Last night while at my Amnesty International meeting on campus, the facilitator showed us the above “Lead India” video, this clip is part of the campaign/contest that was induced by the Times of India in 2008. The point of the contest as per Preethi Chamikutty’s article “Times of India’s ‘Lead India’ campaign a success” in The times of India is to “provide every right-thinking Indian a chance to step out of the comfort zone and take on the task of stewarding the nation. It was a clarion all to the change that we expect in Indian society; an opportunity for citizens to shrug off their indifference and put a shoulder to the wheel.” Even though it started off as a contest it seems that to most of the people that participated in the campaign it was about expressing themselves. Expressing the desire for change, and taking advantage of a forum that had been presented for them to do so.
Even though this campaign was criticized by some, the positive response to it out numbered the nay-sayers-over 37,000 (according to the The Times of India) entries were received by people wanting change in India. The director of the Times of India gives this explanation for the mass amount of entries: “ The general public feels that the political process in our country has been hijacked, and what exists today is a system based on caste, creed, etc. and intelligent as a result, able people are not getting the chance to come forward.”
In spite of the fact that this campaign was strictly created for India, it can be changed to: Lead Darfur, Lead Zimbabwe, Lead Guatemala, Lead US, and my favorite Lead Humanity. As you will see in the clips, all it takes is one individual to make a difference. The age, race, and/or gender of this leader is not important, what matters is the motive: prosperity, union, peace, equality, unconditional love, etc.
We must keep present that the act to lead does not have to be on a grand scale, sometimes the smaller acts make for a greater change. As the great author Napoleon Hill once stated:
If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way. Don’t wait for the great opportunities. Seize common, everyday ones and make them great.
Voz y Vida™ 