My Inspiration to Work for Society

Inheritance, influence, upbringing and circumstances - all these factors contribute to my inspiration to contribute to society. There were people to inspire me to think for society, for people and communities, mostly the deprived, all along the way. They heavily outnumbered those who warned me from the cause. I am fortunate to be influenced for a good cause by so many people, most of whom I cannot mention or may not be able to recall. But I acknowledge their contribution.

My uncle (whom I referred to as Bada, a way of addressing father’s elder brother) was my first inspiration. I saw him as a figure who would go to undetermined extent for the cause of people. Besides, he has influenced me in other different ways as well. I idolised him as a knowledgeable person, a politician, a writer, teacher, an elder brother or a guardian and, of course, a social worker.

Much later I realised that my concern for social issues may well be inherited from my family. My father was a catechist in a catholic church and held the community together. I had witnessed him take initiatives for the upliftment of the people in the community. I have heard about his contribution for the education of the children in the locality.

My grandfather was known for his politeness and love for labour. My mother raised me with moral values. Besides, I grew up in the company of the tea garden workers of Assam. I experienced their struggles and dreadful knots of suppression, eventually cultivating empathy and compassion towards the suppressed. I saw discrimination, personally. I could feel the pain and helplessness of people losing their homes and victims of human rights violations.

People, mostly led by the youth groups, joined forces to support my family when we were in a big crisis. Such incidents have a never fading imprint on my memory. And then, there is my conscience and will to choose to work for society. My unfortunate fortune was that I got a chance to interact with the rural people of Jharkhand and explore the places and stories of struggles in the plateau. I received the warmth of the hosts. Social activists and community leaders received and promoted me to overwhelming continue the work of social upliftment and enjoy the journey.