MONTH-IN-PERSPECTIVE

MAHARASHTRA: There was this news in the media some weeks ago “From Rs: 21 lakhs to Rs: 5 crores, as commission to independent directors of Reliance Inds. Ltd.”

In a society like India, inequity is the done thing. Accepted without any demure. The increase was a rise of about 24 times.

Reportedly RIL has seven independent directors, consisting of a Mumbai senior lawyer and former bureaucrats from backgrounds that can help the RIL bottom line, including some professionals.

They are all septuagenarians, since 75 years is the recommended age bar by CII. They have enjoyed the life at high levels of governmental and private sector engagements. They continue to crave for lasting comforts of life provided by the system and then speak inanities of equity on public forums, and there are enough media men and women singing praise for their utterances, they too are the ‘Champions of public causes’. Aren’t they!? Yes equity is an oft repeated word by everybody all over the place. Quite frankly, it makes no meaning at all. Look at all well known celebrities who made enough and more money, who take visible joy talking about reaching -out and equity. But how much difference they have made or vacated the public space for somebody else. Whether it is Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan or even Sachin Tendulkar, they continue to enjoy the public space, advertisement, film roles or Indian cricket team, and make millions for themselves. We have to have more models like Narayan Murthy, who retired at 60 from Infosys, or like Azim Premji, who donated massively to create good teachers to give them to society or that little known owner of Sobha Developers, Menon in Bangalore, who pledged 50% of his wealth to society. According to Dubai based Mr. Menon giving back to society is not charity but accountability.

RIL could have possibly increased the payout to these directors to Rs: 50 lakhs from 21 lakhs and with the balance Rs: 30 crores annually, could have created some social assets for the larger good. Besides what is the record of employees’ welfare of RIL? Is there food for thought?

Court ordering the retrial of film actor Salman Khan for the 2002 Hit-and-Run case is a welcome development. In a country where law is applied and executed according to the power that the accused wields- money, political or social-session judge U B Hejib need to be complimented for his commitment to the profession.

It’s a 2002 case. We are in 2013, more than 10 years have elapsed. Isn’t it a joke of our criminal justice system that an open and shut case like this should have lingered for so long without the last word being said?

How many reading public remember a similar case of one Alistar Pereira, who also lives in the vicinity of Salman Khan’s residence in Bandra in north Mumbai. He too had bags full of money. Drunk, he killed, or can we call it murdered, seven men while crushing fifteen of them sleeping on a pavement in South Mumbai. His case was finished in 15 months of the crime. He challenged the court order in High Court and then in Supreme Court. All this took less than 3 years.

Of course, it is another matter that the lower court judge made a huge joke of justice by awarding this Periera a mere 6 months in jail for killing 7 people and badly injuring the other eight. This judgement was clearly bought. But so drunk with money power, the family of this Pereira challenged this mere 6 months jail-term order in High Court which enhanced the imprisonment to 3 years. Supreme Court confirmed it after the High Court order was challenged. Of course the details of this shall make it a brilliant test case for the sheer miscarriage of justice in the annals of India’s judicial history. That is another matter.

However coming to the Salman Khan case, he has, reportedly other cases too in different courts. It is evident how authorities, mainly Mumbai police, with the blessings of likes of R R Patil, the Home Minister, have managed it so far to evade the just punishment for the accused Khan.

Hope the retrial for culpable homicide under Section 302 (II) of IPC does take place and the accused is shown his rightful place for the offence committed.

GOA: Recently while inaugurating the ‘World Management Conference’ under the auspices of Indian Instts. of Management, at Miramar near Panaji in Goa, Pallam Raju, the Union HRD minister made a significant observation which deserved a front page appearance in print media. But was lost in the middle pages. Of course the 24x7 electronic media probably had no time for it, since there was no scope for sensationalising it. HRD minister had attributed the cause for poor product delivery or poor governance to lack of capacities rather than corruption.

While admitting that corruption is there, it is a small factor, but it is the shortage of capacity of the government to deliver which is the main factor.

It is indeed an honest admission, which likes of Finance Minister Chidambaram, or the funny intellectual senior bureaucrat turned politician Mani Shankar Iyer or serious and clean, thinking minister Jairam Ramesh could not articulate. 

The minister, Raju exhorted his audience, mostly practitioners & students of management, that “Instead of undertaking corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, which merely replicate government efforts, management professionals should spend time working along with government agencies.”

