Jaago India

There’s a recent Tata Tea ad in which a citizen asks a politician, who has come to campaign for votes, some probing and uncomfortable questions. The tag line of the ad is Jaago India, which I would (in the context of the ad) translate to Rise (up) India.

Since the ad is impressive, I checked out the website that they mention in the ad: Jaago India . Here’s what they say about themselves:

Jaago India is an independent trust run by well regarded individuals in the social, political and economic arena. We will create a forum for like-minded people to work together for Sarvodaya - upliftment for all; and work with other NGO’s to create awareness and empower people for action.

We intend to create an an online community for the awakening and empowerment of the youth. The community will be the primary vehicle to highlight social issues of relevance and importance, create a place for getting information and education on these issues, and lastly, a learning on how to take requisite and appropriate action. It will also be a community for citizens to share information, debate on issues, support and motivate each other through forums, discussion groups, and chats.

The site has articles, videos, and you can create an account, presumably to post your thoughts, etc. It’s interesting that a company like Tata has put its weight behind something like this, a kind of social entrepreneurship . It’s too early yet to tell if the site will achieve real change but small steps right?

Here’s the link again.