Gandhi Journal Article-I ( January 2017 ) - Trusteeship

Gandhi Journal Article-I ( January 2017 ) 

Trusteeship

By Dhiru Mehta 

The business community hailed the economic policy of liberalization and globalization first enunciated by Manmohan Singh in 1991 as finance Minister of our country in the Government of P. V. Narasimha Rao. The same policy continued to guide the later governments. In the thinking on economic policy and matter there is no substantial difference between the different governments. Our country has practiced socialist economic policies for 40 years from 1951 to 1992. Since then the governments have been following policies of liberalization and globalization. At the advent of independence, the combined population of India then consisting of present India, Pakistan and Bangladesh was around 40 crores. Today the people living below poverty line in India alone are over 42 crores. It is reported that 1% of the population of the world would 99% of the resources of its wealth by 2016. The case of India is not much different. This clearly shows that neither socialism nor liberalization is the correct instruments for the economic growth and prosperity of this country. For solving countries economic problems one has to accept Gandhi’s economic solutions. Pandit Nehru realized it in his last days, which was too late for him to change the course. Advocates of present economic policy are getting highly intoxicated. The one of the idea of Gandhi’s economics was the concept of “Trusteeship”.

 

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New Book Published: Trusteeship : A Path Less Travelled

Trusteeship : A Path Less Travelled

Edited By: Siby Joseph, Bharat Mahodaya, Ram Chandra Pradhan
First Published : 2016

Price : Rs. 400/-
Published by : Institute of Gandhian Studies

Gopuri, Wardha 442001, MS, India.

About the Book:
 

This volume is a collection of selected papers discussed in the seminar on Trusteeship organised by Institute of Gandhian Studies, Wardha in February 2015 as a part of the celebration of 125th Birth Anniversary of Jamnalal Bajaj. It carries a foreword written by Ramjee Singh, a noted Gandhian scholar and former Vice Chancellor of Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, Ladnun, Rajasthan. It contains fifteen articles on trusteeship and related areas combining both theoretical and practical aspects.
 

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Gandhi Journal Article-II ( July 2016 ) - Jamnalal Bajaj: Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility and Trusteeship

Gandhi Journal Article-II ( July 2016 )

Jamnalal Bajaj: Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility and Trusteeship

Gandhi's concept of trusteeship provides an alternative system of management of wealth and resources by creating a fine balance between individual initiative and societal commonweal. The practical application of this concept in the field of business involves running business on the basis of ethical maxims and devoting the fair earnings from the business for the welfare of the society. The life and practice of Jamnalal Bajaj was an earnest attempt to actualise Gandhi's idea of trusteeship in letter and spirit. This paper analyses how Jamnalal fine-tuned his life to literally adapt Gandhian idea of trusteeship and in that process how he went much beyond the present idea of Corporate Social Responsibility.

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Gandhi Journal Article-III ( May 2016 ) - Gandhian Trusteeship as an 'Instrument of Human Dignity'

Gandhi Journal Article-III ( May 2016 )

Gandhian Trusteeship as an 'Instrument of Human Dignity'

Gandhi's economic ideas were part of his general crusade against poverty, exploitation against socio-economic injustice, and deteriorating moral standards. Gandhi was an economist of the masses. His approach was rooted in human dignity. His economic philosophy is a result of innumerable experiments which he conducted in the course of his life. His pragmatic approach gave a new direction to the existing socio-economic problems in the process of protecting human dignity.

The fluid international conditions fraught with ideological tensions in the economic domain demanded a fresh approach to economic philosophy, with emphasis on the ideals of human rights like democracy, economic freedom, and social justice. Gandhism as a socio­economic philosophy suits not only to accomplish the higher ideals of democratic freedom and socialism but it was also thoroughly developed to meet the challenge of national and international forces of communism and capitalism.

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The Humblest President in the World

The Humblest President in the World

José Mujica, the 77 year old former President of Uruguay [2010-15], a tiny country in Latin America, preferred to live on his modest farm instead of the majestic Presidential residence. One could see clothes hanging for drying outside his modest hut which had shrubs and trees around, besides his floriculture cultivation for which he personally tilled with his tractor. He would welcome his uninvited guests by preparing Mate, a traditional drink served in a guampa, a type of cup made from hollow gourd.

Mujica was a vegetarian and never wore a tie. The road leading to his humble residence was not even paved. All the possession he had was 1,800 dollars, and an old car which he used to drive himself. The land, his house and his tractor belonged to his wife who was a Senator. He led an austere lifestyle and donated around 90 percent of his $12,000 monthly salary to charities that benefited poor people and small entrepreneurs. His security was handled by two plain clothes policemen guarding his home. He used to move around like a common citizen.

