Author: Pran Kurup

Ever since the Aam Aadmi party was formed, its national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, has spoken repeatedly about changing the politics of this country. While many have pooh-poohed this as the talk of just another newly minted politician, the AAP has shown that it is attempting something new and fundamentally different. The AAP has spoken extensvely about Swaraj and decentralization. They have highlighted the need for better governance. They strived for the Lokpal since their pre-political avatar. They dared to expose the powerful and connected. They have strived for transparency by publicizing all donations made to the party and refusing donations from people who wished to remain anonymous. Now, they have embarked on a civil disobedience movement of the kind not seen since independence.

Shortly after its formation, the AAP embarked on a series of exposes. The media took immediate notice because the exposes dared to take on the high and mighty across party lines. Interestingly, sections of the media privately praised the AAP party for its efforts, admitting that they had all this information all along but simply did not have the “guts” to lay it bare before the public — a classic example of the failure of our fourth estate. Unfortunately, despite the documentary evidence garnered from the public domain and from RTI filings, the government ignored the exposes. The media, meanwhile, was summarily threatened by large industrial houses from covering these exposes. The most recent of these exposes involved the Sheila Dikshit government of Delhi, and its hand in the inflated electricity and water bills of the residents of Delhi.

Sections of the media and several talking heads on TV have derided the AAP as a product of “OB Van” politics. They predicted boldly that they would vanish into insignificance once the OB Vans stopped covering them. The ongoing fast by Arvind Kejriwal has completely debunked this theory. This fast is labeled as an attempt to inspire people to overcome their fears and join the civil disobedience movement, one that involves refusing to pay the inflated electricity bills. Instead of creating a media spectacle, Arvind Kejriwal chose to fast in a nondescript slum in Sundar Nagari, far from the media’s sought-after areas. The AAP insisted that crowds not gather at the venue of the fast. Instead, volunteers and well-wishers were encouraged to participate in a well thought out “ground game” of signing up supporters for the civil disobedience movement. The result was that over eight lakh people signed up in a matter of a few days, and this list is growing by the day.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

When I was sick recently and lying in bed checking my email on my cell phone, it dawned on me that a large number of emails that I was receiving everyday included daily newsletters, updates, discussion group updates, etc., many of which I don’t even recall ever signing up for! Besides, I realized that I hardly read most of them. So I decided that this was a good time to clean up the clutter in my Inbox. While many emails give you a simple unsubscribe link at the bottom, there were many with an “update your preferences” link and when you click on it, the link takes you to a login/password screen! In other words, I have to login and then unsubscribe. I don’t even recall ever having registered at many of these sites, let alone remember the password. Every time you register at any website, you are unknowingly signed up to receive one or more email updates, newsletters, and the like. It’s easy to register at these sites and be bombarded for life, but it’s hard to stop the flood when you want to. In any case, lying sick in bed has the advantage of time, so I went on a rampage, and unsubscribed from all and sundry. I logged into LinkedIn and turned off “all” notifications. Now I am no longer notified if X endorsed Y for a skill, or if A changed jobs, or XYZ posted an article, or ABC liked another article.

These changes to my digital life happened shortly after I moved to a Google Nexus phone. While I am not a great fan of the user interface on Android phones, the Google Nexus is the best when it comes to limited number of apps. Unlike other phones, it does not come pre-installed with hordes of apps. You have a minimal number of apps that are sufficient to get you going. It was such a refreshing change. My previous phone, an HTC Android, would not let me uninstall the Facebook app! Talking of Facebook, another drastic step I took in the process of this partial digital detox is that I decided not to access Facebook for as long as possible. I don’t have the app installed on my phone either, so it was a complete break from Facebook. It’s close to three weeks now and I am managing to survive just fine.

I can’t describe what a wonderful difference I have observed in a matter of few days. I have started to receive only relevant emails. The task of cleaning up my Inbox has become so much more simpler and less time consuming. I feel like I have more time on my hands to be productive. My head seems that much less cluttered. I have even started to remember friends’ birthdays. I seem so much more efficient with my to-do list among other things.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

The public kerfuffle between Mr. Arun Jaitley and Justice Katju has been in the news of late. Justice Katju, in an opinion piece in a leading daily, criticized Mr. Modi and his track record in a blatant attempt to counter his growing popularity. Mr. Jaitley, in turn, accused Justice Katju of being overtly political and called for his dismissal from chief of the press council. Justice Katju responded by asking Mr. Jaitley to quit politics and take up “sanyas!”

