What exactly is the relation between an NSS unit and the community?
Of course it is an often debated topic, but still an ambiguous concept.
Many feel that the NSS unit and its volunteers are meant to for serving the community. This is a gross misconception. The aim of of NSS activities is very clearly the development of the individual, with the secondary aim being the uplift of the society. Each activity that the NSS unit undertakes should be providing some food for growth of the volunteer's personality.
Our society has no dearth of ills - caste/gender/status discrimination, dowry deaths, pornography and prostitution rackets, AIDS, bullying, women teasing, illiteracy, ignorance, superstition - the list is endless. Everybody agrees that these issues must be solved. But they are silent to the question of who would take the initiative.
I believe that the student youth are the best ambassadors of change. If you examine any society it can be seen that the young people try to be different from adults. This desire can be channelised to make them the torch bearers of change. The outrage which followed the brutal rape of a medical student in Delhi was lead by young people. If analysed, it can be seen that their average age is around 25. The protest against the incident snowballed into an agitation which had the power to bring down even the ruling government. This vigour of youth if properly channelised, can be used for creating positive changes in society.
Through the concept of 'little drops make the ocean', volunteers from all the NSS units in the country become enlightened citizens of the nation. Thus, it can be said without any doubt that each NSS unit is in fact, a self-contained ecosystem that moulds young minds into responsible citizens of the country.
