Transforming Life – How This Duo Is Changing The Social Landscape With Their Initiatives And Interventions

Renowned Social Entrepreneur Girish Pillai is the Leader of SDF (Social Democratic Front) join hands with Satyam Joshi – Socio-Political Strategist and Personal Brand Coach. The group's grassroots initiatives have earned laurels across the spectrum for uplifting the poor and the marginalized.

Girish Pillai, Could you tell us more about SDF?

State Democratic Front is a 4th front that offers a viable alternative to the disgruntled and misled voters in the Indian spectrum and social space. It is not a political party yet, but a consortium of various associations, entities & people (religious, non-religious, academic, sports, research, entrepreneurs, creative etc.) with varied backgrounds and diverse interests. These groups and entities are the torch-bearers of social issues and flag raisers of the gaps in the existing framework. SDF represents people from various walks of life, people with different socio-economic backgrounds, varied faith, and distinct religious skewness. We are different in our ways but have a common agenda – Working towards shaping new India. So, in a nutshell, our identity is purely pluralistic, but our broad image is secular.

You have created national headlines by your social initiatives. What are some of your endeavours for uplifting the poor and marginalized?

As shared with you, we are not a political party but a confederation of groups, associations, and people representing various society sections. So, you will find us everywhere, representing everyone. For example, when the Massive Floods hit Kerala multiple times, where the downtrodden fishermen community lost lives, houses and livelihood, we were the ones that were on the streets trying to do our best possible bit. Our people contributed material and nonmaterial helping hands without thinking even for a second immediately. Our people were trying to save, assist and rehabilitate people and their families who lost someone or something due to these natural calamities. Unlike state or central governments fighting or negotiating their political advantage, our people were there on the streets.

Kindly do not misconstrue our statements that we were the only messiah and the state or central governments did nothing. The governments traditionally have their style of functioning, and the parties they represent have their political objectives to be fulfilled for any activity they do. Still, for us, it was the only thing to do. Help people, lend hands, and try to make lives better!
Another example is when the verdict on Sabarimala took a different unexpected turn. We stood with the voices and ensured that the government heard our voices. We represented people's voices and put up a joint show at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Thousands of people flocked together to show their concern.

Question to Satyam Joshi (Girish Pillai's Strategist) - As an emerging icon for coming socio-political leaders, what aspects do our future leaders have to take care?

Cause, Intent and Conscience are the three most important elements for the success of any politician. Many examples support this assertion. The era of Lord Shri Ram walked the difficult road to showcase and demonstrate the correct path and course a leader needs to take. Let's take some recent examples - Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, Barak Obama etc. the list is endless. These are the people who have time and again redefined the word 'politician' by their sheer deliveries at their jobs. They were 'leaders' more and less of 'politicians'.

Question to Satyam Joshi (Girish Pillai's strategist) - What are the plans of SDF? We have read that you joined hands with mission Girish Pillai more out of passion than a profession?

This is where Girish and I joined hands-on - Bringing positive transformative changes. He has a strong appeal to the groups and people, whereas I bring something different to the table. When forces reckon, the results are amazing. I have had a long corporate spell wherein I have created, nurtured and managed brands across the spectrum

Girish, You have wide experience in the field of entrepreneurship. How helpful was it for becoming a leader of the mass?

Entrepreneurship is an ocean of possibilities, including learning. I belonged to a service class family, and it was a completely new experience. Before getting into business, I juggled with a lot of jobs and donned various hats of entrepreneurship.
Even after employing many, my hunger for addressing more people never satiated. I began to learn that this could be done at the country level. Suddenly the global meltdown in the year 2008 started to shake all the industries, regions and countries. Many companies got shut, and thousands lost their jobs when I decided to come back to my country and do something more meaningful addressing a larger public. Ever since then, I have been trying to gather understanding and address a larger audience.