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For more articles & eBooks on Trusteeship, click here...

Online Discussion on Gandhian Trusteeship and Non-violence

Gateway House cordially invites you to an online discussion on:

Gandhian Trusteeship and Non-violence: the Basis for a Creative Society

India Economic, Business & Political Series)

 with

 Rajni Bakshi

Senior Gandhi Peace Fellow,

Gateway House

 &

 Ashni Biyani

Chief Ideator and Director,

Future Ideas

at

6:30 pm

On

Friday, 21 February, 2014

On

Google Hangout

(Link here) 

A growing environmental crisis and the increasing inequality between the rich and the poor now constitute major risks to global economic and social stability. Societies around the world are struggling to address these issues.  As the problems associated with these risks escalate, it is necessary to look at unconventional solutions. Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of Trusteeship is one such approach that can provide the basis for a creative new solution. 

The idea of Trusteeship is based on the premise that you are never really the “owner” of wealth, but rather its temporary holder, a benevolent custodian. Gandhi was confident that eventually Trusteeship would offer an alternative to both capitalism and socialism. How did Gandhi conceptualise Trusteeship? How does the idea go beyond philanthropy and corporate social responsibility? Can Trusteeship become the foundation for a renewed, non-violent, and creative society?

Discuss these topics at a Google Hangout with Rajni Bakshi, Senior Gandhi Peace Fellow, Gateway House, in conversation with Ashni Biyani, Chief Ideator and Director, Future Ideas, on “Gandhian Trusteeship and Non-violence: the Basis for a Creative Society” on  February 21, 2014 at 6:30 PM IST. 

The live discussion will be interactive with the online audience. We invite you to post your questions in advance or during the hangout using #GHTrusteeship on Twitter or on the Google+ event page. 

You can access background reading on this topic here, here, here, here, and here.

Click here to register for the event on Google

or

Click here to register for the event on email

Follow the discussion on Twitter on @GatewayHouseIND #GHTrusteeship on 

February 21, 2014. 

Sincerely,

Manjeet Kripalani & Neelam Deo

Directors, Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations

___________________________________________________________

Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations, 3^rd floor Cecil Court, M.K. Bhushan Marg, Colaba, Mumbai 400 039

+91 22 2202 3371 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +91 22 2202 3371 FREE  end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +91 22 2202 3371 FREE  end_of_the_skype_highlighting|  meetings@gatewayhouse.in  |  www.gatewayhouse.in 

Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations is a foreign policy think tank in Mumbai, India, established to engage India’s leading corporations and individuals in debate and scholarship on India’s foreign policy and the nation’s role in global affairs. Gateway House is independent, non-partisan and membership-based.

________________________________________________________________________

Rajni Bakshi

Senior Gandhi Peace Fellow,

Gateway House

Rajni Bakshi is the Gandhi Peace Fellow at Gateway House, Mumbai. She is the author of  a Gateway House research paper  (October 2012) titled Civilizational Gandhi. She is also the author of  several books, including Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom: for a market culture beyond greed and fear (Penguin, 2009), which won two Vodafone-Crossword Awards. Her earlier book, Bapu Kuti: Journeys in Rediscovery of Gandhi (Penguin, 1998) inspired the Hindi film Swades. Her other books include Long Haul: the Bombay Textile Workers Strike 1982-83 (1986); A Warning and an Opportunity: the Dispute over Swami Vivekananda’s Legacy (1994); Lets Make it Happen: a backgrounder on New Economics (2003); and An Economics for Well-Being (2007). Rajni has a BA from George Washington University, U.S, and an MA from the University of Rajasthan. She serves on the Boards of Child Rights and You (CRY) and Citizens for Peace. She is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, an autonomous body under the Indian Ministry of Culture, and a long-term associate of the Centre for Education and Documentation (Mumbai and Bangalore).

Ashni Biyani

Chief Ideator and Director,

Future Ideas

Ashni Biyani is associated with Future Group, a business house in India that operates  retail chains such as  Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, Central and Home Town. She is the Director of Future Ideas, a consultancy for strategic thought for business and society. She leads a team that maps the behavioral shifts of consumers and communities. She has also led the conceptualisation and launch of a number of the group’s retail formats.  Ashni’s team is currently working on an assessment study for the Ministry of Social Welfare and Empowerment. Ashni graduated as a textile designer from the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. She has attended courses on scenario planning at New York’s Parsons School of Design, and the Summer Institute of General Management at Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, U.S.