as & when

2012 : Music begins

2011-12-21T18:13:00.001+05:30

Vikram Akula’s Dilemma – Profit Vs Non-Profit

2010-10-29T15:16:00.002+05:30

“We have given the poor a chance,” said the CEO of SKS Microfinance in an interview to CNBC-TV18. You usually don’t hear such things from the CEO of a company that is going public. But then Vikram Akula is not your typical black-jacket CEO variety, he prefers sporting bright cotton kurtas, avoids jargons like “inorganic growth going forward”. He is more likely the type who eats organic rice probably grown in the most arid parts of Andhra Pradesh where SKS operates.

Vikram Akula flung to fame when he rescued the poor in the Telengana region from the exploitative tactics of local moneylenders. His idea was pure and his execution impeccable. Lend money to those who need it but can’t borrow. Since 1997, SKS Society, a not-for-profit organization, has been lending money as low as Rs 100 to a maximum at Rs 15000 to millions of people. In CK Prahalad’s parlance, SKS was targeting the bottom of the pyramid. Over the years, his business grew big. Very big. Big enough to help millions, big enough for politicians to wonder how he did it and big enough for South Bombay bankers to salivate. Now, SKS is India’s largest non-banking finance company, bigger than many govt and private banks, and has a portfolio worth 1 billion dollars.

So far so good. Now SKS wants to grow bigger and needs more capital. So Akula has brought his baby to the shrine of capitalism – the stock markets. SKS is offering 1.68 crore share to the public to raise Rs 1500 crore through an Initial Public Offer (IPO). Stock market pundits are all singing rah-rah about the uniqueness of the business model, the untapped potential of the microfinance industry and the top notch quality of management. True, SKS Microfinance is a kickass stock to buy, even if it is a tad expensive off-the-counter, but that’s not where the problem is. The problem is what Vikram Akula stands for or atleast stood for. The vision of what began as a noble social initiative whose objective was to cater to the financial needs of the poor in a sustainable (not profitable) and professional manner seems muddled now (Remember, SKS Society started in 1997 as a not-for-profit firm). So muddled that skeptics have a reason to questions Akula’s intention in the first place. Some reports say that the initial investment of the promoter was anywhere between Rs 24 to Rs 137 per share. Now, Akula and others have sold to investors at a whopping Rs 636 per share. That was just one-fourth of his stock options that fetched him 26 times returns.Frankly, it does not bother me so much that Akula personally got a great deal. Here was an entrepreneur who had an idea started a business, created value and cashed out when the opportunity arose.What bothers me is ‘why’ SKS Microfinance wants to access the capital markets, and ‘how’ it has transformed into a capital hungry leviathan that is seeking profits. More importantly, my angst is its eagerness to allow private equity players and other market investors such as Sequoia Capital to become part owners of the company. I am told when the issue hits the market; Sequioa will sell 10% of its holding.Don’t get me wrong, I hold no grudges against the Sequioas of the world, in fact, quite the contrary. They do a fantastic job finding the right business, fund it, watch it grow and sell for a profit. So their objectives are very clear.
But what is SKS’s objective? The larger question – Is the goal of a microfinance venture making profits? Vikram Akula, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, defended saying, “We believe that if we use the commercial approach you can actually raise more capital and disburse to more people. We have disbursed over last 5 yrs, 3.2 bn dollars (Rs 14,000 cr). We feel that this in fact is the best way to put most money into most hands of people.”

That’s one view, here is the other: The Financial Times reports that Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder of Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank, has criticised the commercialisation of the industry, saying profit-oriented microlenders are little different to the loan sharks they once set out to replace.Meanwhile, I came across some more information that disturbed me. One more part owner of SKS, Unitus Holding, originally a microfinance funding company sacked its employees and unwound its microfinance operations after Vikram’s IPO plans got finalized. Some of its Directors, I hear, will directly gain in their personal capacity from the public issue, as promoters.
Frankly, I don’t know what is right or wrong. So I reached out to Deval Sanghavi of Dasra.Deval argues that all social businesses should not have a goal to make profits but instead reach out to a greater beneficiary base in a sustainable manner. “Unfortunately, it is difficult for these organizations to raise large amounts of philanthropic funding therefore encourage investment from for-profit investors who at times decrease the organization’s social impact by demanding a greater ROI. Therefore once these two parties for-profit investor and social business are brought together questions do arise in terms of motives. At that time it is really up to the management team and board to determine which path to take,” he says.I haven’t been able to make up my mind on which side is right. I’ll leave you to do that. But my bigger fear is the fallout of the SKS’ IPO, if it succeeds. Tomorrow, sensing this valuation game every (dare I say) shady real estate company in India, under the garb of a social cause, may float a microfinance company.
We run the risk of several wannabe Akulas putting up a farce of lending to millions of “unbanked” people, wait for the business to gain some critical mass, sell stake to an investor and walk away with a profit. None of this is against the law.
But isn’t there a moral dilemma here?

Mani's Ramayana

2010-06-20T22:47:00.005+05:30

"Has Maniratnam lost his marbles?" asked a friend, after watching his latest Raavan, in Hindi, starring Abhishek, Aishwarya and Vikram.
For the first time after watching a Maniratnam film, have I felt so ambivalent. The story, as the name suggests, is loosely based on the Ramayana. As one popular version of the legend goes, Ravana kidnaps Sita to avenge the humiliation suffered by his sister Shoorpanaka, by Rama's brother Lakshmana. Then Rama, with the help of all good forces, launches a battle against the demon king, good triumphs over evil. And...wait...before he accepts Sita back, she goes through an Agni Pariksha to prove her chastisty. End of story. This is the Ramayana we all know.

Now replace Rama with Dev, a cop played by Vikram, Aishwarya plays his wife, Ragini. And then, there is Bira played by Abhishek, who is the anti-god, the antagonist Raavana, who kidnaps Raagini, and falls in love with her. Bira, is a tribal leader, who the State is after. His sister is dragged out of her wedding by cops and ends up being a victim of custodial rape. This explains Bira's motivation to kidnap Ragini. So it is a pretty simple straightforward story, which you could argue, Mani does not attempt explaining in great detail. But then, why should he? The Ramayana, is pretty much part of our collective conscious. There is no needless banter to even an attempt to create a context or build character.

Instead, Mani employs the visual medium as the narrative. Many of his earlier films such as Roja or even Kannthil, had beautiful imagery or interesting frames as tools to create the intangible flavour of a Mani film. In Ravana, the medium is the message. The visual is the screenplay.
The breathtaking locales and the Santosh Sivan's brilliance leave you spellbound. The cinema of Raavana is so powerful that you cannot be a part of its cast and not get noticed . C'mon, how can you be a Ravana or even a Hanuman in anyone's Ramayana and not get noticed.

