Letters: Role models

This refers to Subir Gokarn's column "When role models fail" (Muddy Waters, June 2). In the mid-1940s, India saw a number of selfless heroes. Subhas Chandra Bose, who cleared the Indian Civil Service examinations, did not accept the plum post and lead a "comfortable" life. Instead, he joined mainstream politics, became His Majesty's enemy and gave his life for the freedom of the country.

For over three decades, I had the good fortune of working in a leading company in Jamshedpur, where I distinctly remember one senior executive of exemplary character. Despite being entitled to all privileges, he adopted a clean and transparent way of functioning. When his family members visited him and took his car for their personal use, he would not ask the transport department to provide him with a spare car. He would rather travel with his colleagues to return home after the day's work. On tours to other cities, he would pay for the meals he hosted for his friends and relatives. He would even pay for the proportionate car hiring charges when he went to visit his old mother. The aggregate amount of all these items was a pittance, but he set an example by not misusing his top position. The company group head, a renowned figure in the industrial world, was no less a role model, too. At a meeting (in 1962), he advised his finance officers to pay all normal dues to the government, and not enter into too much litigation. "After all, our country is being run by Pandit Nehru and we must extend all help to him," he had said.

Nirupam Haldar, Kolkata

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