Unanticipated BM Meeting

Priyank informed me that some of the old members of Bhumi and Bharat Uday Mission(BM) are meeting this evening at our usual hangout and asked whether i would be interested in joining them and i said yes. I'm not involved in bhumi activities these days, its been a while since i met any of them and also having made wonderful friends during my time in bhumi, therefore i decided to go. I called my friend Arvind, who was also involved with bhumi but left due to some issues with the organization, initially he was reluctant to join but i literally dragged him with me for the sake of company.

We three were the first to arrive. When i inquired priyank about this meeting, he said that he is also not sure about the agenda and he suspected that they may discuss about forming a new organization but it turned out that it is about how they should revitalize BM Hyderabad chapter activities(previously Bhumi was separated from BM). None of us expected this to be a official meeting of BM, i never liked BM before, initially because of one of their IIT founder, Mr Gopal Krishna's senseless views which he advocated, like, one shouldn't get married because of prevalent evil in our society! and later, with BM's inability to function effectively and to impact the society in a way, which deserves ones patronage. However, Since those times, BM has changed.

After waiting for some time Bony joined us, he used to be Bhumi's executive board member. He is an intelligent speaker and good at articulating his views, perhaps more matured & eldest among us. We started to discuss issues which we had with bhumi and he shared his information on social work being carried out by others in the city. As more people arrived topic shifted to core agenda, BM revitalization. Instead of clearing misunderstanding and walking away, we calmly observed proceedings, being bit dazed with happenings. Bony took the initiative and started the proceedings. When everyone was engrossed in discussion, mujeeb(president of bhumi) came to wards us, since the place we all sat is their regular meeting place and he supposed to meet rakesh today. There was this uneasiness and awkwardness in few people's eyes but rest of us were cool and we shook hands & exchanged greetings. It was so hilarious that i couldn't control my laughter. Later, mujeeb went away and sat few feet away from us.
As people started to discuss about the new structure of the chapter and kind of work that we need to get involved, i got this deja vu, that what being proposed may lead to same old things that dissuaded us from bhumi but with added good intent and promised transparency, which i think in long-run sure to be exploited in one way or other. Everyone had their own ideas and Arvind proposed that we should discuss all our ideas at least for a month before even we consider what we wish to do. Bony supported and rest agreed.

During the discussion, i just got carried away at some instances and suddenly realized that i've no intention to contribute, therefore contained myself without finishing what i intend to say. Anyways, i stated that voluntary social organization should give emphasis on collective responsibility towards projects than building a hierarchy. (Dr)Tanvir informed me that this is not only social organization but one which also has political aspirations, that is true i forgot that BM is a political organization, which intend to realize its goals through social work. She continued, that she wants to bring a change in the system & the society and she is not here for social service and further added that she can do that being a medical student, just then, i wanted to remind her that few minutes before, she has expressed her dissatisfaction against the state government's rule which makes it mandatory for medical students, who wish to do their PG to serve stipulated period of time in the rural area, where there is not much money but only service. She even wished, that if at all it is to be implemented then it would be nice if they enforce it after she finishes her studies. With this and also Dr Arvind's own admission in the past that most doctors are unscrupulous when it comes to money, as they spend fortune to get their degree. After spending so much of money, it is hard to believe that one can do honest service, specially after expressing apprehension over mandatory rural service but i don't want to start a trivial debate at inappropriate time. I told her, that change is a general term and asked her to clarify on what kind of change she intend to bring and how?, she said that like eradicating corruption and said that we need to ponder on how we can accomplish it!. She also said that social service is for the people who wish to derive personal satisfaction from it and i need to concede to her its true in my case and i prefer service where one teaches others how to fish. Anyhow, everyone does something for their own satisfaction and not for others and same is true with this "change" that people hope to bring, no matter how bigger connotation this "change" has but one gets motivated for their own gratification. Thats the basic truth!.

I think, most youth organizations are full of enthusiasm and less on thought & experience. Combination of youth and experienced people are key to success of any voluntary organization, as it combines energy with ideas. I'm sadden to see plans of recruitment is mostly focused on youth. In my personal opinion, politics and social service will not gel well in the long run. I think the person who proposed this idea doesn't have foresight of the complex problems that may arise or he/she didn't have true conviction, that one day BM would evolve to an political organization, where it could seriously contend against already existing political parties.

In the end, it is always delight to meet and interact with the wonderful people who wish to do something for the society in their capacity!.