We, are the change.

(Dear lovelies, being the transcript of a presentation, this post is verbose and written in a different style)

Do you ever challenge a preconceived notion? Have you ever question an assumption? Do you ever confront your own belief system?

Right may not be right. A social norm may be misconstrued.

But it is okay to question and challenge. It is okay to change. And we can make a change. People like us changed the world and people like us are changing the world.

First let us take a look at science that works on hypothesis and proofs.

• Recently some scientists claimed that Neutrinos can travel faster than speed of light. Modern day theories of physics assume that no object can travel faster than light. Theories of modern physics are being challenged. Einstein's theory of relativity is being debated at this exact moment.

• Does the Earth rotate around the Sun or does the Sun rotate around the Earth? For a long time, churches and astronomers believed that the Earth was the center of our Universe and that the Sun rotated around the Earth. Copernicus and Galileo proved heliocentrism but neither the church nor the established astronomers accepted it. Galileo was under house arrest for a long time. Galileo and Copernicus challenged the churches and changed the theories.

• Before 1903, scientists were convinced that anything heavier than air could not fly. Just a week before the first flight at Kitty Hawk, a renowned scientist published an article PROVING that flying was IMPOSSIBLE. The Wright brothers’ invention was called a hoax even after the demonstration. But look at us now! Not only can we fly, we're also sending spaceships outside of the Earth’s environment! The science of flying has been changed forever. In 1961, less than 60 years into the first flight, USSR sent Yuri Gagarin, the first human, into space.

Secondly, consider political landscape which works on power.

• USSR was a massive and powerful country. It was hard to imagine the collapse of the world’s largest superpower. Moving from communism to democracy was not even a thought during the cold war.

• Egypt is another good example. 30 years of autocracy ended in less than 30 days, 18 to be precise! Egypt is now heading towards democracy and we may see the first election on Nov 28.

• At one point, the British Empire was so vast that the sun never set in it. But it changed. The British Empire had an army of 2 million men, tanks and arms but Gandhi’s non violence won.

Lastly, consider the social values.

• The British hung signs stating ‘Indians and Dogs not allowed’ at the clubs. Winston Churchill made derogatory remarks and called Gandhi, a half-naked fakir. But the British negotiated with this half-naked fakir. High caste Hindus like Nehru followed Gandhi when India was marred and fragmented by the caste system. Gandhi made remarkable attempts to integrate the Indian society to eliminate hollow caste system.

• And who can forget Martin Luther King Jr and his famous words ‘I have a dream’. His dream came true. It was only as late as 1964, that the Civil Right Act was passed and thus banning discrimination. America saw its first black governor in 1990 (Douglas Wilder - Governor of Virginia) and just 18 years later, the very first black President. President Obama.

Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, Copernicus and others were people like us. Like them, we can attempt to make a change. A change that would make our society better. A change that would make our world better