Freedom Under Construction

Freedom and patriotism seem like they go together in a democratic country. But with freedom comes responsibility and responsibility leads to patriotism. Here’s a story of a group of citizens who took it upon themselves to teach others this concept

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August 15th, 2006 will be a red letter day in the History of New India. It is not about patriotism or about History. It is about responsibility and the fitting respect to the tri-colour. The atmosphere, spirit, energy and will demonstrated that night by Young India has reinforced our faith in humanity and in collective will.
At the stroke of midnight, 150 volunteers from all walks of life were at Rasoolpura slum inside an old dilapidated school building. Some portions of the highly dilapidated strutures were brought down and school grounds were cleared of garbage. The 150 volunteers then went on to paint the school building and construct portions of 3 new class rooms.

Background: Government High School, Begumpet is the only government school in Rasoolpura. The school has nearly 700 students. Unfortunately, the infrastructure in the school was inadequate. The children’s playground had been turned into a virtual dumping ground for garbage over the years. Local residents used it as a public toilet and for many miscreants, the area became a cover to indulge in anti-social activities.
We worked together till 8:00 am in the morning. The community that lived around the school woke up to a pleasant surprise. The garbage dump, filth and stench were no more. In place of a dumping yard and dilapidated structure stood walls of 3 new class rooms and a children’s playground. The largely indifferent, cynical and suspicious community became inspired and they stand by us now in all our transformation initiatives.
The flag hoisting in the school grounds by a famous freedom fighter, Keshav Rao Jadav, remains etched in the memories of each one of us who worked that night. In many ways we earned our right to salute our flag and no one can ever rob us the pride we felt for ourselves and for our nation that morning.
Undoubtedly it was a moment of celebration, but we at BHUMI realize that with every victory, expectations increase, and so does responsibility and commitment. We now have a greater cause, responsibility and the spirit needs to be kept alive.

-BHUMI Team