Vijay Kumar Gaba

Ppt slides about accomplished PIOs

It is very common to receive the lists (or graphics) depicting very successful persons of Indian origin (PIOs) on our social media timelines; email inboxes and even front pages of newspapers. Some of these lists contain names of people who are not necessarily of Indian origin, but whose names resemble Indian names like Tulsi. In some cases we do not even mind turning matriarchal, if the successful person has only a mother of Indian origin, e.g., Kamala Harris.

Recently, two such persons are prominently in the news – Rishi Sunak, who lost the race to the 10 Downing Street last month, and Suella Braveman, the newly appointed Home Secretary in Liz Truss cabinet. Both British politicians happen to be born to parents of Indian origin who migrated from India many decades ago. Both were born and brought up in the UK; own a passport issued in the name of the British Monarch; have never publicly shown any allegiance to India. Suella Braveman recently lamented that Indians form the largest group of VISA violators in the UK.

Many of the top global corporations, like Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Twitter, IBM, Cognizant, Nokia, Bata, Chanel, Starbucks, Micron etc. now have CEOs who were born and graduated from India. Many of them pursued higher studies abroad and worked there for many years before reaching the top. They all are global citizens, do not necessarily carry an Indian passport and have shown no specific commitment to development and growth of India.

I fear that most of these names may be under pressure to prove their allegiance to the country, whose name appears on the front page of their passports; or the companies which write their paychecks; even if it means taking decisions that are prejudicial to the Indian economy. They may hold tremendous respect for their motherland, alma mater, religion and culture. But the economy of India and welfare of a common Indian may not appear high in their list of priorities. In fact, people who are not of Indian origin may do much more for India than PIOs.

In fact, the more PIOs reach the pole positions in global corporations and politics, more worried we should be. Because, it not only strengthens the global lobby of influential people who may not like to be openly seen as biased towards India; it also reflects poorly on the weaknesses of our entrepreneurial ecosystem that is unable to retain top talent.

Having understood this, I shall now avoid investing in mutual funds and companies whose periodic presentations show the list of accomplished PIOs as a strength of the Indian economy and markets.

Running foreign policy from press conferences

Recently, one of the most celebrated video clips on social media in India has been the one where the external affair minister (EAM) of India is answering the questions of western media about India’s policy with regard to the Russia-Ukraine war, especially India’s decision to buy crude oil from Russia despite NATO sanctions. The stern and articulate response of the EAM won him millions of accolades. Many did not hesitate in terming him the most competent minister of PM Modi’s cabinet; a symbol of rising global power of India; and a worthy successor to PM Modi (whenever he decides to retire). Even some foreign experts have termed him one of the best diplomats in the world.

Inarguably, incumbent EAM is very articulate, confident and clear in his views. He also seems to have a clear mandate from the prime minister in the matters of foreign policy. But in recent times, there have been more failures than successes in foreign policy.

NATO countries have tacitly imposed travel sanctions (inordinate delays in VISA issuance) against India for supporting Russia. Businesses and students are suffering from long delays in VISA issuance. China is cementing its position in Ladakh. The US is giving arms and money to Pakistan. We have not been able to get Pakistan black listed by FATF. There is little progress on key issues like membership of UNSC and NSG. There is little improvement in relationships with other neighbors. The UK home secretary has spoken openly against India and the trade deal has been delayed. The Canadian government is seen openly supporting anti India (Khalistan) elements. Despite claims of 30-35% cheaper oil from Russia, the price of our basket of oil is not much different from the benchmark Brent Crude. Belt Road and CPEC are progressing steadily.

I would rather prefer that no one knows about our EAM or see him on TV. Let him be an anonymous person and work behind curtains and show results. The job of making fun of western media and giving blunt responses to western diplomats is best left to the innocuous full timers like Tharoors and Swamis.

 1.   Bengaluru inundation

In the first seven days of September 2022, Bangalore Urban District of Karnataka received 171mm of rain, which is 388% more than the long term average (35mm) of the rains it receives during this period. Obviously, the city infrastructure is not prepared to manage so much water; hence some areas of the city have been inundated with rain water. The spectacle of houses, vehicles and roads under deluge has been enthusiastically celebrated in the media – mainstream, social, local, national and global. The residents also marked the occasion by riding on tractors, excavators, and boats etc.

Prima facie, there is nothing unusual in this. Almost every city in the country gets inundated at every instance of excess rain. From large metropolises like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, to major cities like Lucknow, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Gurgaon, Patna, Varanasi, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar etc. have all experienced similar situations in the past few years.

