Cynosure of Public Hope

In a recently concluded high-profile corruption case involving a prominent politician (Mr Bangaru Laxman, ex-President of a political party) of India, the Court said that in corruption cases the court had to act as an activist institution, which is “cynosure of public hope”.

I thought that was a hugely significant remark by the Court. In India today, the Supreme Court is the only recourse for securing public justice in the absence of a clear and fair government decision-making mechanism.

The Supreme Court, and in this specific case, the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) Court, have performed a very important public service in stipulating that they will indeed be driven by value systems and fair principles of justice while convicting corrupt individuals. In the past, this was a challenge as there was always political interference in allowing corruption cases to proceed. It is important to recognize that things are surely changing for the better in India, and the Courts are playing a huge role in ensuring justice is delivered.

I am not happy to note that in this specific case it took 11 years to deliver justice, all the more sad when it involved national security issues. When the government and the bureaucracy are weak and when politicians are controlling bureaucracy, it is only natural that things get enormously delayed. Unfortunately, the issues in specific corruption cases disappear from peoples’ minds and media, and that is exactly what the politicians and the political parties wish for. Justice delayed is justice denied. The losers are the Indian people in corruption cases.

The Court awarded four years’ rigorous imprisonment to a 72-year old politician in this case combined with a fine, sending a strong message to the politicians that graft will not go unpunished. This required strong investigation by the CBI which did its job well and this shows that when there is non-interference and when the institutions are headed by professionals, it is possible to achieve progress against corruption.

Special CBI judge Kanwaljeet Arora said the 72 year-old politician, who was convicted on Friday under the Prevention of Corruption Act was guilty of “ignoring the security of soldiers” who put their lives in danger while fighting for the nation. The judge said “corruption is worse than prostitution”, and asserted “we have to shun this attitude of ‘sab chalta hai,’ and the attitude that nothing can move without corruption”. [Source: Times of India dated 29th April 2012].

The people of this country have to protest corruption in any form and not be complicit in acts of corruption, and such convictions help convince millions of Indian as to the unambiguous position of the Courts of Law when it comes to corruption scandals. This is a very positive development.

Imagine what is going through the minds of the politicians and businessmen waiting to be convicted in the telecom “2G” scandal !

Let us fight against corruption of any sort.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
29th April 2012
Mumbai

Charity – Time or Money ?

Many of my classmates are donating to charities.

At the stage of career in which we are all in, it is not a big surprise that all of us are thinking about contributions to society.

The most important thing is that we are all thinking hard about how to help the society in which we live, how to help the poor people around, and how to ensure that poor kids get an education.

In the past, I have not seen much of an action in that direction.

Not one of my friends ever approached me for helping an orphanage before 2008. I can’t figure out why, but I think that most folks were already donating in a quiet fashion without much talk or referrals. What has changed now ?

Well-to-do folks are worried about the future of the Indian society and where we are headed as a nation. We do not see the government playing a major and constructive role in the human development arena. Education systems are weak. Government invests more in defence today than on education. The social net in the country is very weak – thousands of people do not make even INR 100 (USD 2) per day.

The social consciousness, which has been lacking in the past, has now mushroomed into a big thing amongst the jet set of India. Even more than that, the normal high-level executives are feeling the criticality of doing something constructive immediately – they are feeling the pressure. It is all time now.

Yes, just donating money for a good cause is not enough any more.

We have to do more than that. Giving money for a good cause is not bad, but the bad thing in India is whether the money you give for an intended cause really does reach the intended recipients. One can see that in the government subsidies – thousands of crores of rupees (billions of dollars) are spent as food subsidies, fertilizer subsidies, oil subsidies, employment subsidies and what not. But how much really does reach the intended recipients ?

Much money is siphoned off and that is the pity of India.

While systems have to be in place for tracking the subsidies and their utilization, there is no need to wait for that.

What is most important and actually most effective, is the contribution of one’s own “important” time in the cause of good. One example is the time that one can give in educating poor children. I have been engaged in the past in an initiative which helped poor children acclimatize towards English education, and I can tell you that the effort and the result is very gratifying.

So, it has now become critical to find time, rather than just money.

Time, which is our quality time, can do much more beneficial things in society, and we should all strive to contribute our time.

