INDIAN ETHOS

INTRODUCTION

‘Ethos’ is derived from ‘shastra’ culture. It determines the culture of Paap-Punya, Swarg-narak,
conduct or cultured behavior like truth, non-violence, devotion, welcome, pranam, kindness,
respect for elders, love to youngsters etc. ‘Ethos’ is a discipline that examines one’s morality or
the moral standard of the society whereas ‘Ethics’ means expected standards in terms of your
personal and social welfare. It includes honesty, morality, responsibility, etc.

Indian ethos for management means the applications of principles of management as revealed in
our ancient wisdom brought forth in our sacred books like “Gita,” “Upanishads”, “Bible” and
“Quran”. In human life, there is a great importance of ethos, ethics, and values. Today's Indian
corporate culture is somewhat based on Indian ethos.

Ethos assists a human being in making a difficult decision. Indian scriptures give a lot of
psychological insight into human behavior. Management is a behavioral science and it must be
culture-specific.

Indian ethos for management means the applications of principles of management as revealed in
our ancient wisdom brought forth in our sacred books like Gita, Upanishads, Bible, and Quran.
Formally, the body of knowledge which derives its solutions from the rich and huge Indian
system of ethics is known as Indian Ethos for Management. Management is behavioral science
and it must be culture specific. Indian Ethos for Management has as its basis, the cultural base of
India and as a country whose culture has its roots in religion - it does draw its lessons from the
religions of the land - be it Hinduism, Buddhism, or any other.

In Today’s scenario, we face several challenges when working in corporate and we have to
manage stress, conflict, confusion, weakness, work pressure, teamwork and many more. Indian
ethos, ethics and values are helpful to the person in corporate life. This is the great thought

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process given by our Indian culture to mankind. If our youth follow this culture in their life, they
will experience real satisfaction in their personal life while being successful in corporate career
also.

Indian Ethos guides us about every aspect of life. Indian Saints are great examples for adopting
ethos and they got their achievement of life.

We read a beautiful thought on school walls “If wealth is lost, nothing is lost. If health is lost,
something is lost. But if the character is lost, everything is lost.” There is a lot of importance to
our character when we behave in society or organization.

When we work to incorporate that time, we must concentrate on our behavior which will decide
our character. Indian Ethos is helpful to form the character of a human being. All religions guide
regarding the purpose of life and the importance of the law of karma. Indian ethos guides human
beings on how to live a life with the qualities of truthfulness, purity, compassion, forgiveness,
self-satisfaction, simplicity, equality, control of sense of organs and many more.

How must human karma (Work) be in life for society or for the organization? People remember
great people by their work. Such people always create positive feedback in society or in
organizations.

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 AZIM HASHIM PREMJI

It is one thing to be successful and another to make others benefit from your success.

As Wipro's founder and executive chairman, Azim Premji, decides to pass on the baton to the
next generation, society at large will remember him more as a philanthropist than anything else.
This is precisely because of his active pursuit of compassionate capitalism, through which Premji
has pledged to give most of his wealth back to society.

"In many senses, Premji is well ahead of other Indian business leaders because he has given the
largest grant in Indian history to a philanthropic organization. Hopefully, with Premji spending
more time in philanthropic activities, the impact of the Azim Premji Foundation will be much
more in coming years," said TV Mohandas Pai, former chief financial officer and board member
of Infosys.

"He is a role model for Indian industry and is the 'Bharat Ratna' among Indian businessmen,"
said Pai, who has seen this corporate tycoon from close quarters.

The Azim Premji Foundation, set up in 2001, works to improve access to primary education in
India, including some of its most disadvantaged parts. Premji's philanthropic initiatives also help
in improving the lives of street children and the disabled. The foundation also runs the Azim
Premji University in Bengaluru. “His inclination to give back to society is deeply rooted in his
personal traits. Despite being a successful corporate leader, he leads a simple life, takes economy
class flights on domestic routes apart from maintaining high standards of ethics in all his
business dealings," said Pareekh Jain, an IT outsourcing advisor and founder of Pareekh
Consulting.

