A Young Indians poster urging people to vote

The forum was already in place. What it lacked was the force and the financial muscle.

That is what brought the 28 of them together ? young, successful professionals all. They are part of a vision for a developed India. Young Indians is what they call themselves. The organisation, under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industry, had come into being in end-2003. Its eastern chapter has gathered the numbers over a year since then.

Now, the fledgling chapter has found voices to add decibels to its mission. Four Indian Idol finalists ? Rahul Saxena, Prajakta Shukre, Vishal Kothari and Harish Moyal ? will be singing for the Young Indians cause on Saturday at Nazrul Mancha.

?This is our first fundraising venture,? states Sanjiv Saraff of ICICI Bank, who chairs YI net, east.

Some activities have already taken off, though. ?We, Indians, are bogged down by a negative mindset. But there are so many areas where we are world leaders,? Saraff exclaims. Spurred by the motto ?We can, we will?, YI members visited two schools, Apeejay School and Laxmipat Singhania, and posited the statement ?I am not proud to be an Indian?. ?The students countered that, but with confused responses. One said he was proud to be Indian as Sachin Tendulkar plays for us. Respect for the flag has also dwindled,? shrugs Rajesh Poddar of ITC.

To provide avenues for expression of patriotism outside the cricket field, YI suggests simple measures. ?We conclude our meetings with the national anthem and have a mini flag on our desk. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that one need not stand if a variation of the anthem is played, we are in talks with hall-owners to revive the practice of a patriotic song being played after movies,? said Pinaki Majumdar of Cognizant Technologies.

The members counsel students, campaign against social evils like smoking and garbage-dumping and for duties like voting.

The future focus is education. ?As catalysts for change, we want to provide government schools with the right tools. Our national target is a lakh students in five years.?

Open to achievers between 25 and 40, YI is set to take its drive across the border, with chapters abroad in the pipeline. ?We are a young nation. Let us harness this potential,? they sign off.