Preface

Many writers and thinkers periodically bring out an anthology of their writing over the years. It allows people to see their evolving point of view with more clarity. I have chosen to do the same and beg the indulgence of the reader.

This book is a compilation of some of my speeches and writing on the subject of Samaaj, Sarkaar, and Bazaar i.e. Society, State, and Markets, over the past 15 years. I have chosen to categorize them under the headings: 'An Active Samaaj', ‘Justice and Governance’, ‘Water and Environment', 'CSOs and Strategic Philanthropy’, ‘Bazaar and the Public Interest’, and ‘Looking to the Future’. While many pieces in the collection overlap across categories, this classification will make it more useful for the reader to pick out articles of personal interest. In the introduction I have tried to give an overview of my Samaaj-first philosophy, which has guided my civic involvement and personal philanthropy for the past three decades. The epilogue attempts to capture some of my worries, but mostly my hopes for the future.

This book is self-published under a Creative Commons license. The goal is to allow people to download it freely as a pdf, to read it and to share it forward, so as to further a meaningful discourse on the roles of Society, State, and Markets. It is also available for purchase on the usual e-commerce platforms, with the proceeds of any sale going back into organizations supported by my philanthropy.

In the future, I hope that the website www.samaajsarkaarbazaar.in might become a hub for thinkers, writers, activists, students, and researchers to further the narrative of the role of these three sectors.

There will be many views different from my own, and I welcome them. I hope to remain open, curious, and humble as various opinions and voices chime in. I look forward to a courteous and animated debate.