Who are we?
We are a group of ordinary Indians who believe that India can become a land which is proudly honest, immensely prosperous: a land of opportunity. But our governance has deeply entrenched corruption. Due to the lack of good governance and the continuing apathy of many of our educated citizens, India is composed of islands of plenty surrounded by poverty and penury. We believe that India has the potential to become a global leader if people of impeccable integrity can come together on a common platform and work to take India to glorious heights of freedom.
There are many people like us, disillusioned and frustrated with the inefficient and inadequate governance systems of India. We believe that, if given a platform, they would dedicate their energies to the task of re-building India in the image of a modern, prosperous and just society.
We have named this movement as “Freedom Team of India”.
Some of you may well ask – why ‘freedom’, as India is already a free country? Yes, India is free from its colonial masters, but that only means that we are an independent nation. Freedom, we believe, means the capacity to pursue our ambitions and happiness to the best of our abilities, without being encumbered by unjust rules, even as we remain fully accountable for all our actions. It implies creating a society where everyone can live with self-respect and dignity, and can achieve to their fullest potential. It is also a state where all the citizens are equal stakeholders in determining the rules of society. Further, freedom cannot exist amidst ignorance, illiteracy, and penury, and so these must be banished. We have frittered away our independence and failed to convert it into an opportunity to achieve freedom.
Our emphasis is on the word “team” because all members in this group are equal partners in the design and delivery of its activities and governance, and work as a close-knit team, each member respecting and considering others’ opinions. We have no elected ‘leadership team’ for everyone on FTI is a leader. There are no ‘presidents’ or ‘general secretaries’ on this team. The formal leader of the team will be elected once at least 1,500 members have joined and agreed to a detailed plan of action. In other words, this effort is not about us. It is about a Great India. We are merely citizens taking responsibility for our country.
We believe that politics is a field for the attainment of the highest faculties of man – including vision, compassion, knowledge, and the ability to deliver. It is also a noble vocation, to which the best people of the country should aspire. Politics, in a free nation, is not the haven for the corrupt and shameless as it has currently become in India through our neglect. To change this image of politics, YOU will have to come forward! We are unable to offer you a seat as a spectator, whereby you can complain and blame others but do nothing. You have to enter the ring and fight! All people with commitment to India’s freedom and prosperity should come together. The time for watching from the side lines is long past.
(Source FTI brochure)
We at The Freedom Team of India (FTI) will be holding an Outreach for the north East Indian in the months of August and September 2011, from the 29th of August 2001 to the 3rd September 2011. The purpose of this outreach is to find leaders from the north east India. We will be discussing the core ideas and beliefs behind the FTI, and the case for change in Indian politics. We will be reaching out to the citizens of India living in the North eastern India. the total number of leaders we are looking at is 25 from the seven north-eastern states.The rough estimate of the number of leaders we need in the north east can be seen in the table below:
Seats in Lok Sabha
|
Sl. No |
State / Union Territory |
Type of Constituencies |
TOTAL |
||
|
GEN |
SC |
ST |
|||
|
1 |
Andhra Pradesh |
34 |
6 |
2 |
42 |
|
2 |
Arunachal Pradesh |
2 |
– |
– |
2 |
|
3 |
Assam |
11 |
1 |
2 |
14 |
|
4 |
Bihar |
33 |
7 |
– |
40 |
|
5 |
Jharkhand |
8 |
1 |
5 |
14 |
|
6 |
Goa |
2 |
– |
– |
2 |
|
7 |
Gujarat |
20 |
2 |
4 |
26 |
|
8 |
Haryana |
8 |
2 |
– |
10 |
|
9 |
Himachal Pradesh |
3 |
1 |
– |
4 |
|
10 |
Jammu & Kashmir |
6 |
– |
– |
6 |
|
11 |
Karnataka |
24 |
4 |
– |
28 |
|
12 |
Kerala |
18 |
2 |
– |
20 |
|
13 |
Madhya Pradesh |
20 |
4 |
5 |
29 |
|
14 |
