Daily Times

The death of more than 400 workers, mostly women, in Bangladesh as a result of a garment factory building collapsing has rudely reminded us that millions of human beings work under the most atrocious conditions. International companies with famous brand names want clothes produced as cheaply as possible. This they achieve through entrepreneurs in the Third World who virtually pay slave wages to their workers and make them toil for long hours in the most primitive conditions. Neo-liberal capitalism is a curse that makes some people quickly rich while many remain crushed by grinding poverty. Can one replace it with something humane and fair? The notion of ethical entrepreneurship is a central concern of the Initiatives of Change (IofC). It was discussed fervently at the conference in Panchgani. I met at least three successful entrepreneurs who are members of the IofC: Tapan Parekh, Vivek Asrani and Suresh Vizirani. I got an opportunity to interview Asrani and Vazirani. Their ethical philosophies are presented below.

Vivek Asrani is a young industrialist of Sindhi origin who decided not to pursue a career in engineering or law but to establish his independent business of the production of industrial components. He told me: “I am fully aware of the fact that I cannot take care of all those millions of Indians who badly need help and assistance, but those who work for me become my social responsibility. We pay wages and salaries that are competitive and encourage our employees to pursue simultaneously higher education and special courses that improve their qualifications. My wife runs her independent handicrafts business. Both of us decided never to give bribes, always to pay the taxes due from us and to treat our workforce as our moral responsibility. On a number of occasions we have come across bureaucrats who expected some rewards, but when we explained our philosophy to them and made aware of their own responsibility most of them relented. We have found that a satisfied and properly rewarded workforce is the best guarantee for making greater profit, creating new jobs, and thus contributing to the well-being of society.”

Suresh Vizirani is also of Sindhi extraction. He is a self-made man and very proud of it. Like many other refugees, including Asrani, his family had to go through very tough times but hard work, solidarity and love of his parents enabled him to educate himself as an engineer. He worked for about six months as a newly qualified engineer, but after he came in contact with IofC, or the Moral Re-Armament movement as it was then known back in the 1960s, he gave up a bright career temporarily to work without salary as a volunteer at the Asia Plateau for several years. He wanted to do something big that combined outstanding personal achievement with service to his nation and people. He credits this vision to his exposure to the IofC. It is such resolve and determination that oftentimes produces extraordinary results.

A kindly couple, Surendra and Tara Patel, believed in Vizrani’s quest to contribute to society by introducing a business that would help the common people. In 1980, they lent him Rs 100,000 to pursue such a dream. What followed was a unique search for an enterprise that would also be a social service. He told me:

“I kept searching and finally decided that in a poor, developing country like India prevention was better than cure. Complex medical treatments were exorbitantly expensive for the average Indian citizen and often out of reach for most patients. I realised that the Indian health system and hospitals badly needed efficient systems for early diagnosis that could provide inexpensive preventive treatment as a viable option. The existing blood examination apparatuses, methods and technology sold by multinational companies were too expensive and lacked customer service facilities. I started writing to firms all over the world and then visited a number of countries, including Japan, Germany, Sweden and Italy. I received cooperation from several Japanese and Italian companies. While on my tours abroad I was helped by IofC members and other good people. I could stay with some, including the Patels’ Italian daughter-in-law’s family and thus keep my expenses to the minimum.

“Initially, I imported equipment and focused my energy on training customers and servicing the machinery myself, but found that spare parts were difficult to import and prohibitively expensive due to the depreciating value of the rupee and heavy custom tariffs. Being an engineer myself I decided to design and develop better products that could be locally manufactured at a lower cost, thus making it affordable for tens of thousands of Indian laboratories to buy and maintain them. This and many other products manufactured by our firm are now used in most Indian hospitals and private clinics to conduct blood tests inexpensively. Our products are economically priced, reliable, and readily available and the company maintains service facilities that are provided whenever needed. I generously donate such equipment to many charitable hospitals in India.”

Mala and Suresh Vazirani’s family-owned company is today a recognised, successful business, exporting to overseas customers as well. The couple are deeply spiritual and are followers of Sai Baba, a holy man, who nobody knows if he was a Muslim or a Hindu. He is believed to have been born twice and the third one is awaited. His teachings and message have a strong emphasis on charity and are open to all. Not only rich and successful but people from the weaker and deprived sections of society are also followers of the Sai Baba. I met a number of Dalits who told me that they follow the Sai Baba cult. As long as such movements reject caste hierarchy and other religious orthodoxies and bring Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and others into a common fraternity they can be considered part of the non-conformist traditions of South Asia.

The writer is a PhD (Stockholm University); Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Stockholm University; and Honorary Senior Fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Latest publications: Pakistan: The Garrison State, Origins, Evolution, Consequences (1947-2011), Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2013; The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unravelling the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British Reports and First-Person Accounts (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2012; New Delhi: Rupa Books, 2011). He can be reached at billumian@gmail.com