RESURRECT IDEALS NOT MERE IDOLS

As the chartered crossed the Patel Chowk round-about, I found the place bustling with activities today. The statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel had already undergone a fresh coat of paint and lay covered by a plastic sheet. The pedestal had also been painted afresh and was shining in the early hours of the day. The grass had been trimmed and the trees pruned. The worn out railings had been painted and posters and flex boards removed. A clean-up drive was in full swing for the birth anniversary celebrations of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel which falls on 31^st October. The nation also observes Smt. Indira Gandhi’s martyrdom on this date. I got down at the Krishi Bhavan and I could not help take a look at the similar huge statue of Late Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, the Agriculture Minister of India during food crisis, which stands in the lawns of Krishi Bhavan. It lay in a dilapidated condition totally disfigured with poops of birds. No one bothers to keep it clean, not even the outsourced housekeeping staff. I have never seen any event taking place before this statue either on his birth anniversary (18^th February) or the day of his death (24^th October), unlike Sardar Patel’s statue which gets a yearly facelift on 31^st October. It is indeed a pathetic state of affairs. We are very poor custodian of our legacy and our partisan outlook (and this is irrespective of the party in power) is even more loathsome. For one, if we have raised a statue of our freedom fighters or martyrs, even if he belonged to a different school of political thought, it is our duty to preserve those memorial irrespective of the school of thought they belonged to. This is unity in diversity and this also helps to nurture democratic values. Previously Sardar Patel was left out in cold; today the martyrdom of Smt. Gandhi does not evoke any response. This is shortsightedness.  Secondly, we must not only resurrect the idols of these freedom fighters, but should also resurrect the ideals upheld by them. As we “Run for Unity” this October 31^st, we need to remember the following words of wisdom of the Sardar: “Manpower without Unity is not a strength unless it is harmonized and united properly, then it becomes a spiritual power”. This spirituality only can lead to “Sabka saath Sabka vikas” in letter and spirit. 

INDIA SKIRTS BHARAT (28/10/2015)

This Monday as I came out of Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport and boarded a taxi for home, on the way just before the domestic terminal, my attention was drawn towards a series of flex boards on my left side welcoming Heads of the African Nations to the four day (26-29 October 2015) India-Africa Forum Summit 2015. What the flex boards failed to hide was the slums that lay behind it. What a novel way to put up a dressed up India and skirt the real Bharat from the roving gaze of the guests. But does this serve any purpose? The world is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of India and we need not be pretentious.  The First India Africa Forum Summit was held in year 2008. This was another milestone achievement of the Congress Government after the waning of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) - a brainchild of Jawaharlal Nehru - a statesman par excellence. The third edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit will see Heads of 54 African nations converging on New Delhi. The Government of the day claimed this to be the “first time that an event of such a big scale being held in India.” This sounded far from a diplomatic statement from the Government on the importance of the Summit. Who are we trying to belittle- our own Government of the yore? It conveniently forgot that India had successfully hosted 120 Heads of the Nation at the 7^th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in New Delhi in March 1983 that was also attended by the UN Secretary General. India had also played host to the 7^th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet (CHOGM) in November 1983 which was attended by Heads of Nations in equal numbers. Instead of engaging itself in scoring a brownie point over its own previous Governments by presenting wrong information, it would be nice to see if the Government of the day gets down to serious business and come up with some positive results. It is indeed troubling to note that even after one and a half year of present regime, India is placed at 150 on the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business Index” while Rwanda in Africa stands at 46- a nation which was known for its genocide just two decades back.    

INDIA AT CROSSROADS (02/10/2015)

Today India is at crossroads. One road leads to economic development and growth while the other leads to communal in-differences, hatred, and a culture of ban. The agenda of growth and development is being set and led by the Prime Minister himself while the drivers on the other road are mostly his junior colleagues. Whipping up communal fear among Muslims had been the trump card of the Congress, while the “reverse communal-ism” which saw consolidation of the Hindus the brainchild of the BJP- both the dispensation are thus birds of the same feather. This leaves the concept of “sabka saath sabkaa vikas” in tatters.

Our Prime Minister believes that the Constitution of India is the only sacred document for him while his colleagues in cabinet on the contrary believe that Srimad Bhagwat Gita is the only sacred document and even Bible and Quoran are alien to the Indian culture.

The Prime minister has made a strong pitch for foreign investment, assuring foreign investors of a sound business atmosphere in India; but the fact remains that India is a seen as a nation, the world over, where even the Parliament- the highest decision making body, is unable to transact its business in a businesslike manner, while its Prime minister is unable to do anything watching the disruptions as a helpless bystander. These ground realities makes foreign investors apprehensive of investing in India. 

Though India has managed to become the number one destination for foreign investment despite such intimidating factors, the only solution which the mandarins of NITI Aayog have for improving investment and boost growth is to recommend cut in repo rate, while their own reform documents (viz the Document submitted by Bibek Debroy on Reforms in Railways) licks dust. 

The “Make in India” concept is yet to take off. So are many of the other announcements made by various Ministries and Departments. We need to come out of the “steel frame” of the Indian bureaucracy, which did suit the British but is out of sync in present context. Or else our development and growth will remain caged within this “steel frame”. The bureaucrats are mere creepers which thrive on others and are one of the privileged classes- the other being the 'netas'. This must change. The Prime Minister, who is considered the “Iron Man of 21^st Century India”, needs to bring about a definite shift in the mindset of the bureaucracy. People sitting cozy in their air-conditioned rooms, taking decisions for the masses has not paid off in the last 68 years and will neither be able to deliver in the next 68 years- irrespective of the party in power. If bureaucracy is to be made pro-active their salary and perks must be tagged with the actual growth and good of the common man in India. Mahatma Gandhi had shed his clothes for a loin cloth to identify himself with the masses of nation. On this 2^nd October, the birthday of the Mahatma, let its bureaucracy and leaders lead by example and become the real “sewak” (servant) of the masses, by shedding all the privileges and perks of the system.  They must "Give it up" their privileges and perks which creates a wall between them and the common masses.

I find a huge difference in what is being preached and what is actually being practiced and hence I feel that India is at crossroads. I hope the PM will ultimately be able to steer the nation in the right direction as a seasoned Statesman and not end up merely as yet another “neta” in the annals of Indian History.  

I end this blog with an excerpts from “Why Smart Executives Fail” by Syd  Finkelstein who has outlined seven habits of an unsuccessful Executives, translated here for a Leader: (1) they see themselves and their nation as dominating their environments, (2) there is no boundary between their personal interests and that of their nation, (3) they think they have all the answers (4) they eliminate anyone who is not 100% behind them, (5) they are consummate spokesperson for their nation obsessed with the nation’s image and their own image, (6) they underestimate major obstacles, (7) they rely on what worked for them in the past.

Leaders of India in the past have often fallen in these traps.