The new activists

Gone are the days when khadi-clad activists would accost passersby on street corners. Gone are the days of armchair philanthropists with more talk than walk. The new activist is not only more socially and economically savvy, but they look the part too.

Right at that stage of the evolutionary calendar when the race to ‘make it’ in the world begins — when wrapped in self-indulgence many begin their experiments, and adventures of varied kinds — a few choose to go off course. They are equally, or rather, more accomplished than the herd chasing six-digit salary packets. It’s just that they have a higher calling — society. With an abandon, these young people have embraced a new zeitgeist of idealistic visions which they see no reason to temper. They are fuelled by a desire to make a difference, and choose to be social change-makers.

The enduring image of activists and social workers has been that of a khadi-clad, gaunt, do-gooders who in reality looked more impoverished than the masses they aimed to emancipate. They were emphatic talkers who were well-versed in theories of social change and its ilk — all of which hardly translates to action on ground. The enormous value they placed upon change, transformation and movement were just that — something intangible that spawns nothing concrete.

Not so, with the new wave social workers. In fact, besides the ideals, these nouveau activists have nothing in common with their predecessors. No distributing pamphlets, sticking posters or sporting slogan-boards. No noisy speeches on shaky podiums.

And definitely not the torn jhola (bag). They carry smart laptop bags instead. They hate to waste paper, so campaigning is mostly virtual, done over the Web. Facebook and other social networking sites are the preferred platforms to announce movements. What’s best, they are well-educated. Armed with university degrees, and sharp intellects, these young social workers apply their mind to social problems, and tackle them with a hitherto unseen focus and clarity; their approach clearly solution-driven.

Bangalore has its share of them. In fact, with its title of a vibrant technology innovation space, this city is seen as an ideal laboratory for social experiments and have lured a whole set of young change-makers.

This is precisely the lure that drew 23-year-old Keerthi Kiran, a graduate from BITS Pilani, here. He runs Grassroutes, a fellowship programme “which funds youth to go on roadtrips across India, discover and work with change-makers, do their bit to change the world and inspire more youth into social action”.

While at college, Kiran and friends — Abhilash Ravishankar, Sriram, Shravya and Goutam — were part of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership cell. Their experiences working with underprivileged women and children urged them to work in the social sector. They set up a group, Youth Factor (Yofa) to “work on engaging youth into social action through novel and exciting initiatives”. The underlying philosophy of Grassroutes is more or less the same. “Young people need to know why they want to bring social change. To ask the right questions, they need the right exposure and experience,” says Kiran. They decided to base Grassroutes in Bangalore because here, among all other Indian cities, Kiran, found the right climate for social innovation. “Bangalore is the best for all kinds of start-up activities. This city encourages people who want to do different things.”

Kiran chose to be a social activist for two reasons: One, the inherent challenge that the development sector posed. Second, his passion for the cause. “I was always interested in the state of the country and our society. I could see that anyone ready to apply his mind can bring about tangible, sustainable results. I could do something, instead of just talking about it.”

Kiran has been working in the development sector for two-and-a-half years. Ignoring the traditional milestones of passing out of college and grabbing the most well-paying job has been rewarding for Kiran. At the end of every edition of the programme, he gets his validation — “When a young person understands why India should be a welfare state,” he says.

Kakoli Das took a little while to heed her social calling. After graduating from the National Institute of Technology, Silchar, she worked with a couple of MNCs in India and the US, before coming back to Assam, her home state. Her move to Assam was a byproduct of socio-cultural forces, and the weather of unrest in her state. “I saw a huge disparity — the abundance on one side and the utter lack on the other,” she says. 

A slew of social disparities played out in her mind for a while, and she decided to tackle income generation. She chose the craft sector for multiple reasons. Almost 70 per cent of the Assamese population depended on handloom or handicrafts for their primary or secondary income. Almost every house had a loom. The maximum impact, Das realised, would come if she worked within this sector. Also, the people by tradition had fantastic skill sets — weaving and craft.

“There was excess labour, ready infrastructure, and also the skill. All that was required was the monetisation,” says Das, explaining the logic behind her decision.

Das travelled around Assam for three months, finding weavers who would be ready for her project — The Red River. She invested all her savings into it. She got together a team of 15, took their help to rope in more weavers living in different villages like Hajo, Sipajhar, Boko, Nalbari at al. She gave them yarn and other raw materials to start production, and also gave them designs, and put a system in place to ensure quality. She started selling the products under The Red River brand in August 2009, and the revenue has been flowing back to the villages steadily.