This is really an issue, that government at all levels must understand and work towards. We all know that there is no lack of intention or allocation of money for the welfare of people. Most governments, however belated, have taken pro-development and pro people activities, but have failed to deliver. Take for instance MNREGS. Hundreds and thousands of crores are allocated every year but it has failed to truly impact the rural lives. Of course there have been cases of rampant corruption, but corruption could not be checked while delivering the scheme, only because the management skills & inputs were lacking. There were no proper system of checks and balance in place, which a professional management can organize. Or look at Golden Quadri Lateral Road project of NDA. It was indeed a game changer, although it came so late in the day. If there were management professionals at all levels including at the helm in NHAI offices in New Delhi, it could have made India truly shining. Hope this remark by Raju goes well beyond the rhetoric that politicians are usually known for.

Attending the same Pan IIM World Management Conference was the UN diplomat turned politician Shashi Tharoor. He first shot into media fame with his remark on travelling economy class in the air, as ‘Cattle class’. This time round he had said, delivering his key note address “Mahatma Gandhi’s Gram Rajya unrealistic in current age”.

While Tharoor had to clarify his statement to the audience at the question and answer session that followed, it was certainly not well taken by at least a section of the audience for whom any attack on Gandhian philosophy is sacrilege. 

Tharoor was right and wrong at the same time. He was right in a globalised inter dependent social context. But the ideal of Mahatma stemmed from his ‘Experiment with truth’. As a concept, Grama Rajya, is an eminently possible concept, where life can be peaceful and meaningful, not necessarily the one where landing in moon may not be a priority but the objective of Gross National Happiness rather than Gross National Product shall be the driving force? 

Yes, a ‘Cattle class’ man cannot understand that ‘cattles’ too have their role in a dynamic world and hence cannot understand the vision of Mahatma whose life was dedicated to not only the political emancipation of Indians but also the social emancipation of every Indian, which globalised life has greatly compromised. Tharoor’s vision is grandiose unlike Mahatma’s. A writer and thinker that he is, he needs to be less brash at least to an Indian audience.

KERALA: The WEEK magazine published from Kottayam in Kerala had published under its column called POINT BLANK, opinions of some people whom they thought are opinion makers. There were 7 men and women of ‘prominence’. Of course all have their own take, what constitute ‘prominence’. After reading the observations of all seven, we thought of giving our own take. Ascribing to Sachin Tendulkar it had quoted “I know in 2022, there is something really big happening for Indian football. I hope India qualifies for the 2022 world cup". Now we are little confused, how he suddenly started talking about football and how it will be really big, when football cannot get even 10% of money that cricket commands and gets in this country. According to us really big news is when Tendulkar retires from all forms of cricket, not just IPL, in favour of younger players, and no paper wants to speak about it. Quoting Shekar Kapoor, the film maker, it said “As kids we worshipped Jawaharlal Nehru. Now his promises are unkept. His legacy? More Indians below poverty line than the entire population of 1947”. Mr Kapoor, you are a celebrated film maker, and all know, cinema is a powerful medium, couldn’t you make a film to portray your disappointment? What you said everyone knows across India. What’s the big idea of the WEEK publishing it, which is a common knowledge.     

Of course the cake is taken by the pearls of wisdom from an insignificant bollywood actress. Mallika Sherawat is hardly an actor of eminence. She is reported to have remarked, and The WEEK quotes, “India is a regressive place for women. It is a depressing place to be in”.

In polite English language she can be asked to “Please take a walk”. Country will not be poorer if she leaves India for “more interesting place”. Besides there may be thousands of Indian women of eminence who are not only proud of being Indians but are truly opinion makers, and this Sherawat is hardly anywhere near them. Yes the WEEK indeed wasted its expensive space.       

UTTARPRADESH: While it is true that there are some youths who are in police custody because of their names, for suspected terror acts, states should do every effort to get them out as quickly as possible. But the concern of the U.P. government is agenda driven. Agenda to help all who need help & succour is certainly a must. But it should not be based on group dynamics. 

Samajwaadi party is a perceived friend of Muslims. As a political party, they should be friend of all. However, they did promise that it would withdraw cases against those Muslim youths who had been falsely implicated in terror cases. Nothing wrong in the promise, and they should act. Acted they did, but High Court did not allow for the present. Central governments permission was not sought, was the ground of rejection. But then the permission is only a technical reason, but were they innocent, is a question court should have asked. Especially in cases of possible innocence of the accused, courts perforce should spend more time to decide to explore all avenues to establish the innocence. The job of the court should be to ensure justice rather than deliver judgment only. Court after all is the only place for a fair disposal of cases. 

Despite all concerned knowing that Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiyya, the Kunda strong man, is the kingpin in the murder of DSP Zia-Ul-Haq, CBI do not think so. Because CBI is the Premier investigation agency! Isn’t it? 

Reportedly CBI has filed a charge sheet against 14 persons. This 14 persons did not include the name of Raja Bhaiyya, the kingpin in the case. This is despite the FIR filed against him by the wife of slain police officer! 

