Overview

India is being projected as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Going by the emerging scenario - its impressive growth trajectory, changing demographics and the rising youth potential, the country has great opportunity to establish itself as a major global power and be among the top nations in the world. As India stands on the threshold of a vital transition, a grassroots revolution is what can lead to sustainable growth in every corner of India. Now is the time to empower and fortify each and every village of our country, draw upon its strengths and create a roadmap for transformation. How do we achieve this? By building a robust, productive and vibrant workforce that will engage in positive collective action and slowly pave the way for India’s rise to new heights of harmony and prosperity. Project Bharat by The Art of Living is a nationwide impact initiative that aims to create over 35 lakh ‘pratinidhis’ or representatives from all over the country and build a powerful support system across rural communities, through community leadership, nation building exercises and spiritual awakening. Initiated by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, its vision is to create a wave of sattva in the nation, re-establish dharma and create a society rich in humanitarian values.

Approach

Project Bharat works towards promoting sustainable, socioeconomic, environmental, technological growth and skill development across villages through a 5E model of operation (sidebar graphic).

Our idea is to strengthen the individual with human and spiritual values to grow as an empowered community leader and change agent for implementing Project Bharat. One can make a big and positive difference wherever one lives. Going by this simple approach of implementing change, the project is primarily focused on building a dynamic team of skilled and committed pratinidhis in each and every village and city of India. The task of creating pratinidhis is executed under the close supervision of experienced Art of Living representatives, called Seva Yoddhas.

Seva Yoddhas are area level leaders for Project Bharat who are responsible for creating pratinidhis in their area. Once pratinidhis are created, the seva yoddha ensures that pratinidhis are trained and well-equipped with tools and techniques for implementation of Project Bharat.

Know your pratinidhi

Pratinidhis are area level representatives. Any individual who has passion, intent and willingness to represent their area (village / taluka) and drive initiatives for the transformation, holistic development and wellbeing of their community is an ideal ‘Pratinidhi’.

Mostly five pratinidhis are selected from every area. However, depending upon the population of the area, the number of pratinidhis may vary in the range of 5-10.

Once pratinidhis are appointed in every village / taluka, they are trained appropriately and engaged in implementing the following initiatives in their areas:

• Upholding the ancient wisdom and culture
• Encouraging holistic health & well-being through yoga, meditation, pranayama and knowledge
• Promoting swadeshi products
• Imparting skill training and training in modern technology
• Promoting natural farming and other environment friendly agricultural practices
• Welfare activities: counselling, awareness campaigns, medical camps de–addiction camps etc
• Outreach programs: sanitation, education, women empowerment, digital literacy, youth leadership training, cleanliness drives, tree plantation programs
• Social projects: rivers rejuvenation, water conservation, peace initiatives, conflict resolution (these social interventions will be carried out depending upon community needs)

A pratinidhi has the opportunity to become part of The Art of Living, one of the world’s largest volunteer based NGO with a strong framework for sustainable development. The Art of Living has promoted development and progress across communities through many diverse humanitarian and social projects. The pratinidhi can leverage this platform to make a visible difference to their society and the lives of their people. Unique identity cards are issued to every pratinidhi.

Going forward

The network of pratinidhis is expanding gradually across all parts of India. The Project Bharat central office team, all seva yoddhas and pratinidhis across India are connected via effective technology. The Art of Living Pratinidhi mobile application enables to capture data in real time which is also synchronised with the Art of Living Online India CRM through which reports are generated. The project impact is also geo tagged.

The next step is to develop a sustainable model for successful implementation by leveraging the pan-India network of inspired pratinidhis and seva yoddhas created by Project Bharat.