Over time, Das has seen a shift in the mindsets of people. “People like helping others. Everyone loves to share. And if anyone spots an idea worth investing time, money and effort into, they will help in whatever way possible,” she feels. It is a collaborative world, she believes.

This is something Kalyan Akkipedi experienced as well. He was working as a principal consultant in charge of business research and competitive intelligence with an MNC. He took a break to see India, and was torn by what he saw. Like Das, he too was shocked at the economic disparity, and decided to help in whatever ways he could. MacBook in tow, he set about it.

“I believe we have everything it takes — wisdom, ideas, resources and the conviction — to solve every problem on the planet...we just need to connect and respect interdependence,” says Akkipedi. He set up InteGreater, an organisation that brings together resources and competencies of industry, academia, governments, NGOs, social enterprises, and individuals, to enable development and implementation of ideas that will solve the problems of extreme poverty around the world and build a happy planet.

After almost two years of successful ground work, his project is now to bring “a state of adequacy” to villages. If a village has optimum access to resources across 12 dimensions of food, water, shelter, clothing, energy, income generation, education, healthcare, public domain, social equity, connectivity and eco-conservation and disaster management, it would be adequate. 

Does he miss any of the luxuries of his earlier job? He laughs, saying he feels free and much richer. “Make no mistake; I am doing this to be happy. I don’t lack anything, and don’t fear life anymore either. I believe if we honestly want to be happy, we will do the right thing,” he says.

It was the same compulsion to act rather than just talk that pushed Eshanya Karle and Savita Vijayakumar towards setting up an NGO, So, What Now? (SWN). Karle graduated from the New YorkUniversity with a degree in Economics and Political Science, and Vijayakumar holds a degree in journalism from the MumbaiUniversity. These 23-year-olds firmly believe that education is the area to focus on for sustainable change, and through various projects provide infrastructure and educational tools to unaided schools around Bangalore.

“We wanted to find a way people can help without having to go out of their way to do so. We wanted to bring in social change without the messy propaganda of a moral revolution,” says Karle.

Both SWN and The Red River were inspired by similar successful movements elsewhere. The success of World of Good, a five-year-old social venture that connects artisans from developing countries with mainstream retail markets, inspired Kakoli Das to kick off her venture. World of Good was founded in 2004 by two MBAs Priya Haji and Siddharth Sanghvi. Their company has helped more than 40,000 artisans across 70 countries by connecting them with millions of US consumers. Das’s venture too has impacted a few hundreds in north-eastern India, and she aims to spread her movement across the country.

SWN, meanwhile, was inspired by Invisible Children, a movement seeking to end the conflict in Uganda and stop the abduction of children for use as child soldiers.

One striking thing about all of these ‘new activists’ is that they have chosen the development sector despite holding professional degrees. Probably, their success in this field has also something to do with this, feels sociologist Unnikrishnan VK.

“These youngsters are supremely confident. They are sure of their place in the world, and know that they can make money any time. So why not make a little less money doing larger good?” he says. He also points out an analogy in the theory of hierarchy of needs put forth by Abraham Maslow in the 1940s. According to Maslow, people can pursue more elevated goals only after their basic needs of food, shelter and sex have been met.  “When they have strong educational qualifications and belief that they can hold fort anywhere, young people look at self actualisation,” he says.

For Akash Raman, social sector was an easy choice to make. He has an engineering degree from BITS Pilani, and a Masters from Harvard University — both of which has been of much help, he says. “When you study engineering, you acquire an ability to solve problems, and more so, a trust in your own ability,” he says. The brand name of his schools helps as well. With that backing, finding clients and convincing people to trust your ideas becomes much easier.

This 24-year-old is the CEO of Engineers for Social Impact (E4SI), a fellowship programme that “connects top engineering talent to credible social enterprises driving market-based solutions to development in India”. Akash is on leave from his PhD programme at Harvard to do this. He was the founder of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) at BITS Pilani, Goa, and currently leads one of India’s largest alumni run initiatives for higher education -- BITS2MSPhD. He also works for Godparents.in, “an online platform which brings together NGOs and potential donors, assisting in creating opportunities for the millions of underprivileged children in India”. He is also a visiting faculty with the Electrical and Electronics Department at BITS Pilani, Goa.

These youngsters have pushed the traditional cycle off course. They refuse to tether themselves to mere monetary goals. Their eyes are on a wider time horizon, focused on deep, sustainable, social transformation. If this is no transient phenomenon, there’s much hope for the world.