Brewing social change – one tweet at a time

Since almost a decade now, Tata Tea's Jaago Re campaigns have urged people to make a difference in their cities, towns, and neighborhoods, through active participation. In its latest drive, the brand once again presents a few extremely relevant questions before Indian audiences – Why do we, as a nation, react only after disaster strikes? Why not actively look for answers instead of protesting when things get worse?

Coupled with a scathing video that depicts our tendency to outrage violently long after a crisis is underway, the campaign's message seems to have resonated loudly with audiences across the country. Not only has there been a huge wave of support and appreciation for the video, but several TV, film, and sports personalities have also expressed their concurrence over the issues raised by the movement. From Konkona Sen Sharma and Taapsee Pannu to Babita Phogat, Saina Nehwal, and Virendar Sehwag, a number of renowned names have widely shared the message across platforms.

Actor, activist, and entrepreneur Gul Panag summed up the gist of the message in her tweet: Candle light marches, protests, social media outrage. Why do we WAIT for things to go WRONG? @JaagoRe hits the nail on the head yet again! Echoing her was Indian athlete, Deepa Malik, who made headlines for winning silver at the Summer Paralympics in Rio, last year. Malik tweeted: Para Sports is barely noticed even after our athletes win medals. When will we give sports its due importance? Alarm Bajne Se Pehle #JaagoRe

In fact, one of the chief aspects highlighted in the video was our tendency to judge sportspersons and their performances only during international events and then conveniently forget them for the rest of the year. No wonder then that the campaign seemed to have touched a chord with several Indian athletes and sports personalities, including Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, and Babita Phogat. Doubles specialist and 14-times winner of the National Badminton Championships, Jwala Gutta asserted on her Facebook page: This is what I mean when I say not to wait till the next Olympics to discuss issues in sports. Let's make sports integral part our system. Alarm Bajne Se Pehle #JaagoRe

Similar thoughts were echoed by other from her fraternity.

Supporting Sports means much more than just Taali & Gaali. If we snooze, we lose. Literally! Alarm Bajne Se Pehle #JaagoRe https://t.co/y3z6mNrLMH

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 14, 2017

Such a wonderful thought. Don't wait for the alarm. Arise. Awake. Today. #JaagoRe. Please do watch. https://t.co/xeynKeSLDg

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 15, 2017

Actor Taapsee Pannu, who recently won accolades for her performance in the hard-hitting film Pink, shared the video after tweeting about how India urgently needs to budge from its sense of apathy.

This shows how despite so many instances,we refuse to budge from our apathy. Time to wake up! Alarm Bajne Se Pehle #JaagoRe https://t.co/2PKIZNV4uN

— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) February 14, 2017

The video emphasizes some of India's most current social issues, including farmer suicides, women's safety, crime, and lack of proper infrastructure whether on our streets or in sports facilities. Actor and filmmaker Konkona Sen Sharma stressed on how many of these problems have existed for a while, and yet we seem to wake up only after something horrible has already happed.

Women's safety has ALWAYS been a concern, so why react only post a rape and not before? She asked on Twitter.

Women's safety has ALWAYS been a concern, so why react only post a rape and not before? Alarm Bajne Se Pehle #JaagoRe ⏰ https://t.co/9RwJl5y7W2

— Konkona Sensharma (@konkonas) February 16, 2017

That Tata Tea's latest version of Jaago Re has once again captured the imagination of a nation is fairly evident from the massive support the video has received across platforms. From celebrities and influencers to students, media professionals, and farmers, the message has resounded strongly with Indian people across age groups and backgrounds.

जब आप आराम से अपनी ज़िंदगी गुज़ार रहे होते हैं उस वक़्त एककिसान ख़ुदकुशी कर चुका होता है यह जागने का वक़्त है! अलार्म बजने से पहले #JaagoRe https://t.co/nC8kxiyYu9

— girindranath (@girindranath) February 20, 2017

It's not faulty infrastructure, but our apathy towards it that is really disastrous! Alarm Bajne Se Pehle #JaagoRe https://t.co/Q7s9BXpoAT

— Karanvir Bohra (@RealKVB) February 18, 2017

Please bring back this method of advertising, music, audio, video, content or whatever else it is that you wanna... https://t.co/nqoi9srFRB

— Sherrin Varghese (@SherrinVarghese) February 16, 2017

Outstanding stuff by Tata Tea -https://t.co/5zhTKuJC7I

— Punkuzz (@punkuzz) February 14, 2017

Today, more than ever, it's important to talk about issues before they turn into disasters—to watch out for warning signs, to wake up before the alarm rings. #JaagoRe, a TATA Tea initiative, encourages all citizens to strive for change before it's too late. Join the conversation at www.jaagore.com