British Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke at the India Global Forum (IGF) a month ago saying that as soon as he is elected, he will fly to India within the first month, and he has been true to his word. India is a world leader in commerce and innovation, and students from Britain should seriously consider going to India for both practical and academic education in Business. I have been going there regularly for the last few years and have built important links with eminent Universities like Jindal in Delhi, Ahmedabad University and Flame University in Pune. I have lectured at all of these places and experienced the campus environment there which is something worth visiting and seeing.
At Flame University, the Head of Finance, Professor Devendra Jain, is spearheading research on Indic Finance, helping India to practice its own pristine values of compassion and Jiva Daya to build a Sustainable Finance ecosystem. The campus facilities and sports environment are world class, and the Liberal Arts focus creates a lot of scope for choice and rounded education. At Ahmedabad University, which now has triple accreditation for its Business programmes and has won many awards, Dean Shobha Das and Senior Lecturer Dr Sudhir Pandey and team have developed a unique postgraduate curriculum which is multi-disciplinary and experiential.
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Jindal is famous for its research and has a very visionary Vice Chancellor. In Calcutta, IIM MBA graduate Arihant Kothari is spearheading an industry training initiative to connect culture to Business and is keen to explore and research the vast ethical Business History of Bengal. Mrs Lata Bothra is a writer and scholar on local history and heritage in Bengal, and part of the famous Jagat Sheth family which had a significant positive impact on the entire Financial History of India. In Ahmedabad, Professor Malay Patel has written many papers on Jain Business Ethics and has two PhDs already.
As an active scholar and researcher on Dharma in Business, I find that the Western world is very far behind in understanding the nuances of Dharma and its impact on sustainable leadership and enterprise. This is at a time when everyone is talking about sustainability, yet somehow, the importance of old traditions or understanding the soul of Indian enterprise is relegated or ignored completely. This is a gross misunderstanding and exposes the deeper cracks of arrogance and prejudice in Western and European Business education to the peril of our students who spend tens of millions of pounds to study in these so-called prestigious Universities. Furthermore, the cost of Business Education in India is much cheaper, so the all-round value for students in terms of international experience and growth is significant.
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We should follow David Lammy and hop on the plane to India. It has a thriving business ecosystem and the learning starts from the moment you hop off the plane. I am going there again in January 2025 on my annual lecture tour and looking forward to expanding the relationships I have cultivated already. This year I am planning to make a special trip to Bengal to uncover the profound history of Jain enterprise there, which is rarely reported in the West, even though Bengal was one of the richest states in the whole world in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Eminent Jain Banker the late Jagat Sheth holds the key to its huge economic success. Watch this space to find out what I discover from the field trip.
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Professor Atul K. Shah [@atulkshah] teaches and writes about Indian wisdom on business, culture and community at various UK universities and is a renowned international author, speaker and broadcaster.
*Info: Ahmedabad University