Indian Writing

This Sunday was the first anniversary of the murder of Manjunath Shanmugam. A sales manager in the Indian Oil Sales Corporation, Shanmugam was trying to stop the adulteration of oil when he was killed. The football-playing, music-loving IIML alumnus was 27 years old when he died.

From his IIML yearbook: “He laughs heartily, he sings heartily, he eats heartily, he sleeps heartily, and he plays heartily. In fact Machan must hold the record for the largest heart ever in the history of the world.”

The Manjunath Shanmugam Trust, set up by IIM alumni across the world, has been working hard to keep Manjunath’s memory alive in a meaningful way.

H.Jaishankar (IIMB ‘91), one of the trustees of the Manjunath Shanmugam Trust, sent me the following email:

On November 19, 2006 Manjunath’s first death anniversary the Manjunath Shanmugam Trust has undertaken following initiatives:

1) Launch of a national helpline that will help people across the country in using the Right To Information Act. (9250-400-100)

2) Manjunath Shanmugam Integrity Award.

The objective of Manjunath Shanmugam Integrity Award is to honour and encourage person/s or institutions who are working to uphold the values of truth and honesty in the Indian public life. We are looking at deserving candidates who have reported and actively rectified/have worked to rectify corrupt practices in government, public or corporate life.

The nominees will be evaluated on the basis of

1. Gravity of the situation and its impact
2. Corrective action undertaken , not merely reporting the situation
3.Extent of difficulty faced by nominee in correcting the situation

The valid entries will be assessed by a panel of distinguished jurors, drawn from the corporate sector as well as public life. Nominations will be accepted from 19th November, with details and form available on the MST’s website www.manjunathshanmugamtrust.org. The award carries a citation and a cash prize of Rs. One Lakh.

You can help us by nominating a deserving person. If you wish to nominate someone, pleasedownload the nomination form and send it to us at the address mentioned. You can also spread the word around through your emails/blogs.

We wish to make this annual award a success, and encourage more people/institutions to work to improve Indian public life.

Meanwhile, the trial continues and my thoughts go out to Manjunath’s family as they await justice.