The edit “Philanthropy-mongering as PR” (March 27, 2011) has restored the balance to the media coverage on the Warren Buffett-Bill Gates visit to India. All the reports on philanthropy are meaningless if no projects are dedicated to improving the standard of living of the poor. Even in metros urban poverty is omnipresent; slums flourish alongside big mansions with wasted space for gardens and other games. One need not visit the rural areas to experience the magnitude of poverty. The slums in cities have also been neglected by municipal authorities. The authorities discriminate even while providing essentials like water and electricity.
The philanthropic contribution of the rich and business people should be measured in terms of their efforts towards removing the abject poverty and not in terms of the media coverage. During the times of Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, there was little media coverage of their contribution, although most of us are aware of their immense efforts to uplift the poor.
K V Rao, Bangalore
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