It is very critical. Let us step in and help India. I strongly believe that if a poor child gets the equivalent of USD 10 per month in education funding before he or she is 10 years old, he or she can generate a lifetime earnings of USD 500,000 in India. This can be achieved.

We need to chip in, and now. Please do what you can urgently, do not wait for the perfect time.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
28th April 2012
Mumbai

The Court of Media

I have once written about media’s unfettered freedom in India.

Now, I do not think that unfettered freedom is that good. Media is not comprised of folks who are all super-intelligent, super-educated, super- analytical and simply outstanding human beings. Not at all. On the contrary, most of them are sensationalists and the rest are mere reporters.

While I am not denigrating the importance of a free press in any society, it is critical to rethink the role of the media when they choose to “execute” accused or inflame passions, before the truth is discovered and reported. While it is all good to know what happened in a particular case or scandal, it is also important not to pass any judgements at the “Court of the Media”. The media is not qualified to pass any judgements. Neither can they claim to know everything about every case or every person in every situation. Mostly their information is incomplete. Given that the influence of the media is overblown in our society, it is very important to reassess the role of the media.

The current arguments in the Supreme Court of India about the critical importance of the press bear testimony to the strength of democracy and the independence of the judiciary in India. The very thought of formulating a set of reference guidelines for the media is obviously anathema to the media world, and they are understandably resisting any such thought, notwithstanding any logical arguments in favour of the same. The futility of winning a case against the media is well established, at least in India. The lawyers for powerful media houses and publications will argue till the end of this world how critical it is that the media maintains its independence and neutrality – everyone knows that no media is absolutely independent or neutral.

The question of sullying the reputation of any individual – whether he has public standing or not – is an important consideration before the Court. Why should the media make the conclusion on the integrity of an individual – what right they do have in asserting their position which may not be justified at all – and what recourse the individual has against the concerned media ?

The other important situation is the safety of a victim. The more information is revealed about the situation of the victim, the higher the probability that the victim will be disturbed trying to influence the outcome of the case. The media mostly plays a destructive role in such situations.

While I am not providing any evidence in this post, one is free to make his own judgement by just following the news media. It is evident that media needs to operate within a set of guidelines, and if they cross the boundaries, the Court should have the liberty of passing strictures and exercising their power based on a suitable legislation.

Well, these are my thoughts, and I could easily be challenged, of course. Let us think carefully before hailing the “Court of the Media”, which is not conducted by qualified individuals who can pass judgements on any one and anybody in the society.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
14th April 2012
Mumbai

The Push-Ahead Economy

This is not really about economy per se. This is more about courtesy.

People everywhere seem to be in a tearing hurry. So much so, that they seem to be ignoring the essential courtesy of saying sorry when they even unintentionally brush you past, with their bags for example. Their assumption seems to be, that “I am in real hurry, I got to catch my flight or I have to get to my meeting, and this bloke is standing on the way, so what if I hit him, shove him, or push him around, it does not matter even if he is in a queue”.

How valid is this assumption ?

Not valid at all, in my opinion.

The day when rash negligence and irreverent behaviour takes hold of people (who are otherwise the normal kind of folks), that would be when their success becomes irrelevant. One can only assume that their outlook on life is going to be equally rash and radical, with only their individual success being the sole criterion for their move-ahead in life.

It may not be the only thing in life. We all know that.

I was amazed at the number of guys in airports who seem to be intent on getting “there” first, and then they do nothing after securing their place in the queue for “something” – overall, they seem to be taking the same time as everyone else at the end of the exercise. When we do care for others such as old people and kids and families, then we develop what is called “patience”. This important characteristic is not the anti-thesis of “measured success”. It could co-exist.

In a country like India, one needs to have enormous patience as things anyway move slowly, starting from the traffic on the roads. Economy may be growing at a rate in excess of 7%, but the traffic and things to move the economy do not move in sync, they actually move rather slowly. That fact, however, does not impact the GDP growth rate. The only downside is that if the infrastructure build-out speed is enhanced, India could see a potential rise of couple of percentage points in its GDP growth rate, which would then lead to a faster uplift of a significant percentage of the population beyond the poverty line.

My strong belief is that courtesy depicts the culture of a society. If one constantly suspects that the guy ahead is deliberately slowing down to the detriment of the rest of us, then things will not go as planned. No one slows down without a reason.

