Mission statement

Seva Mandir's mission is to make real the idea of society consisting of free and equal citizens who are able to come together and solve the problems that affect them in their particular contexts. The commitment is to work for a paradigm of development and governance that is democratic and polyarchic. Seva Mandir seeks to institutionalise the idea that development and governance should not just be left to the state and its formal bodies, such as the legislature and the bureaucracy, but that citizens and their associations should engage separately and jointly with the state. The mission, briefly, is to construct the conditions in which citizens of plural backgrounds and perspectives can come together to benefit and empower the least advantaged in society.

Our values

Since its foundation, Seva Mandir has been committed to promoting a social order based on the principles of Gandhian philosophy espoused by its founder, Dr Mohan Singh Mehta.

These principles are non-violence, truthfulness, honesty (in the widest sense), fairness and respect (eschewing prejudice and factionalism), and the rejection of materialism. The value base has evolved since then, with the organisation and its staff espousing more values and following them in practice.

The wheel of values reflects how Seva Mandir has evolved over the years, and shows the primary values that the Seva Mandir

team identifies as part of the working culture.