Author: P. Vaidyanathan Iyer
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: December 16, 2011
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dalit-inc.-ready-to-show-business-can-beat-caste/888062/0
Two days from now, a 1,000-strong club of
Dalit entrepreneurs will showcase their wares over 1 lakh square feet of space
in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla complex. The Rs 2-crore infrastructure budget for
the three-day event beginning December 16 is not without purpose. It will
tell the world that Dalits, given the opportunity, will beat the caste order
with capitalism - and will give much more than they seek.
Hobnobbing with the Dalit entrepreneurs at
the DICCI Trade Fair 2011 will not be the Prime Minister of India, but the
czars of India Inc., Ratan Tata and Adi Godrej.
"Getting the prime minister for a Dalit
gathering is not difficult in our society. But for Dalit entrepreneurs, taking
a photograph with Tata and Godrej over lunch and tea is an aspiration - and
proof that they have arrived," said Chandrabhan Prasad, mentor, Dalit
Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DICCI), an organisation that was
born as SC, ST Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2003.
In a display of its capitalist credentials,
DICCI plans to parade at the fair about half a dozen Dalit entrepreneurs who
have turned multinationals. "The Dalit community has so many leaders.
But we need business leaders now," said Milind Kamble, who along with
four or five friends conceived the SC, ST Chamber of Commerce and Industry
nearly 10 years ago.
"As Dalits, we need a DICCI more than
a FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) to develop
leadership. Tata and Godrej are idols for our youth," he said.
Kamble, the son of a school teacher from Latur
in Maharashtra, is now managing director of Fortune Construction, a Rs 101-crore
company.
What entrepreneurs desperately need is an
umbrella to push their corporate agenda, Kamble said. According to him, economic
reforms and globalisation actually spurred Dalit entrepreneurship in India.
"It (globalisation) triggered outsourcing
of ancillaries," he said.
It was not easy for Kamble and his friends
to organise and build muscle at DICCI. In the initial years, many did not
want to disclose their caste, fearing it would impact their business. But
over the last couple of years, it has become easy to talk to them and convince
them.
"The affirmative action agenda of the
government as well as industry's realisation to engage with us has helped,"
Kamble said.
The Tata Group has booked a large space to
display 40-odd products at the trade fair. "The Tatas want all Dalit
entrepreneurs to know what they can supply to the Tata Group," said Chandrabhan
Prasad, who has been funded by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for
the Advanced Study of India to prepare a list of Dalit entrepreneurs in the
country.
"Almost 40 per cent of Tata Motors' parts
are outsourced to small players. Nano's silencer is produced by a Dalit entrepreneur.
So are two-three parts of the Tata Indigo," he pointed out.
Kamble said his organisation is keen to engage
in a constructive dialogue with the Indian government and industry. "The
government is more inclusive today. The new procurement policy that requires
4 per cent sourcing from Dalit small and medium enterprises is its first concrete
affirmative action. And we cannot afford to hate capitalists anymore,"
he said.
Multinationals run by Dalits
Jangal Exports, Ludhiana
A T-shirt exporter with showrooms in London
and Dubai. Turnover Rs 70 crore. Owner Malkiat Chand's parents were agriculturists.
Gujarat Pickers, Ahmedabad
Has a sugar mill in Africa. Turnover Rs 380
crore. Owned by Rati Bhai Makwana.
Kamani Tubes, Mumbai
Has a copper unit in the Gulf. Turnover Rs
500 crore. Owner Kalpana Saroj once worked for Rs 2 a day in a hosiery unit
in Mumbai.
Das Offshore Engineers Ltd, Mumbai
Has an oil exploration business in Gulf. Owner
Ashok Khade's father was a cobbler.
Indo Sakura, Bangalore
A software firm with operations in Japan.
Turnover $2.5 million. Owner Atul Paswan's father was a schoolteacher.