This treatment of Ramayana needed the actors to perform as if they were on stage, or maybe in a musical or a pantomime. The challenge, therfore, was to match the visual brilliance with the power of performance. No room for subtlety....you had to be loud. Which brings me to Bira and Abhishek Bacchan. What I felt the most about Ravan was that I did not feel anything for Bira. I was neither angry with him nor did I feel pity. Abhishek does very little to explain why the anti-hero deserves to be loved. The problem with Abhishek has been his inability to understand Ravana's pain or dilemma. His facial expressions make an attempt to reveal Ravana's neurosis and his self-destructive jealousy, but his body language is too much of lanky city-bred hip-hopper, whose pedicured nails, are out of sync with the anger that his eyes try to convey. The physical challenge that Abhishek, Vikram and Aishwarya have had to go through as Bira, Dev and Raagini is what makes this film, Mani's Ramayana. Abhishek unfortunately makes a feeble attempt at Bira. Vikram, on the other hand, is compelling, and makes me want to watch the Tamil version of the film where he plays Ravanan. Aishwarya is beautiful and refreshingly not affected.

This Ramayana needs to understood in many layers. It is a state versus renegade battle - so topical as the Govt of India is currently trying to crush the naxal movement across many parts of the country. It also reminds me in parts of the story of the forest brigand Veerapan. Perhaps why, the antagonist was named Bira.

So, in the final analysis, I dont think Mani has lost his marbles at all. This baby from Madras Talkies is different. Very different from what we have seen so far from his stable. To me, it is sheer poetry in celluloid. Watch it without comparing it to his previous works. The only point of reference is Valmiki's Ramayana.

Why Men are colour blind!

2010-01-15T14:30:00.007+05:30

I am sure you have been in this situation. So, you are shopping with a woman (wife, girlfriend, cousin whoever). The scene at some obscenely expensive and overrated fashion store with a pretentious name and the conversation goes like this:

Shop girl: Ma'am, have you seen our winter collection?
Lady: "I am looking for a....perhaps that burgundy top ...over there...."
Shop Girl: "May be you can mix and match with that Mauve scarf..."
Lady: " Or...give me that one with a bit of Fuschia thrown in...it looks fab"

If parts of this conversation went 'beep' in your head, please continue reading. And for others, who understood it all, (mostly ladies I presume) please bear with me as I present a some honest confessions about men.
We Men are colour blind!
Well...not entirely, we understand basic colours like red, blue, black, white, green, yellow etc. And I'll tell you why. Some of these colours we can easily associate with. Brown - Chocolate, Maroon - My favourite, Grey - Jacket, Black - the only colour we wear on saturday night, Red or Green - the house we represented in school and so on. And, after the light experiment in the physics lab in Class 8, we successfully learnt the VIBGYOR. Well.....not entirely (Quick note for boys: Violet - No it is not purple. It is the other one. Indigo - Not Tata. This was out of CBSE syllabus.) But beyond this spectrum is an optical blur for us and it becomes a test of intelligence that we do not possess. Teal, I am told is a colour.
Here's a list of colours that we men have no clue about but we ought to know. Guys, I don't know them myself, so I am giving you broad hints on what they look like....figure it out yourself:
Mauve - Pronounced as pretentiously as possible. Approximately like your faded NCC uniform
Burgundy - Like an Old Monk bottle! I think...
Fuschia - Is a colour. Is not f*** you in French. Belongs to the red family. Near a tomato.
Peach - Like peach snapps...or may be not. Go figure it out
Tuscany - Is not a colour you dickhead!
Lilac - Sorry dude! no idea!
Olive - Some strain of green
So, guys, incase you have other colours that I need to learn. Please add and enlighten me.
PS: The colour status that women posted on FB, I am told, is the colour of the bra they are wearing ...because of some breastcancer awareness campaign. So now go quickly go and check out...who posted "burgundy", "peach" or NONE!!!

2010 - Aaal Izz Well!

2009-12-28T16:28:00.005+05:30

I have been reading quite a bit over the weekend. Newspapers, magazines, news channels are full of people predicting the future. Astrologers crystal gazing what the new year beholds, experts propounding if and how the global economy is going to turnaround. Frankly, I am quite exhausted at the end of year. Exhausted by the avalanche of events that took place and tired of listening to zillions of bright men and women who thought they knew how stock markets, economies and politics around the world are going to unfold in 2009. Not one, got it right. Not one was even close to getting it right. Let me offer you five events that happened in 2009, that you had no clue about in 2008:
- Did you know Barack Obama would become President? Ok fine, you knew he was in the running by late 2008.
- Did you know Satyam was one big lie? Did anyone even remotely hint at the possibility that Ramalinga Raju could be a scamster?
- Did you know that the Indian automobile sector posted its best ever year in a year of global "slowdown"?
- Did you know that the Indian cricket team was going to become the best test team in the world?
- Did you know Tiger Woods would stop playing golf because he would be caught in a another ball game with his pants down?
So I am unable to trust the fellows who offer me an opinion about the future.
I dont know about you, but I am signing off 2009 by borrowing a powerful thought from that wonderful movie, 3 idiots. Aaal Izz Well, my friend, Aaal Izz Well! 2010 here I come!

YSR - 1949-2009

2009-09-05T17:58:00.007+05:30

If you have watched Maniratnam's classic Nayakan, you'd remember the famous dialogue, when don Velu Naicker's (played by Kamal Hassan) grandson asks him "Are you a good man or a bad man?"
Somehow, as I watched the funeral procession of YS Rajasekhara Reddy, I felt like asking him the same question. I studied in Hyderabad where several of my classmates were sons of TDP or Congress MLAs or had some political affiliation. I remember in the late 80s. political murders were rampant and some parts of Andhra were notorious for settling scores by brutal killings.
My early impression of YSR was that he was invincible in Cuddapah and that he spared no one who messed with his followers. I heard tales about how he had a factory that made country bombs, about how a marriage party of a former TDP MLA was blown to smithereens by YSR's men and so on. So that image of YSR stuck in my head.
Years later, I watched the embarrasing phase of the Congress in Andhra. A peculiar leadership crisis because there were one too many leaders. Chenna Reddy, Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy, Janardhan Reddy - all CMs at one point were in the race to power. Somehow YSR was not yet in this league. Well, he was much younger and if I remember right, he had become a parliamentarian by then. It was during this time that YSR's old pal, Chandrababu emerged from the ashes of NTR's death to take over the reins of the TDP and went on to rule the state for the next 10 years.
As Naidu was busy making powerpoint presentations and shmoozing with Bill Gates, YSR quietly took over the reins of the Congress, got together different factions, played his rural card to the hilt and recaptured the seat of power.
As Chief Minister, again, I heard several things about YSR. Stories of real estate scams, large-scale corruption all under his watchful eye, so I was told. Then Satyam happened, and one heard how YSR was shielding Ramalinga Raju. Publicly, he would argue that Raju was Naidu's pal but in Court his Govt's lawyers bungled (and some say deliberately) in nailing Raju. So was YSR keeping Raju in jail to save him? Some swore by this theory.
In the Nagarajuna Finance scam, YSR went after Nimesh Kampani, a former independent director who had quit years before the scandal happened. Why you ask? the real story in Hyderabad was how Kampani was paying a price for helping Ramoji Rao, the media baron, raise billions from the market. That Ramoji Rao was close to Naidu, YSR's bete noire was public knowledge.
So in the final analysis, YSR was a quintessential politician. He had a past. He had his friends and he had his foes. He made his money and he gave some away. He lived his life on the edge, he won a few battles and lost many. He managed his image of a champion of the rural masses yet ensured that he kept Banjara Hills happy. In his death, Andhra has lost a mass leader, someone who in the latter part of his political career had reached demi-god status.

