Category: Politics

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

Globalization has been the buzzword for the last several years. Over the last decade, India’s tech sector in particular has benefitted substantially from the massive outsourcing of jobs to India from the US, Europe and other parts of the world. As a result, jobs that were previously done in these countries have now been transferred en masse to India and other developing countries. This post is not about the merits or de-merits of globalization. Instead, it focuses on how cultural aspects come in the way of “true” benefits of globalization. We pick and chose aspects of globalization to suit our needs. The bad news is that in this process, those that are often considered “good” business practices followed in western countries are often ignored due to our cultural differences with the west.

Let us look at how much these migration of jobs have carried with it fundamental attitudes and behaviors that are the norm when it comes to doing business in the western countries. For instance, in the west, when you are in the midst of negotiations for a contract with the customer, all the issues are often sorted out during this stage. There is complete transparency regarding who the decision makers are, the decision making process, the timelines involved, etc. During this process, the customer would haggle on costs, terms, fixed vs. variable costs, estimate, over-budget projections, legal language, etc., and the vendor is encouraged to ask questions. But at the end of the day, when the contract is signed and the handshake occurs, it’s an agreement that both parties fundamentally promise to live by. This written agreement carries with it an underlying sense of commitment and decency that both parties automatically adhere to. Most importantly, it’s a relationship of equals. Beyond this point, operational activities like invoicing and getting paid are considered routine and happen like clockwork. In fact, the customer will call the vendor to make sure that they were paid in a timely fashion. The vendor and the customer both strive to live up to their end of the bargain.

In India, on the other hand, there is often very little transparency with regard to who the ultimate decision maker is for a project. You might miraculously get a contract signed off but rather than serving as a watershed moment in your sales effort, it could just be the beginning of a nightmare that remains throughout the lifetime of the project. This realization dawns on you when you send in your first invoice. Instead of getting paid for a service that you have already delivered, you are at the mercy of your customer. It’s like a “malik-naukar” relationship. Despite having delivered your part of the service, you have to chase every single individual in the flow to finally get paid. Unfortunately, this happens to be true across a large swathe of our businesses. As a result, sales personnel not only have the difficult task of closing business but also the added responsibility of ensuring timely payments from clients.

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

A boy is born and raised in a conservative muslim family in Hyderabad. He turns out to be a tremendously talented cricketer and eventually makes it to the coveted Indian cricket team. Thanks to his impressive performance beginning with his debut Test he slowly makes his way up to become the captain of the team. Meanwhile, he goes through a conventional muslim wedding and is soon the father of two boys. His cricketing career continues on a meteoric rise. During this rise, he is exposed to the glamour of Bollywood and its nexus with the underworld. Cricket in Sharjah gives him access to the bigwigs of Bollywood and the mafia. He is slowly but surely drawn into the glitzy world of fame and fortune.

The simple middle-class upbringing was now a thing of the past. Instead flashy cars, hot women, a persistently upturned shirt collar, expensive watches, fancy perfumes, and late night parties become the order of the day. He divorces his wife and marries a Bollywood star. He continues to perform well on the cricket field, so his tenure as captain continues. Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly a sting operation exposes match-fixing in cricket and the young man finds himself in trouble. Meanwhile, the all powerful cricket board changes hands from one power block to another. This shift combined with his being from a minority community with little presence in the upper echelons of the board, leaves our hero with no backers.

With no one to pitch his case in a cricket board that is largely an exclusive rich man’s club, he finds himself at the receiving end of lifetime ban. Still supremely fit, yet unable to play the game that practically gave him everything, he finds himself with no where to turn. After trying everything he could to overturn his life ban, he takes to politics. Blessed by a high powered political dynasty he joins the rolls of the ruling party and contests elections from a constituency that he had barely visited but had a significant muslim population. The move paid off landed him in Parliament despite lack of any experience in public service whatsoever. There were occasional rumors surrounding his personal life. Then, there was the tragic death of his son in a road accident. Along the way, he challenges his life ban in court. Twelve years go by since the outbreak of the scandal and the courts finally overturn the ban citing lack of sufficient evidence. Now, he is too old to play cricket, and finds himself in a new avatar, that of politician.

