29. Socially Responsible Procurement or Produce

Any civilization will be proud of its cultural elements. For example, other civilizations of the world may consider the following cultural elements of India to be awesome:

• Rich and diverse traditions, cultures, festivals, lineage and history. Every 4 hour of travel in India in any direction by train introduces new language, new food culture, new attires, festivals and history.

• Diverse type of paintings, arts and crafts

• Diverse type of temple and other building architectures

• Ornate Gold and other metal working craftsmen/women

• Diverse type of dress makers with breath taking embellishments and designs

• Diverse type of food producers and the rich food crops/varieties that are available as part of an unimaginably rich biodiversity

• Concept of Sanatana Dharma and its rich philosophical systems

• And so on…

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Lot of these cultural tenets are being powered by ordinary people and/or simple artisans/craftsmen and women in the semi-organized or unorganized sectors of the economy.

In India, a spiritual organization may have the cultural aspect of following the tradition of Guru-Shishya Parampara. The relationship between a Guru and his/her Shishya is considered to be sacrosanct and pure. It is a rare type of profound, incredibly rich and beautiful relationship. Only through this great cultural tenet, does India’s vast number of mutts, ashrams etc., pass on the mind-bogglingly rich spiritual traditions, knowledge and sacraments.

Similarly, arts and craftsmen/women pass on their knowledge to the successive generations by word of mouth and in-the job trainings or as part of being in the family business or in being in the same locality as part of a tribe/clan. Government due diligence to preserve this critical knowledge and practices are almost non-existing. Economic hardships are also mounting great attritional pressure on these small-scale industries.

So, the point is that a significant part of richness of the cultural aspects is raiding on a select group of geographically disbursed clan/tribes or families. They can be unorganized/semi organized system of weavers, painters, designers, jewellery makers, artists, dancers, singers. musicians, toy makers, food producers, media workers, metal workers etc.,

When a nation is proud of its culture, naturally it should strengthen all processes that make these cultural tenets vibrant and awesome. This includes taking really good care of all the people who happen to produce artefacts reflecting the vibrancy of this great culture.

In the past, kings and lords and other rich families, did indeed provide much needed support for the artists, craftsmen, poets etc., That practice is non-existent in current times and these amazing artisans and craftsmen are left to fend for themselves in an increasingly competitive environment. The lure of new professions with quick money is also powerful. Every country wants to increase the share of conventional university knowledge powered economic activities. All these together, is weaning the very people who serve as the cogs of the cultural behemoth into other professions causing great churn on the, now slowly diminishing, till so far, long-lived cultural aspects!

This is also a main reason I was suggesting a 3-pillored iron-clad constitution consisting of democracy (election powered), theocracy (Guru-Shishya Parampara powered) and aristocracy (historical and inheritance based). As part of the pillar of aristocracy, in this new age, kings/queens or their councils will be expected to take care of not only the GRC (Governance, Risk, Compliance, Audits) aspects of the government offices but also on the quality of the education system around arts, crafts and media. They should also play the role of the patrons of arts, crafts and traditions. They should also espouse the concept of living well with focus on the quality of life of the general population as such. The kings/queens or their councils should then actively take part in the activity networking and block integration efforts of related to the segments of economy that deeply influence the cultural tenets of the nation!

Through the efforts of this council/pillar, the concept of socially responsible procurement or socially responsible produce should be made mandatory. This idea can manifest as a label/QR code on the items of craftsmanship and food products that are considered as distinct and vibrant part of the nation’s culture.

Such a label may mean –

• The craftsmen/women and their supporting eco-system is being well taken care

• They are properly integrated into the nations economy including their access to schools. hospitals and markets etc.,

• Their crafts/skills/knowledge etc., are properly converted into courses in the right type of schooling systems in the right locations

• A rich feedback system exists along with events/festivals to showcase their uniqueness to the world that may give them the right kind of professional proudness thus strengthening that particular cultural aspect.

• Any other steps…

Please remember that nobody likes blood diamonds these days !!