From promoter of consumerism
to consumer activist – Part II
(Continued from last fortnight)
CAI trustee R. Desikan seen with secretary general G. Rajan (right), Rajiv Aggarwal, Secretary, Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs and T.T. Srinivasaraghavan (left), managing director, Sundaram Finance Ltd, display the consumer guides of Consumers Association of India, in Chennai. – (Courtesy: The Hindu)
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When I asked R. Desikan
what made him transform
himself from being an active
promoter of consumerism
in the country to becoming a
consumer activist, he narrated
these two incidents:
In 1977, when the country
was still reeling under Emergency
rule and any form of criticism
against the Government
would earn its wrath and a guaranteed
place in jail, he wrote a
long letter to Indira Gandhi
about the travails of the consumer
in India, highlighting the
importance of passing the Consumer
Protection Act. Not only
did Indira Gandhi respond to
his letter, but she also gave him
an audience to hear his views
on the matter! This incident
taught him the importance of
voicing an opinion when faced
with problems, instead of living
with them. However, his fight
against establishments producing
sub-standard products or
providing shoddy services can
be traced back to a personal episode
involving a new Ambassador
car which he had bought.
When the car gave him serious
trouble, even during the warranty
period, he went to the car
dealer who had sold him the
car. The indifferent attitude of
the dealer who had the audacity
to tell him that he had no
choice but to live with the defective
vehicle, forced Desikan
to take up cudgels and fight for
the cause of the consumer.
Those were the days of a seller's
market, where manufacturers
got away with producing poor
quality products.
By this time his over-ambitious
publishing project ran into
a serious financial crunch and
he decided to close the unit and
sell the title of Mangayar Malar
alone to another friend who, in
turn, sold it to the Kalki magazine
group. However, Desikan
continued running a printing
press for South Madras News.
After trying out a couple of
other businesses, he decided to
cease all business activities and
concentrate fully on consumer
activism.
* * *
His experience with the
SMN Consumer Protection
Council led him to take an active
interest in the Federation
of Consumer Organisations in
Tamil Nadu (FEDCOT). He
became Chairman of the
organisation and during the six
years that he was involved with
FEDCOT, he helped the membership
grow from 12
organisations to 260 organisations
and the turnover increase
from a few thousand rupees
to Rs. 75 lakhs, through
grants and subsidies from donor
agencies.
Desikan's work at FEDCOT
was noticed by people in Tamil
Nadu and he became a name to
reckon with in the world of
Consumer Activism. He was
now keen to play an active role
in promoting awareness about
consumer rights and responsibilities
at the national level. His
first foray was Concert (Centre
for Education, Research testing
and Training) which established
the first-ever fuel testing
laboratory run by an NGO in
Chennai, and has been publishing
reports based on comparative
testing of products commonly
used by consumers. Concert
has also developed an adulteration
detection kit and
trained over 2500 women in
Tamil Nadu to use it.
Along with stalwarts like
B.S. Raghavan (IAS RTD), K.
Ravindran IPS, Dr. S.
Krishnaswamy, and N.L. Rajah
he started an NGO called The
Catalyst Trust with the objective
of bridging the gap between
grassroots people (aam-aadmi)
and government establishments.
'Catalyst' is also active in
championing electoral reforms
and already has 207 regional
Citizen Centres and publishes a
monthly journal in the regional
languages. 'Catalyst' has been
very active in promoting voter
awareness in a big way, with aggressive
media campaigns. According
to Desikan, it helped
add 1.2 million new voters during
the 2004 election.
The flagship organisation of
the group, Consumers Association
of India (CAI), was started
in 2001, with Desikan, the late
Yegnaraman and Krishnakumar
as Founder Trustees. Today,
the Board of Trustees of CAI
includes some well-known
names, like N. Gopalaswami,
former CEC of India.
During the last eleven years
of its existence, CAI has helped
over 10,000 consumers get
redressal for their problems with
Governments or erring
corporates; 98 per cent of these
cases were resolved without any
legal intervention. The persistent
efforts of CAI resulted in
RBI passing a rule by which
banks are now calculating the
interest due to Savings Bank
account holders on a daily basis
instead of the earlier periodicity
which had been unfavourable
to bank customers. This is helping
millions of customers across
the country get better earnings.
CAI has also been working
closely with self-help groups in
Tamil Nadu, training them to
be more aware of their rights
and responsibilities as consumers.
A few of them have also become
Consumer Activists. In
recent years, CAI has been
working closely with schools
and colleges, trying to sow the
seeds of consumer awareness in
young minds. CAI has published
a number of guides useful
to consumers and every
member gets a free copy of its
bi-monthly called Consumers
Digest. With some major
projects assigned by the Government
to CAI, it has come to
be recognised as one of the top
two consumer organisations in
the country.
* * *
Desikan had a major health
crisis in 2006. When doctors
had given up hope, he had a
miraculous recovery. After
spending a couple of months in
the hospital and later recouping
at home for a couple of more
months, Desikan was back in
action with greater vigour and
energy to do what he is passionate
about – fighting for the hapless
Indian consumer!
When I asked him why in
spite of poor health he continues
to push himself beyond his
endurance limits, he said, "I feel
very happy when people who
have benefited from CAI come
to thank me. More than any
award, it is this spontaneous appreciation
from the common
people that is keeping me going.
I am happy that I am able to
make some difference to their
lives."
An ad-man, journalist,
printer, publisher, a pioneer of
ideas, a visionary with tremendous
energy and enthusiasm –
more than all these descriptions
of Desikan, what people will always
remember him is for his
role as a crusader for consumer
rights.
(Concluded)
Feedback welcome on
9840392082 or
rvrajan42@gmail.com
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