An Exploration of the Institutions, Characteristics and Drivers of Elite Philanthropy in India
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Swinburne University of Technology Faculty of Business & Law DRAFT An exploration of the institutions, characteristics and drivers of elite philanthropy in India John Godfrey BA, MSc, Grad. Dip Arts Admin Student ID 1700367 Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Swinburne University of Technology, Faculty of Business & Law. Year of approval for award 2020. Abstract This thesis fills a gap in the empirical study of elite philanthropy which to date has been confined to mostly Western philanthropy, informed by Christian and Jewish norms and traditions. This research explores a tradition and practice of philanthropy which has its early roots in dharmic and Islamic tradition yet, as is shown, has been influenced by Western rules and norms. Twenty-eight philanthropists were interviewed. The two religions these respondents most identified with were Hindu or Parsi, though some identified as Jain, Muslim, Christian or Buddhist. The research applies a theoretical framework described as a moral citizenship. This framework brings together two theoretical models developed by Schervish - identification theory and moral biography (Schervish et al. 1998; Schervish and Havens 1997; Schervish and Havens 2001b, 2002; Schervish and Herman 1988; Schervish et al. 2001). These models, they argue, provide the most fruitful way to identify the social and psychological frameworks that mobilise the agency of philanthropists. The methodology used to apply this theoretical framework used long interviews in which respondents were given free rein to talk about their philanthropic activity in their own terms. This methodology follows in the steps of others such as Breeze and Lloyd (2013), Lloyd (2004), Odendahl (1990), Ostrower (1995), Panas (1984, 2019 [1984]), Scaife et al. (2011), Schervish and Herman (1988) and Schervish and Havens (2001b) who have interviewed wealthy philanthropists. This thesis discovers an Indian elite philanthropy that is essentially other regarding, or altruistic. In their interviews, the majority of respondents described engaging with issues related to alleviating poverty. This contrasts with analysis of Western elite philanthropy, which qualitative and quantitative studies indicate as being supportive of causes that benefit the elite itself. The theoretical contribution offered by this research is a validation that theoretical models developed by Schervish can be applied to non-Western philanthropy. The major empirical contribution offered is evidence of patterns of elite Indian philanthropy which which could be understood as more altruistic and less self-serving than those identified in the West. Acknowledgement The seeds for this research were planted in 2004 at the London book launch of Theresa Lloyd's Why the Wealthy Give (Lloyd 2004). As a professional major gift fundraiser, I had met and played a role in receiving gifts from wealthy philanthropists. Yet my interactions with them to that point had not given me the deep insights into what motivated personal philanthropy that I felt I needed to be really good at my job. I was strengthened in my resolve, after reading this book, to find my own opportunities to deepen my understanding of philanthropy and philanthropists. Eventually, motive and opportunity to undertake a PhD began to converge. Having established a career as a fundraising consultant, opportunities to pursue academic study as well as work became possible. I sought initial advice from Associate Professor Wendy Scaife, who has researched philanthropy in Australia. Professor Scaife made the valuable suggestion that I should, if possible, choose an overseas focus for my research. I was at that time working with a client in India, so Indian philanthropy offered an accessible and interesting topic. For enabling me to pursue my research in India, I owe great thanks colleagues and friends in that country who rendered great assistance, advice, connections and hospitality – Dr Amir Ullah Khan, Arundhati Ghosh, Azad Oommen, Hari Menon, Murray Culshaw, Dr Nick Argent, Nikunj Gupta, Noshir Dadrawalla, Pallavi Kumar, Parul Soni, Dr Sabith Khan, Shrey Goyal and Major-General Surat Sandhu. During the course of my study I had the benefit of two Principal Supervisors, Professors Michael Gilding and Lester Johnson each of whom contributed their deep understanding of research and thesis writing to a field that was novel to them. The field was similarly novel to another, Dr Gordon Campbell who was of great assistance when he joined as a Supervisor in the final stages. Dr Michael Liffman whose field is philanthropy was of great help in the early stages until his retirement from the University. Last, but certainly