Right from beginning, the administrative intervention from CM’s office was very evident. On the face of it there appears to be pressure not to proceed against the strong man for politics of Samajwaadi Party. Now, will have to wait for the possible polygraph test, the result of which is awaited. Will the CBI redeem itself? 

NEW DELHI: Continuing the debate on CBI, as the Caged Bird of India?, it will be incomplete if we do not comment on the boisterous, self seeking, publicity monger Digvijay Singh, one of the general secretaries of the Congress party. As a newspaper puts it, “Right or wrong, benign or malign, not a week passes without Singh making a catchy statement”.

His last observation on the apex court was rather tongue-in-cheek and ill considered. He described the Supreme Court observation of CBI as ‘a caged parrot’ has ‘belittled the premier investigating agency’. This intervention by a politician, who is party to the caging or subversion of CBI is absolutely uncalled for. Quite rightly Arun Jaitley, a senior lawyer himself and an opposition MP has called it “Frustration of a loser”. He has even gone further to observe ‘asking judges to shut up and speak only through written orders can only come from a person unfamiliar with the functioning of court’. According to Jaitely “arguments advanced by lawyers at times converted into a debate. Questions and comments emanating from judges indicate which way the judicial mind is functioning. Lawyers have always preferred judges who speak rather than those who never disclose their mind. Oral observations nudge the agency into correction whenever it is going wrong”. According to him, observation by the highest court of the land has only strengthened CBI in its quest for independence from the executive, the true yearning of all autonomous bodies of the governments. We all know how constitutional bodies are regularly belittled by ruling politicians over the years. Hope likes of Manish Tiwari and Digvijay Singh take note of this in the larger interest of a functioning democracy.

In India, we can broadly classify people into two classes, one who want to make money by cheating all and sundry and the other, ever ready to be cheated. However there is one common factor that brings them to-gether and that is greed. The former is greedy with ever increasing greed and the later is greedy to double his money in the shortest possible time. The later is gullible and the former diabolic.

We have, all across the national spectrum, stories of ponzi schemes of all kinds floating around. So are the people in great hurry to make a fast buck as quickly as possible who have succumbed to the rosy pictures provided by these canny operators. More often than not, those who got caught in the scheme seldom get even the principal sum of their investment. Sometimes, scheme operators manage to vanish, hoodwink all, sometime they manage to flee with the help of political contacts or with help from the police, because they have enough money clout to buy their freedom, all collected from poor and not so poor people. In the end only investors have suffered.

Sometime ago there was a scheme “Own-a-Goat” meant primarily to attract Muslims, who like to own goat, with a promise to double the money in less than 3 years. Having collected enough, brothers Ismail Khan and Nazir Khan vanished from their office in Mira Road, north of Mumbai.

And comes another bizarre scheme ‘Cattles & Ghee’. HBN Diaries & Allied Ltd., reportedly collected some Rs: 745/- crores as on 31st March 2011. Since it was a public limited company doing it, SEBI came into the picture to ask questions. The scheme on paper was to mobilize deposits for purchase of cattles with the promise of more than double the money, invested, through returns linked to ghee produced by them. The scheme is similar to the ‘Own-a-Goat’ scheme, outlandish and bizarre. Why we Indians fall victim over and over again despite there being hundreds of such crazy schemes going hay wire and then found nowhere, and reducing us poorer every time?

CBI, is again back on their dubious performance. As expected the well known ADC or PA to Sonia Gandhi, Vincent George has proved that he has his contacts in right places. A mere PA to the President of Congress Party has allegedly amassed huge wealth. They allegedly include, residential and commercial properties in Posh South Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and his home state Kerala, so also agricultural land outside Delhi. His wealth includes cash of Rs. 1.5 crore in banks. Ostensibly all of his assets were bought, believe it or not, from gifts from friends abroad, a La Jayalalitha case. But CBI didn’t ask why his friends wanted to gift him when he is already wealthy and powerful. Like CBI closed the Quattrochhi file in a hurry citing no proof, V. George file too reportedly got closed for insufficient evidence. This is the CBI for you.  

DICGC which is the acronym for Deposit Insurance & Credit Guarantee Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India. It has reportedly paid around Rs: 160 crores to depositors of 13 Co-operative Banks which have failed during 2012-13.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the central bank of the country regulating banking operation and are responsible for fiscal measures to keep the economy on an even keel. Its operation is entirely funded by the central government and therefore any subsidiary of RBI shall also be funded by the Central Govt. All government money also means, it is public money received/collected by the public authority as revenue in the form of taxes and other dues. In other words, this Rs: 160/- crores paid by DICGC to depositors of these 13 failed Co-operative Banks is basically public money. “Whose father’s what goes!’, its public money after all. Hence no questions asked, and report only tells about the payment.

