Stories from the grassroots | Thoughts on development | Lessons on leadership
Over the last 10 days, I have addressed more than 10 gatherings. Gatherings of Industrialists, middle class citizenry, workers from the food and garment industry and Bangalore’s pride – the software and services sector. My topic of discussion at all these places has been ‘Making Democracy work’.… Continue reading
Recently we at SVYM celebrated the World Water Day. It has now become symbolic to have different days earmarked for different occasions. They indeed serve the purpose of reminding us of the importance of the different issues that mankind needs to remind itself and focus on, if the world needs to be a better place to live in.… Continue reading
SVYM is now in its 25th year of existence. The journey of the last 25 years has seen us grow from a small one man organization to that of more than 600 people working across the state of Karnataka. Today our more than 60 projects reach out to more than 6 million people of the state.… Continue reading
It is Election time once again. It is the time we find a lot of people talking about the elections, the candidates, the possible winners. A lot of debate is also occurring on the use of money, on caste equations and the possible implications on democracy itself.… Continue reading
The participation of the citizenry in the electoral process is a direct indicator of the health of a democracy. The higher the participation, the more vibrant will be the democratic process. Mere participation by itself is not enough. One needs to have enlightened participation in order to ensure that the citizenry make an informed choice.… Continue reading
There is so much talk of integrating value education into the school curriculum and syllabus. I have been attending a few meetings (actually initiated and organized by the Government) in the recent past and giving a few talks at different places too.… Continue reading
December 1st was just another day for many of us. Each one of us went about what we were doing with the same intensity and dedication that we have been consistently showing for the last two decades and more. What made the day special was the fact that it was this very day 24 years ago, we registered the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement.… Continue reading
The last 3 days have been extremely difficult days for the whole country. A handful of misguided youth have held the nation to ransom. How long will India have to bear with this kind of violence and hatred? Why does not man realise that love for one’s religion or country does not have to be expressed as hatred for other religions and countries.… Continue reading
The recent global financial meltdown seems to be making news continuously for the last couple of months. We seem to be hearing horror stories from around the world; how it is impacting industry; how the economic slowdown will affect the nation’s progress; how families are shattered due to the crisis and how a few people have even committed suicide.… Continue reading
The 25th year of SVYM’s foundation is nearing. Come December 1st and we will be completing our 24 years of existence and stepping into the 25th year. When one sits back and recalls our earlier years and our struggles, one suddenly realises that the struggles have not really gone away.… Continue reading
On the 9th of this month, i was invited to be the Chief Guest at the inauguration of a new NGO. This NGO called SMART was set up to promote organic farming and give training to rural youth and farmers. What made the event special to me was that this NGO was being set up at Chinnadagudihundi near Nanjangud.… Continue reading