AID Delhi Chapter - The Change Makers Interview : Shalini Sharma

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The Change Makers Interview : Shalini Sharma

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changemakers3

"The Change Makers" interview series intends to profile

the people who are trying to make a difference to India's

development in their own unique way.

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shalini

Interview with Shalini Sharma, recently selected India coordinator for "Students for Bhopal (SFB) ", a global association of people fighting for justice for the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy.

In conversation with Anirban Mudi (AID volunteer based in Calgary, Canada)................

Q1. How did you feel after getting selected ?

Well I actually didn't go for the interview with the sole purpose of getting selected..rather I took this to be an opportunity to get acquainted with the survivors and activists of Bhopal. So naturally when I was informed of the three phase process I was thrilled at the prospects of having hands on feel of what Bhopal means. Finally when Nishant told me that I am part of the team I didn't quite realize whether the satisfaction is because of the news or the healthy food of Sambhavna clinic...

Q2. What motivated you to apply for SFB coordinator position ?

I guess it was my own confused introspection about my indifferent attitude towards the campaign..questions like ' why I never went beyond the three line explanation of the tragedy given in our textbooks? why our own government slept over the call for justice for Bhopal? why someone from US took the initiative of starting a student campaign for the cause while we who claim to come from a sensitive and a value lidded society failed to hear the sounds of deaths... ?' as confusion often leads to clarity I realized we cant take stand against a campaign and think it failed to bring results unless we have been part of struggle ourselves. One has to leave the safe zones of being a bystander if he doesn't want to turn into a victim soon... Though it was while taking a ride in narrow lanes of old Bhopal that I felt the silent chill in air it was then that I knew I have to work for the campaign be it in position of coordinator or a volunteer.

Q3. Could you please give us a flavour of the questions you were asked during the interview for SFB coordinator ? Any funny moment during the same ?

I feel the interview very subtly addressed my motive of joining the campaign and my conviction in the same.The questions were mostly about my experience of working with young people, challenges I faced in doing so and what kept me going. The group was very kind in not asking me anything that requires basics in mathematics as I confessed right in the beginning how scared I am of figures...

But the best part was when I was asked to give a presentation before the group. I had a terrible cold then and with flooded nose and teary eyes it was rather impossible for me to have prepared anything for this presentation. So I chose to share my failures (while working with college students) and my journey of shedding some of the most nonsensical stereotypes I carried..it was a spontaneous decision and perhaps I might have been a bit dizzy to have spoken about it...I remember Nawaab Bhai and Rasheeda di laughing almost all the time..

Q4. How about sharing something of your background?

Well my hometown is Roorkee, a small but vibrant town in Uttaranchal....its been over five years now that I am in Delhi. Completed my graduation from I.P College for Women in mass communications and masters in social work from Delhi School of Social Work, University of Delhi. Both these courses equipped me to to look at the sustainability of the human practices and development process in general.

Q5. Tell us about your previous experience in development sector.

Before joining SFB I was working with Center For Media Studies and in the past I have gained some experience with organizations like WWF-India, Amnesty International, Sweccha Foundation, Pravah etc ranging in varied issues. At various levels my work involved awareness and capacity building, media relations, communication and leadership building, volunteer coordination and management, documentation and training in issues such as gender, environment and human rights. I have also been part of Campaigns led by these organization such as Citizenship campaign, Violence against women campaign, We for Yamuna campaign etc. In all these domains much focus was also on using media and communications in a manner that is useful to bridge the gap between masses and communication. This gave me a wider perspective of issues and also enriched my skills in engaging human resources in productive ways.

Q6. Were you involved in campaigns previously ?

While working with Pravah I had the opportunity to know Narmada Bachao Aandolan closely and since then Narmada has been a very deep passion and constant struggle but I have hardly contributed anything to it. Besides, as a student I did volunteer in different campaigns, most of which I already told you.

Q7. What can you not do as a volunteer and can as a coordinator ?

Indeed volunteering is the first step towards change making process. It brings one out of his cocoon and gives exposure of all bitter sweet things but it is through a formal position one gets the space to be a part of certain planning and decision making process. Also it brings tremendous responsibility for decisions, for the time and energy of volunteers...obviously there is a different level of commitment from which one can't back out!

Q8. What is your role as a SFB coordinator?How do you intend to enhance the Bhopal campaign ?

Its rather too early to comment on this but as of now I feel the most important challenge is to tie all loose ends and work together as one group. We have several enthusiastic groups working for the campaign from different parts of the country but still a lot needs to be done to get Bhopal once again on the memory maps of people. This becomes especially relevant as Bhopal can be seen replicated over and over again in different forms within the country and else where. So building a sense of solidarity amongst different youth groups/organizations and gaining their support and cooperation is a very important task. Also to enhance the skills in advocacy and campaigning for all members is a key area where we shall be working now on.

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