Vouching Archives - understand-culture

The Sun’s Credentials

In 1893 Swami Vivekananda wanted to speak at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. He had no credentials as a delegate. John Henry Wright, a professor of Greek at Harvard, gave him a letter of introduction.

According to accounts of his life, Wright told him: “To ask you, Swami, for your credentials is like asking the sun to state its right to shine.” In the letter he is said to have written: “Here is a man who is more learned than all our learned professors put together.”

Both lines come from later accounts, and the wording of the first varies between them.

From Clerk to Cambridge

Srinivasa Ramanujan joined the Madras Port Trust as a clerk on March 1, 1912, according to the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai. Some accounts give 1911. According to two accounts, he got the post with the help of patrons. Madras Musings credits a recommendation from R. Ramachandra Rao, the Collector of Nellore. Another account credits the help of Narayana Iyer.

On January 16, 1913, Ramanujan wrote to G.H. Hardy in Cambridge. He described himself as “a clerk in the Accounts Department of the Port Trust Office at Madras on a salary of only £20 per annum.” On February 3, 1913, Hardy wrote to the India Office about bringing him to England.

Known to Me for Three Years

Many Indian colleges and universities ask new students for a character certificate. In 2021 Mahatma Gandhi Central University asked for “A Character certificate from the Head of the Institution last attended.”

For private candidates, a Delhi college gives a specimen to be signed by a gazetted officer: “Certified that Mr. / Miss … is known to me for the last three years. He / She bears a good moral character.”

The Relieving Letter

An Indian employee who changes jobs is often asked for a relieving letter from the old employer. The letter “assures the future employer that the employee is available to join the organisation,” a guide by the payments company PayU explains.

In 2026 the Bombay High Court heard the case of an employee who had broken a service bond and wanted a relieving letter. “A trained employee, who has acted in breach of the contract, cannot insist that the employer must cooperate and assist him/her in securing employment with another employer,” the court held, LiveLaw reported.

Deserving Candidates

In February 2019, at the trailer launch of Notebook, Salman Khan presented the film’s two new leads, Pranutan Bahl and Zaheer Iqbal. He had produced the film. “I launch deserving candidates, not anybody,” he said. Of Pranutan, he said: “She did a screen test and she is on.”

Pranutan is the daughter of the actor Mohnish Bahl. In earlier years Salman had launched Athiya Shetty, Sooraj Pancholi, Warina Hussain and his brother-in-law Aayush Sharma.

The First Music Director

“Ghulam Haider was the first music director who showed complete faith in my talent,” Lata Mangeshkar said. “He introduced me to many producers including S. Mukerji, a big name in film production, but when he too rejected me, Ghulam Haider was very furious.”

Ghulam Haider then convinced Bombay Talkies, “a banner bigger than S. Mukerji.” Lata sang his song Dil Mera Toda in the film Majboor (1948).

Hired Through a Colleague

In 2011 Business Standard asked Indian companies how they found their staff. “We hire almost 30% of our lateral talent acquisition through our employee referral programme,” said Raghavendra K, head of human resources at Infosys BPO. At iGATE Patni, Mahesh Guru said that 24 percent of the previous year’s hires had come through referrals.

Sifarish

Sifarish means a recommendation. A person with sifarish has someone who has spoken for them. The Rekhta dictionary gives recommendation and intercession as its first meanings. It notes that the word can also mean “undue favour or influence.”

The Introducer

Indian banks used to ask anyone opening an account for an introduction from an existing customer of the bank. Someone the bank already knew had to vouch for the newcomer.

In December 2012 the Reserve Bank of India told banks to stop insisting on it. The requirement, it said, was not mandatory under any of its rules.