BENUDHAR PRADHAN, AGE 95. HIS LAST Mission – Saving Jagannath Puri from Vedanta University
Many say that the Rs.150 Billion committed by Anil Agarwal for Vedanta University is the Biggest Act of Philanthropy in education. Benudhar Pradhan, a 95 year old villager violently disagrees. He has launched an agitation to save ‘Jagannath’ Puri from Anil Agarwal’s grand ambitions. Sutanu Guru travels to ground zero with Dhrutikam Mohanty to find out exactly what is happening and come back with some disturbing questions about corporate india.
With a gesture that combines bemusement with exasperation, he brushes aside any offer of help and walks slowly towards the courtyard. There is no mistaking that typically mischievous twinkle in his eye. I simply can’t believe that he is 95 years old. Bare chested and with just a dhoti twirled around, he still looks phenomenally fit; almost bursting with a zest for life. It is difficult to catch every word of what he is saying because his teeth have long gone. But we do manage to hear an interesting anecdote about how this former Congress worker and A class contractor met Jawaharlal Nehru along with a young Indira Gandhi with her two kids Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi long, long ago, when they had come to Puri and Konark. You guessed it; at 95 years, Benudhar Pradhan of Beladala village, just a few kilometres from the holy town of Puri has been there and done all that. You would expect someone at his age to be basking in nostalgia and spoiling his brood of grand children and great grandchildren. Not Benudhar Pradhan. He is a 95-year-old warrior who speaks with fierce determination and seething anger about possibly fighting the last glorious battle of his life. You and I may see things in a different perspective but Pradhan is very clear about his ‘Last Mission’ – to save the holy town of Puri that houses the world famous Jagannath Temple from what he calls ‘desecration’. He has gathered a rag tag band of warriors from 22 nearby villages who have unanimously made him the President of Vedanta Vishwavidyalaya Sangharsh Samiti (VVSS).
Pradhan and his band of villager warriors have picked up a very formidable enemy. They are pitted against the corporate, lobbying and monetary might of the $8 billion Vedanta Resources led by Indian born and London-based entrepreneur and tycoon Anil Agarwal, who effortlessly finds a place in the Forbes list of richest people in the world. Anil Agarwal and his company Vedanta have already weathered a veritable hurricane of protests and controversies over mining and alumina projects in the tribal hinterlands of Orissa. Vedanta has gone all out with its lobbying efforts to make a skeptical media and activists see things from its perspective. In fact, our Deputy Editor Virat Bahri did travel recently to the now famous Niyamgiri hills of Orissa and wrote about the whole controversy with a perspective that attempted to see things the way Anil Agarwal sees them (Go to www.businessandeconomy.org and read the excellent story).
In contrast to the firestorm of controversies raging around the alumina project and the steel projects of Tata Steel and POSCO in Orissa and around the world, Vedanta University seems to be quietly chugging along towards execution & completion. The aftermath of Laila that caused so much havoc in nearby Andhra Pradesh has resulted in rains and a typically tangy sea breeze as our car moves the 50 odd kilometres from the state capital Bhubaneswar towards the proposed site of Vedanta University. The prior evening, on May 23, 2010, I had poured over some promotional papers related to the University during the flight from Delhi to Bhubaneswar; flights to Bhubaneswar now-a-days are so packed that you would think Orissa is the new El Dorado for carpetbaggers of all hues!
On the face of it, the Vedanta University project looks truly world class and fits well with the now fashionable image of India as a rising global power. Anil Agarwal Foundation (it has also been called Vedanta Foundation) will invest a whopping Rs.150 billion in building a world class university on the Puri-Konark road that will possibly rival leaders like Harvard and Oxford. There have been tantalising claims that Sam Pitroda, the man who arguably kicked off the telecom revolution in India under a mandate given by the late Rajiv Gandhi, will be the first Vice-Chancellor. The University will apparently recruit the best from across the world, including Nobel Prize winners who will lead cutting edge research in frontier areas like bio-technology & nano-technology, among other things. The University will also boast of a hospital-cum-medical college that will rival the best in the world. Once the whole project has been completed, it will be home to some 100,000 students and 20,000 faculty & research staff. I am aware that Bhubaneswar is already emerging as a hub for higher education and information technology in eastern India. Perhaps Vedanta University would become the glittering jewel in the crown once it is up and running. Could it be that this world class $3 billion project is inviting unwarranted criticism & controversies?
