Did i want to genuinely contribute to the Kashmiri boy OR did i give to seek media coverage & publicity?

As expected, i am getting some flak from people on Twitter about seeking press coverage and publicity for myself helping this Kashmiri boy get admission into IIT.

Here are some:

I was in two minds about posting about this on Facebook and tweeting about it. I know people will find faults in it accusing me of wanting media coverage. I was in two minds about writing to DNA which originally broke the story. I wrote to them eventually. And ran a story on my Facebook page which has become a rage.

Here’s my well thought out reasons for seeking coverage:

a) Few among those who are now lecturing me about ‘seeking media coverage’ in media, specifically Kashmiris, did turn to help the boy from their own community and religion. The boy had barely managed Rs.34,000 including his own money in spite of “help pouring in” from the state and central government and from the hundreds of Kashmiris.

b) People get inspired when they see such acts of generosity.

— I have run campaigns among my friends on Facebook for raising Rs.2,00,000 for supporting rural entrepreneurs. Could that be for being the ‘good guy’? No. It is for motivating, and pushing people to contribute, else most remain in their cocoons of daily life, and rarely step out; mostly people do not take responsibility to bring change.

— The result of my push has been that i found over 30 new contributors to www.RangDe.org and over 2,25,000 in fresh investments.

— And most importantly found one super inspired soul who is now out to raise Rs.1,00,00,000/- (One Crore) for rural entrepreneurs to fight poverty in India.

— Similarly, when i recently worked on the Ghats of Ganga with a local community they talked about it on Twitter. This pushes people to forward. If a CEO of a software company can go out and clean a dirty kund in Varanasi, they get inspired to do the same. Here’s evidence:

c) I could have remained a silent donor. Zahid himself and his family and friends might have acknowledged that a Hindu from another part of India helped. What about a large section of Kashmiris who continue to be cynical about India and Indians? If they hadn’t known:

— i) cynicism about victimhood would only be deepened (certainly in Zahid and his near and dear ones, if he hadn’t found help) and also in the community if they knew this to be another case of a lost opportunity. And conversely when they know help is not far away from the rest of India, cynicism takes a hit and goes down.

— ii) there is a huge section of Kashmiris and Muslims, who are going to see this as an excellent gesture and acknowledge the camaraderie. This causes change in people’s hearts and minds, and eventually dents the discourse of cynicism and hoplessness.