(The following are excerpts from the speech of Mr.S V Sista, Executive Trustee of POPULATION FIRST, on the occasion of the formal launch of the 90-sec film "QUEUE" [Aap Katar Main Hain] in Mumbai on November 24, 2004)
When we met two years ago, we brought you an idea, a thought and what was at best the draft of an action plan with a clear underlying focus: POPULATION.
The last two years have been rather hectic: We took our thoughts, your inputs and the best of technical contribution and corporate support and set out to work. I'll not list out here the details of our work [we like to refer to some of it as achievements!] - the list is long, and takes us on a path that covers a range of issues linked to population - health, contraceptive choices, status of the girl child.
This is also the birth centenary year of JRD Tata, the doyen who set for himself and his group an agenda that found place and prominence for corporate excellence as well as social responsibility. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR as it is popularly called, may be the corporate buzz today, but JRD Tata was its original and best practitioner.
We meet today for the formal release of the film 'QUEUE', which has happened, again because of support from the Tatas and timed for JRD's birth centenary year. If only the nation had heeded his caution on population in the 1950s…
But today we stand on the cusp of a new opportunity. India seeks her place in the global economy. We are a self sufficient nation, noted as a strong military power, as also for our prowess in the field of technology. We have the muscle, and the mind. Nothing can stop the march ahead but the march can become a crawl if we cannot take with us the mass of India.
I take this occasion to make an appeal to the media, to business and of course to our bureaucrats and politicians.
It is time the media fulfill its responsibility, which, as I see today, is to put pressure on the government to act. And act now. |
POPULATION FIRST Launches Advocacy Film
Seeks support of TV channels to bring population issues to the center of public discourse
POPULATION FIRST formally released the film "Queue" [Aap Qatar Mei Hain] on Tuesday, November 23. The 90 second film is part of our National Advocacy Campaign for Population Stabilisation [NACAPS], and seeks to bring back to public attention and focus the subject of health and population. It'll play on various television stations, and be available on this web site after its formal release.
Click here to see the film 'Queue'[Aap Qatar Mei Hain] launched by POPULATION FIRST in Mumbai on November 23, 2004
Riding on the popular and ubiquitous voice message Aap Qatar Mei Hain [You Are In Queue], the film draws attention to the issue of population and the challenges associated with it.
Dramatically depicted, the film gives us a long and heart rending look at the various queues that have formed an everyday part of our lives and which, in a sense, reflect the quality of life of a majority of our people.
The film presents a close and creative look at the way numbers impinge on the lives of the people of India and has an emotive appeal as it touches on day-to-day experiences. The treatment is extremely gripping and unique, thereby ensuring continuous interest. Within the film, POPULATION FIRST has built in a response mechanism wherein interested and concerned citizens can call or SMS a particular number and express their desire to better understand the issue and to work on health and population issues in the country.
The film is sponsored by the Tatas as part of the birth centenary celebrations of JRD Tata, a pioneer in population planning.
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