But it is perhaps the circumstances of his death, that have made YSR leapfrog from being a demi-god politician to god. Last I heard, a temple is being built at Pulivendula, his village!

Why risk a drought?

2009-08-22T17:55:00.003+05:30

Earlier this weeek, I was talking to a few experts on Risk Management and how companies need to make risk management practices a part of their daily operations. Ravi Narain, the head of the National Stock Exchange told me that taking risks may be a necessary part of growth but that does not mean that one should not have a contigency plan in place, just in case things go wrong. But he believes that risk and growth are not in conflict with each other.
Somehow that thought stuck in my head.
Now through the week, I have been reading and analysing the drought situation that seems to be worsening. As I write, 264 districts in India have been declared as drought affected. That's nearly half the country that we are talking about. Yesterday, the finance Minister says there is a need for a contingency plan to be put in place.
This is what I dont get.
So the Govt wants to put in place a plan after the crisis has happened. Much the same way, Mmbai spoke about the need for crisis management team after the terror attacks
Why is it when things are all hunky dory, no one speaks of the potential risks? When the country was growing at 8 per cent clip, not once did we speak about potential pitfalls. My question is
Why doesnt the Govt of India have its risk management practice in place?

Business News Channel Viewership - The Verdict

2009-07-15T12:39:00.005+05:30

The latest viewership data from TAM reveals that on Budget day, CNBC TV18 was the most watched English news channel in India. Slice through the numbers across categories (age groups or time bands) and you will find that the dominance of CNBC TV18 is undisputed. Don't get me wrong, I am not writing this to thump my chest screaming victory or snigger with arrogance. Not at all.
I am not a big believer in the ratings game, largely because I do not think the existing method of measuring viewership is comprehensive or foolproof. For instance, the existing method does not capture viewership at offices at all (called Out-of-home audience). If you include this chunk, I believe, CNBCTV18's numbers would be much bigger than what it is now. But that's not the point.
What I want to talk about is the crisis of imagination that the industry is suffering from.
In the past four years, there have been three new players who have entered this market. All promising something new and something exciting. But they have ended up doing exactly the same as the market leader. And these viewership numbers, even if they are for one day, prove that their fare has not been accepted by viewer, for whatever reason. And here's the worst part (or the good part, depending on how you see it) - there is no one wanting to find out that reason. No one, including us, really knows what "works" on air. What is it that the viewer wants to see? In most news channels, content strategy is often defined by collective and subjective editorial opinions (read gut feel) and not at all backed by data. Compare this to say the FMCG industry, does an ITC launch a product without knowing what the consumer wants? Will HUL experiment with a variant of Surf without adequate qualitative research? If news channels were products, (I hate this comparison, though that's the reality of the marketplace) why does the consumer not feature in the equation at all?
To me, it is important for CNBCTV18 to retain its dominance but it is equally important to see that the playing field grows bigger. And that growth in the market will happen only if the industry attempts to know, understand, reach-out and serve the customer better. But, for now, I have no reason to complain, cos I am on the winning team!

Let The Games Begin!

2009-04-04T13:38:00.008+05:30

After a long gap, I am back to writing about Dravidian politics! Much has changed in the last one year in the political landscape of Tamil Nadu, however, the basic premise that the political pendulum will swing one way or the other still remains. So say observers. But will it...really?

Here's what is at stake

40 seats. Tamil Nadu will send 39 members to the 15th Lok Sabha. Add one more from Pondicherry. As has been in the past two elections, the DMK or the AIADMK led coalition is expected to swing the popular vote its way entirely. In 2004, the DMK Supermo Muthuvel Karunanidhi engineered a rainbow coalition of 15 parties and knocked-out the Jaya-BJP combine 40-0. The control over these 40 seats gave Karunanidhi the clout to get whatever he wanted from the UPA Government. For starters, he got all the ministries he wanted. He got ministers changed - A.Raja took Dayanidhi's place as IT & Telecom Minister, when the latter fell out of favour with the DMK leadership. He almost got the Sethusamudram Project cleared - with a very vocal TR Balu fighting in Parliament. Had it not been for the Govt's lawyers mucking up in Supreme Court even that would have been reality.

Bone of Contention - The Tamil EalemIssue

What has become a political rallying point is the UPA's handling of the Tamil Ealam issue. Karunanidhi has been pushing for greater intervention by the Govt of India in the battle between the LTTE and Sri Lanka, and rescue the Tamils caught in the crossfire. While Pranab Mukherjee visited Colombo at Karunanidhi's insistence, it was perceived merely as an act of symbolism and did not result in any material outcome. This was enough fodder for the disgruntled elements with the DMK led coalition partners to call it quits. Vaiko, the firebrand leader of the MDMK who has made no bones of his support of the Ealem cause, quit the DMK alliance before the assembly elections in 2006. Now, the eternal cat on the wall, Dr Ramadoss cited Karunanidhi's failure over the Tamil Ealem issue, among several others, as a reason to switch sides. He arrived at a seat sharing deal with Jayalalithaa recently.

Here's how it looks now

So you have the DMK + Congress and a few minor parties such as the Dalit Panthers led by Thol Thirumavalavan on one hand. The AIADMK + PMK + MDMK + Left on the other. Amma notched up a clever alliance with the left parties, who control 1 or 2 seats in the State.

There are two important players left - the BJP and DMDK led by Actor Vijaykanth. BJP is not a strong force in the State, but it is inevitable for one of the State coalitions to ally with NDA at the centre, if it comes close to forming the next government. But the real spoiler in this elections is going to be Vijaykanth and his DMDK. In the last assembly elections, DMDK debuted with a commendable 8 per cent vote share. While Vijaykanth has ruled out allying with both the coalitions, his strategy post the elections may be critical in deciding which electoral alliance from Tamil Nadu will call the shots at the centre.

Does history matter?

2008-03-17T19:17:00.003+05:30

Lance Klusener. Caught Sathish. Bowled Vignesh.

To me, this scorecard entry was even more painful than my stomach flu that had forced me to stay home on a weekday and watch the bastardised version of the oneday game. While the game was thoroughly entertaining, what I was upset about was my realisation, that even gods of my past have feet of clay. Lance Klusener, to me and many admirers of South African cricketer, was the god of slog cricket. Zulu, or the African warrior, as he was nicknamed demolished every reputed bowler of that era, particulary during the World Cup.

