Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, in collaboration with Indian Council for Social Scientific Research organised an international conference on Society and Management: Indian Culture vis a vis Western Culture.
In his inaugural address Debashis Chatterjee, Director of IIMK said “Western culture sought liberation through building organizations and institutions. India sought highest liberalization through ‘Moksha’, freedom from material wants. The West built brands while India created a Buddha. Culture is a collective script that is also dynamic and evolves over time”.
S.N. Balagangadhara, Director of the India Platform and the Research Centre Vergelijkende Cutuurwetenschap (Comparative Science of Cultures) at the Ghent University, Belgium, stressed on the need to globalise the Indian thought for better societal management across the globe. Jakob De Roover of the Ghent University presented a letter of intent to promote academic, cultural and scientific exchange between the Ghent University and the IIMK.
Vanita Vishwanth, a noted social entrepreneur, moderated a panel discussion on: Is there really an Indian way of Management” featuring academicians and practitioners and social entrepreneurs. The panel discussed various issues of management like conservation, laws and sustainable institutions in the light of Indian experience. In the valedictory programme, Jasbir Singh Chawla (an author of many books and Pali language expert) said, “Jataka is the first treatise of the world on management. Unfortunately, due to a long period of slavery, we could not take advantage of Jataka tales as management text and treated it as westerners suggested it. These are not the narratives of Buddha’s previous birth but management case studies.”
K. K. Muhammed (former Regional Director, ASI) spoke about the initiative taken by the Archaeological Survey of India for the conservation of the rich heritage of India with special emphasis on Bateshwar temples, the Nalanda and Vikramshila universities.