Chhattisgarh* |
5 |
2 |
4 |
11 |
|
15 |
Maharashtra |
41 |
3 |
4 |
48 |
|
16 |
Manipur |
1 |
– |
1 |
2 |
|
17 |
Meghalaya |
2 |
– |
– |
2 |
|
18 |
Mizoram |
– |
– |
1 |
1 |
|
19 |
Nagaland |
1 |
– |
– |
1 |
|
20 |
Orissa |
13 |
3 |
5 |
21 |
|
21 |
Punjab |
10 |
3 |
– |
13 |
|
22 |
Rajasthan |
18 |
4 |
3 |
25 |
|
23 |
Sikkim |
1 |
– |
– |
1 |
|
24 |
Tamil Nadu |
32 |
7 |
– |
39 |
|
25 |
Tripura |
1 |
– |
1 |
2 |
|
26 |
Uttar Pradesh |
63 |
17 |
– |
80 |
|
27 |
Uttaranchal* |
4 |
1 |
– |
5 |
|
28 |
West Bengal |
32 |
8 |
2 |
42 |
|
29 |
A & N Islands |
1 |
– |
– |
1 |
|
30 |
Chandigarh |
1 |
– |
– |
1 |
|
31 |
D & N Haveli |
– |
– |
1 |
1 |
|
32 |
Daman & Diu |
1 |
– |
– |
1 |
|
33 |
Delhi |
6 |
1 |
– |
7 |
|
34 |
Lakshadweep |
– |
– |
1 |
1 |
|
35 |
Pondicherry |
1 |
– |
– |
1 |
|
Total: |
423 |
79 |
41 |
543 |
Those interested in participating in the event or joining the FTI may visit our website www.freedomteam.in. or alternatively mail me at vidyutjain@gmail.com
On the question regarding our strategy of finding leader first you may visit our website and read the brochure. A gist of which is:
|
Even the biggest event has to start from an idea. The idea here is to bring together at least 1,500 outstanding leaders – individuals of unimpeachable integrity and sound liberal thinking – who are willing to lead and contest elections in the coming years. Why 1,500? We believe that the number of 1,500 leaders mark a good starting point for action. It will mean we have roughly three outstanding leaders for each of India’s 550 parliamentary constituencies. For each constituency, if one of the leaders can not contest for unavoidable reasons, then two others will be ready to stand up. If (and this has to be faced as part of the reality of Indian elections) the second one is killed, then the third will stand up. Through repeatedly offering good leaders to Indian voters to choose from in each election, we believe that good governments will begin to be formed at the national level. Those leaders who did not get to contest the parliamentary elections will contest the state elections, and the leadership team continuously enhanced. It is our hope that the core group of 1,500 good leaders will be relatively easy to find among our billion plus population. The Freedom Team also believes that women should form half our membership, but we do not believe in a system of quotas either within or outside this group. However, good leaders do not fall from the sky. It won’t do to sit by and wait for leaders who will liberate us from our ills to arise spontaneously. We also have to stop criticising and blaming our existing politicians who are doing the best they can give that good competent people refuse to lead. The only solution is for each of us to take up the leadership challenge. This has to be based on a movement where ordinary citizens decide to rise to new heights and take up leadership roles. No one else exists. You must lead India to greatness. About thirty leaders of high calibre have already joined. A few high calibre observers have also joined, to provide advice. If you believe that you can lead India, if you wish to reform and transform India, do consider joining the Freedom Team today. Right now! The sooner 1,500 people commit to a shared action plan, the sooner the reform of India can begin. You do not have to leave your existing group or political party: please continue with it. But you should also join the Freedom Team if you believe in its underlying ideas. If you don’t like being part of this team, please start your own team. Let a million flowers bloom. But do something. Do not wait for India to change on its own, which will never happen. This is our only plea: you should take on your responsibility as a citizen. |
(Source FTI Brochure)
If you believe in the power of an idea, if you believe in the power of words and that they can echo through history with sufficient belief in it. If you have said “I Protest”. If you believe that you can lead this nation to a better future. If you believe that freedom is non-negotiable. If you believe that the government should be small but effective. If you believe that all the hungry can be fed, all people deserve a better future, if you can help them dream then you are the person we are looking for.
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