Think about – no one really slows down without a valid reason. So, why trample on a number of folks, hit and smash, and try reaching your destination ? We can only be successful by helping the weak links of our society to pull together towards a greater performance.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
31st March 2012
Mumbai

Moral Police

Mumbai is the entertainment capital of India (apart from being the financial and commercial capital of India). Bollywood is synonymous with the Indian form of entertainment around the world.

Most of the movie stars live in Bandra, a Western suburb of the city.

In this context, it was funny to see the news item today in The Times of India “Cops slammed over ‘kiss-and-hug’ fine” .

Where are we headed in India ?

If this can happen in Mumbai to a young man who just hugged his friend before seeing her off in an auto-rickshaw, one can imagine what could happen to even holding of hands, or looking at each other, in other parts of the country.

There are many instances of the moral police acting in a high-handed manner around the country, especially in the State of Karnataka. But, in Mumbai ? I could not believe this is happening here of all places.

It is better to avoid looking at even one’s own wife or girlfriend and be very stern-looking when one ventures out. For heaven’s sake, don’t even touch anyone. Who knows, the moral police may just be around the corner of the road, and you do not wish to take any risks. They can easily charge you under some vague Indian law or section of some old British Act and cite you for “indecent behaviour in a public place”. Not everyone is a lawyer to contest the actions of the police.

The young man in the news story was fined INR 1,200 (some USD 25) for this offence of “hug-and-kiss”, and he was required to appear in the Court soon. That is the plight for causing a moral hazard in this morally uptight nation.

Visitors also beware of the moral police !

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
25th February 2012
Mumbai

Matrimonial Madness

Reading up the Matrimonial Columns under the Classifieds Section of daily newspapers has long been considered a fun activity, especially in South India. I recall that fad, when people used to joke about these matrimonial advertisements. “The Hindu” newspaper was famous for this widely followed section (and I am sure it is, even today).

I live in Mumbai and do not get “The Hindu” newspaper. The most widely read newspaper in this metro is of course, “The Times of India”, which I read every morning, spending barely 10 minutes on most mornings before I leave for office.

Today, being a Sunday, lent itself to some leisurely browsing of the newspaper, and for the first time I happened to see (!) the “Sunday Times Matrimonials” column, which even carried some article on Indian wedding rituals. It was funny reading that, and one could not miss the fact that rituals are widely different in different regions of this vast country.

Previously, the ads would always be based on castes – the insane division of people according to the castes they belong to, or sometimes on religions. Most people will be looking for brides or bridegrooms belonging to their own castes, which was only understandable in the context of the cultural mores of that time.

But a reading in the current time leads to a completely different interpretation of the market demand. Yes, the castes are there, no doubt. But more space was taken up some unique categories with headlines as follows:

* Doctors
* Engineers
* NRI/Green Card (shrinking category)
* Nepali (people from Nepal, which is an adjacent country)
* MBA/CA
* Bengali (people from the State of West Bengal, not on caste)
* Punjabi (people from the State of Punjab, not on caste)
* Hindu (in general)
* Muslim (in general)
* Christian (in general)
* Caste No Bar (a new one where the advertiser does not care about the caste)
* Cosmopolitan (the most intriguing classification)
* Others (free thinkers, I would guess)

and so on, and so forth.

India is changing, do you agree ?

Surely. People are thinking differently.

If as a people, we can accept our own people irrespective of where they came from, based on the value (not money for Gods’ sake) that each one brings to the table to ensure a lasting partnership, then we would have arrived in the Twenty-First Century.

In any case, it has been interesting spending some time grasping this change, which I seem to have missed till now. I do not know what is the situation of the ads in “The Hindu” in the Southern part of India, or in “Hindustan Times” newspaper in the Northern part of India, but I think we are seeing an increasingly modernistic trend, which can only bode good for India.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
29th January 2012
Mumbai

Pocket Money : Not Savings

It is funny to think about.

When I grew up, there was no pocket money. If there is a need for something, it would be met by the parents directly. There was no need to go and get something for oneself on one’s own pocket money. The need was not there.

Over the years, as with everything else, this notion of pocket money gained popularity. Children started comparing with one another about how much weekly or monthly pocket allowance they are getting from their parents. While an allowance per se is not a bad idea, as children would need some money even while at school, or when going out with friends, what is striking is that none of the pocket money today is considered as potential savings.

