ROTARY IN INDIA

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Speech delivered by RID Ashok Mahajan on 1st Sept., 2007 at Chennai , when R I President Elect D K Lee visited to attend the " Korean Festival "

ROTARY IN INDIA

My fellow Rotarians and Friends,

More than one hundred years ago the Great British philosopher and philanthropist Robert Viscount Morley said, “It is not enough to do good, one must do it the right way”. rotary in india ashok mahajan

About thirty-five years ago, a member of the United States Senate, during a debate in that august chamber, said that Governments had no business attempting to provide services to the less fortunate. They should leave it to the Rotary Clubs who know how to do it the right way.

Just what kind of organization is this Rotary that inspires such trust and admiration? We have no cathedrals, nor temples, nor uniforms. We have no passwords, signs or secret grips. Our only grip is the handclasp of friendship. We salute only the flags of our respective nations. We have no permanent leaders; each year we change club presidents, district governors and the President of Rotary International. Our directors only serve for two years, yet continuity prevails while new leaders bring new ideas and new programs to our organization.

Yes friends, Rotary on planet earth have such stupendous reunification in almost all the parts of the world that its Internationality is almost Universality.

And in India ,Rotary today is so very much different from Rotary yesterday and will be changing to a more dynamic and effective organization tomorrow. It is this constant change – for the better, let me assure you that makes our organization so vibrant, so effective, so admired.

Statically we may be 91,000 strong in membership with 2,650 clubs and 28 Districts but these statistics do not convey the true strength of Rotary in India.

When the king of Sparta was asked about the strength that made Sparta invincible, The king said, “Our strength is not in the “number” of soldiers we have – it is in the dedication of these soldiers. I do not have to build a brick wall to protect my kingdom. Each soldier is stronger than brick”.

In India too, Our Rotarians are our strength. Their dedication, their enthusiasm, their commitment and their eagerness to tackle all problems and challenges worth their attention make Rotary so different, so effective and so popular.

It is this strength – may be the lack of it – that will shape Rotary of tomorrow. Rotary today, therefore, needs to strengthen the strength.

The invincible fort of Golconda was breached – not because of the strength of the enemies but because of the weakness of the men guarding it. Rotary too will have to curb the weakness of men and women guarding Rotary to permit it to reach the lofty ideals of SERVICE ABOVE SELF.

In India, Rotary is expanding not only in number of Rotarians or the number of Clubs but also in the number of new areas spotlighted for attention.

Polio eradication is our present forte but soon this will be replaced by others areas of thrust.

Rotary in India is recognized and respected. Barring stray cases of criticism and faulty operations, Rotary is a word that command respect in society.

Rotary’s presence amongst the illiterates, hungry, handicapped, sick, polluted and poor has conveyed the message that we care, we are available, we are concerned and those stray cases of criticism are welcome because these criticism will make us stronger if we try to remove the obstacles.

Rotary’s public relations and image in India may need improvement but the image of Rotary today is definitely brighter than it was two decades ago.

We the Rotarians in India are at WAR against many evils to promote world peace. Rotary is at war against spread of communicable diseases like Polio. It is at war against poverty, hunger, illiteracy, lack of drinking water, environmental pollution and ill health. It has become a national family to wage its war on all the fronts in all the corners of the country. The success story may appear a little fuzzy but it is sure to immerge clearly and vividly in times to come.

And even in remote places where Rotary Clubs do not exist, the influence of Rotary through RCC’s and the global programme of Rotary like Polio eradication is evident.

India is No:3 in Rotary as far as the numbers of clubs and numbers of Rotarians are concerned. Rotary is a household word in many a community because of the benefits that accrue to the community. Such fantastic programmes such as Youth Exchange, RYLA, Rotract, Interact and RCC’s have spread the name of Rotary all around the country.

Can you imagine that today in India there are over 2920 Interact clubs,1650 Rotaract Clubs and 3770 RCC’s. And Rotary Youth Exchange Programme has become so popular that about 300 youth from about 15 countries participate annually to make the organization truly international.

You must be proud that India is just not receiving funds from Rotary Foundation but also contributes to the cause of the foundation. During 2006-07, Rotarians in India have contributed over US$ 7.4.million to the foundation. This is no mean achievement considering the fact that we are 4^th in the rank of major donors to the foundation. And we have over 700 Major Donors who have contributed over US$ 10,000 individually towards the cause of the Foundation.

We can assume that our community service projects have made a difference in the lives of many. The blood banks set up by Rotary in various Districts, the polio corrective and rehabilitation centre set up for persons afflicted by polio, support in terms of medical equipments and medicines to thousands of hospitals and the voluntary medical aid given by the Rotarians who are medical practitioners, vocational training centres set up by many of the Rotary Clubs are just a few examples.

Rehabilitation work to the disaster affected areas include setting up of an entire community in Gujarat after the devastating earthquake, housing for the tsunami affected community in the coastal belts, rehabilitation of families in Kashmir after the earthquake, disaster relief work in Andhra and Orissa after the floods and continuing relief operations for the flood victims in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan . Rotarians have been in the forefront in the hostile North Eastern belt in assisting people who were victims of many natural calamities.

Unlike other well-known service organizations, Rotary spreads its resources on a variety of subjects. Rotary’s literacy programs needs mention. In India, Rotary has built many primary and higher education schools. Rotary supports literacy programs in most of the Government aided schools. Rotary’s Chennai Declaration of 2004 has chartered a road map of Rotary Clubs in India to eradicate illiteracy.

In India, Rotary has started campaign to preserve water. Rotary, was probably the pioneer in creating the awareness about rain-water harvesting. Rotary's Delhi Declaration 2003 on Water Management aims to educate the people about the need to conserve water resources. Rotary aims to work with the various Governmental agencies to build a model, which will encourage the community to participate in the process of water management.

Rotary is therefore, more visible today than ever before, true, our visibility needs more improvement but then, we are sure to reach that goal in near future. Success is seldom spectacular. It depends on little progress made over a number of years. We are, let me assure you, in the right direction.

But, a note of caution will not be out of place.

Rotary today is vulnerable – This vulnerable is mainly due to the men and women in Rotary. It is therefore, our concern to protect it against these vulnerable areas.

Integrity and Ethics should be our strong points. We must realize that we need lots of improvement in this segment.

Rotary will be judged not only by the projects and programs we undertake for the community but also by the kind of men and women who do it. If we lack the basics of honesty and fair play, we are not going to escape the lashes of the community.

In conclusion, we all joined Rotary to serve the cause of humanity with exemplary dedication and result-oriented effectiveness. When you serve more than you sermonize, when you listen more than you speak, when you practice more than you preach, when you fearlessly follow what is right discarding what is wrong, when you take the side of the organization against any personal agenda, when you like people instead of letting them down and when you see the larger picture instead of a tunnel view, you will truly be leader recognized by others, but more importantly, recognized by your inner self.

So don’t just be parts of the landscape, or just a part of a crowd, or just a member of a group. Be someone special. Turn On! Come Alive! Be a Shaker, a mover. Rise in the eyes of the community by sharing your lives and make the community know: Yes – Rotary Shares.

Rotary in 2007 and beyond will depend on the definite course you have chartered now. You should stay on it… Every day. You have to throw your body around, which means you have got to get up and get out and get among people.

Start Now …

Ashokmahajan.com

Service above Self

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