Mr. Jaitley is the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He is not directly elected by the people since he is a Rajya Sabha member from the state of Gujarat (though he has been Delhi-based for decades). As a senior member of the BJP, it makes sense for Mr. Jaitley to stand up for Mr. Modi and respond to such attacks. At the same time, it is quite understandable that at some level, he “owes’ Mr. Modi for his Rajya Sabha seat. Besides, Mr. Modi is being projected by many (including himself!) as the PM in waiting. Getting further into Mr. Modi’s good books can only help rather than hurt Mr. Jaitley’s future prospects. All in all, Mr. Jaitley has plenty of possible reasons for his open attack on Justice Katju.

Justice Katju, for his part, has been a very vocal figure since taking over as the chief of the press council. In a matter of months, he has gone from a virtual unknown to hitting the headlines every few weeks by attacking all and sundry. He has not even spared the people of the country at large, referring to Indians as “idiots, communal, etc.”. Despite the controversies that seem to follow Justice Katju’s statements, I think we need more visible, outspoken people. If anything, I would fault Justice Katju for not being even more outspoken. Even if one might agree with Justice Katju’s views on Mr. Modi, it is questionable as to why he chooses not to ever mention the attack on the Sikhs after the assassination of Mrs. Gandhi. Besides, an outspoken man of his stature has had little to say so far about the unrestrained corruption under the current government.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

With the 2014 elections not very far away, recent political developments of the two major parties in the country are worth looking into and pondering about. The Congress party gave its “yuvraj” a promotion. After accepting the promotion, Mr. Gandhi has gone back to where he is most comfortable – under the radar, away from the people, beyond the eyes of the media. There is little indication that this is likely to change anytime soon, and it appears that Mr. Gandhi wants to succeed his mother as the power behind the throne.

With the UPA government fighting a losing credibility battle, the Anna movement having fizzled out, and the Aam Aadmi Party’s future tied to its maiden polls in Delhi, the field is wide open for other entrants to grab the center stage. Narendra Modi seems to have expanded to fill this vacuum, armed with his 24×7 PR machinery, the strong backing of the industrial houses, and the blatant, appalling support of large sections of the media.

According to media reports and political and social commentators, Mr. Modi has more than a streak of authoritarianism in him. Even his ardent supporters admit that he rules Gujarat with an “iron hand.” Want to open a factory, no problem. The CM will quickly and single-handedly steamroll the environmentalists and displaced villagers into submission and lay out the red carpet, practically overnight. In his government, there are no number twos or threes. Everything is centralized and controlled by one man. This approach has clearly made the power rungs within the BJP nervous. Slowly but surely, many are starting to fall in line, lest they fall by the way side. They realize that it’s better not to stand in the way of the Modi juggernaut. If you can’t beat him, join him, seems to be the fast emerging rationale in the BJP ranks.

The fact is that with each passing day, an India beyond the Congress and the BJP is emerging, as is evident in the virtual absence of these parties in many states and the rise of regional parties. Under these circumstances, the odds of a leader with a pan-Indian appeal emerging is less likely. In light of this, the Rahul vs. Modi battle that is being played up by the media seems so out of tune with where the country is headed. Clearly, media, which can play an objective and constructive role in shaping the debate and educating the masses, is failing miserably. A perfect example is the recent needless euphoria in sections of the media over a speech by Narendra Modi at SRCC in Delhi. Thankfully, one major newspaper from down south didn’t bother to report on it. The editor, to his credit, tweeted, “We refuse to be part of the herd. Every story on our p1 was far more newsworthy than a speech by a CM to a Delhi college.”

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

Mr. Gandhi had nothing of significance to say during the Anna movement, on the various blatant scams of the current government, the Delhi rape issue, to list a few of the many issues of recent times, where he could have added his highly audible voice to the raging debates. His worldview is unknown and he chooses not to comment on most things until well after the fact, if at all. He led the Congress election effort in UP and the party was badly routed. To his credit, he accepted responsibility for the defeat. Thank goodness for small mercies. He never speaks to the media. All his public appearances are carefully choreographed. As a result, Mr. Gandhi remains a mystery to most Indians after close to a decade in the political limelight.

