Steering panel for Rajaji foundation

Summary

This archival assemblage combines a Times of India clipping with typed questionnaire material. The clipping reports that a steering committee has been formed in Madras under the chairmanship of former Madras High Court judge Mr. Basheer Ahmed Sayeed to establish a Rajaji foundation. It lists Rev. Jerome D’Souza, Mr. M. A. Muthiah Chettiar, Dr. B. Gopal Reddy, Mr. M. Bhaktavatsalam, and Mr. M. G. Ramachandran as committee members. The clipping is dated “MADRAS, January 20,” but no year is printed; the handwritten date “21-1-73” appears separately on the page.

The questionnaire asks for views on party policy concerning trade-union recognition, secret ballots, bipartite negotiations versus state-supported arbitration and adjudication, profit sharing and bonuses, companies’ social responsibilities for housing, health, medical and educational facilities, and managements that deny justice to workers. Its concluding “GENERAL” section encloses the Party’s Statements of Principles and Policy adopted in 1959 and 1960, inviting point-by-point revision proposals and other policy suggestions. The rendered pages show the complete two-page item, but not any responses to the questionnaire or the enclosed policy statements.

Key points

• A Times of India clipping announces a steering committee for the proposed Rajaji foundation.
• The committee is chaired by former Madras High Court judge Mr. Basheer Ahmed Sayeed.
• The questionnaire addresses union recognition, secret ballots, collective bargaining, arbitration, and adjudication.
• It asks how party policy should approach profit sharing and the adequacy of bonuses.
• It links corporate social responsibility to housing, health, medical, and educational facilities.
• It asks how the Party should respond when management denies justice to workers.
• The questionnaire requests review of Statements of Principles and Policy adopted in August 1959 and March 1960.