It has been 67 years since India attained independence in 1947, freeing herself from the oppressive bondage of British rule, thanks to the Freedom Movement, which was basically a People's Movement. Great leaders such as Gandhi channeled People's Power into a nationalist force to end the British Raj. In the last six decades, we Indians have seen many developments; we proudly gave ourselves a Constitution in 1950. Since then, we have held 15 general elections, and changed governments. The number of eligible voters in the first general election in 1951-52 was 105 million. Around 814 million voted in the 16th Lok Sabha polls held in April-May 2014, an exercise of mind-blowing proportions. The people expressed their faith in a democratic system and exercised their power. The world looked at us in wonder and amazement as we celebrated our incredible democratic achievement.

Four years after Independence, we launched our first Five-Year Plan (1951-56), with the aim of resurrecting out economy from colonial rule. Since then, we have had 11 such plans, with the 12th (2012-2017) currently running. Reforms came in 1991, when the nation was almost on the verge of bankruptcy. Since then, the Indian economy has revived. Today, we are among one of the fastest growing economies of the world, boasting a 300-million-strong middle class with constantly rising purchasing power.

But sadly, the poor have remained, more or less, where they are, at the bottom, and if anything, pushed further down towards it. According to official reports, 30 years ago, India was home to one-fifth of world's poor but now the country has one-third of poor people. This means we now have more poor in India than three decades ago. And they number around 400 million, spread across the country. Poverty breeds poverty. It is a vicious circle. It breeds hunger. In 2012, India ranked 65th in Global Hunger Index. Though there is no shortage of food production in the country, it has the highest percentage of children suffering from malnutrition. Poverty is also the root cause of all health problems among the poor, especially women and children. Poverty is accompanied by other ills such as lack of education for the children, especially the girl-child, and employment opportunities for the youth.

Today, India is a land of dichotomy, of sharp contradictions, and more importantly, of challenges. The poor continue to remain poor, despite several, on-going, pro-poor government policies and schemes. They have forever remained seekers of doles and subsidized food and fuel. The government of the day, under pressure from its own economic priorities such as initiatives to plug budget deficits and cut non-productive expenditure may resort to pruning subsidies for the poor.

In a situation such as this, the people need to be empowered. They need to be told of their own inherent strength. People's Power of Nation (PPNLokshakti), as a Non-Government Organization (NGO) and facilitator, believes in the empowerment of the people, through its own initiatives. These include empowerment of women by guiding them to reach out to various available government and privately-funded schemes, especially the education for the girl child in particular and for the under-privileged and neglected children in general.

PPN strongly believes in working with the existing system and taking full advantage of it than fighting against it. In order to achieve this goal, PPN proposes to develop a cadre of committed social workers, groomed for the purpose from a very young age. For these youngsters drawn from both cities and villages, Patriotism is their only creed, caste and religion. PPN believes that true patriotism lies in the service to the people, especially the poor. Remember what Mahatma Gandhi said about the poor.

"Recall the face of the poorest and weakest man you have seen, and ask yourself if this step you contemplate is going to be any use to him."

Every initiative that PPN contemplates will have the undercurrent of service to the poor and society, which is the true meaning of Patriotism as stated above, which, these days, is very much misused and abused. Also patriotism frees the youth from the narrow considerations of religion and caste. Swami Vivekananda said, 'Religion is the idea which is raising the brute unto man, and man unto God.' But today what we are seeing is that religion is turning man into a brute, while God is a mute witness to this act.

PPN expects that these youth will become the catalysts of every change and of heralding social justice and equality that we are seeking. They will be the thought leaders guiding the village adoption schemes because some of them who are villagers themselves know the village problems – lack of education, health facilities, electricity and, more importantly, drinking water and sanitation. PPN proposes to inculcate among these youth, the ideology of patriotism as a means of serving the nation. There lies the big difference, a difference that can change the nation. It is the PPN's Vision and Mission to raise such a cadre of selfless, committed volunteers, tomorrow's natural and national leaders. It is a tough, long-term goal. PPN believes it is achievable.