“When I ride, nothing else enters my mind. I feel free,” says Naveen Jindal - Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited a two-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Kurukshetra in Haryana and an accomplished polo player.
Born in Hisar, Haryana, this successful industrialist is also an international level shooting champion who has represented India on numerous national and international platforms including the Asian Games. A man of myriad talents, Naveen Jindal is also a philanthropist, a social entrepreneur and an active campaigner who believes in uplifting the underprivileged sections of the society.
To strengthen the bond of today’s youth with Tiranga, Mr Naveen Jindal fought a long and hard legal battle that not only allows Indians to hoist the National Flag throughout the year, but also motivates them to draw inspiration from it. After many years of struggle and disappointments, on 23rd January 2004, the Supreme Court of India cited a new fundamental right that permitted ever Indian to hoist the national flag on all days of the year. After this landmark ruling, Naveen and his wife Ms Shallu Jindal established the Flag Foundation of India.
In 2006, Naveen Jindal moved a private member Bill for a comprehensive Food and Nutrition Security Scheme, which became the basis for the Food Security Act. Moreover, he also secured smoking ban that was implemented in the parliament form July 2004.
In 2011 Naveen Jindal added another feather in his cap by establishing the ‘Citizens’ Alliance for Reproductive Health and Rights’, an organisation that brings together politicians, media persons and NGOs in a bid to spread awareness about family planning, maternal and child mortality, and other related issues.
In a first for an Indian, the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) renamed its ‘School of Management’ as ‘The Naveen Jindal School of Management’ in 2011. The honour was made in recognition of Mr Jindal’s unrelenting support to his alma mater.
Naveen is also the founder and chancellor of the O.P. Jindal Global University (OPJGU) in Sonepat, Haryana, which he set up in 2009 in memory of his father, Om Prakash Jindal. His efforts towards improving the education system in India were acknowledged when Mr Jindal was awarded the ‘Justice PN Bhagwati Award’ by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam for his contribution to the education system and philanthropy.
I do not want to wait for a time when age and physical frailty hamper my abilities. So, I’ve begun during the best years of my life.
