The Birla Institute of Management and Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida celebrated its 23rd Foundation Day on Gandhi Jayanti day, i.e. October 2. Dr. Kiran Bedi, the first women IPS officer and Magsaysay award winner graced the event as the guest of honor. The day was given a spiritual start with Sarva Dharma Prarthna (all religion prayers); an amalgamation of prayers from all religions as a tribute to Gandhiji’s endless effort of binding India in a single thread of unity.

Dr. Kiran Bedi gave an inspiring speech stressing on the importance of excellence with values. She said, “We did not fight the British with weapons; we fought them with sacrifice and values.”

Dr. Bedi propagated the TEA concept that has helped her live a successful and meaningful life.  TEA stands for Trustworthiness-in personal and professional life, Empowerment-the responsibility to do and Alignment-of success with morals. Next she shared with students the Gandhian philosophies of perseverance and courage of conviction. She related these principles to today’s business world.

Her idea was that sustainability cannot be aced without creativity and innovation. “The businessman today needs to rise above the fear of his account book. He needs to have the courage to take risks for achieving the bigger goal, the talisman that looks for the upliftment of the country and not him alone. This courage is born out of the teachings of parents but needs to be practiced as a virtue throughout life by the person himself,” she added.

Prompted by the audience, Dr. Kiran Bedi also gave her ideas on few contemporary issues of concern like Corruption, Social justice, Women empowerment etc.

While answering one of the questions, she said, “An individual can create alignment with the society by taking corporate responsibility. Every corporate should adopt 2 villages each, giving learning opportunities to children, healthcare facilities to the villagers, and vocational education and jobs to the youth.”

“There are 6 lakhs villages in India and 1/3rd have already been taken over by the naxals. That leaves us with 2/3rd of the villages. We should take up their responsibilities before they too get engulfed in the naxalite movement. The attitude should be “pehle woh khayein phir hum khayein” (we should feed them before feeding ourselves). I’m personally working with 32 villages. Don’t wait for the government to tell you,” added Dr. Bedi.

Talking about corruption, she remarked, “You have to stand up and say that this person is wrong. Go back home, form a group of 10-12 people, go to the official again or his higher authority. He will definitely succumb to the social pressure. With team effort you can fight corruption.”

Responding to a question on Women empowerment, she said, “Power comes from you. You cannot wait for others to give you that power. It’s a musical chair and you have to be alert and fit for it, otherwise you lose. You can’t keep making excuses that the music stopped or that the other person didn’t leave a chair for you. No one is responsible for your helplessness but you. It’s in your hands, you have to take charge, become aware, use the opportunities and empower yourself”.

At the end of the ceremony Dr. Bedi was presented with a token of gratitude. She responded by encouraging the students to become worthy of such laurels.  This was followed by a community lunch for about 300 people from below poverty line. These people, mainly comprising of women and children, were served by the students of BIMTECH as a step towards fulfilling responsibilities towards the society.