That World Cup final, which South Africa should have won, was singularly shouldered by the mighty Zulu. With His jayasuriya like forearms, broad shoulders, jaw dropping strokeplay, Zulu was invincible. Despite his swashbuckling style, Zulu, off the field, was an enigma. One hardly got to know of his personality otherwise. But that didnt matter. Zulu was good at what he did. A nimble footed fielder and runner between the wickets and he killed and ravaged bowlers in style.

But today, Lance Klusener was not the Zulu I knew. He looked emaciated. Old. Tired. His bat pathetically swishing across the offstump to miss pedestrian deliveries off an unknown bowler. Then came an apology of a lofted cover drive straight to the point. I wonder if either the fielder or the bowler, or even the pretty looking model turned commentator knew about the Zulu of yore. Did they even bother about the history of this man. Coming to think of it, do history matter anymore? ....more on this

This farce called decoupling

2008-01-23T15:30:00.000+05:30

In the past few months, there have been several theories floating to justify why the Indian stock markets were defying gravity. Among them was a popular notion called 'decoupling'. Armchair analysts and self annointed experts spewed wisdom to say there is decoupling at work. Don't you worry if the Dow or the Nasdaq were crashing, look at the sensex that's where the real story is, they said. If you bought that theory, you'd believe you are living in paradise, where the economy is unstoppable and sensex could continue defy gravity and we'll are all bound to be billionaires. Nothing wrong with this optimism, it is only the dubious basis of the theory that they were peddling that I had a problem with.

For starts, decoupling assumed that the Indian markets were insulated from the mood swings of the US Markets. They argued that Indian markets had matured enough to chart a course of its own. Some sectors, they said, like IT would be affected in the near term, but the broader markets were high and rocking. And then, they threw the cliche, the India growth story is intact, the Indian economic fundamentals are sound and this was stretched to prove that even if the world's largest economy slowed down, it would have negligible impact on India - its economy and its markets. To add credence to this theory, the markets skyrocketed early this year although the US markets made no headway since Jan 1.

And then came Terrible Tuesday!

This theory fell flat on its face on Terrible Tuesday Jan 22,2008. Global markets crashed hand in hand with the US and the facts were there for everyone to see. The moral of the story was the world has started accepting the reality of a US economic slowdown. The Fed chief testified to the Congress that the economy is slowing but he does not see a recession. That was pure semantics. Few days later, President Bush announced a fiscal revival package and Ben followed that up with an unprecendented emergency rate cut, to stem the slide more so in falling sentiment that in stocks. Now, if global markets were reacting, they were not decoupled were they? If the Indian markets tanked 2000 points, it was very much coupled...wasn't it? I am not trying prove a coupling theory which is equally facile.
Now, let's assume the sensex chooses to flirt with higher levels for a week or so when the US markets is tanking. Does that meaning the "coupling" theory is wrong? The point is this day to day corelation does not work and is not a reliable theory to base one's forecast on.

It's the economy stupid

Macroeconomy 101 and Manmohan Singh post-91 have made us understand how interlinked the Indian economy has become. The retail sales figures of Walmart is causing ripples in Tirupur. Poltical instabilty in Mexico is making Mittal postpones his greenfield investment in India. These are hard facts and this is how economies work. Because economies are run by people, who are, even in their dogged pursuits of profits, are swayed by emotion which define their judgements. To believe that economies are impervious to each other, most of all to the biggest, is being naive. To propound it, is foolhardy.

Twenty20

2007-09-15T17:05:00.000+05:30

I was among those who had given up on cricket after a series of events broke my trust in the honesty of the game. Then, our humiliating first round defeat in the World Cup convinced me that the game had come to an end, atleast for me. But then arrived Twenty20.

India beats Pakistan
And what a match it was last night! A nail-biting India-Pakistan encounter reminiscent of the famous battles between the two countries at Sharjah in the late '80s. And this was even better. In the 20-over a side, three-hour blitzkrieg, the match was clearly not over, as the cliche goes, until the last ball was bowled. 141 was hardly a target to protect, one thought. But as Pakistan struggled to keep its wickets, you sensed victory in sight. But the Pakistani middle order had other plans in mind. With some swashbuckling batting they brought down the asking target to just 12 runs in the last over. Two boundaries and three later, they dashed India's hopes and had to score just 1 run to scream victory off the last ball. Sreesanth ran in to deliver, with hope in his mind and his heart on his sleeve, the batsman found the fielder and the fielder found the stumps. Run-out. Tie. The first ever in a Twenty20 Indo-Pak match. Then began the bowl out. 5 bowlers from each side take turns to hit the unguarded stumps. India cruised through with all its 3 bowlers - Sehwag, Uthappa and Harbhajan bang on target. Pakistan's respected seamers failed to knock the stumps down even once.

So India won. But has cricket lost?
At first glance, I , like many of my friends, cringed at the idea of Twenty20 cricket. Many purists filled up newspaper columns to defend the purity of the gentleman's game being besmirched by a format for street-urchins. But then, this is tailor-made for television. Think about it. When was the last time you sat through an entire one-day match? This is just 3 hours. It's fast paced, exciting and puts purists' arguments of pitch, weather and wind and the typically Brit pre-match commentary irrelevant. So will ODI die? Of course not. Did Test cricket die because of the ODI? Frankly, we have seen some magnificent test matches quite recently in England. Net net, the game of cricket has evolved. The format may take away its gentle charm as we know it, but it infuses a fresh bubbly energy that is too good to resist. Cricket is back. Atleast for me!

(Picture Courtesy: The Hindu)

DMK - Split Wide Open

2007-05-14T12:49:00.000+05:30

There is never a dull moment in Dravidian politics and this time cracks have appeared in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. What triggered this political crisis was a seemingly innocuous opinion poll published by Tamil daily Dinakaran, owned by the Maran fold. The poll found that over 70 per cent of Tamil Nadu preferred MK Stalin as the successor to Karunanidhi, while elder brother MK Azhagiri had an embarrassing 2 per cent support. Enraged by the poll, thugs from the Azhagiri camp ransacked and set the Madurai office of Dinakaran on fire killing three innocent employees. In a swift turn of events, Karunanidhi summoned over a 100 party functionaries for an emergency meeting and decided to strip Dayanidhi off his ministerial badge. Even before the show cause notice reached him, Dayanidhi faxed his resignation to the PMO, phoned Manmohan and Sonia and hurriedly called a press conference to declare his allegiance to his "Thailavar Kalaignar" (Leader Karunanidhi). "I am born DMK man and I will die a DMK man, " he thundered.

