THE MESSIAH OF INDIAN LIVESTOCK

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Deccan Herald » Spectrum » Detailed Story

 

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/mar142006/spectrum174252006313.asp

 

Of a man and his mission

 

Padma Bhushan N S Ramaswamy, 'Swaminathan' of India's livestock,

promises to bring about a revolution in livestock care and management,

writes Nina C George.

 

 

 

He is the quintessential messiah. A silvery white mane and flowing

beard framing the cherubic face. Eyes teeming with youthful sparkle.

No, there's more to his messianic essence than mere looks. Meet Prof N

S Ramaswamy, a man with a mission: The welfare and care of animals.

Prof Ramaswamy, 80 is known as the 'Swaminathan' of India's livestock

because of his passion and crusades for the welfare, care and

management animals.

 

Prof N S Ramaswamy was recently awarded the Padma Bhushan.

 

Known as the 'Management Guru' and also as the 'Management Sadhu',

Professor Ramaswamy's vast experience in the field has seen him occupy

posts as varied as the founder-director of the Indian Institute of

Management, Bangalore, consultant and advisor to the Airport Authority

of India and the Parliamentary Committee on Railways. His love and

care for the animals made him establish the now famous,

Bangalore-based NGO, the Centre for Action, Research and Technology

for Man, Animals and Nature (CARTMAN) — an initiative to maintain the

symbiotic relationship between man, animal and nature. Most of Prof

Ramaswamy's works in this field have been on the popularisation of

improved bullock carts, modernisation of slaughterhouses and

establishment of rural abattoirs. It is interesting to gather Prof

Ramaswamy's philosophical views on management. According to him

" traditional management has a western model. Management is the product

of an upcoming economy. We are in the height of vaishya (i.e.

Management) era and managers are instruments of the Vaishya Era. "

 

 

On the education front, he feels that most educational institutions do

not exactly focus on education most of them just impart skills and

provide training to students, but actual education is about character

building.

 

Prof Ramaswamy has concrete ideas for bettering the socio political

setup of the country. To tap the full potential of the country, the

Professor thinks the political model has to be changed. He thinks that

the " ten large states could be split into 30 smaller units, which will

make most of the large States of the same size and population.

Management of State level development will be easier. Centre can

decentralise power without any danger of confrontation. " This he

believes will lead to better governance. According to Ramaswamy,

" politics has become big business where hundreds of crores of rupees

can be made overnight by becoming an MP or a minister. " To check this

trend he thinks " a reduction in government ownership of business, and

privatisation of most of the industries now owned by the government

will help.The government can become strong only if it delegates its

responsibilities to private parties so that the Centre can concentrate

on governance, which is the main duty of the government. "

 

Prof Ramaswamy advocates the dialogue route to communal harmony.

" Inter-religious dialogue is the best route to preserve the communal

harmony of the country. And, dialogue must begin with the masses and

the ordinary people. " This he says will help lay aside religious

differences.

 

The India of Ramaswamy's dreams is an India that is not only

materially but also spiritually strong. In the days to come, he

proposes to undertake a mission to prepare Indians spiritually, so

that the country's ancient thought and wisdom will be brought back to

unite the people of the country.

 

On his being awarded the Padma Bhushan, Prof Ramaswamy's response has

been quite simple and genuine: " This award will lend credibility to my

missions and campaigns. Hopefully, some would get implemented in the

years to come. "