A Colloquium organized by Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and Indian Institute of Advanced Study-Shimla

The Centre for Corporate Governance and Citizenship at IIMB, in association with The Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla jointly organized a one-day colloquium on Gandhi, Governance and the Corporation on Gandhiji's birthday on October 2, 2008.
The relevance of Gandhian thought on responsibilities towards society at large has great value in today's world. While Gandhian philosophy in a political and moral context has been researched extensively in India and elsewhere in recent decades, the application to business and other corporations has received relatively less attention. This colloquium was an attempt to bridge this gap by looking at key Gandhian themes like Trusteeship and Truth and exploring their linkages to corporate stewardship, accountability, transparency and communication.

Eminent Gandhian and Corporate Governance scholars along with experienced business leaders explored the application of these themes to corporate governance and responsibility in matters such as corporate reputation, inclusive development, shareholder wealth creation, stakeholder concern, and other contemporary concerns.

In the Inaugural session, Professor Pankaj Chandra Director, IIMB provided an introduction to the Colloquium. "Neither Gandhian principles nor corporate governance practices are new subjects by themselves, but what is unique about this colloquium is its objective of revisiting some of these principles and reiterating their relevance and imperatives to corporate behavior and contribution. It is imperative for aspiring managers, as well, to understand this vital link between the success of corporations and the well-being of the societies in which they are located; it is only appropriate that such thinking is emerging out of IIM Bangalore, the first time such an initiative is taking place from a management school anywhere in the world. Given the enormous economic power and strength of corporations around the world, and the pressing need for all-round and inclusive development of the peoples in different geographies, it would be a great achievement if such power could be harnessed towards such equitable and sustainable development," Dr. Chandra said.

The first keynote address was delivered by Professor Dwijendra Tripathi, who spoke on "Gandhism and Corporate Behaviour - A Journey Through time". Prof Pratap Bhanu Mehta gave the second keynote address on the topic "The Political Ecnomy of Gandhism and Corporate Business". Prof N Balasubramanian the spoke on "Corporate Governance in a Gandhian Framework."

Ambassador Alan Nazareth, Managing Trustee, Sarvodaya International Trust presented a set of books on the Mahatma to IIMB, which were