All the money is for spending ! No kid thinks any longer on savings. This is despite the long ingrained savings disposition of Indians, who have one of the highest savings rate in the world.

Spending culture has already gained ascendancy in India, with children driving the shopping malls to frenzy – most chains of shops in big malls are now redesigning to attract the young crowd which today is having a steeply climbing buying power vis-a-vis their own parents. Parents are now “old time”, still trying to figure out what all this mad rush is all about.

Mature teenagers are now directing the big-ticket spending towards high end accessories. Shoes cost INR 4,000 (USD 80) ? No problem. Handbags cost INR 5,000 (USD 100) ? Absolutely no issue. Seeing the way things are moving with their elder sisters and brothers, the younger ones as young as 6 or 7 years old demand pocket money these days and wish to spend on Haagen Daaz icecreams, which seem to be costing more than HP Printer Ink per ml in India.

The world has changed, and India is changing very fast. I have seen such huge changes in the past six years in Mumbai (which happens to be the most happening place in India anyway) that now I am immune to the rapidity of market changes. The market today is made up of people less than 20 years of age, and it is a huge market with growing spending power that retailers can ignore only at their own peril.

What do parents do ? Some adapt, some gawk, some question, some complain, some blog. Like this one – I mean myself, spending some time writing about the market trends driven by children in India. I can only admire at parents who seem to have adapted extremely well to the very fast changing trends, and also giving in to the ever-rising demands from their children. That may not be the right behaviour always, but adaptability is a key trait that most of us lack. The worry is the drop in sync with the traditional value systems that Indians have always prided as something unique in their culture. Unfortunately, value systems take a hit, whatever we might say, in a fast-changing culture which puts emphasis on money and spending, and moves away from a culture of savings.

Well, is this any different from what has been the practice in the West ? No, not at all, but then the West has long experimented with such changes and has more or less settled into peace terms with the cultural changes wrought by youngsters. But India is still struggling with those changes.

Parents in India are getting challenged by their kids all the time, and I think it would not be long before they are forced to seek help in the form of psychological counselling. It would be prudent to stay close to the ground and listen carefully to one’s children all the time, and then devise ways to cope with the changes.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
29th January 2012
Mumbai

Essay on Socialism

It is rather funny that I should be writing about Socialism.

I have written earlier on about the importance of Capitalism and the necessary free movement of capital and labour to the best possible location so as to derive maximum economic return. In fact, I think there should be totally free movement of qualified capital and labour across the world.

Well, I have not abandoned those principles, I still believe that free Capitalism is the best form of economic model out there and we have seen how even a socialistic country like India could transform by adopting capitalism. There is no doubt in my mind that entrepreneurs and established industrialists would not be driven by patriotism only, they would rather be driven by demand and economic returns on invested capital and labour.

However, this might be a good occasion to relook at some fundamental principles from a government and governance perspective. It is critical to ensure that no person is left to die on the streets for want of medical care or food. The State (government) is responsible for ensuring that poverty and restricted access to government or private resources should not stand in the way of providing essential items or care to people below the poverty line.

I am not talking about subsidies here. The subsidies that the Indian government provides to various sectors of the economy are untenable even in the medium term, and I believe these will disappear soon. Imagine if those subsidies are used to fund the healthcare and education needs of the poor people at the bottom of the society. Given that the bottom part of the Indian society is probably more than 200 million people, a significant 18 to 20% of the overall population, there is an urgent need for the government to ensure their well being.

I am writing this piece, as I was impacted by published stories by news media on the plight of very poor “street” people who were turned away from government hospitals in Kolkata. This really hurts any decent person’s sentiments and one tends to think “what is this government doing – do they even care ?”. It was pathetic to see the husband of the lady who died for want of medical care, carrying two just-born kids who would now be left without their mother in this cruel world of insensitive Indians (and Indian government).

Please see the news item in Times of India “Two hospitals ‘refuse’ admission, woman dies after delivering twins”

Actions have to be immediately taken to ensure that such scenarios do not repeat in any part of the country. The administrator of the hospital should be summarily dismissed, sending a very strong message to the medical community that they have to live by their motto of service to mankind and Hippocratic Oath. Of all people, medical administrators and doctors in India cannot behave as though they are disconnected from the problems of the poor people on the street without any resources. In fact, they should go out of their way for ensuring delivery of immediate medical attention without any consideration.

