The All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC) was founded as India’s first political platform focused on incorporating the voice and understanding the aspirations of India’s burgeoning professional and entrepreneurial class. It was perceived that this section of the society had become disconnected from politics and governance over the last few decades as there was no political apparatus to effectively engage with them. The Indian National Congress (INC) recognized this gap and created an organization to engage with the group and tap into its vast knowledge base and human resource for the betterment of our country as well as the INC.

As AIPC has matured, its members have organized effectively for several community and party causes, including playing an integral part in several manifesto writing processes. However, AIPC has been most effective when we have worked collaboratively with other relevant INC departments and frontals. Two such examples are the AIPC − Indian Youth Congress (IYC) relief work in eastern India in the aftermath of the Cyclone Ampham and the ongoing AIPC − Mahila Congress work on women’s health in Jharkhand.

Cyclone Ampham devastated large parts of eastern India earlier this year, destroying several thousand homes and livelihoods. The AIPC, in collaboration with IYC, jumped to action to organize relief work in the affected states. The AIPC leveraged its professional resources to set up central distress helplines and passed on the relevant information about the calls to the IYC. The IYC leveraged its vast network on the ground to respond to the distress calls and help citizens out by delivering food, helping rebuild homes, and organizing medical help.

In Jharkhand, AIPC is effectively collaborating with the Mahila Congress to improve women’s health. It is leveraging the financial and knowledge resources within its network to determine effective interventions required in women’s health and raise money to implement those interventions. Mahila Congress is leveraging its on−ground know− how and community connect to implement such interventions. As a result, we have started a large drive to install sanitary pad vending machines across rural towns and villages in the state, providing easy access of this necessary reproductive health product to rural women which they otherwise do not have.

Each frontal organization and department in the INC was founded to fulfill a specific purpose or engage with a particular section of society. However, the true potential of the INC will be unlocked when our organizations start leveraging each other’s strengths and collaborating to effect lasting impact. At AIPC, we look forward to many more of such intra−party collaboration initiatives to take the INC to new heights.