SUBHAG RAJ MALIAKAL

Subhag is currently responsible for overseeing quality of social impact projects with Sustainable Square (India). With 5 years of experience in planning and implementing Education Leadership models, building capacity of government and related stakeholders, and managing partnerships, he brings expertise in stakeholder & project management. He started his career with the prestigious Gandhi Fellowship and his interest lies in working with large scale social impact projects with a focus on education, youth & skill development, entrepreneurship and rural development. 

“The path towards excellence is dreaming big and planning well.”

Q: Tell us a few things about your country, and also your life's story!

India is a country that is among the rising powers in the world, with more than 50% population under the age of 25. India is a land of diversity. At the same time, there are challenges India faces. I come from a state named Kerala, which is also known as ‘God’s Own Country’. With beautiful tourist spots and always topping the human development index scores among all Indian states, Kerala deserves to be called God’s Own Country. 

Growing up in Kerala in a poor household, I credit my parents, a strong public education, an accessible welfare system, and a series of fortuitous interventions for creating opportunities that are out of reach for so many others in other parts of India. I was drawn to a career in public policy because of my upbringing and background. I take it as a responsibility to make sure every individual has equal chances to succeed in their life. 

Over the last six years, I have worked with systemic change initiatives as a development professional. With corporations, non-profits and governments, I have experience in research, practice, and importantly, empathy. I have researched international policy best practices and played a role in integrating them into my local context. I have worked with various stakeholders, and thus, see complex problems from multiple angles. 

Q: What was your experience of the global pandemic crisis? Did it change your life and/or your views about the world? If so, how?

The COVID-19 pandemic showed me the systemic injustice which was hidden. The failure of our health, education, and public systems ignited a big question about the interventions from the government’s side. The pandemic made it clear that we need to make our government and other systems accountable in every aspect related to the welfare of the people. 

I was privileged to work from home during the pandemic. The only change I felt was that the line between my personal and professional life became thinner. It became so difficult to manage my thoughts, mental health and personal development. I practiced mindful meditation to try and help. 

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently?

This is a tough question, especially for a development professional. I believe that graded inequality due to the caste system is the root cause of all inequalities India faces. 

As someone who is passionate about systemic change initiatives, I have seen that lack of good governance is a major challenge in providing welfare initiatives. The emergence of new initiatives via different stakeholders coming together to build state capacity is helping the beneficiaries develop necessary leadership skills to make the system more effective. 

Q: Can you share with us some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them? 

I was concerned about progressing beyond the circumstances that I was born into. I give all the credit to my parents and a great state-funded education system that laid the foundations for me to succeed in life. I have met amazing individuals in my life, both personally and professionally, who guided me to reach milestones. Being with your loved ones who care about you is my mantra when it comes to handling disappointments or hurdles in life. 

Q: If you were to ask one thing from our current leaders, what would it be?

I would like to ask for good governance. I believe, from political leaders to corporate leaders, if we can expect good governance, then the world will be less unequal. It will also motivate young leaders to be accountable for their actions.

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you?

When young people set out on a journey to learn different domains and gain expertise, it is important to receive insights from the people who already proved excellence in their domain. So far in my career and life, it has helped me grow personally and professionally to ultimately follow the right direction and avoid pitfalls.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share? 

Being brought up with limited resources, planning helped me to mitigate the risk of failure. The different stages in planning towards the ultimate goal make you understand the importance of each milestone and also the skillsets you need to have. Planning well makes you understand your areas for improvement and I believe it will lead you to excel in your work. 

The path towards excellence is dreaming big and planning well. 

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives!

Madhav Chavan. He is the Founder of India’s biggest non-profit ‘Pratham’. Pratham works on education-related interventions with low- income children and youth. I took Pratham’s name not only because of the innovations they introduced in education through systemic reform but also because of the support they provide to other organizations to build the ecosystem for education-related work, thus reaching scale. 

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are being made towards gender equality?

India was the third-worst performer in South Asia, ahead of Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021. Women are the most affected when I look at any social challenges India faces. From education to health, the country is trying to bring initiatives through policy changes towards gender equality. But poor implementation of such policies jeopardizes everything. 

I believe that the recent introduction of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) can address the gap policymakers face in the implementation of efforts towards gender equality. It will help to measure and manage the impact of each policy to positively affect women. 

Q: Share with us a phrase, a poem or a story that you love or you find interesting!

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
George Bernard Shaw 

Q: Can you share with us a project that you would like to make happen for your country or a cause that you are passionate about? 

My experience working with institutions in the global agora (non-state actors in the development space) made me understand the importance of think-tanks having better negotiation power. 

I would like to initiate a project on how think-tanks can be effective when it comes to their involvement in stakeholder (Example: Funding agencies, Government, NGOs) decision-making and storytelling.