Teaching our children about socialism and empathy is now becoming very critical in this extremely materialistic world of India. How do we ensure that our children are not insensitive to the sufferings around them ? How do we involve them in difficult community service, wherein they would come face to face with the human sufferings of the very poor people of India ? What can the government do to ensure that no one dies on our streets for lack of food or health care ?

Instead of tackling such huge problems, our government is embroiled in scandal after scandal and frittering away our scarce resources on funding Air India type of companies which should have gone away long time ago. Let us worry about the poor people of this country who are poorer than the folks in sub-Saharan Africa and ensure that the benefits of a growing economy trickle down to them as well. This might require “start-up” thinking.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
15th January 2012
Mumbai

Filtering FaceBook, Google and Twitter

And 21 other websites !

That is what Delhi High Court and the Government of India want to do.

The matter is now coming to a head, and it might yield dangerous results.

Both for the Government of India and the 21 websites !

According to a Time of India report, the Delhi Court “had on December 23 issued summons to 21 social netorking websites for allegedly committing offences of criminal conspiracy, sale of obscene books and sale of obscene objects to young persons. It had said prima facie the accused companies were liable to be summoned for promoting enmity between classes, causing prejudice to national integration and insulting religion or religious belief of any class…….”.

I have written about this topic earlier. My views on “objectionable” content on heavily used websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and Yahoo are more or less the same as that of the law of the land. Nobody is above the law of the land, notwithstanding fancy foreign names.

The only objection I do have is the removal of “politically sensitive” matters from these sites. That will go against the freedom of speech that is enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Ofcourse, if any politician or political party wish to pursue charges against these sites for politically objectionable or sensitive content, they are free to file a case in a court of law in India – no issue with that, but they rarely take that action. And, I don’t understand why a politician would not take immediate action if he is defamed.

However, I do not have objection for the removal of racially sensitive or religiously objectionable content from these sites. These sites are not a “global”, “regional”, or a “national” publishing platform. They are not a licensed publishing “media” in that sense. And, there is no recourse against frivolous content published on their sites which could hurt the public sentiments in several areas.

Ofcourse, the sites can easily claim (and they have done so) that they are only providing a platform, and the content is not theirs. By that argument, a copyright owner cannot proceed if his content gets published without his permission – what recourse he has against a “platform” ?

We need to apply our own thinking hats and decide what is right and wrong, instead of following precedents from totally different environments. I am not, for a moment, saying that Asians and Indians are thin-skinned. I am only saying that there should be a mechanism for proceeding against either the content owner or a content aggregator/publisher in the absence of access to the content owner. The content owner published his objectionable content using the free service provided by the platform. He could have used his own platform, but he chose a widely trafficked platform to create maximum impact, didn’t he ?

Well, my readers may not like what I am expressing. But I truly feel that we should respect each others’ positions and views on this matter. Yes, it is easy to beat up each other – people do get targeted for expressing their views. That happens in free democratic societies (actually more often these days) than in autocratic or theocratic societies. Is there a conflict with democratic ideals ?

You bet.

Well, think carefully before jumping into the bandwagon which supports Facebook all the way. And, think for yourself and your society, what is right and what could be wrong, in fact, what is going wrong these days.

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
14th January 2012
Mumbai

This Year’s Darwin Awards

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

Year’s Darwins are out!
Yes, it’s that magical time of year again when the Darwin Awards are bestowed, honoring the least evolved among us.

Here is the glorious winner:
1. When his 38 caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up inLong Beach, California would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

And now, the honorable mentions:
2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat cutting machine and after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company,expecting negligence,sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef’s claim was approved.

3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn’t discovered for 3 days.

5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer… $15 , which begs the question: If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?

7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he’d just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.

8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, “Yes, officer, that’s her. That’s the lady I stole the purse from.”

9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan at 5 A.M., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn’t open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren’t available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away. [*A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER]

10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street by sucking on a hose, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline, but he plugged his siphon hose into the motor home’s sewage tank by mistake.. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges saying that it was the best laugh he’d ever had.

In the interest of bettering mankind, please share these with friends and family….unless of course one of these individuals by chance is a distant relative or long lost friend. In that case, be glad they are distant and hope they remain lost.

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
17th December 2011
Mumbai