Dayanidhi's meteoric rise

I remember, in early 2004, just after the DMK had walked out of the NDA and before UPA was born, Dr Manmohan Singh had come to meet Karunanidhi at his Chennai residence to forge an alliance between the DMK and Congress. Standing next to Karunanidhi, clutching his hands was a shy translator - Dayanidhi Maran. His rise since then within the party has been nothing short of spectacular. Dayanidhi smoothly slid into the space vacated by his late father Murasoli Maran, Karunanidhi’s nephew. Though lesser in age and stature, it was on Dayanidhi's shoulder that the old Kalaignar depended on during public meetings. It was Dayanidhi who was chosen as a candidate in DMK's bastion, Central Madras constituency during the Parliamentary elections and it was Dayanidhi who was rewarded with a ministerial berth at the Centre, overlooking many seniors. Karunanidhi had made it clear that Daya was his favourite grandnephew.
Dayanidhi meteoric rise raised many eyebrows within the party and outside but no one dared to question his position. After all, he was part of the family and the inner coterie of Kalaignar. Those who did, like Sharat Kumar, actor and former MP, were thwarted and thrown out. You could not take on the Maran brothers especially when the DMK was in power. Or it seemed.

The real question - Stalin Vs Azhagiri

This is a question that Karunanidhi has warded off for many years. But it is clear that MK Stalin is heir apparent to the throne. Though he does not match his father in terms of charisma, stature or popularity, Stalin is the emperor in waiting. Stalin does not see eye to eye with his elder brother Azhagiri, who has always been the problem child in the family. Azhagiri runs a parallel government in Madurai irrespective of whichever party is in power. Much to Karunanidhi’s chagrin in the past, Azhagiri even engineered the defeat of DMK candidates in the local elections if they were not of his choice. He even has a criminal case against him for the murder of DMK leader T.Kirutinan. So the best Karunanidhi could do was the buy peace with him. Though Azhagiri does not hold a post in the party, all decisions about Madurai has his blessings. For several years, this peace treaty has worked for Karunanidhi. Now that the uncomfortable question that Kalaignar has hitherto kept under wraps is out in the open, will the Azhagiri-Stalin war resume again? Therefore, the fallout of the opinion poll does more damage to Karunanidhi than it does to the Marans or Azhagiri.

Where does it leave the Marans?

For anyone tracking Tamil Nadu politics, this is the missing piece in the puzzle. The Marans had it all going for themselves. Dayanidhi was basking in the glory of bringing investments to Tamil Nadu as the Telecom Minister. Kalanidhi’s media empire was growing at a furious pace. His Sun TV had gone public; he had expanded his grip from television to radio to the print medium. Why, the newspaper in question, Dinakaran, was acquired recently by Kalanidhi. It was relaunched at rock bottom price and was the fastest growing daily in the state. So why would they upset the applecart? There in lies the mystery of this case.

(Picture courtesy: The Hindu)

Not so special economic zone!

2007-04-07T18:06:00.000+05:30

The Govt of India has decided to cap the maximum size of a Special Economic Zone at 5000 hectares. This would mean that larger SEZ projects - such as Reliance's Navi Mumbai project would not be approved. There's more, State Governments can bring down the cap on the maximum size on their whim. This clearly defeats the purpose of SEZs being large standalone islands with state of the art infrastructure. If they are not large, then what's the point? Can't states just be content with IT parks or Industrial townships rebranded as SEZs?

What's so special now about SEZs?

But the real dispute is not about size, It's about land. And, here's the latest - State Governments have been told to stay away from "compulsory" land acquisition. That means, corporates would transact land deals with farmers directly. The Commerce Secretary argues that the process of land acquisition is a "commercial" transaction between a buyer and a seller. Therefore, States will have no role to play in the deal. Let's for a moment buy the Govt's argument that it is just a commercial transaction. If that be the case, why should the Govt bother to cap the size of an SEZ. If there is a willing buyer and a willing seller, why not leave it to them?

Lessons from Nandigram

The Nandigram genocide clearly displayed that land acquisition is anything but commercial. It is not just about finding a right price for a piece of land and ensuring that the cheque reaches the farmer. It is also about rebuilding the farmer's life when he has been uprooted from his home and his industry taken away. And, it is also about generating alternative employment for those hundreds of landless labourers who work on these farm lands on daily wages. Tell me, can the Govt afford to adopt such a hands-off approach and leave it to market forces?

Facts prove that the Bengal Govt bungled on Nandigram. So does this strengthen the case for greater and more effective State intervention or weaken it? Shouldn't it be the responsibilty of the Govt to regulate land acquisition not just in the case of SEZ but also in non-SEZ projects where large scale acquition is involved? Instead of greater regulation and intervention, this Govt has clearly washed its hands off any issue arising out of SEZs. The political backlash of another Nandigram seems too heavy a price to pay for the UPA Government. But wait a minute, wasn't it the same Government that swore about a putting a comprehensive rehabilitation policy in place before approving SEZs?

Exclusive!

2007-03-27T16:26:00.000+05:30

We journos love the word 'exclusive' in the context of an exclusive story. It gives us a sense of achievement and euphoria of having information that no one else has. But let me talk about 'inclusive'. You know, it's now fashionable to use the word 'inclusive' in the context of inclusive growth and this whole spiel about bridging the divide between haves and have-nots. On Budget Day, Chidambaram sprinkled the i-word generously in his budget speech, my Editor picked it up for his edit, TV discussions repeated it ad nauseum and all the pink papers included 'inclusive growth' in their post-budget op-eds. In fact, recently, I also read an interesting piece titled The All Important Inclusion .... do check it out.

Now having heard/read all that's been said/written about the importance of inclusive growth, I just have one question: On one hand, this Government claims that it wants inclusive growth. Says it is committed to creating equitable distribution of opportunities. On the other hand, it allows Special Economic Zones that are elitist, well-endowed, tax-less, lawless privileged enclaves of excellence.

Tell me, do you really buy this inclusive story?

The Left's Not So Right Anymore!

2007-03-27T15:36:00.000+05:30

It made riveting television. An event that left the left red faced. The debate in Parliament was on shifting a Maritime University from Kolkata to Chennai. The left accused the Government of trying to clandestinely shift the university (beats me how one can secretly move a darn college!) and "damaaje the intarest of Waste Bengaul." So, tempers flared, voices raised and before an adjournment could be called, our beloved comrades rushed to the well of the house and almost came to blows with their own allies - MPs from the DMK!

Mind you, this is the same political grouping that traditionally takes a moral high ground on everything including 'parliamentary' behaviour. Much to Somnathda's chagrin, Members of Parliament from the left behaved like hooligans that afternoon. While most left leaders have scant respect for TV etiquette, (except Karat and Yechury, but if you have ever seen D.Raja and Dipankar Mukherjee on air, you'll know what I mean) watching them stoop to fisticuffs was a new low. Gurudas Dasgupta was at a loss of words, and that doesn't happen too often to him especially in front of a TV camera, justifying such lumpen behaviour. I just wish a few punches landed on TR Balu. It would've been grand fun! Wonder how Lok Sabha TV does in the ratings game.

(Picture courtesy: ibnlive.com)

Works! if you cant post, try firefox instead of explorer

2007-03-27T13:47:00.000+05:30

help! i cant post ...blogger's conked

2007-03-24T16:45:00.000+05:30

This English Yaar!