Of these13 banks, 9 from Maharashtra, 2 from Gujarat, one from Andhra and the other from Odisha. The Chairman and Board of Directors are answerable for the failure of the bank. There could be many factors, for which these banks could have gone burst, including siphoning off by MLAs, MPs and influential public figures.

There are 2 major checks, one by RBI and the other by state Co-operative Deptt., so how these banks were allowed to go belly-up! Periodic checks do indicate where the wind is blowing, but remains covered due to influence peddlers. ‘What’s your problem, its not your money, so take your salary and some more and get going’ isn’t it!

This is the bane of our financial system. Depositors were paid to the extent of only Rs: 1 lakh. Rest flew out of the window, so is the share capital of these co-op banks invested by members, many of them poor.Who will fight their case! And  come to think of it, our very concerned Finance Minister has nothing to say. Yeh Mera India.

WORLD: Commenting on Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan, Chinese Daily ‘Global Times’ had expressed the official unhappiness over the growing proximity between India & Japan. It had even cautioned “India can get close to Japan at its own peril”. 

It is very well known to all, that China is a regional bully trying to emerge as a super power to browbeat United States. The growing economic clout of China, has gone to its head. It is having problem with all countries in and around its neighborhood. As it is trying to show off with India, it is also doing the same with Japan. While both countries do recognize the military & economic strength of China, they have tried not to succumb to pressure tactics of China. Naturally, common adversaries tend to become friends and that’s what is happening between Japan & India. Surely China is not amused. However, what India can equally diplomatically rebut through media is the growing cosyness of Pakistan and China which is distinctly against the Indian interest. Such developments are based on the principal of  “Enemy’s enemy is a friend”.

It is not the first time that official Chinese media has chided India for right or wrong. But in India, neither the official  response from the govt. or media men in the 4th estate have ever referred to the growing China Pak interest in each other which is to the detriment of India, even if touted by China as otherwise. It is also a case of common foes becoming friends, which China needs to be told clearly.     

So, the former strong man of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf’s life is in danger! So say the reports coming from Islamabad. Musharraf  to be tried for “High Treason”, informs the print media. He had come back to Pakistan after a four years' self-imposed exile in England. He had come with load of hope for himself and bagful of ideas for Pakistan. He thought, with his personality and the dreams he had planned to sell, it would be a cake walk for him. He had only over estimated his abilities, but grossly underestimated his opponents and opposition in his chosen country.

Ever since his return, except his former friends in the army and those cronies he had kept in good humour, none were enthusiastic about him. In a country where vengeful retribution is a way of life, his chance of not being affected by the general apathy towards him was indeed remote.

Not only he couldn’t make a political run, he was stopped at the crease itself, with all his nominations rejected before the election, for which he had returned home.

To make the matters worse, his arch foe Nawaz Sharif presides over the destiny of his country. He will ask for his blood, camouflaged under law. High Treason can be punished by death. A trial for such serious offence ‘can threaten to sabotage the chance of a quite deal that Musharraf’s legal team had hoped, would allow him to win bail and quietly leave the country’ informs media.

Thus, life has taken a full circle for the former president of Pakistan, who always had the desire to hit at India at every possible chance. His current status of his fate has ensured that such a desire shall remain a dream, since current defacto head of Pakistan has expressed his desire to improve relation with India. While wishing the General all the best, hope he gets what he deserves for all his acts of omission and commission.

Obama’s new found love for Taliban has hit the expected road block. The Doha round of tripartite talk has been reduced to only two parties, U.S. and Taliban with Afghan government pulling out of the talk. It had to happen. The U.S acceptance of Taliban role was a marriage of convenience in the first place. An open country like U.S, how can it have anything to do with a radical militant Islamic outfit. Afghanis surely want to breath easy without this Taliban, despite being a Muslim country. Surely Taliban with their head clearly sunk in sand cannot allow the freedom to Afghans, especially women for pursuing even education in schools and colleges. Going to school should be the minimum privilege a civil society must give to its citizens, male or female. The mind set of Taliban was very clear, when they unfurled the Taliban flag on their new office building in Doha with the inscription on the wall “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”. No wonder, as it walked out of the proposed peace talk, the govt. of Hamid Karzai, has reportedly conveyed to the U.S in no uncertain terms that ‘the process of granting political legitimacy to the Taliban must stop’.

Objecting to the official identity flaunted by Taliban, with flag and banner, the govt. in Kabul has clearly indicated that “it is not acceptable”. Hope U.S jettisons this opportunistic alliance with Taliban for the larger good of Afghans and U.S interest in the region.