It is a pleasure to write this blog about a book written by a colleague, Vinod Prakash, who retired from the World Bank in 1988 after more than two decades of service. This blog about Vinod’s book, published by Xlibris, USA in 2023,particularly urges non-World Bank readers to read it, as I expect they will learn a lot from it. I stress non-World Bank readers because many of us Indians working at the World Bank have had similar life trajectories and similar experiences inside the World Bank.
Following graduate studies in a prestigious American university, Vinod did his Ph.D. at MIT while I did mine at Cornell, he joined the World Bank. He describes the challenges of adjusting to an American life as well as adjusting to the World Bank’s culture, work programs, procedures, among other things. For those of us who worked in the Bank much of what Vinod reports is slightly different but not new. Each of us have had a different family background and we adjusted to American life differently. Vinod came from a traditional lower middle class freedom fighter family in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, unlike in my case. I came from an urban, broadly educated family. Thus, Vinod was and remains more grounded in the Indian tradition and values and has in many different ways adhered to them more strictly than I have.
What is inspiring about Vinod, and this book, is that he lost his eyesight completely in a fluke accident while undergoing eye surgery, and since then, he has lived this purpose- driven life. He created not just an impressive NGO after his retirement from the World Bank in 1988 but the NGO – International Development Relief Fund (IDRF) – has mobilized $50 million, disbursing $45 million, and done so at the lowest overhead costs. Funds go to all kinds of social causes including community development and women’s empowerment, disaster relief, health, education, and training. IDRF partners with 70 NGOs in 19 Indian states, Nepal, Sri Lanka and occasionally even in U.S.A. For World Bank retirees, particularly of the South Asian origin, he has created a “go to place” whenever they wish to donate to a disaster, address an emergency or simply support a good cause. To the best of my knowledge very few World Bank retirees have achieved this feat, even without losing their eyesight, although many do worthy voluntary work and donate their own time and money to many different causes.
At the same time, Vinod has not been afraid of expressing his opinions on domestic Indian political developments, e.g., Mrs. Gandhi’s declaration of emergency and the widespread corruption in India. Yet through philanthropy, Vinod has found a way to empower poor people in many different parts of India and his work has come to the attention of the highest policy makers, including Prime Ministers, when they have visited Washington.
His loving children describe this in the book as the inner light that has driven their father despite the darkness created within him by his loss of eyesight.
I recommend this book strongly to all those interested in a career in the World Bank and economic development and seeking a purposeful mission at all stages of their life. Well done, Vinod.
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KEYWORDS IDRF, India, NGO, Vinod Prakash
Uma, A very nice summary of his rather unusual life and his extremely strong contribution through IDRF.
Steve Obrien
Uma: I appreciate your written piece on Vinod which so sensitively captures the attributes that make him truly a universal role model.It provides inspiration to so many of us.
Jayasankar Shivakumar