2007-02-21T15:33:00.000+05:30

“Where are you putting up?” asked this petite acquaintance from Delhi. Putting up what? I almost asked. Ah! she meant to ask where was I staying. Dinner table courtesy restricted me from poking fun at her inadvertent faux pas. Starters arrived but the lady refused to stop. After I told where I was “putting” up, she attacked, “So how is the job ‘opPORtunities’ in Mumbai?” I thought of mentioning that if she wasn’t pretty, my old English professor would have used this ‘opportunity’ to skin her alive.

You know …what’s with these Delhi-ites? They are fashionable, I mean they are great when it comes to dressing up well to shop at M-block but their urge to butcher the Queen’s language is much more than their lust for butter chicken. But hang on, there was more murder that evening.

To be fair, she was a well-educated, confident, young woman, an expert in retail banking but had scant respect for pronunciation. “So what do you ‘hair’ in Mumbai? (Read - ’here’) . If she said that in Tamil, she’d be jailed for unparliamentary language. (Tamil abuses and their English skills can be saved for another blog). So, I said, I am splitting hairs over my job ‘here’ in Mumbai.

At main course, it was homicide. “I have to return back to Dhelli imme-jiately. I am taking today evening flight.” The city, my love, is called Delhi with a hard D. Don’t even get me started on “immediately” – that word has been a victim of national torture.
After all this, I was in no mood for dessert. And as we tipped the waiter, came her piece de resistance, “Give me your ‘cuntact.”

My case rests.

Sun rises on Fort St George

2006-05-12T15:32:00.000+05:30

82-year old Muthuvel Karunanidhi is set to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu once again. He will be anointed for the fifth time as the head of the State, but for the first time ever in the history of Tamil Nadu politics, the DMK will lead a minority government, supported by the Congress, the PMK and the left parties. It has been a decisive victory for the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance that has romped home with 162 seats, leaving Amma way behind with 70 seats.

Lessons learnt

But what’s more interesting are the many twists and turns that we have seen in Elections 2006. In the run-up to the polls, the DPA hoped to repeat the spectacular success that it tasted during Lok Sabha 2004, when it knocked the AIADMK, 40 to none. But it received its first jolt when Vaiko’s MDMK walked out of the alliance and joined hands with Amma. The elections results this time, however, have cut Vaiko down to size. His MDMK has managed to win only 7 seats proving that he is still only a fringe player in Tamil Nadu. Thol Thriumavalavan also has some soul searching to do. His Dalit Panthers have hardly made an impact on the electorate, winning just two seats despite its presence in the State for the past one decade. Even Dr Ramadoss needs to introspect on his party’s performance. Hitherto, he has been cleverly jumping onto winning alliances, but somewhere, his grip on the Vanniar community seems to slip and the need to reach out to larger votebase seems imminent.

Captain Vijaykanth

The big story of victory is that of actor Vijaykanth and his DMDK. Although he has managed to win only one seat (Vridachalam where he contested), the party has made a huge dent on the winning margins across the State. DMDK has made significant inroads in North Tamil Nadu, PMK’s bastion and more importantly, it has eaten into vote shares of parties across the board. For instance, K Anbazhagan, treasurer of the DMK, won his homeground Harbour constituency by an embarrassing 400-odd votes. A DMDK candidate managed to eat into both the DMK’s and the ADMK’s share. In all, an 8.33% voteshare across the State for a first timer is truly commendable.

Moral of the story

Much has been said about the “arithmetic versus chemistry” that titled the voter in favour of one alliance. Also, there has been considerable analysis of the populist promises of rice and colour TVs that both Karunanidhi and Jaya offered. But for me, it’s not the rice, the colour TV or the poll alliance that ticked. The big winner, for me, was clearly the voter of Tamil Nadu. The state had a 70% voter turnout – a clear affirmation of the belief in democracy and in the process of adult franchise. Amma’s ouster is also a loud announcement that people prefer change irrespective of performance of the Government. Change, it seems, is a constant need among the electorate of Tamil Nadu.

Pramod Mahajan - Triumph of Spirit

2006-05-03T16:27:00.000+05:30

As I write this, Pramod Mahajan is fighting his last battle for survival at the Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai. The story of Pramod Mahajan, to me, is a tale of confidence, self-belief and perseverance in the dirty world of politics. I recall it was in the early 1990s that I first heard about Mahajan from a classmate, who himself was a staunch VHP supporter. He told me how Pramod was a swayamsevak and a rising star in the BJP. A few days later, I read an article on the BJP-RSS adroitly written by Swapan Dasgupta in India Today. Then sometime, later, I saw him on Star News (the earlier NDTV avatar). Pramod Mahajan came across as a confident, articulate and moderate voice of the BJP. He handled the discussion with élan, bounced off criticism with seasoned repartee and managed to win the confidence of both the audience in the studio who responded to his remarks with thunderous applause and millions of middle-class viewers across the country. Mahajan was the middle-class hook of the BJP. His suave, polished countenance coupled with his Hindutva belief was the right recipe to serve the middle-classes during those times. Mind you, I am talking of a period after Babri and before Godhra, when there was unabashed support for Hindutva politics and growing anticipation of the BJP as the Government-in-waiting. Mahajan ascendance can be attributed to being the right man in the right party and at the right time. He embraced modern world thinking, networked with corporate India and was often troubleshooter for the party. But Pramod Mahajan was no saint. He had his fair share of controversies – accusations of corruption, scandal and murder.
The next decade saw Mahajan grow in stature and occupy an enviable position of a master strategist for BJP’s election campaigns. Mahajan was made Defence Minister in Vajpayee’s 13-day Government. He later held the IT, Telecom, Parliamentary Affairs portfolios. But Mahajan’s fall from the power zone was as quick as his rise. He was believed to be the key architect of the India Shining campaign that bombed during the Lok Sabha Elections 2004. Mahajan, unlike other politicians, accepted defeat and took responsibility for it. I still remember in a TV interview, he candidly admitted, “If I’d won, I’d been made a hero, now that we have lost, I take responsibility and look at future challenges.” This was quintessential Mahajan. An eternal optimist and a fighter. For someone, who came from a village called Ambejogai in Maharashtra, it is this die-hard spirit that came to his aid in his moment of crisis. It’s only a matter of time before we hear the worst from the Hinduja Hospital. But Pramod Mahajan will always be remembered as a man – who was candid about his views, someone who fought hard, and never failed to his accept his mistakes. A rare quality in a politician.

Rice Politics and a nervous Amma

2006-04-19T16:03:00.000+05:30

The political protagonists of Tamil Nadu never cease to surprise their voters with their histrionics. And the people too, have never failed to surprise their leaders with their pattern of voting. The pendulum of public support in Tamil Nadu has always swung in favour of one of the two major Dravidian parties. Which side the pendulum swings may be a subject of speculation, but that there will be a landslide is a foregone conclusion.

