THE GIVING PLEDGE
Charu Yeotikar
Till World War II the pace of the world was very slow. Human race had gone through many upheavals at a very slow speed. A gigantic change came after the end of WWII. After that the slow pace of the human race accelerated and mundane scenario started changing drastically. By the beginning of 21 st century the old ideologies started disintegrating and giving space to new ideologies. One such wonderful change bloomed in 2010. Generally changes shoot from ground level but this change blow (burgeon) from high echelon to the ground level. Warren Buffett who is one of the richest men in the world and doesn’t need any introduction. This honorable member of the billionaire’s club has accumulated tons and tons of wealth and is among the highest ranked name in the Forbes’ list of riches.
Human mind is very fertile and never stabilizes moderately but always moves from one extreme to another extreme. After reaping the benefits of his high-status, butterflies started flying in his mind. Normally butterflies flatter around the flowers but here a reverse thing happened. The butterflies bloomed a flower, whose fragrance spread all over the world soon. That flower was in the form of a pledge which was named The Giving Pledge. The impact of this pledge was that what he industriously gathered all his life, he suddenly started distributing it generously. Soon his footsteps were followed by many other members of the billionaire’s club.
A great act of commitment to philanthropy. The giving pledge is a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to giving back. Founded by Warren Buffett, Melinda and Bill Gates in 2010, the pledge has 204 signatories who had signed out of by2000 billionaires worldwide.
The fund of these billionaires is utilized for uplifting the lives of unprivileged people of the society, especially for their education and healthcare. Both are the basic requirements of human race. Why Education? Education is a powerful tool by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and participate fully as citizens. For a civic society education plays a great role. Education opens the minds. Mind is the most precious gift to human by divine. Small things can be done physically; greater things can be done mentally but further higher things can be done spiritually.
The signatories of the giving pledge are not only wealthy but visionary also. Their ideology to donate for others, to bring change in the lives of common men is an effort to make the world a better place to live in. These donors understand their social responsibility well and are committed to it.
Have a look at the Indian scenario. Charity is imbibed in our culture. Our religious teachings stress on generosity. After independence India has progressed in different sectors of education but irrespective of increase in education the equity and quality of education still remains a challenge in poor learning outcomes. Even primary section students are unable to read and write properly. Observing this Ajim Premji Foundation started to work in primary education as a vehicle of social change. Ajim Premji is among the top magnanimous personalities of our country. His foundation is creating wonders for the improvement of basic education of masses.
In ancient times India had a wonderful Gurukul system which provided education to all sectors of the society. Later on Takshashila and Nalanda were great learning centers which provided education on different subjects. Our all times great teacher Chanakya was from Takshashila . He not only freed our country from invaders but made it so strong that for centuries no outer forces could attack India.
TATA is a premier name in the field of philanthropy. Tata group of industries are at the top for contributing to their social responsibility. Padmshri Sudha Murti is a well-known personality in the field of social services. She is a very good example of how children learn from their elders. Her grandparents were very generous in helping the needy. She was so well groomed by her family that she left her bright career to work for social cause. Sudha Murti after becoming an engineer applied for a job in Tata group of industries, but she was refused being a lady. The angry Sudha wrote a letter to JRD Tata about the biased attitude towards the women to refuse her a job. JRD Tata called her and appointed her. She worked well and when her husband set up Infosys she resigned from her job. JRD Tata called her and advised to return to the society what she got from it. When Infosys progressed,Sudha took the responsibility of charity part.
Nandan Nilkeni who is a cofounder of Infosys is also among the signatories of the giving pledge to donate half of his wealth for social cause. Shiv Nadar, Mukesh Ambani, Ajay Piramal, Adi Godrej, Gautam Adani and Savji Dholakia are among the industrialists who had contributed crores of rupees for social welfare schemes.
Wealth comes with huge responsibility and is best deployed for the larger public interest is the basic idea for the generous sponsors. They set an example before the misanthropic, who are only interested in accumulating their wealth.
Societies are very diverse including everyone from most privileged to under privileged. In between these two stages a large number of people exist, who are neither super rich nor poverty- stricken. A large number of this middle-class people are reaping the benefits of their education, leading comfortable lives. Where they stand? Do they have any role to play in the giving pledge?
Charity is a multidimensional faceted diamond. It shines from every angle according to the act of the giver. If the intention of the contributor is pure it works wonderfully. This is the law of the divine. A small kind act of charity is returned in multitude of kindness to the benefactor.
Though billionaires have lions’ share in donating their riches, other sections of the society can also contribute within their own limits. The educated class can contribute for teaching the unprivileged children. The class of the society which is highly educated and self-sufficient in their lives can also fulfill their social responsibility by giving back to the society in form of imparting knowledge to the poor students.
Everyone has something or other to offer. If you don’t have anything to give at least pass a smile to others because when you are tired you need a smile to cheer up.