RAIL GAADI RAIL GAADI

This article appeared originally in Mumbai Mirror, of the Times Of India group.

Shashank Mani, a management consultant, took a journey called the Azad Bharat Rail Yatra on the 50th year of Indian Independence with a train full of Indian youth bursting out of their coaches to define their country. The detour led him beyond Bharat's latitudes to write India – A Journey Through A Healing Civilization. 10 years hence, the quest continues. The Tata Jagriti Yatra 2008, will celebrate the 60th year of our Independence by taking 400 youngsters, between the ages of 18 and 25, to 13 cities and towns in 18 days. Only this yatra will focus on social entrepreneurship – by introducing Generation Next to veterans like R K Pachauri, Bunker Roy and Kiran Bedi. Mani, now Chairman, Jagriti Sewa Sansthan, gives us a one on one…





Why does the selection procedure involve only essays instead of meetings?

The candidates are allowed to submit essays in languages they're comfortable with, which are translated for us. As for meetings, some candidates are as far out as the North-East and don't have either the means or time to come to Mumbai. And we don't have the manpower to visit them. By future yatras, we hope to develop an alumni base spread out across the country to be able to meet candidates in their hometowns.



Urban middle class youth find it difficult to connect to small town, rural or below-the-poverty-line urban India. Social enterprise must come from those it affects.

Our target is those earning 40 to 120 rupees a day. They are not destitute, but not 'middle class' in the sense you and I are. They have a lot of josh and want to benefit from the nine percent GDP growth. We want to encourage them to start their enterprises instead of looking for jobs. We also want them to have a sense of purpose – a passion that only money can't bring. We want 70% of the yatris to belong to this group – though anyone's welcome to apply. But I suspect attaining such a participation percentage will take more awareness … and about five more yatras.



The revelatory nationalistic yatras of Gandhi and Guevara were stuff of legend. But they travelled in small groups. Such a large group will become insulated, with people interacting with each other instead of locals they visit…

That's why we are choosing people proportionately from different states to create an Indian microcosm on the train. We'll make sure, as much as is possible, that no two people from the same state share a compartment. This will create an undercurrent of tension – especially where language barriers exist – but we want that. So besides interactions with locals, interactions with companions will create a 'revelatory nationalistic yatra'. To add to this spirit, we will have group debates on issues at hand at various destinations with respective locals involved.

Discovering a country is accompanied by much myth shattering. Did any Indian myths shatter with the former Bharat Rail Yatra you undertook in 1997?

The 'Indian' myth shattered. Besides regional, communal and caste differences there are intrinsic differences in small town, rural and urban India. And there are further class differences therein. The 'people like us' vis-a-vis 'people like them' came to fore like never before. And yet a common gene pool, drive and viewpoint dwell beneath these differences somewhere.



Your earlier yatra was a home-grown revolution, watered personally. Why corporatize the cause?

The Tatas go back to one man who found a village to found a great industrial city (Tatanagar) - a very home grown revolution. Enterprise signifies not just individuals but groups coming together. These corporates exchanged many practical ideas with us. Some of these were not [perfectly] aligned with our vision, but most were.



You're starting your trip from Mumbai. How does the city fit in?

Mumbai consists of a variety of people with one common denomination – enterprise. How it copes with this influx of people is still a wonder. Many on the trip would be visiting Mumbai for the first time and we're planning to visit many sites, including Dharavi – to bring out the beauty and, sometimes, the beast that the city can be. Discussions will centre around migration – how it adds adventure and individuality to entrepreneurship, while being a stark reminder of the deprivation that exists in the villages and small towns that these migrants come from. Discussions will also centre on how many small towns will grow into cities in the next 20 years, and how their growth must be better planned than previously.

Social entrepreneurship can work only up to a point. Major changes come from mainstream politics, which is too murky for most youth to enter.

The answer is development politics. Youth should determine and work for a 'constituency', which should be geographical,[ not ]class or Caste basedbased. Once a sizeable proportion of work is done, they should try to translate their goodwill into votes. They might fail, but will still have achieved something.



You're starting your trip from Mumbai. How does the city fit into the discovery of India?

Mumbai consists of a variety of people with one common denomination – enterprise. How it copes with this influx of people – the human resource here varies from being a 'demographic dividend' to a 'demographic bust up' – is still a wonder. Many on the trip would be visiting Mumbai for the first time and we're planning to visit many sites, including Dharavi – to bring out the beauty and [sometimes]the beast that the city [can be]. Discussions will centre around migration – how it adds adventure and individuality to entrepreneurship, while being a stark reminder of the deprivation that exists in the villages and small towns that these migrants come from. Discussions will also centre on how many small towns will grow into cities in the next 20 years, and how their growth must be better planned than in the past.