'Giving' - a new way of life.

With the advent of the "Oracle of Omaha" in India, the calls for the wealthy to part with their wealth seems to be steadily gaining currency. In 2006, when the legendary investor Warren Buffet pledged 99% of his wealth to philanthropic activities, it was and still is by far the largest charitable donation in history. His wealth as of 2011 is around $50bn. Now a first grade kid can do a simple math and tell you that it would translate to $49.5bn, but what the kid may not be able to tell you is the number of hungry mouths this money can feed, the number of diseases it can help cure, the number of primary schools it can build, the number of smiles it can bring on the faces of the poor and the marginalised, how much it can make this world a much better place to live in. It's really heartwarming to know that there are quite a few people who willingly give back to the society in a humongous way.

But why do people give in the first place? This can be best answered by Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Maslow argues that once people have their basic needs fulfilled, they start a quest for self actualisation. Maslow describes these people as the ones who embrace the facts and realities of the world rather than denying or avoiding them. They are interested in solving problems of the society. Solving these problems becomes a key focus in their lives.

A recent study has found that among the wealthy people in India, the top 1% controls 16% of our national wealth. Yet the philanthropic donations in India is about 0.6% of it’s GDP(its 2.2% in US). Why are more people not giving in to charity? Is it that they somehow don't seem to be reaching the 5th floor of Maslow's hierarchy of needs pyramid? Guess their elevator has got stuck on the 3rd or the 4th floor. May be its time to call the janitor and help jettison them to the top of the pyramid and make them attain 'kaivalya' and start donating their wealth!

It would be unfair to say that philanthropy doesn't exit at all in India. We do have examples of Azim Premji, GM Rao, etc., but they are far and between. People do have a few genuine concerns regarding philanthropy in India. The wealthy are wary that in the absence of a well established support system to utilise the donations professionally, their hard earned money may be misappropriated. At the same time there aren't many support systems due to the lack of flow of funds. This sounds like the familiar chicken and egg problem and a possible solution could be, as more and more people start to bequest more and more support systems may emerge.

We can broadly divide the wealthy into two types : Inherited and Self-made. Bill and Melinda Gates in their recent interaction with corporate India found that the first generation entrepreneurs, basically the self-made ones, are more willing to engage themselves in charity. That's definitely a good omen. For the former, may be the Govt. of India can take a cue from US and levy a hefty inheritance-tax(US has 35% inheritance-tax for wealth above $5mn). This may seem a coercive way but given the feudal mindset of our society it can be a good idea.

For many people making name for themselves is paramount in their life. May be they can follow the Nobel(Alfred) way and institute awards in their names for people involved in humanitarian activities. This can be an indirect-philanthropy. Others may take the route of 'venture-philanthropy' and fund researches like low-cost vaccines, etc.

Coming to the question of why philanthropy is so important in India, it's because we are still a developing country, and the government hasn't got enough resources to build the Social Infrastructure. And also post liberalization era, the so-called trickle down effect has remained an illusion, and the gap between the Haves and the Have-nots has further widened. It's high time the Haves take it upon themselves as a responsibility to give back to the society in a big way. Philanthropy should become more of a habit, a new culture, a new tradition in the society.

Giving should become a new way of life.