And yet, he earns himself a promotion. In his much touted speech, he addresses issues of accountability, leadership development, our value for position over knowledge, among other challenges. Ironically, if all of these were in place, he wouldn’t find himself in the position he holds today. To add to the irony, sycophants in the party are going gaga over his speech and falling over each other to praise the man.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

The recent Delhi rape case is yet another example in an endless string of poorly managed issues by the current UPA government. The Delhi CM is at logger heads with the police. The Home Minister defends not meeting protesters. Then the Finance minister issues a statement on the issue after a cabinet meeting. The President’s son then sticks his foot in his mouth. When things get out of hand, the PM addresses the nation. Then, the victim is flown to Singapore. The doctors say it’s a government decision, while the External affairs minister says it’s a medical decision. Finally, Sonia Gandhi issues a statement and then the victim dies. One can’t help but wonder, “Who exactly runs this ship?”

Dynasty politics has been the bane of Indian politics for several decades now. The pioneers in this regard are India’s first family — the Gandhi family — which has set the gold standard for dynasty politics. They sit atop the massive financial and political complex, the Congress party. This giant colossus feeds and breeds an endless ever-growing army of sycophants, corrupt politicians, and bureaucrats. At the front end of this, is a sprinkling of honest faces like the PM and the Defense minister, for example. Over the last several decades, the Karunandhis, the Mulayams, the Pawars, among others, across the country, have strived to emulate this model.

But let’s take a step back and assess the Gandhis based on their public persona. Clearly, there is no Indira Gandhi equivalent in the Gandhi family today. By this, I mean someone with unstinted ambition, formidable drive, and steadfast ruthlessness. There is no Sanjay Gandhi equivalent either. What we have today is a reluctant Rahul Gandhi, an aging Sonia Gandhi with an unfortunate mystery illness, a Priyanka Gandhi who does not seem inclined to take the political plunge, and a Robert Vadera who rakes in the moolah by leveraging the family connections (assuming for a moment that the recent daring exposes about him have some merit). The result of this state of affairs is that the ruling party repeatedly appears completely rudderless.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

After the FDI-in-retail motion was passed successfully in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, there were news reports about Walmart having spent Rs. 125 crores in lobbying for this. Given that Walmart does have a track record of bribery cases against it around the world, it’s anybody’s guess that many among our political class, in all likelihood, made “mota maal” in this case. Picture this plausible scenario: Walmart bribes all the major political parties in proportion to their seats in Parliament. Since all our parties have top-down structures, where the high and mighty of each party (the high command) decide on how a party votes, “fixing” becomes relatively straightforward. Fix the high command and you are in business.

Now, the ruling party wants this motion to pass at any cost to boost investor confidence and show that they are serious about reform. The main opposition, BJP, despite having been a proponent of FDI-in-retail when it was in power at the Center, now thinks and argues exactly the opposite. So it does plenty of chest-thumping and goes all out to appease the voters with its rhetoric on why FDI is bad for farmers, traders, etc., to show that they are with them in heart, mind and spirit. But they know fully well that they don’t have the numbers to derail the passage of the motion. The smaller players like the Samajwadi party and the BSP have a permanent CBI gun to their heads. Threaten to pull the trigger, and they will stage a walk out, run, or even dance, when required by the Congress. Not surprisingly, both these parties staged a walkout in unison from the Lok Sabha.

In the Rajya Sabha, if the BJP, SP, and BSP joined hands with other smaller parties, the motion could have been defeated. However, given the Walmart lobbying funds, they were committed to its passage, but at the same time, they had to put up a show to appease their respective bases. The BSP unleashed some hideous reverse swing (when we need this badly on the cricket field we get it on the political field instead!), and voted in favor of the motion in the Rajya Sabha after staging a walk out in the Lok Sabha! The SP voted against the motion in the Rajya Sabha, knowing that even without the BJP votes, victory for the motion was guaranteed. In short, what the nation witnessed was possible political match-fixing sponsored by Walmart and orchestrated by all the major political parties.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

Team India’s dismal show in the Kolkata Test match has cricket enthusiasts across the country angry and frustrated, to say the least. But public memory is short-lived. A win in the fourth Test or an exciting draw is enough for the defeat to slowly but surely recede into the background. What remains though is the root cause of the problems facing cricket in our country today. The old Chinese saying, “Fish rots from the head,” is apt in this case. Our problems begin with lack of professionalism and transparency at the highest levels of our cricket administration and poor day to day management.

