Mohalla Sabhas / Neighborhood Meetings!!!

My Grand-father chaired every single neighbourhood meeting in the community/neighbourhood until his end.  And as his hand-puppet, I went with to all of those meetings and sat next to him, through those meetings. This culture does not exist any more. Now everyone wants to be independent. We do not want other to have a say in our affair. We have taken all our matter to our hand. We now claim ourselves  to be self-sufficient and self managed. Another prospective I suppose!

I wonder if this concept existed in the western world, a generation ago. I am sure it did. We are too cut-off these days and having done that, we have become more dependent on the regulatory forces such as police, law, military forces etc etc. The role and the power of the society as a shield to its fellow residents have diminished through the process. Today, we are literally on our own. Previously society has some responsibilities/controls through these virtually binding social concepts, towards people living in it.

It brings so much of integrity & social responsibility. If one suffers, other dives in to help. If one has a problem, all other find a solution of him/her. If one needs, whole society is available at the doorstep. Without it, we just have to go on requesting people to help and everyone is just busy in their part of the world ONLY. We never make a decision together. Our decision have become so self-centric that it has created ways for both internal & external disturbances such as: corruption, crime, rape or even cross-border terrorism, to that matter.

Today I read about Arvind Kejriwal led one-year-old Aam Aadmi Party’s TOP-FIVE promises that have been laughed off by its mainstream political rivals as unimplementable. One of the promises is to restore "Mohalla Sabhas" or “neighbourhood meetings”. I know, it will still have political influence for the time being but I am more excited about the possibilities, around its true SOCIAL EXTENTION/POTENTIAL/INTEGRATION once again…the day RAM-RAJYA will return once again.

1. The party has insisted that it will end VIP culture in Delhi. No AAP minister will ride in a lal batti car (marked vehicle used by ministers/VIPs in India), or stay in the traditional bungalows allotted to ministers, he has reportedly said.
2. It will reduce water and electricity bills. The fledgling party vowed to halve the power bills and conduct an audit of discoms, or electricity distribution companies, accused of overcharging consumers.
3. The AAP has vowed to provide 700 litres of free water to every household in Delhi. According to some estimates, that would cost the state some 340 crores a year.
4. The party has also promised "swaraj" or self-rule. To translate its idea of direct democracy into action, it has planned "mohalla sabhas" or “neighbourhood meetings” to decide on policies. The 272 meetings held across Delhi last week to invite public opinion on whether the AAP should form a government with Congress support, offered a preview of these “mohalla sabhas” / “neighbourhood meetings”
5. The party promised to bring in a strong law for a Lokpal or an anti-corruption ombudsman within 15 days. The demand for a Lokpal was at the centre of Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal's campaign in 2011. Since then, the two men have drifted apart, with Anna Hazare backing the Centre's Lokpal Bill passed in Parliament last week, and Mr Kejriwal rubbishing it as a weak law designed to protect politicians.