Since coming to Bombay I haven't done a good job keeping my blog updated. Partly it's because getting access to the internet was difficult (my home is getting renovated etc.) and partly because there is just a lot going on in Bombay. Bombay is as I expected it to be - horrendous traffic, but still comfortable and easy to fit into.
I wanted to share an interesting observation with you guys. In the States when I told people I was going to take a 6 month sabbatical and volunteer in India, the majority of the reactions were one of envy and general support of the idea of pursuing something that is important to me and for the general good. Of course there was the odd "you are nuts, giving up a great job" responses as well. But in India, it's the opposite. The majority of the responses are, what a whacko. Some of my friends can't even grasp the concept of public service. I almost don't want to tell people I am going to Delhi to volunteer for 6 months.
I wonder why that is. Is it selection bias in terms of the people I interact with in the 2 places? I don't ever recall thinking about public service while I lived in India. We don't have anything like the peace core here.
I'd like to here from my friends who grew up in India about what they think. Does the middle class in India lack the concept of public service or is it more that people just see public service as ineffective and corrupt?
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Your previous post is probably a good indication of why people shy from participating in public service. Public sector jobs are coveted for personal gains not public service. Thats why the civil sector is so strong - most people who want to perform public service do it through ngos rather than government agencies. In my opinion, this is fundamental to our development. This thinking has to change - extraordinary character is required to be the changemaker and most of us (me included) just can't do it.
ReplyDeleteBut I wonder if there are simple things that we could do to change this mentality. For example, schools could encourage social service - it's just a great resume builder.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking we could start a NGO that takes school kids from the schools you and I went to and get them to spend a weekend doing social service (go around assist with polio vaccinations or help with simple water/health education).