We all discuss the inadequate infrastructure; poor planning; corrupt administration; blatant encroachments on public land; and sustainability issues for a couple of weeks and automatically shift to the other topics enjoying higher TRP on media as soon as the dark clouds wither away and flood waters recede. In recent times, people have also found issues of nationalism, regional pride, and immigrants’ apathy to local issues, in the flood waters. For example, people of Bengaluru have been told to tolerate the inconvenience in the interest of nation building and weaken the government on such trivial issues; and immigrants have been told to leave the city if they do not like it rather than demeaning the city by highlighting their problems.

Perhaps the Almighty has made us human like that only. It is our natural tendency to keep moving on – from the good and from the bad. Those who stop to fight the wrong or get attached to the good are usually demeaned and sidelined.

PS: One issue that never becomes part of the popular narrative is the accountability and responsibility of “We the people of India”. The people who bought houses built on the lands stolen from lakes; the people who ignored the conduct of their neighbors in encroachment of the public lands; the people who were indifferent to the potholes and blocked drains when it was not raining and people who got away with bribing the civic administration.

2.   Rishi Sunak loses UK PM bid

The ‘Son of India’ Rishi Sunak lost the bid for prime ministership of the United Kingdom. While in the United Kingdom the contest was mostly between policies and personal reputation; in India it was mostly between Imperialist Britain and its former Indian subjects. Millions of eulogies were prepared to celebrate Sunak’s elevation to 10 Downing Street. The patriots were already celebrating it as the revenge of India by conquering the throne of England. The public debate in India has ended with lamenting of Sunak’s loss as victory of racist whites over a colored suitable boy. Some of the staunch supporters have preserved a glimmer of hope safely for the next general election in the UK.

Incidentally, the popular narrative in India missed a small point that Sunak was born and brought up in England, by African Hindu (Kenyan Father and Tanzanian Mother) parents. His grandfather migrated to Africa from Gujranwala (now in Pakistan) before independence. There is no pertinent evidence available to show that he has favored India or Indians in his capacity as British parliamentarian or senior cabinet minister.

Unfortunately, a large proportion of people desperately wanting to see Sunak as UK prime minister and calling the UK politics racist, are those who found the idea of Sonia Gandhi becoming India’ prime minister devastating and nauseating.

Some of these may have even castigated the young brilliant cricketer Arshdeep Singh as anti-national and secessionists (Khalistani) for just dropping a catch in a recent India Pakistan match.

3.   Cyrus Mistry dies in a car crash

A renowned businessman and former chairman of Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry, died in a car accident last Sunday. The car was being driven by a highly reputable gynecologist and also had two of her close family members travelling in it. Two passengers, including Mistry, died immediately, and the other two are seriously injured.

The shocking event has been mourned by the top politicians and business people of the country. However, Ratan Tata, the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons and Tata group was rather conspicuous in not making any public obituary. It is pertinent to note here that Tata and Mistry were engaged in a bitter battle of control over Tata Sons a few years ago, which Mistry lost in the Supreme Court.

As Chairman of the group, Mistry had questioned many decisions of his predecessor Ratan Tata that destroyed significant shareholders’ value over the past decade. He argued that flamboyant management style and a spate of errors of judgment were seriously prejudicial to the interest of companies in which non-Tata shareholding was material. Only a handful of industry people and politicians supported Mistry at that time. It is also interesting to note that Mistry was not the first Tata Sons heavyweight to be ousted unceremoniously. Same was the case when the likes of Russi Modi, Darbari Seth and Ajit Kerker had spoken against Ratan Tata and were ousted from the group.

Post the accident, the highways minister has announced that wearing of seatbelts will be made compulsory for the back seat passengers also. Non-compliance shall be subject to a fine of Rs1000.

Without any doubts whatsoever, the accident is unfortunate and loss is tremendous. But it does need a few straight questions to be answered.

About 1.55 lac people died in road accidents in India in 2021. The number is rising almost every year. Why did the government wait for so many years and so many deaths to announce this basic safety measure?

The site of the accident is apparently a death trap. Many accidents have taken place at that point and many lives have been lost. Still there is no proper signage there. Who is taking responsibility for that? The government and the Supreme Court need to fix the accountability for all poor roads, especially the roads where toll is being charged. The concessionaire, contractor, NHAI, the municipal/PWD engineers, local representatives (corporator, panchayat member etc.) – someone needs to be held accountable for all accidents caused due to poor road maintenance.