Beyond the Call of Duty

India wasn't their janmabhoomi but they made it their karmabhoomi

The 200-year British presence in India left behind a mixed legacy. We think of the colonial rulers as people who plundered and impoverished our land. Lost in that narrative is the work of the scores of well-intentioned individuals who played a part in shaping modern India.

Did you know, for instance, that as far back as the 1850s, a British engineer had chalked out a plan to link all the major rivers of India? Or that tea did not grow in Darjeeling until an English surgeon planted a smuggled Chinese plant in his backyard in the hills? Or that there was an East India Company polyglot who mastered Sanskrit, translated Kalidasa's works into English and then set up the Asiatic Society?

Beyond the Call of Duty celebrates a dozen of these British gentlemen who far exceeded their job descriptions, devoting their lives to the greater good of an adopted country -- men whose work continues to benet India.

They may not have had history books eulogizing them, but they exemplify a work ethic that is rare and relevant today. And therein lies the need to revive these stories -- so that we may draw lessons from every quarter of our past to sculpt a better future.
About the Author:

Raghunathan is an academic, corporate executive, author, columnist and a hobbyist. He has made Bengaluru his home.

He taught finance at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, for a couple of decades before turning a banker as the president of ING Vysya Bank in Bengaluru. He is currently the CEO of the GMR Varalakshmi Foundation. He continues to pursuehis academic interests as an adjunct professor at the University of Bocconi in Milan, Italy, and the Schulich School of Business, York University, in Toronto, Canada.

He has been writing extensively for leading newspapers and magazines and currently blogs for the Times of India. His many books include Duryodhana; Locks, Mahabharata and Mathematics; Ganesha on the Dashboard; Corruption Conundrum; Don't Sprint the Marathon and Games Indians Play.

Raghu has probably the largest collection of antique locks in the country, has played chess at the all-India level, and was briefly a cartoonist for a national daily.

Veena Prasad writes essays and fi ction, creates crosswords and content, for children and adults, makes compost at home, and occasionally writes songs.

Her first book, Forever Forty, celebrates the life of Col Vasanth V., an army officer who was awarded the Ashoka Chakra for his gallantry. She also has to her name a book of themed crossword puzzles for children, Fun Across Zoom Down.

Her essays are centred around creativity, compassion, science and meaningful education. Her stories, book reviews and crosswords have been published by the Deccan Herald, Hindu, Young World, Pratham Books, Brainwave, Reading Hour, The Hoot and others.