Mai Bharat! promotes free expression, public debate and active citizenship.
Freedom of expression and the right of assembly lie at the heart of democracy. They are the aspiration and prize for those who have achieved it. They provide the democratic basis for relations among citizens and their governments. The rights to dissent and debate are the means by which the societies develop and progress.
Mai Bharat aims to work with civil society, to support the efforts of governments and others and thereby creating a strong and sustainable citizens' rights and civil institutions and also to provide new opportunities for citizens to express their opinions, hold their public servants to account and influence and participate in their own governance.
· Do we know enough about them and how and why they were raised?
· Do we understand how to use these rights and that by doing so we can improve the quality of our lives and those of our neighbours/ locality?
· Do we have the confidence and skills to express our ideas and opinions in public?
The primary purpose of Mai Bharat is to promote the spirit of involved inquiry and to raise the collective awareness regarding legal, social, economic, technical and political issues and their significance in India.
We believe that an increased awareness and thoughtful involvement will unleash our largely wasted potential that is shackled by indifference, inaction and ignorance.Once empowered by knowledge and an active, involved spirit, we can look to solve the problems that our people face as path breaking innovators, responsible policy makers, motivated business leaders and thoughtful citizens.
Everyone has got good ideas and strong opinions but few have the confidence or experience to communicate them to others.
Mai Bharat proposes to develop such resources, principally from among the masses which emphasize the importance of active and vocal citizenship.
Our initiative `Speak up India’ is designed for every ‘Nukkad’ which is uniformly a community gathering place evenly all over India. Through ‘Speak up India’ we seeks to help build community capacity by motivating people, in the techniques of basic public speaking by involving them to sing or tell a joke and then taking them ahead for responsible speaking.
So come forward and enjoy a ‘vocal citizenship’ and make India Speak to bring the desired changes that you wish to see in India…
Approach
Our approach is based on the belief that association between citizens and the free, face-to-face exchange of ideas, information and opinions – with each other as well as with the decision-takers among them – is a key to rebuilding trust and and governance in India and also developing vibrant civil institutions and robust rights in democracy.
Mai Bharat pursues its aims by forming local Nukkad communities made up of representatives of the public, private and voluntary sectors which 'own' and steer the ‘Speak up India!’ project designed to stimulate and support public discussion, debate and consultation on the issues which matter most to people. These 'Nukkad's at road sides & public places are symbols of citizens' rights that focuses for national or civic identity and platforms for public engagement.
· Some may lead to greater public participation in decision-making and an enhanced level of accountability and legitimacy in the democratic process;
· some may inspire practical community action at a local level;
· some may lead to improved understanding between or within communities, and
· some may be simply educative or enriching on a personal level.
The central principle in all these events is that they should be accessible to all, should welcome diversity and seek to form opinion, identify common ground – and, as often as possible, entertain.
