Drive for neighbourhood cybercafes' registration and control.
Fight to keep noise level down during festivals
Keeping the neighbourhood clean – no spitting, no garbage on streets, no dog litter.
Demanding better traffic control and safety of pedestrians
Removal of banners advertising sports activities, celebrations etc. immediately after
the event has taken place.
Offices and other public locations:
Forming queue at bus stops
Curbing of smoking in public areas
Cleanliness drive
First aid education and Disaster management squads
Advertising your resident group:
You can call upon local residents to join your group by:
Word of mouth - tell your neighbours, tell your friends and spread the word.
Writing to local newspapers.
Putting up boards in the neighbourhood.
Putting up banners.
Making use of the net - get like-minded people together and put up a web site for your resident group.
Advertising on local Cable TV.
Note:Groups can also provide an ID Card or a badge for the members so that they can act with authority.
Care should be taken to give the badges only to people who are active group members. Also boards can be put up
at the neighborhood informing others of such a group being active in the locality along with the dos and don’ts.
Are you ready for an action then? Hai aapme itna dam?
write to us for any suggestions, sites or articles. If you are a
member of any Mohalla Committee working on maintaining communal peace in Mumbai, we would love
to have your guidance so that others can follow your example.
