Philanthropists...........................Universal Citizens

Lets start with a lesser known but  VVVIP  Dr Kiran Patel and Dr Pallavi Patel, who gave the University of South Florida $34.5 million in 2005 to build a centre that focuses on ‘creating solutions that deliver a sustainable quality of life for all people’.


And what of India’s women philanthropists? Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, who heads a leading Indian biotech firm, has set up a foundation to provide quality healthcare and health education. Sudha Murthy, wife of the founder and mentor of IT giant Infosys, heads Infosys Foundation, while Rohini Nilekani, wife of Nandan Nilekani, CEO of Infosys, describes herself as a self-taught philanthropist, building two foundations committed to education and water issues in India.

British Asians too have their pioneers. Chris Mathias, a UK-based social entrepreneur, has a hands-on, results-oriented approach to philanthropy. He funds start-up charities that are not fashionable in India, recycles computers from British businesses to African schools, and is chair of a new UK charity, Connect for Change, to link British Asian donors with exciting development initiatives in South Asia, starting with a pilot in India.

Azim Premji, billionaire head of Bangalore-based software company Wipro foundation, which he funds through his shares, helps reform India's education sector by implementing on-the-ground assessments of the effectiveness of teaching programmes in thousands of schools in Karnataka, South India. Premji sets the direction and monitors monthly progress but leaves the running of the foundation to a dedicated team.

One interesting anecdote friends......................

Sudha Murthy, Chairperson of Infosys Foundation, recalls that J R D Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group, asked her, at the time of her leaving the company in 1982, what she was going to do: ‘“Sir, I am leaving. My husband is starting a company called Infosys.” “Oh! And what will you do when you are successful?” “Sir, I don't know whether we will be successful.” “Never start with diffidence,” he advised me. “Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate.”’