January 26, 2011
ANURAAG | THE NSS NEWSLETTER
Celebrating 61 years of the Indian Republic
EDITORIAL
T
he aliens had been chased away but the rules made by them were still sweeping the pristine portion of the earth like the dirty cloak of the Queen. The laws of the land had to be transformed. On 29th August 1947, a Drafting Committee was set in place to draft a permanent constitution for India. A draft Constitution was ready by 4th November 1947. Thereafter, it took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution. The heroes of the marathon were Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar (chairman of the drafting committee), Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, J.B. Kriplani, Vallabhbhai Patel, G.V. Mavalankar, and many others.
The Constitution of India was built upon strong pillars of Justice, Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. The tricolour was hoisted more than two years ago but the colours still did not have the required tang, which makes up the clay of the a multicultural society like India.
The day became a red-letter day in the history of the nation. To mark the occasion, every year we celebrate the Republic Day. The Grand Parade from Raisina Hills to the Red Fort, the 21 gun salute to the national flag, the march past by the Armed Forces, floats exhibiting the culture of every region from India and the flypast by Indian Air Force Jets, all help us to realise that few great Out came the Constitution of India on 26th of souls in the past made sure that our dreams are January 1950 which in the words of Granville not subdued. Let us all once stand and salute our Austin is 'first and foremost a social document'. great leaders of the past.
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Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity�, so runs the promise of our Constitution to every citizen of India. Into the Sixty-First year since we adopted this constitution, we are far from reaching the end of this journey that our older generation had set upon. An exponent among our nation-builders, Free India's first PrimeMinister, a legendary icon, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru always looked to the Youth, in whose hands alone, he believed, lies the power to cause a change - the power to bring about a
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revolution! Hence, it is imperative they are engaged in meaningful activities that shall further the process of their integration with society, as has become need of the hour. The contemporary scenario of involvement of youth in undesirable activities is a matter of concern for all. It appears that there is apathy for constructive work and unawareness
EDITORIAL
NSS Youth Week: A Deeper Perspective
Continued on Page 6
January 26, 2011
ANURAAG | THE NSS NEWSLETTER
NSS Camp 2010
A
fter a hectic flourish of the end semester exams, there comes a time when every Kgpian has the same undying thought - “I want to go home!”. Call it fate, but the experience that was in store for the 300 NSS volunteers for the next ten days can never be matched at home.
The activities started from the word ‘GO’. Groups of volunteers scouted the terrain of nearby rural areas and villages and made an extensive map of it. It was provided with proper legends for easy identification and presented to the villages. The campers visited various parts of the host village of Gholgharia and adjoining villages like Ayodhyagarh, Kashijora, Shalboni etc. and made enquiries about their constant water scarcity problems. Promises to make effort on improving the same were made and put into action. The groups prepared detailed proposals on key topics that were vital for rural upliftment and they were presented in front of an esteemed panel of professors. The topics ranged from ‘IT for the masses’, to ‘NSS Youth Week Celebration’, to ‘Making a groundwork for a model village’. Next they visited the plantations at Kashijora village. The students performed tasks like tending of plants and removal of weeds and stray grasses on the plantation. It was a lesson in ‘Dignity of labour’ they would never forget. This was followed by organizing a debate on the topic of -
NSS BUZZ
They were camped in the compound of Gholghoria Primary School from 26th November to 3rd December, with more than 11 groups of volunteers.
January 26, 2011
ANURAAG | THE NSS NEWSLETTER
NSS Camp 2010
‘Regeneration of India is a distant dream’, which was conducted which much gusto and met with enthusiastic participation. As part of the survey team, students collected data on various demographic parameters like no. of girls studying in the schools and Kashijora and the drop-out rates prevalent. As part of an activity, volunteers recollected life inspiring anecdotes from their lives and shared it with the groups. A very useful initiative conducted by the camp was the cloth distribution campaign. Clothes were distributed among the village children and women. Posters were made on the occasion, depicting various themes like - Illiteracy, Water conservation, Afforestation and Aids awareness. They also conducted a rally around the surrounding villages on the occasion of World AIDS day. Sports activities were not left behind in the agenda too. A football tournament was held among the groups. They even conducted a cricket match with the local youth. Needless to say, the village won. The cultural program was a hugely anticipated event of the camp and it lived up to its name. A plethora of events like Nukkads, Rangmanch, Skits, Dance and music shows were held. It was attended by the Dean, SA and the Dean, AA&IR who thoroughly enjoyed the show. The plays highlighted themes like - Liquor being cheaper than water in villages, Same water being used for drinking and bathing, The officials failing to enforce hygienic conditions and the Lack of electricity in villages. The camp was concluded by completing a field data collection
January 26, 2011
ANURAAG | THE NSS NEWSLETTER
KGP gives back to the Society
T
NSS BUZZ
he NSS, IIT Kharagpur team carried out an extensive collection drive of old but usable articles within the campus after the Autumn break. It recieved a huge response from the campus community and a large number of colthes were collected. One of the many reasons for high drop-out rates from schools in villages is the scarcity of books and the lack of funds for buying them. Old books were collected from students and professors on campus. A total of 263 books varying from text books to story books, and in English, Hindi and Bengali. The books were donated to the headmaster of Balarampur High School Library. It is one the largest schools in the neighbourhood and has 1174 students attending it.