not least Dr Elizabeth Branigan remained both a supervisor and a strong supporter of this research, in particular, bringing her own experience and understanding of India. None of this thesis would have been possible without the generosity of the 28 philanthropists and another 13 professionals who work in the philanthropy sector who made time available for me and in many cases provided me with introductions and other resources for my research. These particular people must remain anonymous as a condition of their sharing so many of their personal stories. Last but not least are my whanau (family). I am especially indebted to my brother Dr Michael Godfrey who volunteered to undertake the final proofread of this thesis and has assiduously identified and corrected inconsistencies in punctuation and spelling. Above all, I'm deeply thankful to my partner Jay who has lived through the process of me being immersed in this project and supported me throughout with patience and love. Declaration by Candidate • This thesis contains no material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree in any university. • To the best of my knowledge this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text of this thesis. • This work is not based on any joint research or publications. • This thesis is less than 100,000 words in length exclusive of bibliography and appendices. • Dr Michael Godfrey proof-read this thesis. The proof-reading addressed only spelling, punctuation and grammar did not change the substantive content of the thesis. Dr Godfrey’s fields of study are English Literature and Theology. He is the brother of the author. • This thesis has met all the requirements of the Ethics Approval from the Swinburne University of Technology under SUHREC Project 2013/012. • I warrant that there is no third party copyright material reproduced in this thesis (such as artwork, images, unpublished documents), or any published work (such as journal articles) in which the copyright is held by another party (such as publisher, co-author). Signed John Godfrey 1 December 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Context of the thesis 1 Why study elite philanthropy 3 The relevance of a study of Indian elite philanthropy 5 The practical benefits of this research 7 Theoretical framework, research questions and methodological paradigm 10 Personal motivation 11 Outline of thesis chapters 13 ELITE PHILANTHROPY 16 Studies of elite philanthropy 16 The prominence of consumption philanthropy 18 Quantitative studies confirm dominance of consumption philanthropy 20 Other patterns, behaviours, values and norms in Western philanthropy 21 Two Israeli studies 27 Contemporary philanthropy in India 28 Other literature on contemporary Indian philanthropy 30 Recent greater interest 31 Causes supported through philanthropy 34 Motivation 37 The State and philanthropy 37 Summary and conclusion 39 DÃN, ALTRUISM, RELIGION AND PHILANTHROPY 41 Introduction 41 Studies of Dãn 41 Marcel Mauss and the literature on the non-reciprocity of dãn 42 The relevance of dãn to philanthropy 44 Altruism 51 The history of the term altruism 52 Different models of altruism 53 Altruism and reciprocity: The Golden Rule 54 Altruism and religion 56 Altruism in philanthropy 58 Atkinson’s weak altruism 60 Altruism as motivation 61 Summary and concluding remarks 62 HISTORY AND TRADITIONS 64 Earliest evidence of endowments and giving to the poor 64 An explanation of dharma 66 Islamic confluence with endowments and giving to the poor 67 Divergent attitudes to poverty after the arrival of Christian missionaries 69 British rule and new forms of regulation 71 Drivers of change 73 Influence of Mahatma Gandhi 76 Wealth and trusteeship 77 Nationalism, philanthropy and education 79 Summary and conclusion 80 THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 82 Introduction to the theoretical framework 82 The model selected 82 i Alternative models 83 Empirical basis of the theoretical framework 84 Essential elements of a theory 85 The moral citizenship framework 86 Moral citizenship of care 88 Introduction 88 Moral citizenship 88 Care 89 Summary 91 The identification model 92 Communities of participation 93 Frameworks of consciousness 94 Models and experiences from youth 97 Invitations to participate 98 Discretionary resources 99 Summary of identification model 99 Moral biography 100 Capacity (empowerment) 101 Moral compass 103 Agency 105 Hyperagency 106 Principality 107 Producers of philanthropy 108 Summary and conclusion 109 METHODOLOGY AND METHODS 112 Introduction 112 Research questions 112 Definition of elite 113 Methodology 114 Resource limitations leading to the choice of methodology 115 Interviewing elites 116 Positionality and reflexivity 116 Value-ladenness 118 Ontology and epistemology 119 Method of research