Well, if we apply a little pressure on our minds then it was about ‘farmer suicides ‘. In India, which is growing at a rate of 9% per year and happens to be one of the most favorite countries for America, farmers die faster than your heartbeats. Thousands of farmers have killed themselves because they could not manage to pay back their loan. And when you hear the amount they had to pay back, your jaw will drop or at least the glass of Jack Daniels in your hands will definitely drop with a clinking voice. Some of the farmers [at least 10,000] committed suicide with their families because the loan amount was beyond their capacity, 1500 INR. They could not even manage to pay back 1500 INR.

The Small Scale Industries [कुटीरउद्योग] also share the same fate; they are dying at a very slow but consistent rate. Every year thousands of people close down their home grown businesses [read integrity and self-respect] and head to Delhi, Noida, Mumbai and other big cities to work as laborers or unskilled workers [read 9% growth rate per year]

Then someone came up with the idea of helping or rather sharing our good fortune. After all, we are proud Indians, residents of the great भारत, we like to share, to love and to respect. Rangde.org is one such effort to share the love and show [to ourselves] that we all are a big family where we all care for each other and help those in difficulties.

Here is how Rangde works, read wisely;

I am a farmer, I work in a village in Himachal and the local moneylender is the only one who is willing and able to give me money for my smallest of the needs. I never have big needs because I work and eat on a daily basis. So, I head to the local moneylender and ask him to lend me 1000 INR so that I can buy an instrument [See what instrument I use] and reap my wheat or paddy at ease. I am always optimistic because that is the best and the only thing I can do, so I assume that day after I get the money, I will reap my harvest and sell it and pay back the loan.

The money lender is a agreeable person, he charges only 1% per day and as my work will be finished by three days, so I will have to pay back only 1030 INR three days later. Currently, the moneylender is also optimistic as I am. Now, I buy my instrument, go to bed and next morning I wake up to see its raining, just as it was raining a few months back. It rains continuously for three days and my entire crop is washed out, as I am poor I can only manage gunny bags as cover, which is going to serve no purpose because the rains this year have been very harsh. Three days later, I see my crops, they are all gone, and this is the only piece of land I ever had, now as there is no one to help me and the money lender tells me that If I can’t pay back the loan within the next six months, he will confiscate my land. In case, if I do manage to get hold of some money in four months [120 days] I will be paying him 1000+ 120% Interest because the interest is 1% per day [Compound Interest]. I will ask what is Compound Interest and he will explain it to me and even then I will not be able to understand that how did that 1000 become 5000.

However, Rangde shall lend me the same money with a very low interest and shall provide me with an ample time to repay the amount back (in a year). I will never have to worry about the interest rates or repayment terms because Ranngde allows me to take my time because my lenders [investors] do not want my land, they don’t even want my life, they just want to see me happy and working because if I work, only then they get to eat.
Rangde asks its investors, people like you to invest amount as low as 100 INR, so that people keep working, run their household and send their kids to school. You do not have to ask for their religion or caste or breed, you just have to see their need, which is sometimes as low as 1000 INR and on top of that, it is not like you give and forget, you will be paid back with interest of 5% within a year. This investment makes more financial sense rather than letting the same small amount rot in your savings account (only 3.5% interest)

It is not giving, it is sharing.
It is not donation, it is social investment.
It is not charity; it is about integrity of a person.

Few weeks ago when there was a news about Japan’s Nuclear Radiation reaching India, people got  worried about their countrymen, so they did not waste even a single moment to post it on facebook, twitter and some of those who were too patriotic ended up messaging everyone on their phone contact list. Well, that news was a hoax.

But farmers’ killing themselves is true. Aamir Khan said this in Peepli Live (watch it again if you still want proof)
The following news paper articles say the same
1. Wikipedia Link
2. A Professor speaking about farmers suicide
3. Farmer Suicide
4. Madhya Pradesh Farmer Suicide

Rangde is almost similar to Kiva.org, a successful and popular micro-finance organization, started and run by the Americans. As we love almost everything that Americans do, so we must love Rangde too.

If you want to show patriotism, this is the right time so that your coming generations do not die because of food shortage. We so proudly go to ChowkiDhani, and feel good about our culture, the village culture. Our Villagers are dying and without them, there will be nothing left to be proud of.

In case you are too much in love with IPL, Rangde makes sure your social investment [Rangde IPL] is in the name of your favorite team.

Step up and take charge because since your childhood, you always wanted to make a difference.

P.S: There is nothing bad in drinking Jack Daniels or watching IPL @iNox or wearing underwear that comes for over 1000 INR, the bad thing is closing your eyes to the problems our villagers face. The blame game has to stop, let us assume (or rather accept) that all our politicians are corrupt and none of them are worried about our farmers. We are educated people and we talk about Universal Brotherhood and I say ‘Charity [action] begins at home.

Are you ready?