Rohini Nilekani Treads on Uncommon Grounds with Her Book

Bangalore: Written by Rohini Nilekani, a notable philanthropist, author and social activist, Uncommon Ground features discussions between leaders of business and civil society. Based on the television show she moderated in 2008 with the same name, the book explains the ideological differences between the for-profit and voluntary sectors and attempts to find points of agreement between them. Uncommon Ground introduces its readers to eight issues crucial to India's development - Job Creation, Health, Food Security, Transport, Land, Energy, Financial Inclusion and Environmental Sustainability. The luminous panelists include corporate bigwigs like Mukesh Ambani, Uday Kotak and Rahul Bajaj while civil society is represented by leaders like Sunita Narain, Dr. R K Pachauri and Aruna Roy. Rohini has penned excellent introductions to each section that helps her readers with the background knowledge necessary to appreciate the discussions that follow. The discussions themselves are fascinating - sometimes confrontational, occasionally technical but always enlightening. Rich in insights, the book allows readers to traverse through the spectrum of opinions on each of these flagship issues and draw their own conclusions. Officially launched in Bangalore on Wednesday, Oct 13th, Rohini moderated a discussion between Jayant Sinha, Managing Director at Omidyar Networks and Harish Hande, managing director of SELCO. Contrasting India's current crises with those in Europe and America, Jayant Sinha remarked that western countries were currently seeing their governments step in to fix market failures while India was rich in examples of the market and private player stepping in to fix governance failures. An engaging discussion followed, quite like the ones in the book and explored the role of governments, the distorting effects of philanthropy and the responsibilities of citizens. Anna Hazare's movement may have catalyzed the middle class into greater political participation but it is books like Uncommon Ground that really take the discussion forward and allow us to appreciate the depth of the issues that front India. Published by Penguin, the book is available online and in bookstore across the country. MRP Rs 499.