Many say that the Rs.150 Billion committed by Anil Agarwal for Vedanta University is the Biggest Act of Philanthropy in education. Benudhar Pradhan, a 95 year old villager violently disagrees. He has launched an agitation to save ‘Jagannath’ Puri from Anil Agarwal’s grand ambitions. Sutanu Guru travels to ground zero with Dhrutikam Mohanty to find out exactly what is happening and come back with some disturbing questions about corporate india.
With a gesture that combines bemusement with exasperation, he brushes aside any offer of help and walks slowly towards the courtyard. There is no mistaking that typically mischievous twinkle in his eye. I simply can’t believe that he is 95 years old. Bare chested and with just a dhoti twirled around, he still looks phenomenally fit; almost bursting with a zest for life. It is difficult to catch every word of what he is saying because his teeth have long gone. But we do manage to hear an interesting anecdote about how this former Congress worker and A class contractor met Jawaharlal Nehru along with a young Indira Gandhi with her two kids Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi long, long ago, when they had come to Puri and Konark. You guessed it; at 95 years, Benudhar Pradhan of Beladala village, just a few kilometres from the holy town of Puri has been there and done all that. You would expect someone at his age to be basking in nostalgia and spoiling his brood of grand children and great grandchildren. Not Benudhar Pradhan. He is a 95-year-old warrior who speaks with fierce determination and seething anger about possibly fighting the last glorious battle of his life. You and I may see things in a different perspective but Pradhan is very clear about his ‘Last Mission’ – to save the holy town of Puri that houses the world famous Jagannath Temple from what he calls ‘desecration’. He has gathered a rag tag band of warriors from 22 nearby villages who have unanimously made him the President of Vedanta Vishwavidyalaya Sangharsh Samiti (VVSS).
Pradhan and his band of villager warriors have picked up a very formidable enemy. They are pitted against the corporate, lobbying and monetary might of the $8 billion Vedanta Resources led by Indian born and London-based entrepreneur and tycoon Anil Agarwal, who effortlessly finds a place in the Forbes list of richest people in the world. Anil Agarwal and his company Vedanta have already weathered a veritable hurricane of protests and controversies over mining and alumina projects in the tribal hinterlands of Orissa. Vedanta has gone all out with its lobbying efforts to make a skeptical media and activists see things from its perspective. In fact, our Deputy Editor Virat Bahri did travel recently to the now famous Niyamgiri hills of Orissa and wrote about the whole controversy with a perspective that attempted to see things the way Anil Agarwal sees them (Go to www.businessandeconomy.org and read the excellent story).
In contrast to the firestorm of controversies raging around the alumina project and the steel projects of Tata Steel and POSCO in Orissa and around the world, Vedanta University seems to be quietly chugging along towards execution & completion. The aftermath of Laila that caused so much havoc in nearby Andhra Pradesh has resulted in rains and a typically tangy sea breeze as our car moves the 50 odd kilometres from the state capital Bhubaneswar towards the proposed site of Vedanta University. The prior evening, on May 23, 2010, I had poured over some promotional papers related to the University during the flight from Delhi to Bhubaneswar; flights to Bhubaneswar now-a-days are so packed that you would think Orissa is the new El Dorado for carpetbaggers of all hues!
On the face of it, the Vedanta University project looks truly world class and fits well with the now fashionable image of India as a rising global power. Anil Agarwal Foundation (it has also been called Vedanta Foundation) will invest a whopping Rs.150 billion in building a world class university on the Puri-Konark road that will possibly rival leaders like Harvard and Oxford. There have been tantalising claims that Sam Pitroda, the man who arguably kicked off the telecom revolution in India under a mandate given by the late Rajiv Gandhi, will be the first Vice-Chancellor. The University will apparently recruit the best from across the world, including Nobel Prize winners who will lead cutting edge research in frontier areas like bio-technology & nano-technology, among other things. The University will also boast of a hospital-cum-medical college that will rival the best in the world. Once the whole project has been completed, it will be home to some 100,000 students and 20,000 faculty & research staff. I am aware that Bhubaneswar is already emerging as a hub for higher education and information technology in eastern India. Perhaps Vedanta University would become the glittering jewel in the crown once it is up and running. Could it be that this world class $3 billion project is inviting unwarranted criticism & controversies?
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM B-School Detail
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM B-School Detail
