Opinion Are We Greedy?
Prompted by Azim Premji giving away two billion dollars for building schools,CNN-IBNs Face the Nation investigated philanthropy and greed. Some gems from that chat.
Prompted by Azim Premji giving away two billion dollars for building schools,CNN-IBNs Face the Nation investigated philanthropy and greed. Some gems from that chat.
Gem No. 1: The anchor asked in the opening remarks will more of Indias business houses spend less money on their weddings and mansions and more on philanthropy. Dont quibble,dont say business houses dont have lavish weddings,or indeed any kind of wedding,and neither do they build mansions. Businesspeople do that. Lets take the question in its spirit,and the spirit seems to be that for the super-super-rich spending on weddings and houses competes with that on philanthropy. Marriages and mansions are,of course,pin money for the kind of businesspeople the show was supposedly talking about. You can hire the Versailles for your sons wedding and still give a couple of billion for a good cause,if you want to. But Face the Nation seemed to imply that dollar billionaires have this terrible and terrifying choice between marrying off their children in style and giving money for schools. What fun.
Gem No. 2: But was the show talking about billionaires? Question of the Day always a potential delight asked are Indians too greedy to be philanthropic. What? All Indians? Was CNN-IBN asking,say,whether I am too greedy to give two billion dollars for building schools? Had the question been on the lines of are Indias super-rich too greedy,it would have made sense but,then,it would have been no fun at all.
Gem No. 3: A panelist,a director at the Art of Living Foundation,was introduced as someone who could perhaps give a spiritual view on why we are turning greedy and ostentatious. Loved the perhaps. And,note,we are,we all are,turning greedy and ostentatious. CNN-IBN was trying to say something via this repeated argument that greed and ostentation are useful analytical categories applicable to all Indians,irrespective of income. Fun,no?
Gem No. 4: The anchor asked a panelist,Why has been there in Indian society rich really not contributing to the poor? I quote that verbatim to bring you the richness of thought pervading the show. Trying to understand the statement,I think,will affect its richness.
Gem No. 5: The same panelists take on the Premji story was that the billionaires being a Muslim and certain Muslim traditions explain the gift,while bania businessmen have a more self-serving and dodgy view of wealth management. Whether one agreed or not,this was the first half-way interesting observation. CNN-IBN responded ordinarily at first,by observing that the panelist is arguing philanthropic traditions exist in Islamic and Christian spiritual traditions but then,something extraordinary happened. CNN-IBN said,further summing up the panelists argument,that the tradition of giving was perhaps not there in a caste-based society of,um,a bania caste. No,really. A caste-based society of the bania caste. In response,the panelist who could perhaps give a spiritual dimension on the question why we are turning greedy said a greedy person cant be a philanthropist point taken,but that wasnt the point. On the other hand,maybe that was the panelists way of avoiding discussions on complex issues,as represented by CNN-IBN drawing our attention to a caste-based society of the bania caste.
There were a few more like these. But the point had been made by then we are all turning greedy and ostentatious and we have TV shows to match that transformation.
saubhik.chakrabarti@expressindia.com
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