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

1. Law of “big” money: Most politicians in power and their kith and kin make “big” money by exercising their power and influence to the fullest. Common areas of involvement include land deals, educational institutions, power projects, coal mining, cricket associations, etc. Where there is “big” money to be made, expect the involvement of one or more politicians. If you find none, you can rest assured that there is an invisible hand. Recently, Beni Prasad of the UPA rightly pointed this out when he said, “I believe that Salman Khurshid would never get involved in a scam of Rs 71 lakhs because it is a very small amount. Had it been Rs 71 crore, it would have been more plausible.”
2. Law of families and personal lives: Families of politicians are off limits when it comes to exposing scams. In other words, the ruling party will not go after the immediate family members of opposition leaders and vice-versa — a well understood and accepted quid pro quo. Digvijay Singh sincerely refers to this as “political ethics.” Gadkari captures it brilliantly when he says, “Char kaam hum unke karte hain, char kaam woh hamara karte hain.” Personal lives of politicians are also off limits. Multiple wives, extra marital affairs, sexual favors are all ignored. If exposed for some reason, rehabilitation is often just around the corner.
3. Law of legal process: Investigations and court cases almost never produce anything of significance because they simply take so long that they become irrelevant. e.g., the Sukh Ram telecom scandal which took over a decade, Lalu Yadav’s fodder scam, Mulayam’s DA scam, the all important Bofors deal, to name a few. Most importantly, people involved in the process of investigations and cases can be bribed, eliminated, or if nothing else, transferred (a la Ashok Khemka). Also, politicians almost never go to jail. The more visible they are, the less likely they are to go to jail, no matter what the case against them might be. “I am open to any investigation. If found guilty I will quit politics.” Not surprisingly, starting with our erstwhile PM, this is the mantra of Indian politics.
4. Law of enforced silence: People in power, especially politicians, prefer that you take them to court rather than spew allegations at them in the media. When there are allegations, the standard counter is to say, “If you have enough evidence, why not go to court? Why indulge in a trial by media?” The reality is that if you go to court, then the matter becomes “subjudice.” A convenient shield that virtually buries the issue for eternity.

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

It has been over a week since the irrigation scam in Maharashtra. A week has gone by and no scams unearthed yet? Come on. This can’t be true. But one thing is for sure, the country can trust Kejriwal & co. not to disappoint when it comes to fulfilling their thirst for scams. Sensing this desire for frequent scam news, they have now slowly started to announce dates in advance when they intend to go public about scams. This is perfect. We certainly need a schedule so we can mark them on our calendars so as not to be left out of the excitement. While a schedule is welcome, just two announcements is a little underwhelming. It’s like a two-match T20 series. In any case, we’ll take what we can get. With Dhoni and his boys on a downward trend, we need this fresh injection of speculation and expectancy from time to time.

By now, you are probably thinking, “Oh well…cut out this cynicism, please!” It’s hard not to be cynical when you have an assembly line of scams but no sign of any action from the government. Instead of addressing the scams you have ministers of the UPA vowing to teach those who attempt to expose corruption a lesson.

The irrigation scam and the allegations against Mr. Vadra strike at the heart of a widely accepted practice in India — many in positions of power routinely exercise influence in return for unaccounted benefits. They often operate through their nearest kith and kin and the benefits can be to individuals or to political outfits or corporations, are all of the above. Most politicians groom their extended families to eventually enter politics. Very often, the early stages of grooming involve acting as “fixers.” These individuals remain below the radar for the most part until they get embroiled in a publicized scam of some sort. This role of “fixing” is a broad term encompassing a pretty diverse portfolio of services. Commonly offered services can range from routine school and college admissions, job appointments and transfers, new bank loans, write-off of old loans, film financing and distribution, etc. to more high stakes services like “encounter killings,” coerced land deals, and general “goondagiri”. All of these services are provided in return for some benefit or the other. This is the unwritten underlying system that has been in place for years and is widely practiced, no matter which party is in power.

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