New Delhi, Oct. 1 -- Gandhi's birth anniversary this year is an appropriate occasion to examine his idea of trusteeship. The dispute involving Tata Trusts and Tata Sons has made it a live question: how can a business preserve a social purpose across generations, especially when those entrusted with it disagree?

Mahatma Gandhi accepted that talent and enterprise could create wealth and livelihoods. But what did ownership entitle a person to do with that wealth? In 1939, he wrote: "The rest of my wealth belongs to the community and must be used for the welfare of the community."

By 'the rest,' he meant what remained after an honourable livelihood. That wealth would be held with owners who must act as custodians and trustees for society. ...