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ShareMumbai: Let Mumbai's famous lunch tiffin-carriers or dabbawalas govern Maharashtra. Not the Pawars, Thackerays, Ranes, Deshmukhs or Joshis, who have failed in public esteem.
Just as Nandan Nilekani now and Sam Pitroda previously were brought into the government to implement key initiatives within a timeframe; just as E Sreedharan was resurrected out of retirement to create the metro railway in Delhi. Raghunath Dhondiba Medge and Gangaram Laxman Talekar - leaders of Mumbai's dabbawalas -- should be brought into the government to strike a chord with the man on the street.
Such is their track record, that their sheer presence and dedication can bring sense to a class of Maharashtra's politicians who are brazenly corrupt. For this class, good governance is the last on priority. Then there are those who instigate violence to promote themselves and their new-found political parties at every opportunity.
In more than a century of service, the dabbawalas have never struck work. They have never discriminated on the basis of caste, religion or the latest fad in Mumbai - "outsider" vs. the Marathi manoos.
Dabbawalas are known to be non-violent and compassionate - they have never assaulted anyone or damaged public property, whatever the provocation. Sometimes when a hungry beggar has stolen a tiffin box from a railway platform, the dabbawalas have been known to forgive him and replace the box for the family concerned. Their deepest regret on such occasions is that they could not deliver the dabba on time and the recipient must have missed out on home food.
All of these are qualities of the heart, something that is truly Gandhian in character and something that is completely lacking in Maharashtra's politics and governance today.
Although this alone qualifies the dabbawalas for a role in the government, they have a lot more to offer in terms of some extraordinary qualities of the head.
Working silently without seeking attention and without any resources to crow about, the 5,000-odd illiterate and semi-literate tiffin-carriers have never sought or received favours from the government.
Using their own ingenuity they created a colour coding system and an efficient, manually-driven distribution network that ensures that the right tiffin box reaches the right office at the right time.
This system has worked unfailingly, over the decades and the dabbawalas, have perfected the system of delivering nearly two lakh lunch boxes from point-to-point anywhere in Mumbai, dot on the lunch hour.
They have won the admiration of the best firms and management institutions in the world, with the Forbes Group honouring them with a Six Sigma certificate, signifying just one mistake in six million deliveries. As is well known, the dabbawalas and their work also fascinated Prince Charles who took time out to study their system, when he visited Mumbai in 2003.
Since the belligerent Thackerays want to give justice to the Marathi manoos, here's something worthwhile that they can do for him, for Maharashtra and for the nation.
The Congress-NCP too can take a cue and be the first to take up this idea of bringing the dabbawalas into the government. They may not have established a billion dollar company or constructed a metro rail, but does that mean their achievement is any less?
Won't they make meaningful contribution through their suggestions and initiatives and also set an example of selfless service to corrupt, wealthy and power-hungry politicians?
