From the Desk of Editor in Chief : Being Socially Conscious

As per the translation of the above verse in the Bhagvad Gita, Chapter 17, Verse 20, by Swami Mukundananda (www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org), “Charity given to a worthy person simply because it is right to give, without consideration of anything in return, at the proper time and in the proper place, is stated to be in the mode of goodness.’’

Despite retiring at a humble position in the Indian Army, my voracious reading of books gave me the wisdom to return something to society, which we exploit most of the time.

But who am I? Not a government officer, nor minister, nor Managing Director of a company. Despite that, can’t I contribute in my own humble way? Is it not what the Granthas of every religion teach us? What is the use of reading them if we can’t follow them to some extent, within our own limitations? What matters is the idea, the thought and the determination to be philanthropic, despite having modest earnings. Also, I never considered it as doing any favour, nor was I yearning for anything in return, when I extended my arms for giving charity.

Before embarking on the narration of my pursuit of charitable causes, I need to mention those persons to whom I owe everything. Firstly - the officers in the Army under whom I served for 28 years as an Other Rank (OR)/ Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO). They trained me in all situations including how to fight wars against Pakistan. Secondly - Prof M S Pillai, the then Head of Department (HoD) of the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) and subsequently Founder Director of the Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource (SCMHRD). He came all the way to Nashik where I was posted, to convince me to take up teaching as a career. Thirdly – Dr S B Mujumdar, who read my CV briefly and told me (and I can never forget those two words), “Join straightaway”. Thereafter, he looked after me, guided me, scolded me and even taught me how to shape my career.

I always felt strongly about the plight of Defence personnel who lead a sort of nomadic life, and as a result, their children face a tough time educationally. India got Independence in1947, but neither the Central nor State Governments bothered to address this issue, nor that of the rehabilitation of defence personnel. As they are posted from place to place, they do not officially belong to, nor come under the purview of any particular state. Besides, there are issues of reservation, quotas and state policies. Can you believe that, at one point of time, the total budget at the disposal of the Director General – Resettlement, for the rehabilitation of one of the biggest armies in the world was just Rs.50 lakh? Successive Governments proclaimed to be custodians of the Armed Forces, but did precious little. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing something positive, notwithstanding the delay in the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.

I, a small person from the Other Ranks, convinced Dr Mujumdar to start the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS) for Defence personnel and their dependents. I also initiated a proposal to procure four acres of land from the Ministry of Defence. As the matter progressed, I left SIMS and in my place, a dynamic and very young alumni, Ranjit Mudholkar, took command. Nevertheless, I pursued the mission of getting the land, and along with Ranjit, took the matter to its logical end. The then Defence Minister George Fernandes appreciated the cause, referred it to the Central Cabinet and got it approved. It was perhaps the first time that a Defence land in the heart of the cantonment was given to a private B-School. I went a step further and was the first to donate Rs.5 lakh as my contribution construction of the SIMS building.

It is pertinent to note here, that, when I left SIMS, Dr Mujumdar, while settling my accounts, was willing to give me a few lakh rupees for the good work I had done for Symbiosis. However, I insisted that only my gratuity, amounting to Rs.1.5 lakh be settled.

Also, as Director of SIMS, despite being the founder and having helped procure land worth crores of rupees, my salary was only Rs.5000 per month while my counterparts earned Rs.20,000 per month. But the disparity did not bother me and I worked overtime because of the love and affection showered by Dr. Mujumdar. My sponsorships also fall in the same category that of a selfless giver, without expectations.

I still felt I had not contributed enough for the cause of education of Armed Forces personnel. So I created the Grateful Gunner’s Scholarship in the Regiment of Artillery at a value of Rs.50 lakh. The interest is given as scholarship to the children of the Regiment of Artillery.

I have not confined my donations only to children of the Armed Forces. I have created similar corpuses in ten other colleges as well as public charitable trusts, where similar scholarships are given in perpetuity.

I have also generously sponsored national corporate events, emanating from my desire to change the pattern of sponsorships. I genuinely felt that why should only industries be the sponsors? Why not educational institutions, which ultimately benefit from the Industry? However, a stalwart corporate leader commented that my sponsorships had a vested interest and were in expectation of something in return. I immediately stopped the sponsorship, as his remark hurt me to the hilt. I was distressed and felt that my good intentions have not been appreciated by the enlightened leader. By then, I must have donated to the tune of at least Rs.5 crore to this organisation alone, over a period of one decade. Nevertheless, I am not discouraged. I continue to do whatever I can, for I have to meet the commitment that I have given to Lord Venkateshwara.

The objective of this editorial is to inspire people to make charity as an integral part of their lives, as I firmly believe that it is one of the channels to bridge the consistent problems of this country where dispensing of social justice by the government is unbalanced. I am happy to mention that there seems to be good news here. According to India Philanthropy Report, 2015 by Bain & Co, ‘‘in 2009, only 14% of the adult population across India donated cash, and some 12% donated their time. However, in 2013, for example, 28% of the adult population donated money and 21% donated their time. This amounts to a staggering increase of more than 10 crore more Indians making donations in cash or time than in 2009. What in 2009 was a tiny sapling is now a resilient tree in bud, awaiting its first blooms.’’ Indeed there is hope that social responsibility will be shouldered by every Indian, who has the capacity to contribute in whatever, little way.

These are some of the questions that bother me.

Dr (Col.) A. BAlASUBRANANIAN
editor-in-chief