When shall we dream big ?

We need automation led by people which ultimately results in true consciousness of the people. 
An automated system would be one where people demand their needs, participate in the pre-legislation process by giving their views, involve in the scheme's implementation, give their feedback on its outcome (through tools like social audit) and the cycle should continue 'automatically

"Achche din" is relative and as the whole campaign went it also shows it is subjective; meaning "Achche din" is dependent on the ruling party. If x party comes, achche din come. It is relative because the so called good times are comparable across time and on various other aspects - development, poverty etc. On a practical level, this approach may not be blamed, but isn't it a narrow view ? Atleast a few, a few good men and women, should dare to dream big and broad !

What would that big dream be? 'We need automation led by people which ultimately results in true consciousness of the people'. My friends from left and right wouldn't be able to digest the usage of the words 'automation' and 'true consciousness' in the same breath, but the idea is that people should be the centre and important part of the system.

Hundreds of government schemes for the benefit of the people, do not have people as integral part at any stage (pre-legislation, post legislation, during implementation etc etc) except as 'passive beneficiaries' or 'target groups'. An automated system would be one where people demand their needs, participate in the pre-legislation process by giving their views, involve in the scheme's implementation, give their feedback on its outcome (through tools like social audit) and the cycle should continue 'automatically'.

I understand that this is a very ideal scenario, may be not possible for years to come, something which even the so called developed countries did not yet achieve, but not impossible. No points for guessing what response is expected from many government officials and the politicians for such a system - "people are ignorant, they are self sufficient, they do not understand all these, it is very time consuming, we do not have required resources"; pessimism just overflows. That is why I say we are cowards even to dream of such a system. Obviously, politicians try to keep people perpetually in ignorance, in order to remain powerful.

Nevertheless, a little progress in this direction, how much ever little it might be has been made, thanks to international pressure. Definitely, words like transparency, accountability, grievance redressal, social audit,people centred development, participative decision making etc - are heard widely in government institutions at least, if not by the people. They find frequent references in government policy documents also. Yet, this is not enough - this is only little more than lip service. Also, it was mostly limited to mobile and internet users through e-governance. Even the fresh move by the new government - Mygov - an online portal for people's participation is in the same lines. The majority - the gigantic social sector schemes' beneficiaries - who do not have technology are still left behind.

And the allegation that people do not know is true, but isn't 'educating people' be made part of policy itself? MGNREGS is a classic case in point. Firstly, we are wasting our energies in implementing it through out the country, even where it is not required and leaving behind much attention needed areas. There are many areas where people do not know much about the scheme and the procedure. There were instances where people paid money to get job cards. Secondly, the scheme guidelines run into hundreds of pages with the mention of all the important words like social audit, people's pariticipation, transparency etc. What is the point when they are not able to guide people to utilize the scheme well???

When people understand why and what of any scheme it will be easy to implement it. Awareness generation is part of various schemes but is never taken seriously. Therefore, in the areas where people are well aware, any scheme works decently well and where they are unaware the best of the schemes also tend to fail. Instead of publicizing about the schemes, government in the last few years was running a 'publicity campaign' for the upcoming elections. Recent media reports say that the UPA government has spent Rs 2048 crores on advertisement and publicity of its schemes in three years. On an average Rs 55 crore per month approximately. It could have been spent for awareness generation in the 200 backward districts of the country, each would have got a huge sum of 25 lakhs.

Once people are involved they can and will monitor schemes themselves. Pariticipation in social audits will increase and the process of automation starts. It is also important to close the loop of automation, by incorporating the relevant feedback received from people back into the policy. Otherwise, the efforts go waste. No system is perfect, it needs to be constant upgradation. But there should be a start somewhere at some point. If we think we have already started, then we need a big push now. If we have not yet started, we should do so immediately. Hope "Achche din", at least to dream big and make a start in the direction of automation by people, are not so far off.

Talk .... Communicate.... Connect

The larger message is that in order to connect to people, one should treat them for what they are and to see them as end in themselves rather than as a means to something. 

My PMRDF training at TISS, Mumbai is coming to an end. In one of the communication classes the teacher asked us to reflect upon our learnings and take aways from the whole training on communication. The message, in short, is that talking, communicating and connecting with people are three different things. If I may generalize, ignoring a few exceptions, I would say these three happen at various stages of a communication; and depending on the context and purpose.

Talking happens at a superficial level where mostly information gets exchanged either casually or for a purpose. (Talking to someone on in a bus stop for 2 minutes before the bus arrives). Communicating is at the next level. There is a definite purpose and both the parties try to convey some message to the other party. At a given point it could be either one way or two way. (Doctor and patient communicating with each other is two way; Government trying to communicate a message to the citizens through a poster is one way). Lastly connecting well with the other person/group is the deepest form wherein people go beyond content and language and establish a relationship which is more long lasting.

Having said that, when someone is trying to make a conscious effort to 'connect' with someone, there are certain dos, as follows, may not be in the order mentioned: (And especially for someone like a PMRD Fellow, working closely with people)
Listen: to not just words but to gestures, wisdom, experiences, various meanings attached, the life struggle of an individual or group etc. This listening is not just with ears but with the whole body, mind and heart.

Larger Image: It is important to understand the social background of the people in any location, their culture, customs, traditions, norms, political and economic scenario etc before one could make a meaningful conversation.

Trust building: A conversation with a person is just not an information gathering exercise. One needs to dig deep, to get more insights by asking probing questions, by showing utmost interest. The genuineness shown in trying to understand the person first before one could be understood, is the first step to building trust. If I go back people would want to talk to me, rather than seeing me as someone trying to interfere in their lives.

Reflect: on one's own communication and to assess the overall conversation. This will help in seeing through oneself and identify any failures in establishing trust and reinforce successful methods in building it. This will help us correct ourselves, tune ourselves better to the situation and make the most out of conversation.

Repeat: While making a deliberate attempt, anything might go wrong at any time, thus one should be willing to repeat the whole process of trying to connect with people, all over again. This patience comes naturally if one respects people just for being fellow men and women, rather than as some means to a larger end.

Thus the larger message is that in order to connect to people, one should treat them for what they are and to see them as end in themselves rather than as a means to something.

P.S: Though TISS helped me refine my thoughts, this blog post is my personal opinion.