Giving Compass' Take:

• India Development Review notes a recent farmers demonstration in the Mumbai region to explore how the average person can catalyze lasting social change, in India and all over the world.

• When we think about local impact, how are philanthropists involving the voices of each community in order to create better programs and policies? The emphasis here is to reverse the top-down approach.

• Here's why fixing inequalities in India will require addressing underlying factors.

There’s a recent image that will remain etched in our collective memory for  a long time — 40,000 farmers from Nashik marching towards Mumbai in scorching heat to demand their rights. The reason it makes for a compelling image is because the farmers joined hands across caste, religion and class lines to demonstrate a simple truth to the establishment and society at large: that ordinary people have the power and potential to bring about change.

All these farmers needed was a common purpose and issue — and a few people to show them a direction. That was enough to start a movement.

For those of us who work in the development sector, the farmer rally is a timely, much-needed reminder to reassess some of our notions and challenge some of the beliefs with which we approach the community.

If all of us — the rich, the literate, and the powerful — have not been able to solve the world’s problems for all these years, I believe that the time has come for ordinary people to get involved; it’s also time to take a different approach to solve our issues.

Read the full article about communities being involved in decision making by Anshu Gupta at India Development Review.