Not this time, though. Somehow, somewhere, everyone – politicians, voters, armchair critics and even my grandmother seem to acknowledge that times have changed. Why even, Karunanidhi, recently made, a veiled reference to accepting a coalition regime to oust the “anti-people jaya regime”. Coalition, until recently, was a bad word for the DMK. And even the voter’s expectations have undergone a transformation. The fruits of economic growth have indeed trickled down (not maybe entirely) to the grassroots and therefore aspirations of the common man have taken a quantum leap. Take a peek at what voters in Krishnagiri want from the next Government: Revival of small-scale units and investments in Industry. Also topping their list of demands is more colleges and an IT park! When was the last time you heard such a wish-list from a rural district in India.

This is a new reality that even Jayalalithaa acknowledges. For the first time in Battle 2006, she has displayed a sense of nervousness. Two of her actions expose her apprehensions – her decision to cancel her campaign in Kerala (the AIADMK, for the first time ever, has ambitiously fielded candidates in Kerala) and spend more time in smaller hamlets in Tamil Nadu. Kerala is irrelevant in the current scheme of things for Jaya and her party. But that she has chosen to campaign in the same areas in Tamil Nadu once again is significant. Secondly, she has responded to Karunanidhi’s offer of “Rice at Rs 2 per kg” with a counter offer of “Rice at Rs 3.50 for 10 kg”. (I still don’t understand the economic rationale of how this is a better deal!) This knee-jerk response is uncharacteristic of Amma. Her decision to get into a game of one-upmanship in poll promises displays a sense of fear that people will buy Karunanidhi’s story. This is reminiscent of what happened in Andhra Pradesh in the 80s when NTR was voted back to power. He started his campaign with a Rs 2 per kg of rice promise. The ruling Congress Party, desperate and clueless in the last lap of the campaign, chose to offer rice at Rs 1.50. This move boomeranged and the party was wiped out from the state for the next decade. Two questions: Are these populist promises in sync with the aspirations of the times? If they are and if they prevail, will Jaya face a similar embarrassment? Let’s wait and watch…

The Art Of The Impossible

2006-04-17T15:43:00.001+05:30

If Vaiko jumping sides was a surprise, eat this: Sarath Kumar, Actor and sitting Member of Parliament from the DMK has decided joined the AIADMK. That's not all, his wife, Radhikaa, who runs, Radaan Media, one of the largest and, arguably the most successful, TV production companies in South India, has thrown in her lot as well. Sarath Kumar's entry in the AIADMK fold is a sure shot in the arm for the electoral prospects of Amma's alliance. Sarath Kumar, is a influential and vocal member of the Nadar community, which was a Congress votebank once upon a time. After Kamaraj, himself a Nadar, the community not seen a leader rise from within. Over the years, the void of a seasoned mass Nadar leader coupled with the arrival of a charismatic Nadar in Sarath Kumar, paved the way for the DMK to snatch this votebank away from the Congress. But, the Nadars, for various reasons, were never too comfortable with the DMK. They were never as cosy with Karunanidhi as, say the Thevars were (and are) with Jayalalithaa. The community's internal divisions - Nadar Hindus and Nadar Christians has only split their political clout along regional and religious considerations.
The real reasons for Sarath's exit are still not clear. The community, one hears, is peeved because very few Nadars have been given tickets in Karunanidhi's DPA. Added to this is Sarath's frustration of being sidelined within the party. Sarath's entry to the AIADMK would mean that the Nadar vote would be in favour of Amma's alliance, atleast the Nadar Hindus. And, Sarath is also an effective campaigner and crowd puller, something that would be useful in - what is turning out a close contest - where every seat seems to count and every vote seems to matter.

Sun Rising & the Rising Sun

2006-04-03T12:17:00.000+05:30

Sun TV is going public. The current bull run in the stock markets has attracted the media-shy media mogul, Kalanidhi Maran to raise a few hundred crores to fund his expansion plans. Maran is an ambitious man. Having established a formidable media empire across the four states in South India, he is now spreading his wings to FM Radio and the Tamil newspaper market as well. Whilst his need to fund new businesses is genuine, the key question is - why now?

Sun TV is a Rs 300 crore company with a bottomline of just under Rs 100 crore. That makes him one of the most profitable media enterprises in the country. His success in the in the print media business is still under test. The turnaround of Kungumam, a Tamil weekly mag, ever since Maran actively took control of, is nothing short of spectacular. This magazine has registered the fastest growth in the country, that’s according to the National Readership Survey for 2005. And now, Maran has created a stir in the newspaper market by acquiring and re-launching the venerable Dinakaran, a tamil news daily, by selling it at a cover price of Re 1. And with 41 FM radio licenses under his belt, Maran can be expected to fuel some action in the airwaves as well.

But that’s not half as exciting as the politics behind this public issue. Tamil Nadu is perhaps the only state in the country where ownership of media has always had close links with political establishments. Maran is Karunanidhi's grand nephew. The initial corpus for Sun TV came from the DMK. Even today, the channel is housed at the Anna Arivalayam, the headquarters of the DMK. The success of his network, particularly the on-ground cable distribution owes its growth to the grassroot strength of the DMK. Maran is what he is because of the DMK’s handholding in his early years. Credit him with business acumen, but his political moorings are too close for his own comfort. MDMK’s Vaiko has chosen to focus on Sun TV’s “illegitimate” rise and make it an election issue this time. Jayalalithaa has already formulated a law to take over cable distribution in the State. The bill is awaiting the Governor’s approval.

So if the DMK wins, Maran’s business empire can continue to grow at the scorching pace that it has and perhaps even look beyond the Vindhyas. If it does not, Maran will face the heat from the Jaya-Vaiko combine. And then, he would need a war chest to take them on since the party’s coffers would be empty post-election. To fill that war chest he needs money. Now. That’s why this public issue. The future rise of Sun TV will all depend on the electoral prospects of The Rising Sun.

Billion Dollar Cry Babies

2006-03-20T13:45:00.000+05:30

193000 dollars. 86 lakh rupees. That’s the salary that Gaurav Agarwal will earn in a year from Barclay’s in London. Gaurav is the poster -boy of the fabulous placements – both overseas and domestic - that the IIMs have received this year. And he’s not alone. The IIMs have seen a 40 per cent jump in average and top salaries this year. Now the two young lads – Gaurav and Venkatesh Shankaraman (Take home Rs 30 lakh in India) have written to the Prakash Apte, Director, IIM B asking him not to disclose salary figures of IIM grads in future. They argue that top dollar salaries when reported in the media “…tend to catch the attention of unscrupulous elements and could cause immense physical as well as psychological distress for the persons involved.” They contend that salary figures are “personal” and therefore should be kept “confidential”. In response to this ostensibly earnest appeal, Prof Apte has responded saying henceforth there will be no media announcements of B-school salaries, at least with reference to IIM Bangalore. This development exposes both the naiveté of the students and the knee-jerk response of the IIM establishment.

The Indian Institutes of Management were set up by an act of Parliament. When the erstwhile NDA government tried to tinker with the fee structure of India’s leading business schools, the IIMs, cried foul that their autonomy was being compromised. A large section of the media, the business press, in particular, sided with them. Here was an Indian institution that attracts global talent and that has earned international repute and whose students are sought after every year by companies across the world. To let the government meddle with an institution of excellence seemed blasphemous. “Leave them alone,” said the media.

