Why are Indians so stingy as far as philanthropy goes? Last week, a group of 40 US billionaires led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates — who have a combined net worth of $230 billion — pledged to give away at least half their wealth to worthy causes. www.givingpledge.org This wasn’t a one-time gesture by super-rich individuals trying to placate hostile public opinion after the global financial crisis. Mr Buffett has already publicly pledged to donate 99 per cent of his wealth. Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have also been involved with several worthy causes around the world.
But this time, they also carried a lot of other rich individuals with them. Similar examples in India would be very hard to come by. Interestingly, Mr Buffett and Mr Gates also plan to meet wealthy individuals in India and China over the coming months to get them to take the pledge as well. There should be no lack of prospects at least — the two Asian giants have a total of 110 billionaires between them. Pledging away the bulk or even a substantial chunk of your fortune is not a particularly common concept in India — at least not yet! But it would be unfair to single out only the rich in this case.
Charitable donations — whether in terms of money or time — are fairly uncommon in this country. Much of the “giving” in India tends to be in a religious or spiritual context, which is an entirely different thing. Reviled by many for being the most ignorant, selfish and consumerist of societies, Americans could teach us a thing or two in this sphere. In 2008, individual Americans donated a staggering $229 billion to non-profit organisations of all kinds. And not just in money! It is estimated that around a quarter of all Americans volunteer time for a non-profit every year — not bad for a so-called “selfish” nation. It is not just charities which benefit from such donations. Educational institutions are pretty high up on the list too.
Top American universities such as Harvard, Yale and Princeton are currently sitting on multi-billion dollar endowment funds. This is money collected from former students over several decades — not in the form of fees but as voluntary donations made later in life. The $25.9 billion that the Harvard Endowment Fund manages helps to pay for education and research costs at the university for many less-privileged individuals, including many from India. It might take a very long time to change attitudes towards the concept of philanthropy in India. But some large and well-publicised examples can surely act as a catalyst. For instance, Nandan Nilekani and Arun Maira have inspired many promising corporate executives to join them in lower-paying, but more satisfying careers with the government.
Similar examples of well-known business figures setting aside money for worthy causes might well inspire many more of us to do the same. Perhaps it may be a good idea to ask successful corporate executives and top businessmen to take leadership roles for specific projects. For instance, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is working on projects to eradicate malaria and polio and to help improve the incomes of farmers. Similar projects could be set up in India, inviting top business leaders to take the lead in them.
Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/dc-comment/will-buffet-gates-inspire-indians-050
Articles in this blog are copied and pasted from various other sites. I want to create at least a minimum awareness among people to understand our politicians and religion. This will help our nation to weed-out corruption at all level
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