Harini Calamur: Five Indians who give hope for the country

The past year or so has seen the fall from grace of many idols. It seems that no one is interested in the larger good. Today, it is not uncommon to hear the refrain ‘sab chor hain’ attributed to more than just the political class. Idols from the areas of business, industry, media, journalism, films, civil society, sportsmen and saints have all come crashing down to earth. It feels like that there is no one left to trust. It seems that there is no bright and shining light that tells you that people are decent, and act for the greater common good.

Today, this column is focused on people who put basic human decency and dignity at the core of their dealings. And, while it is important to know about the nasty things of life, it is equally important to know and celebrate the deeds of those who rise above the everyday ‘me first’ syndrome.

Azim Premji: Starting out as a maker of vanaspati — hydrogenated cooking oil — Wipro has ended up becoming one of the most respected IT services companies in the world. The credit for this vision and transformation goes to Azim Premji, who was only 21 when he took charge of the company. But, business success is not the only reason we celebrate Premji’s work.

It would have been so easy to rest on the laurels of transforming a Rs12.5 crore company into a Rs35,000 crore company. But, that is not all what Premji did. He set himself another challenge: to set up schools that provide top-notch free education in every little village in India. He has undertaken what is possibly Independent India’s single largest act of philanthropy  — $2billion dollars of shares transferred to a foundation that will drive this mission.
 

Bunker Roy: It is so easy to go into rural India and see the chronic poverty, deprivation, caste differences, illiteracy and put your hands up in defeat and drive back to the city. Bunker Roy is one of the few who didn’t react that way. He didn’t look down on people because they didn’t have literacy skills. Instead he chose to train them as solar engineers, midwives, masons, and water engineers. Now these newly-empowered individuals go forth and change the lives of others in their environment.

The Barefoot College has trained more than three million people who have in turn transformed their societies. Think of people without any formal education being capable of taking electricity, water and basic primary healthcare services to remote communities and you will begin to appreciate Bunker Roy’s vision.

Kalpana Saroj: A woman and a Dalit — both have faced generations of institutionalised discrimination — a barely educated Kalpana Saroj took over an ailing engineering company and managed to turn it around. And, that is after ensuring all debts were paid and all workers’ dues were settled. In a world where we are used to hearing creditors losing money, and workers losing their back pay when companies are rescued from going bankrupt, you can celebrate not just her achievement but also her ethics.

Rahul Dravid: There are more glamourous players like Dhoni, with more runs like Tendulkar, more swashbuckling and adventurous like Segwag. But, it is difficult to find one player who embodies sportsmanship and team sprit the way Dravid does. When he walks on to the field, it is one player you can be sure is there to play for the love of the game, and for the team. And, he usually hasn’t let his fans down. In a world where we are used to individual records and individual glory, Dravid reminds you that there are still people for whom old-fashioned values still matter. 

Vandana Shiva: Her greatest contribution has been to prevent large corporations from patenting seeds and taking all the profits generated for themselves. But, it was not just about fighting profits. It was about fighting for ownership. If a company took a patent on a seed — which is produced by millions of years of evolution, and generations of farmers working towards improving seed quality and produce — then farmers would have to pay the corporation every time they planted the seed. What Shiva achieved was a fight against those who would patent someone else’s traditional knowledge and make the poorest pay for it again and again.

There is goodness in the world. There are people who are trying to make a difference. Maybe we all just need to look around and find them.

Harini Calamur is a media entrepreneur, writer, blogger, teacher, & the main slave to an imperious hound. She blogs at calamur.org/gargi and @calamur on Twitter