Are we plain greedy or rich with aspirations?

When you have affable economist Omkar Goswami, who has mapped poverty, and flamboyant adman Suhel Seth, ambassador of riches, debating greed, sparks are bound to fly. That's what happened at 'Greed is Now Hero No 1', a session moderated by veteran journalist Vir Sanghvi on Sunday. While Goswami said most of India is obsessed with greed, Seth said India had become aspirational, not greedy.

Inequality, combined with consumerism, Goswami said, will lead us to disaster if something is not done urgently. The poor's patience, he said, is almost at a tipping point. "Around three million people died in the Bengal famine in the 1940s and yet nobody protested. The same cannot be said today. If deprivation of a huge chunk of the population continues, there will be a revolt," said Goswami.

Disagreeing, Seth said a lot of people think aspiration is greed. "India is obsessed with aspirations. You cannot deprive an aspiring youngster who wants to go and get ahead in life," he said. Seth asked the audience: "Which one of us is not greedy for a better life?"

And in a debate on greed, politicians inevitably get blamed. So Seth referred to a prominent Maharashtra politician as a man "who gives greed a bad name" . He said those who possess wealth should also be philanthropic.

Banker Deepak Parekh, who Sanghvi described as "a man who has given us home", was applauded by the audience when he said "greed begins in Delhi and Mumbai is aspirational" . "How will we change the greed of politicians?" asked Parekh. Goswami said if corruption is exposed, we would see results, as in the 2G scam.

Goswami said we must take care of three things: asman ke upar ( for communications), zameen ke neeche (for minerals) and zameen (land). "If we utilise these three resources equitably and intelligently, we will have less greed," he said.