Distibution of books collected: To Balrampur High School Library Bengali Story books - 16 English Story books - 86 English Text books - 137 Hindi Text books - 24 Totlal - 263 books Distibution of clothes collected: To Gholgharia village, Ayodhyagarh village, Salboni village and Kashijora village No. of adults served - 283 No. of children served - 380
Final year students from Kgp have taken the initiative to support the rural children by awarding scholarships to 28 students from 14 schools. Also, each of the schools have been provided with an education-cum-game pack and teaching aids and library materials. Other articles like school bags and educational stationery were also collected and distributed among the schoolchildren of Gholgharia Primary School. About 10 pairs of shoes were collected and distributed to people in Gholgharia.
January 26, 2011
ANURAAG | THE NSS NEWSLETTER
You just can’t turn a Blind-eye to him
He founded ACBI in 1996. He was also instrumental in setting up WBCC in 1996. Under his leadership, the first Blind Cricket World Cup was help in New Delhi in 1998. The fourth world cup is scheduled for 2011.
G
eorge Abraham is the founding Chairman of the World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) and the Association for Cricket for the Blind in India (ACBI). That is not all; he is also the founder for the SCORE Foundation, New Delhi. He also runs Eyeway - a hub for information on visual impairment.
He has always been rooted to his cause of empowerment of the visually impaired. He established Magictouch Talent Management Pvt. Ltd., along with a friend Navroze Dhondy, to identify, groom and promote musicians who are visually impaired. Concerts have been organized at New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Washington and Amman. He was also an active participant in the campaign for the Persons with Disability Act 1995 in India. He was also chosen to run in the Olympic Torch relay in the Atlanta Olympics.
FEATURED
that opportunities for them were limited or even non-existent. He realized that the blind needed opportunity and not sympathy. He decided to quit his job and dedicate his life to working for the visually impaired.
All this from a person who lost his optic nerves and retina to meningitis; within ten months of birth. Impossible just doesn't exist in his He has come a long way from his youth when he dictionary. He completed Mathematics Honors & dreamed of being a fast bowler like Dennis Lillee, a Post Graduation in Operation Research from St singer like Kishore Kumar and a performer like Stephens College. Amitabh Bachchan. When he is not busy with social work, he likes to go to the cinema every In 1989, he visited a school for the blind in New week and, if possible, catch the latest Friday Delhi. It hurt him that the children were made to release. feel inferior, handicapped and were left to believe
NSS Day and Youth Week Celebrations
NSS BUZZ
N
SS day is celebrated on every 24th Sept the day on which NSS was launched. This was the first time our institute had taken a step forward to celebrate it on a bigger scale. It was a very special day for all the NSS volunteers because the NSS link was launched and incorporated in IIT Kharagpur Official site. It gave a brief idea of the campus activities related to social welfare. On the eve
there was a programme organized in which the students from the near-by school had presented patriotic songs and performed a mesmerizing dance performance which was followed by an enactment on the social issues of our country. It created social awareness and the group leaders also discussed about the activities conducted in and around the campus till date. On an ending note we had a speech by Professor Gautam Saha who also encouraged us to work in this direction.
January 26, 2011
ANURAAG | THE NSS NEWSLETTER
NSS Youth Week: A Deeper Perspective
EDITORIAL
Continued from Page 1
on the part of youth for t h e available opportuni ties. The situation, therefore, demands for some activity where these questions can be answered in an integrated manner. The Youth Week celebrated by NSS, aims to ignite the ever-abundant fuel in the mind and spirit of the Youth and encourage them to think and to act. It serves as an opportunity for the volunteers, dedicated to social welfare, too emphasize their impetus and renew their vow to make this world a better place to live in. In order that they help the society at large, it is necessary for them to understand what the under-privileged of the society want. The Youth Week aims to help them assimilate this very thought and stimulate them to think
outside of their own regular channels of thought and ponder on the real needs of the society. The talk by Swami Atmapriyananda and the Rally undertaken as part of the Youth Week served as a platform where the volunteers renewed their ties with the society and promised to travel forward on this journey that they have undertaken. With the dawn of a new year in our Democratic Calendar, NSS IIT Kharagpur hopes to make a difference, a difference that will impact this society with such might as never seen before! NSS IIT Kgp kicked off its celebrations for the National Youth Week on the 12th of January, 2011. The inaugural talk by Swami Atmapriyananda, the Vice Chancellor of RMV University was well received and attended by many NSS volunteers. Another social initiave by NSS was the Drawing competition held at the village primary schools. This is a part of an ongoing process of talent mapping and talent hunting at the rural landscape. The prizes for the same will be given out on the 27th of Jan. A youth rally was organized on the 15th of Jan. NSS volunteers gathered en masse in spreading awareness among the youth about social work and Swami Vivekananda's teachings.
Message from the Dean, UGS
SPECIALS
N
ational Service Scheme (NSS) at lIT Kharagpur is a very important wing of 'Extra Academic Activities (EAA)' - the integral parts of our undergraduate course curriculum. The scheme makes the students aware of their social responsibilities and commitments and inspire them to meet up the same. Thus it plays a key-role in all-round growth of students' personality and in building-up the nation. It is heartening to note that this year NSS activities have flared up in full swing with more active participations of our students in different aspects of community services in the rural neighborhood of our institute. This has been made possible by the inspiring guidance and supervision of our colleagues as Programme Officers and Coordinators in the activities of NSS. It can be mentioned that the observance of NSS day and conduct of NSS Advisory Committee meeting, are few of the inspiring NSS events of the year. I wish my very best to all the Student Volunteers, Coordinators, and Programme Officers for their continuing efforts to strengthen NSS activities. I also urge the students to take up the same as serious as curricular activities for their all-round development in the formative stage of personality growth.