Be the change that you want to see in the world

Most of us feel extremely bad when we hear time and again of stories depicting how bruthlessly our politicians have let our country go to dogs. Ask even an illiterate person about the problems of our country and he/she'll immediately bounce back saying, "Our politicians are corrupt. They make a lot of promises before the election and once they are elected, they are busy making money." But, is putting the entire blame on the government for all the problems of the country justified? Is government responsible for the casualties caused due to unavailability of blood in the hospital? Is government responsible for the hardships faced by a large number of patients who are waiting for a donated kidney/lung/eye? There are a number of issues where it is not the government but individual action matters. Infact, merely blaming everything on the government is brushing away our responsibility towards our country and the world. Sure, an individual can't go and announce a scheme like MNREGA for the emancipation of the rural poor from the vicious circle of poverty. It is because legislation is the exclusive domain of the politicians. However, there are many things which an individual can do and should do to make this world a better place to live in.

So, what change I alone can bring about? Will my donating blood ensure that others also come and donate so that the blood bank will always an adequate stock of blood? Will my throwing the garbage in the dustbin ensure that the roads are clean, because anyways, whether I do it or not, others would still throw the garbage on the road? Will my using public transport ensure that others will not use their private vehicles indiscriminately? Will I be able to change the system? These are extremely valid questions and more often than not, are responsible for people turning a blind eye towards the problems of the country. A feeling of helplessness creeps in, leading to total loss of faith in the current system. This is one of the reasons for extremely low voter turnout in elections since people think they don't have a choice – whoever is elected, he/she'll be corrupt. In addition, the question of "How does this matter to me" also is a powerful deterrent from taking an initiative to bring about a positive change in the society.

Let me first try and list those tasks that can be done readily, without facing much inconvenience or investing too much time and energy.
Donate blood
Pledge your bodyparts to be donated after your death
Plant atleast 5 trees
Dispose your garbage judiciously
Follow traffic rules
Waste food minimally
Conserve electricity and water
Shun plastic bags and try to be eco-friendly
Sign online petitions if they reach your inbox
Never give bribes
Keep public places (e.g. Public toilets) clean
Use public transport. Give seats to the aged, women and children.
Don't smoke and don't allow others to smoke in public
Be a genuinely good person

There are many who might not be satisfied by the above list arguing that most of these are merely good manners and are things that need to be done on a personal level. For those enterprising people, I wish to present a list of tasks which would require more time, energy and resources but would be able to bring about a change on a bigger level.
Associate with a local NGO
Contribute by using your skills – if you are a website designer, you can design websites for some NGOs in your locality. You can teach children/adults what you are good at. Help them in learning computers/English/vocational skills so that they become employable and can earn a living. The best example that comes to my mind is Google. Although Google doesn't do charity, Google has made an enormous impact in our lives by asking its employees to go into villages and make maps; which led to the launch of Google Maps. Google Books, Google Earth, Google Docs and Google Translator are other extremely powerful and noble initiatives of Google.
Use RTI – RTI is immensely powerful. If you think that there is anything wrong going around in your society or you need to get information about the roads/pipelines constructed in your area, you can file an RTI. Don't be a silent observer, try to bring about a change.
Take up the cause of marginalized or less empowered people around you. Be accessible to everybody around your locality and at your work. Listen to their grievances and if you feel they are genuine and you can do something about it, do it.
Online Activism – There are lot of things that the Internet has made very easy. If there is anything that you feel is unreasonable, try to spread the message around. Use twitter, facebook, your gtalk status messages, write blogs, network with other like-minded motivated individuals, create online petitions, write letters.
Online volunteering – Go to www.onlinevolunteering.org and find out about this extremely powerful idea of making a meaningful contribution sitting in your home.
Take initiatives to conduct health camps, blood donation drives, tree plantation drives,
Have the guts to challenge archiac social norms (e.g. Dowry, same caste marriages). You don't always have to follow the crowd. One needs to win over the myth that an ordinary person can't bring about a change and you got to be Bill Gates/Narayana Murthy/an IAS officer/politician to bring about a change. Baba Amte, Mother Teresa, Anna Hazare were all very ordinary people to start with. If everybody thought that I can't change the system, will there ever had been wikipedia, a completely philanthropic effort. Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Don't try to become a part of the problem, try to think of meaningful ways to solve them. Actively spread the message around and try to do something about it, however small it is.

We must realise that we are living in a democracy and democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. The onus of 'by the people' part is on us and we got to play this part in order for smooth functioning of the world's largest democracy. It is not that all of us need to become revolutionaries or become social activists; if all of us can manage to contribute a drop in the ocean, it is commendable. We sometimes feel extremely charged and motivated when we see movies like "Rang De Basanti" or when something bad happens to our near and dear ones. But, these thoughts must be supplemented with action. We need to keep ourselves motivated, be patient and continuously try to bring about a change. It will take time but it surely will come. We don't need to lose our heart. Sometimes, we take a bold initiative and we feel that it was not worth it and it didn't bring about the required change. I think we must reward ourselves in those situations by realising that atleast we did something about it. If we didn't have done something about it, the problem would have stayed as is but atleast a honest try to do something about it was made. Atleast, we tried to come out of the comfort zone. Atleast, you acted and as Gandhiji said, "Almost anything that you do is insignificant, but it is very important that you do it."