Premji was the first Indian to sign the Bill Gates and Warren Buffet's "Giving Pledge", under
which he commits to spend 50 per cent of his wealth on various social causes.

Currently, the Azim Premji Foundation works through a network of field institutes in over 47
districts in six states, special- focus schools in at least six backward districts, a varsity in
Bengaluru, and other non-profit partners. It works in states such as Karnataka, Chhattisgarh,

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Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, and the union territory of Puducherry.
The foundation provides grants to around 150 NGOS for three- to five-year projects in areas of
supporting differently-abled people and orphans, drug abuse control, violence against women,
trafficking, among others. Sources said the annual grants given by the foundation were more than
Rs 100 crore.

Corporate governance officials said that Premji has demonstrated that a successful business can
be built on an ethical foundation with a social purpose. "Premji has shown that if there is no
trusteeship of the wealth, it can be easily destroyed. It is worth emulating for other business
houses," said a corporate governance expert.

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 NARENDRA DAMODAR DAS MODIJI

The education system developed by the British was not a part of the Indian ethos and created a
“service class”, and the National Education Policy (NEP) will open doors to take education out
of narrow thinking towards modernity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

He also said “The basic premise of the NEP is to take education out of narrow thinking and
connect it with the modern ideas of the 21st century. There was never a dearth of intellect and
talent in the country, however, the education system created by the Britishers was never part of
the Indian ethos. The British provided this education system to prepare a servant class for
themselves to meet their needs.”

The NEP, which was launched in 2020, aims to enhance the quality of the education system
which must provide to all students, irrespective of their place of residence, with particular focus
on historically marginalized, disadvantaged, and underrepresented groups. It also aims to create
higher performance standards for teachers by way of clearly outlining their roles and required
competency. The policy envisions an education system rooted in Indian ethos that contributes
directly to transforming India sustainably into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society,
besides developing among the students a conscious awareness of one’s roles and responsibilities
in a changing world.

The PM stressed that the education system should not create only degree holders. “We should
not only create degree-holder youth but give our education system to the country, whatever
human resources are needed for the country to move forward. Our teachers and educational
institutions have to lead this resolution,” he added.

For creating a “New India”, the PM stressed that a new system and modern processes were
critical. “What was not even imagined earlier is a reality now. Not only did we recover so fast
from the big epidemic of Corona, but today India is one of the fastest-growing large economies
of the world. Today we are the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world,” Modi said.

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“The NEP is now opening the way for studies in the mother tongue. In this sequence, ancient
Indian languages like Sanskrit are also being carried forward,” he said.

Narendra Modi believes in, development doesn’t just mean glitter but development means
empowerment of the poor, downtrodden, deprived, backwards, tribals, mothers and sisters.

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 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

During the 1970s, at a seminar organized by Kerala University, veteran CPM leader EMS
Namboodiripad was asked to explain why the communist party could not lay its roots in India in
spite of its early inception. One major reason, he explained, was that the communists could not
realize the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian political context. Gandhi’s politics was closely
footed in India’s ethos and village life and that is why he succeeded. On the other hand, the
communists did not develop an Indian communist movement just as Lenin did in Russia, Ho Chi
Minh in Vietnam, or Mao in China. In this lies a lesson for all the popular movements in India
even today.

On February 14, 1916, Gandhi was invited to a missionary conference in Madras. During his
talk, he explained to his audience the concept of Swadeshi and outlined three of its core facets —
Swadeshi economics, Swadeshi politics and Swadeshi religion. He had no hesitation in telling
the missionaries to adopt a religion rooted in the Indian ethos and to “restrict to one’s own
ancestral religion.”

Gandhi wrote in Harijan on June 1, 1947 that the basis of Swadeshi socialism is economic
equality, which is essential for Ram Rajya. He took inspiration from the first verse of
Ishopanishad. He believed all wealth belongs to God and rejected the concept of private
property. At the same time, he opposed the western idea of socialism on five counts — violent
class war, materialism, lack of individual freedom, selfishness, and mechanic concept of
classless society. Antyodaya and Gandhi’s Sarvodaya are targeted towards the development of
the last person in the society.

