Gandhi in European business schools

It is, indeed, a matter of great satisfaction and celebration that young Indians are taking interest in the life and works of the Father of the Nation - Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi has been voted the second most popular leader of the world of the century. In fact, he missed it marginally to Winston Churchill, who was voted for the first position. In the recent past, media i.e. electronic and print has played a significant role in creating awareness among masses about the philosophy of Mahtma Gandhi. In fact, films like "Lage Raho Munnabhai" and "Gandhi-My Father" have created awareness and have highlighted the philosophy of Gandhi with a different approach.

The "Gandhigiri" (non-violent protest) is being practiced all over the world. A recent example is of United States of America where the United Sates citizenship and immigration services office was sent flowers by individuals, who were legally in the United States, but caught in a green card backlog. There have been positive results of Gandhigiri as well. In India, non-violent protests are on the rise. For instance, in Vidarbha region, farmers staged a protest with flowers. Similarly, in Lucknow, a group of local citizens took the Gandhian path to lodge their protest against the continuation of a liquor shop in a residential area, by marching silently and offering flowers to the liquor shop owner.

Gandhi's theory of trusteeship is well known and widely accepted. Also, the concept of corporate social responsibility has its deep roots in Gandhi's theory of trusteeship. Tepco, Parmalat, and Enron- these names are synonymous with corporate irresponsibility. The issue of trust in business, government and media is a challenge of our times.

Corporate social responsibility basically refers to business practices characterised by extensive disclosure and transparency, which companies initiate to fulfil ethical responsibilities towards employee communities and the environment. Corporate social responsibility has growing connection to corporate governance, and thus, the young Indians, whether in the industries or in the business schools, must be exposed to the various nuances relating to business ethics, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.

It is, indeed, a matter of great satisfaction that not only the Indian universities like Delhi University and Indira Gandhi Open University are offering courses on Gandhi but the business schools from all over the world, in particular, from Europe like EDHEC Business School in France, IAE Business school in France and Bergische Universitat Wuppertal, Germany have made ‘Gandhi & Management’ as part of the curriculum for their MBA students.

(The writer is an associate professor at MDI, Gurgaon and a visiting professor at Edhec Business School, France and IAE Business School, France)