India’s richest sport, cricket, is managed by the BCCI which stands for Board of Control for Cricket in India. It’s named rightly so because it is a Board comprised of rich industrialists and powerful politicians who elect and nominate each other in a well orchestrated “You scratch my back, I scratch yours” arrangement in order to exercise complete “control” over cricket in the country. The players represent the country but they are chosen by a selection committee appointed by the bigwigs of the BCCI, based on a zonal-quota system. If you are in the good books of the BCCI and you have the support of your zone, you could become a selector. The recent ouster of the outspoken Mohinder Amarnath from the selection committee is a perfect example of this, where the powerful crush the outspoken and troublesome. The RTI does not apply to the BCCI so the “Aam Aadmi” is not allowed to ask questions. This is despite the fact that the BCCI enjoys special government benefits and the players represent the country.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

There have been innumerable instances in which, in their obsession for eyeballs, the news media tends to sensationalize news reports. If you dig below the surface, you’ll realize that in most cases, it’s a deliberate attempt to manipulate news in order to grab the reader’s attention. Take the issue of Modi being the BJP’s PM candidate, a topic of media obsession these days. Pro-Congress or anti-BJP sections of the media find this issue a perfect target to discredit and widen fissures in the BJP. Recently, there were headlines across the media that said, “Narendra Modi fit to be PM, says Sushma Swaraj.” The headline implies that Sushma Swaraj is now backing Modi for PM and has set aside her personal PM ambitions and stopped backing her other colleagues in the party who might be equally interested in the PM job, should the BJP come to power. The truth of the matter is that a reporter simply asked her if Modi is fit to be PM. As a senior party official what would you expect her to say? “Sorry, Modi is totally unfit to be PM. He is an extreme right-wing nut-job. Like many people in this country, I can’t stand the sight of him either!”

What this news report does not tell you is that if she was asked if Advani or Jaitley or any other visible person in the BJP was fit to be the PM, she would most certainly have said the same thing. In the media’s obsession for catchy headlines, there is very little due diligence or responsible, editorial review that seems to be going into such reports.

Picture a scenario where you interview someone living in an affluent south Mumbai neighborhood. You ask this person, “Could your house be burgled?” The obvious answer most people will give you in response to such a question is, “Yes, it’s possible.” Imagine if you twisted this interview for a headline that reads, “South Mumbai no longer safe from burglary, says long-time resident.” This headline is bound to grab reader attention, but it gives the completely wrong impression that a once plush neighborhood is now on the decline with rampant burglaries.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

Most technology startups that eventually turn out be highly successful often begin with an idea or two and less than a handful of deeply committed, highly capable, inspirational and often brilliant founders. Product ideas at the initial stage are routinely “pooh-pooh-ed” by so-called experts as too far-fetched, half-baked, not scalable, and hence not “fundable.” But these ideas and the eventual focus tend to evolve over time, sometimes quite dramatically.

When Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook he was trying to provide a system for students at Harvard to stay connected. However, he later went on to connect more people on the planet than anyone else. When the Google founders started out, they wanted to make it easy to search and find “stuff” on the Internet. Then, they went on to organize the world’s content coupled with a clever way of making huge amounts of money through advertisements. When the company, Salesforce, was started, the idea of software as a service, where all software resides online, was not considered viable, scalable, secure, etc. But today, software as a service is widely accepted and believed to be the future. If the Internet and communication speeds had not dramatically increased, none of the companies mentioned here would have been raging successes.

The reality is that no one can predict the future. External forces like timing and circumstances play a significant role in fueling success. If there is one thing that is consistent across every major startup success, it is that there are people behind it who are deeply committed to relentlessly pursuing a dream that often appears ridiculous and foolhardy to most people.

In the political world, back in 2000, Barack Obama could not gain entry into the Democratic convention, because he was a virtual non-entity. But by 2004, he was a rising star. In 2008, he was able to forge a successful campaign comprised of highly committed, energetic, young people who had little interest in politics up until then. After 40 years in power, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt was brought down in a matter of weeks by an army of peaceful protesters strung together by the power of social networks. The entire Arab Spring has happened over a period of a few months. History is replete with examples for and against the success of fledgling movements.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times