AsiaOne – August 2018

218 | ASIA ONE | JULY-AUGUST 2018

interview

How important do you think is the
role of ‘opportunity’ in our lives?

I think those of us who have been
in a position in life where we got
opportunity and work, therefore able
to make something out of our lives owe
it to the rest of us who have been either
denied that opportunity or never had
that opportunity to begin with. In any
society we must all strive for and aim
for equal opportunity and sometimes
to expect that the government of the
day can do that is a bit much and
therefore I feel philanthropic efforts
can really help.

Whom do you think should be held
accountable for bridging the gap
between the haves and the have
nots?

Because people can bridge the gap, the
gap between what needs to be done and
what the government can do in terms
of its capacity and that gap between
what needs to be done and what the
limitations are of the government or

the capacity of the government must

be filled by the philanthropic route

and it should be because there are so

many people who have made lives out

of the great opportunity that they got

and perhaps if they had not got that

opportunity, these people would have

been a little different.

Please share with our readers the

ways through which you aim to

bring about a positive change in

the lives of those who need it the

most.

It was this thought that let me to set

up The Colonel Shamsher Singh

Foundation and the idea was to work

towards creating equal opportunity in

the area of Gender. Again Gender is a

very very vast subject and the purpose

of this conversation I want to confine

it to opportunity. Ultimately, the aim

is to make sure that women have the

same opportunity in all spheres that

men do and thereafter what they

choose to do with that opportunity is

anybody’s guess and the same holds

true for men.

How important do you think

philanthropy is, in the Indian

scenario?

I think it’s an important responsibility

we have on our shoulders to give back

to society especially when society like

ours being a developing country is not

able to give equal opportunity in the

society.

Because we don’t have equal

opportunity, we don’t have a level

playing field; it becomes even more

important for those of us who have

been lucky enough, who have got such

an opportunity in their lives and make

something of their life, to do whatever

they can to give back so like I said

Aranya Foundation, I use my personal

and public platforms at any given point

of time to try and push this one thought

that we are where we are in life perhaps

not because of our talent, in a country

like India, but largely on account of

the accident of birth and therefore, the

opportunities that we got.

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