06-08-2008, 11:12 PM
US-based honcho comes headhunting for Dalits again
Suman K Jha
Posted online: Saturday, May 03, 2008 at 2338 hrs Print Email
New Delhi, May 2: Michael Thevar is an unlikely headhunter. He wants a bunch of young IT pros for his US consultancy firm. Liberal compensations are assured, so are H-1 visas. A number of CVs have already landed from Mumbaiâs Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Nagpur University and even Chennai. Thevar has one condition, though: âonly Dalits need applyâ.
âClass I officers and their families are a no-no. Itâs mostly first-generation educated youth who might have spent their childhood in slums or shanties that Iâm interested in,â says Thevar. Certain Tamil Nadu districts are notorious for Dalit-Thevar (an OBC community) clashes, but Michaelâs parents migrated to Karnataka much before his birth. Born to a Catholic mother and Hindu father, his parents ensured that he went to an English-medium school, even if it meant cutting on their two square meals a day.
Michael went to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences for his Masters before proceeding to the USA that facilitated his growth as an entrepreneur. The social work graduate worked as a âclinical services managerâ before founding his own firm, Temp Solutions Inc, a healthcare firm, in 2000. His firm now clocks a turnover of $12 million.
The health professionals that he got attached to various US hospitals were MSWs (Masters in Social Work) or even MAs in psychology. After having recruited 20 Dalit health professionals, with another 30 in the pipeline, the Pennsylvania-based entrepreneur now wants Dalits to ride the IT boom.
A sprightly bunch of young Dalit engineers, sharing his vision of Dalit entrepreneurship, is helping him with the scanning process. Nitin Salve has a B Tech from VJTI and an MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute. His friend, Mangesh Dahiwale, another VJTI alumnus, was a rank holder in civil services. Priyadarshi Telang did his BE from Nagpur University and worked with the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. Driven by Ambedkarâs vision, the trio quit their 9-to-6 jobs to work for the Dalit cause. Working with a Pune NGO, they now network with various Dalit organisations.
It was another Dalit scholar from IIT-Bombay who had helped Thevar reach out to the Dalits. âA PhD scholar, Lalit Khandare, inspired me to recruit Dalits for my organisation. He then put out ads in Samrat and Mahanayakâtwo Marathi dailies that take up Dalit issues. Various online Dalit communities were involved and we got many suitable applicants,â recalls Thevar. Many slum-born kids on his team now earn $ 40,000 a year.
His workforce in the US has an interesting spread of states and religions. Most of the Indian recruits are from Maharashtra, UP and Tamil Nadu. Half of them are Buddhists, a couple of them are Catholics, while the rest are ânon-practising Hindus.â
âI was baptized during my school days, but more than religion, education and efficiency in English language are a Dalitâs passport to a secure future,â says Thevars. The BTechs and MBAs assisting him in his mission only reinforce this.
Suman K Jha
Posted online: Saturday, May 03, 2008 at 2338 hrs Print Email
New Delhi, May 2: Michael Thevar is an unlikely headhunter. He wants a bunch of young IT pros for his US consultancy firm. Liberal compensations are assured, so are H-1 visas. A number of CVs have already landed from Mumbaiâs Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Nagpur University and even Chennai. Thevar has one condition, though: âonly Dalits need applyâ.
âClass I officers and their families are a no-no. Itâs mostly first-generation educated youth who might have spent their childhood in slums or shanties that Iâm interested in,â says Thevar. Certain Tamil Nadu districts are notorious for Dalit-Thevar (an OBC community) clashes, but Michaelâs parents migrated to Karnataka much before his birth. Born to a Catholic mother and Hindu father, his parents ensured that he went to an English-medium school, even if it meant cutting on their two square meals a day.
Michael went to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences for his Masters before proceeding to the USA that facilitated his growth as an entrepreneur. The social work graduate worked as a âclinical services managerâ before founding his own firm, Temp Solutions Inc, a healthcare firm, in 2000. His firm now clocks a turnover of $12 million.
The health professionals that he got attached to various US hospitals were MSWs (Masters in Social Work) or even MAs in psychology. After having recruited 20 Dalit health professionals, with another 30 in the pipeline, the Pennsylvania-based entrepreneur now wants Dalits to ride the IT boom.
A sprightly bunch of young Dalit engineers, sharing his vision of Dalit entrepreneurship, is helping him with the scanning process. Nitin Salve has a B Tech from VJTI and an MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute. His friend, Mangesh Dahiwale, another VJTI alumnus, was a rank holder in civil services. Priyadarshi Telang did his BE from Nagpur University and worked with the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. Driven by Ambedkarâs vision, the trio quit their 9-to-6 jobs to work for the Dalit cause. Working with a Pune NGO, they now network with various Dalit organisations.
It was another Dalit scholar from IIT-Bombay who had helped Thevar reach out to the Dalits. âA PhD scholar, Lalit Khandare, inspired me to recruit Dalits for my organisation. He then put out ads in Samrat and Mahanayakâtwo Marathi dailies that take up Dalit issues. Various online Dalit communities were involved and we got many suitable applicants,â recalls Thevar. Many slum-born kids on his team now earn $ 40,000 a year.
His workforce in the US has an interesting spread of states and religions. Most of the Indian recruits are from Maharashtra, UP and Tamil Nadu. Half of them are Buddhists, a couple of them are Catholics, while the rest are ânon-practising Hindus.â
âI was baptized during my school days, but more than religion, education and efficiency in English language are a Dalitâs passport to a secure future,â says Thevars. The BTechs and MBAs assisting him in his mission only reinforce this.