(February 16, 2001, 7 a.m., Nalghati, Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan)
What exactly is going through your mind right now?
I'm overwhelmed. Speechless. I cannot believe that people can even think of harming a creature as magnificent as this.
I should warn you the tiger has a way of taking over people's lives!
Bittu, it has taken years of knowing you for me just to get to this stage. But that cat less than 20 m. from us radiates a power I never dreamed possible. I feel blessed. I really can't explain what is going through me right now, but my resolve to save the tiger is absolute. I will do everything in my power for the tiger. We can't allow anything to harm this cat, or forests like these.
(March 3, 2001, Bangalore)
Having had some time to mull over the issue, how are you going to make a difference to wild tigers?
I have no illusions. Saving the tiger is going to be an uphill climb and is by no means a sure thing. Besides, I am not going to pretend to be even half a wildlife expert. But I can tell you this, the Britannia team has the resources, the talent and, now, the will to put together the largest green army this country has ever seen. I really think we can make a difference by empowering children to defend the tiger.
You are talking about the one million children that Britannia mobilised and the Limca Book of Records certified had created the world's largest Save the Tiger Scroll?
Yes, but that's not all. We will now reach further and deeper over the next few years. After several internal consultations, our entire team has committed itself to a national 'Kids for Tigers' programme. Working closely with Sanctuary, we will re-position our on-going 'Britannia Champs' school contact programme into a tightly focussed 'Save the Tiger Campaign'. The fact that the Prime Minister himself responded to the million children and congratulated them on their resolve played a major role in convincing us that we were on the right path.
What kind of corporate strengths do you hope to bring to the task of saving tigers?
One thing is for certain, money will not be the key element. As you pointed out, millions of dollars are already being collected around the world each year to save the tiger, yet we continue to lose a tiger a day. Corporates like ours have a more significant contribution to make. We can lobby to protect tiger habitats, commission the best communicators to craft public messages, mobilise teachers and school children and, perhaps most important of all, help analyse and strategise the saving of the tiger with leading wildlife experts. Children are our key consumers and we would like to spread awareness at this level.
As a corporate entity, how would you justify this 'non-commercial' activity?
It's true that such a tiger campaign would be strictly non-commercial and will not be linked to sales. But by associating with such an emotional campaign, Britannia's brand equity will be enhanced and consolidated. I fully trust and hope, in fact, that other sensitive corporations will follow our lead and support other vital conservation issues. I totally agree with Romesh Sobti, CEO of ABN AMRO Bank, who pointed out that "good ecology amounts to good long-term economics." Though most people may not realise it today, protecting the environment is going to be the foundation of India's economic future.
Where do kids come into this?
Kids are the future. And we are viscerally committed to children. The rationale for saving tigers and forests, namely the protection of hydrological processes and thus the water security of India, needs to be communicated effectively to children. Kids are vastly more empowered than we were at their age. In Delhi, students did what adults failed to - they slashed pollution levels during Diwali by boycotting firecrackers. I have personally monitored the response to the 'Kids for Tigers' campaign that we jointly executed with Sanctuary. I am convinced that in children we have a real force, not a notional one. Not only will the kids we reach out to soon be in charge of the world, but we simultaneously communicate with their parents, friends, teachers and the communities in which they live. Kids have legitimacy, emotion and innocence on their side and the combination tends to shatter the legendary apathy of adults. The multiplier effect of communicating social messages to children is limitless.
Whichever way you look at it, it's a long way for Britannia to have come from cricket and crorepatis to conservation. What was the pivot? What actually prompted Britannia to seriously back wild tigers?
In a word… kids! The 'Britannia Champs' programme has a very meticulous monitoring process built into it and this indicated that, of all our past involvements, school children responded most warmly to the tiger campaign. Thanks to our contact with teachers, we are in touch with children's issues on a daily basis. We know what makes kids tick. We want to be a part of our consumer's life. And we will continue to back sports such as tennis and cricket because kids and sports are virtually synonymous. We will also continue extending support to the appreciation of Indian classical music. But the issue that has proven to be closest to the hearts of a new generation of Indian children is the fate of endangered wild animals… particularly the tiger. The kids really took the decision for us.
Not the fact that you have a biscuit brand called 'Tiger'?
No. I was wondering when you would get to that! You will recall that for the entire first year of our campaign in 1999, when we visited 700 schools in 14 cities to show a tiger film, run tiger quizzes and actually collect the one million tiger signatures, the 'Tiger' biscuit brand was invisible. Having said this, the association is certainly not unwelcome.
So is this a trend? Are other corporates going to be seen supporting wildlife issues?
I certainly hope so. If they scratch beneath the surface corporates will discover, as we did, that an involvement with environmental issues can be rewarding in every sense of the word. Besides, I do not subscribe to the view that anyone has a lien on environmental concern. To a greater or lesser degree each one of us adversely affects the environment, including your magazine, which uses large amounts of paper! The key is to try and minimise your impact, spread the good word and support sensible government policies that would see the country set aside large parcels of land where nature is allowed the freedom to function as it has for millennia. I'd say the catchword should be 'involvement', not 'sponsorship'.
How about the Ranthambhore Tiger Mela that you were involved with this year at Sawai Madhopur? Is this going to be an annual affair?
I certainly hope so. When we agreed to be a part of the mela none of us imagined it would inspire such a tremendous response. One of the most refreshing things about the event, apart from the thousands of children who took an oath to save the tiger, was the fact that the organisers managed to integrate everyday entertainment into the mela, thus attracting nearly two lakh people to Sawai Madhopur over five days. Yes. We do intend to back the Ranthambhore Tiger Mela and hope that people from far and near will visit it each year to support the tiger.
So this is a long-term committment to the tiger and not the short-lived whim of a CEO?
During our recently concluded Sales Conference in Ranthambhore, the pros and cons of our tiger involvement were discussed threadbare. An enthusiastic CEO of a professional company like Britannia might at best be able to convince his team to sponsor an event, perhaps two. The overwhelming opinion within our team was that even as we did something concrete for the tiger, the 'Kids for Tigers' programme would enhance Britannia's brand equity. Towards this end, the example of professional corporate entities such as Godrej and the Tatas is before us.
Welcome to the family, Sunil! I only wish we had you on our side earlier!
I know how much the tiger means to people like you and Fateh Singh Rathore and after seeing my first tiger in Ranthambhore, I have to say that your love and spirit for the wilds has influenced me deeply. Our track record will reveal however that we do not involve ourselves peripherally with issues. Put another way, we were not ready earlier. We are now. Whatever we do today will affect our environment and what we do not do will affect it too. It's up to us to make the difference.