Gandhi remarked that the Indian education prevalent before the advent of British was a beautiful
tree, rooted out by the British for their ulterior interests. He said: “Today India is more illiterate
than it was fifty or a hundred years ago, and so is Burma because the British administrators,
when they came to India, instead of taking hold of things as they were, began to root them out.…
and the beautiful tree perished.”

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Today, with globalization and western capitalist model followed by the successive governments
contributing to the slowdown of the economy as well as the manufacturing sector, we need to
present Gandhian ideas that will suit the modern times. We need to reshape Gandhian ideals
towards India-centric solutions to save the nation.

When the discussions on convening a Constituent Assembly for drafting a constitution started,
Gandhi called Vallabhbhai Patel and Nehru and asked whom were they going to entrust the task
of drafting India’s Constitution. Nehru said he was considering someone like Sir Ivor Jennings,
an internationally known constitutional expert from England. Gandhi advised them to not look
for a foreigner when they had within India an outstanding legal and constitutional expert like Dr
Ambedkar. That was how Ambedkar became the architect of the Constitution of India.

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 E. SREEDHARAN

E. Sreedharan is one of the leaders who attributes his excellence in professional world to
Bhagwad Gita and its principles. Several examples indicating the practice has been documented.

Sreedharan was given the sobriquet of Metro Man by the media for his grand success in
executing the completion of the Delhi Metro.

The message must go out loud and clear: integrity is priority and non-negotiable for the
company. DMRC is perhaps the only mega infrastructure project of the country considered free
from corruption taints. To achieve this, Sreedharan puts ethics high up on his goals list. He
personally handpicked his team members in the initial years after lot of due diligence. Once on
board, strong structures and procedures are in place for every activity-from tendering of contracts
to recruitments-to keep employees on the ethical path.

To foster values, a copy of Makaranda Bhagwad gita is given to all employees when they join. “I
do not consider it a religious text.” It is an administrative gospel that teaches you how to face
challenges and overcome them," says Sreedharan. All new DMRC staff also take an oath of
integrity when they come on board.

It took them 190 km and 14 years to muster the courage to let him go. And yet, two weeks before
E Sreedharan quits as managing director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), their
trepidation is palpable. The question is not whether Phase III of the Delhi Metro will be
completed by its deadline - 2016. The question is whether it will be done the Sreedharan way.

The man himself is unruffled. Sreedharan has full faith in his team to carry forward Delhi
Metro's sterling tradition. After all, the credit for the project's success must go to the 7,000
employees who work hard every day, he says. This is Sreedharan the leader, who has evolved a

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system that he believes, can do without him. This is Sreedharan the man, who is self-effacing in

his humility and cannot be bothered with glory.

The TIME magazine named him as one of Asia's Heroes in 2003.

SUDHA MURTHY

Dr. Sudha Murthy is a social worker and prolific writer. Trained as an engineer at a time when
women rarely entered the field, she secured first rank throughout her academic career. After
working as an engineer, Sudha Murty became a teacher of computer science and a social worker.
She later founded the Infosys Foundation and now serves as its chairperson. Sudha Murthy has
successfully initiated and anchored several programs to improve healthcare, education, disaster
relief, women and youth empowerment, and orphan care.

She has also personally contributed to programs benefitting war widows, education scholarships,
sanitation, and the arts. A well-known writer, Sudha Murthy has published over ninety-five titles
published in sixteen Indian languages. Sudha Murthy has received many awards at the state,
national, and inter-national levels, including the prestigious Padma Shri Award, Rajya Prashasti,
and six doctorates from universities across India.

In her works, Sudha Murthy strives to instill and reinforce positive ideals whereas the modern
literature of the postcolonial era does not. Compassion, truthfulness, human decency, concern for
others, gratitude, respect for one's job and a healthy attitude towards money and marital
relationships are all part of this study's core principles.

