(the topic was given as a prelude to an interview... I had to express what I feel on that. With the guidance of Dr. Sud, here is what came out...)
Topic: "Celebrities, HNWIs and corporates play a powerful role in the Indian context as role models and influencers. How can these stakeholders leverage the power of ‘focus’ and ‘collaboration’, and use their ‘voice’ to generate widespread social change in India?"
Scenario I: The winning of World Cup tournament brought this country together like never before, Sachin being the uniting factor beyond any caste, creed and religion.
Scenario II: When the who’s who of Indian panorama showed up at Anna Hazare’s fast recently, did they give more credibility to the event or were seeking to get some of that credibility rub on to them? How can we perceive Baba Ramdev's proactive participation, when Anna had publicly snubbed him?
The above two, drawn from a plethora of incidences happening across India show two sides of the coin… In one, Sachin, the youth icon, unites this country across the borders; while in the other, a common man becomes a celebrity and every other celebrity is over shadowed.
Widespread social "change" cannot come through tokenism. All bollywood stars claim to be associated with some NGO or the other in purchase of credibility as 'sensitive' creatures. Even if some of them are 'genuine' they are rarely seen to use their 'star power'. They have their own limitations. Against that, bollywood has also seen silent players like Amrish Puri, whose social actions were never brought to media, but delivered sustainable change at grassroots.
The Nilekanis’, the Jindals’, the Tatas’ and hundreds of HNWIs have been quietly working for decades without making any noise. And this is what social change takes - quiet, persistent, honest ground level work. Social change requires focus and long-term commitment, not just a day spent outside Gateway of India to get some sound bites, courtesy hungry media. This was proved when Amitabh’s foray into politics completely stumbled in it’s first innings irrespective of his undisputed position in bollywood. They can attract the commoner's attention in public places, but it is about the right use of the generated hype, which can manifest itself in social change through persistent efforts of organizations associated to the celebs.
The above mentioned are facts, but it is also a fact that India is a country where celebrities are worshipped. A temple of Sachin and Amitabh, hailing of Sathya Sai Baba as God, looking at Amir Khan as savior of masses are not new to India. And here lies the crux… Social change is about mass movements that cannot happen with exclusion of some. It is about bridging the gap across the spectrum, irrespective of one’s motivations.
The conclusion for me being, it is about the intermediaries between the celebrities, the HNWIs and the social change medium, that is organizations like Innovaid and the ones working directly at grass roots. The onus lays in their hands; i) by guiding the course of celebrities in right direction; ii) for leveraging the ‘celebrity’ status of the who’s who in manifesting social change, through the right use of ‘sound bites’, ‘public appearances,’ and; iii) the factor that makes them a celebrity, the collaboration of masses under their influence.