In a sense, the literature produced by a given culture is a mirror picture of that society's
inhabitants. In addition to broadening, one's viewpoint, literature also serves to unite people and
cultures. When we read critically, we develop the ability to analyze what we have read logically
and rationally. NCF 2005 introduced values as a fundamental aspect of education in the National
Curriculum Framework (NCF). Professional education is gradually including values into its

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curriculum as well. It is a value of concern and a component of the curriculum in a multicultural
country like India that promotes peacefulness, humaneness, and tolerance.

J.D. RATAN TATA

The Tatas have always adhered to excellent business ethics and corporate governance practices,
corporate social responsibility. They are not only good at dealing with all stakeholders with
earnest and fairness but also at contributing to environmental sustainability, and improving the
quality of life of people.

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise – Going to bed early, say
before 10 PM and starting your day early next morning (say 5 AM) helps you better deal with
negativity. It enhances your chances of success and makes you more persistent, cooperative,
agreeable, conscientious, and proactive. Ratan Tata always believed in being a morning person –
he used to convene his important business meetings at 6 AM in the morning to get the best
results from these meetings.

According to Ratan Tata – Trust is the psychological bond between you and your customers,
employees, and stakeholders. Without trust, you risk becoming a superficial entrepreneur. It is
therefore essential that you develop an environment of love, concern, and trust among all
members of your enterprise – ensuring that you understand the aspirations and expectations of all
your stakeholders and fulfil them.

Ratan Tata has remained a humble man throughout his career. Staying humble made him a great
leader and he always put himself grounded. As a result, he could easily serve his organization
and its employees according to their interests. This is a great lesson for our current generation of
organizational leaders and corporate managers – something worth emulating.

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As an entrepreneur or corporate executive – you must always carry a positive attitude. Ratan
Tata always has a positive attitude, and he puts a smile on his face in every situation. He always
possesses a positive outlook towards any difficult situation. He always tries to be a doer, not a
criticizer.

Ratan Tata always believes in taking the risk. He thinks that life is not lived unless one takes
chances and learns how to survive the odds of new challenges. Once he said, “I don’t believe in
making the right decisions. I take decisions and make them right.”

The best way to keep your motivational levels rising is by educating yourself from the life
experiences of others. Other people’s struggle and their zeal to fight all odds to reach a pinnacle
position in real life can be a great deal of inspirational dosage if you too want to attain your goals
in life. Great learning indeed – try to learn from your own mistakes and failures as also from the
experience of others.

Ratan Tata believes that a company should be run on principles, not on personalities. He and his
company had some core values which they followed all through their journey. He is also well
known for promoting financial transparency and intense vetting for grants for projects which
help needy people. Furthermore, public safety and welfare are some of their core values which
they always followed. This leadership quality has made them one of the most trusted groups
worldwide.

Tata Power has been named as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2016 by the
Ethisphere Institute, USA, for the third successive year.

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 CONCLUSION

Youngsters usually are looking for easy life, less work, more money and so on and so forth…The
problem is that most youngsters feel that western is the new cool.

1)As most people believe America is more modern and people there have a much better lifestyle,
they blindly copy American culture.

2)As Indian culture is ancient most youngsters believe it is outdated.

3)Western culture seems fascinating as there are not many restrictions and you are just not
obligated to do anything for others.

4)Parents also feel the need to westernize their children feeling their children will be left out in
the long run.

So, taking notes and lessons from these great personalities we must keep up the spirit and values
from our ancient and golden vedas.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://imr.dypvp.edu.in/Blogs/role-of-indian-ethos-in-corporate-life#:~:text=Indian%20ethos
%20guides%20human%20beings,of%20organs%20and%20many%20more.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/fitting-gandhi-in-new-indian-ethos-839576

https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/pm-modi-plays-pivotal-role-in-getting-
global-respect-for-rich-indian-culture-up-cm20221014232811/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ratan-tata-my-hero-heres-why-kapil-k-tandon/

http://journal.iujharkhand.edu.in/Nov2017/Indian-Ethos-for-Management-An-Analytic-
Study.html

https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/why-azim-premji-is-the-trailblazer-in-
india-s-philanthropic-world-119060701429_1.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Sreedharan

The Indian express news

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