But now the IIMs have the tables turned on them. An institution set up by Government support and subsidy now seeks to rubbish the idea of transparency. Somewhere, these B-school babies seem embarrassed by their own success. They offer a naïve argument that “unscrupulous elements” will come knocking on their doors. Yeah right! the chota Shakeels and Abu Salems regularly scan the b-school placement list to hone in the next target. For starters, most top dollar employers at B-schools are listed entities; therefore, public disclosure of information about their recruitment plans is mandatory. Even if they are not, do spare a thought for those millions of b-school aspirants. When starting salaries are the yardstick for b-school ratings, it becomes the duty of the media to offer credible information regarding salaries, job offers and so on. Denying this information defeats the spirit of competition - the core spirit of the IIMs.

Rewind to 2001. The economy was not as robust as it is now. You had cases of top notch investments banks and tech companies withdrawing both placement and pre-placement offers. The students then, sought the help of the media, to argue that companies had violated all ethical norms by going back on their word. If the IIMs needed the media to campaign in their favour then, should they withhold information to serve the purpose of a few now? This selective disclosure clearly does not work. The IIMs clearly need better media management skills than they possess currently.

Case for CAS

2006-03-16T16:09:00.000+05:30

CAS is back! The Delhi High Court says Conditional Access System should be implemented in the three metros in four weeks. This means, if you are living in Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata, you would need a set-top box to view pay television channels from April 1. In Sept 2004, when CAS was introduced, Chennai was the only city in India then that complied with this regime. The other State Govts protested and refused conditional access for television viewing in their cities.

While the pros and cons of CAS, as a concept, has been debated to death, the HC order now brings the issue of implementation sharply into focus. A few pertinent questions - Will CAS get entangled in a legal mess yet again? Will broadcasters (like Star did last time) throw a spanner in the works? Most MSOs/last-mile cable operators, that I spoke to in Mumbai, cite the Chennai example as a model for emulating. However, the fundamental difference between Chennai and the rest of India, in terms of television viewing, is that popular mass entertainment channels are Free-To-Air… therefore, CAS was easier to enforce. This is not the case in the rest of the country. So will there be consumer resistance to CAS? Are MSOs/Last Mile Operators ready for a rollout in a month? This would mean sourcing STBs, offering reasonably priced schemes for rental/schemes for STBs etc. And who regulates implementation? The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is toothless body without executive powers and unless the respective State Govts are willing to play ball, there is a hurdle there as well. Net net - a system that is designed to give the consumer the right to choose – once again runs the risk of becoming a casualty of vested interests and flawed implementation.

Varanasi and thereafter…

2006-03-08T16:27:00.000+05:30

So here’s another bomb blast. Yet another case of ‘intelligence failure’. And as always, the Govt does its well-rehearsed charade of huddling into an emergency meeting after the incident, promises ‘immediate’ action to nab the culprits. Somehow, true to script, the next morning it guns down a ‘suspect’ on the outskirts of Delhi. He obviously has to have a Muslim name and ofcourse, his curriculum vitae has to boast of impressive brands. Interned at Jaish-e-Mohammed, headed Harkat-ul-ansar, militancy experience in J&K, has links to the dreaded Lashkar-e-Taiba. For all you know the bloke must have been roaming freely in Dhaula Kuan until yesterday, when the Delhi Police decided to use him for some target practice. Now why is that every militant who is shot dead/arrested has three or more aliases. And the cops do not even credit these terrorists with creativity in naming. Taste this: “We have apprehended a dreaded terrorist named Mohammed Yusuf alias Yusuf Mohammed alias Mohammed alias Professor Yusuf". And in the world of terrorist brands, the Lashkar is the undisputed number one. Even when in doubt, the India security agencies don’t seem to blink an eyelid before they point fingers at the LeT.
On a serious note, the attack in Varanasi brings the communal issue into sharp focus. Firstly, the blast will be viewed as an attack on the Hindu’s religious nerve center of Varanasi. That too, an attack on a Hanuman Temple – the monkey god who stands for strength, valour and courage. And that too, an attack during Aarthi time on a Tuesday. These facts are fodder enough for the Hindu right wing to rear its ugly head yet again. The scary consequence of this incident is that it brings communal tensions back in the reckoning. That’s exactly what the VHP and its ilk wanted. Didn't they?

Vaiko steals a march…finally

2006-03-04T16:10:00.000+05:30

Cracks have appeared in the Democratic Progressive Alliance, the umbrella coalition cobbled together by Karunanidhi, to oust the Jayalalithaa regime. Vaiko’s Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) has switched sides yet again. Vaiko has been offered 35 seats by the ruling AIADMK for the May 8 polls to the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The immediate effect of the move means that Karunanidhi’s dream of repeating the DPA’s Lok Sabha victory in the assembly polls stands shattered. But the electoral ramification of the Karunanidhi-Vaiko split this time is far-reaching.

This is the second time that Vaiko has parted ways with Karunanidhi. In fact, the MDMK was born because of Vaiko’s first revolt. In the late ‘90s, Vaiko was the rising star in the DMK. His political acumen, fiery speeches and his aggressive stance on the Eelam issue earned him a berth in Karunanidhi’s inner circle. While political spindoctors were hailing Vaiko as DMK’s next leader, Kalaignar was hatching other plans. Stalin, his second son, was being groomed as the heir apparent of the political leadership of the party. Stalin’s promotion within the party was in direct conflict with Vaiko’s political aspirations. Therefore, when Vaiko revolted, quit and set up MDMK – it was perceived as a battle between dynastic politics and democracy. The MDMK’s stellar success in its first ever elections was testimony to the fact that the people of Tamil Nadu stood by Vaiko. They saw in him a man who had the ability to carve a distinct identity within the Dravidian fold. They saw in him a politician who had the gall to stand up against his mentor Karunanidhi. For he claimed he was wronged and the people believed him so. But those were different times.

With assembly elections less than two months away, Vaiko faces two major challenges. He needs to convince his electorate on two counts – why this revolt against Karunanidhi? And why join hands with Jayalalithaa?
Particularly, the logic behind this revolt has to be hardsold by Vaiko to his votebank. Here are a few facts that stack up against him. In 2003, when Vaiko was languishing in prison on charges of POTA slapped on him by Jayalalithaa, it was Karunanidhi who came to his rescue. It was Karunanidhi who bargained hard with the then NDA government to get Vaiko released from prison.If it not for Karunanidhi’s insistence on revoking POTA, Vaiko would still have been cooling his heels at Vellore jail. Although POTA was not repealed in its entirety even then, if not for Karunanidhi throwing his political weight on this issue, Vaiko would not even have got bail. Vaiko release from prison and his public “vow” to ally with the DMK are still afresh in public memory. Therefore, the Karunanidhi-Vaiko fallout, this time will be viewed as a sishya betraying his guru. A guru who helped in his moment of crisis. Secondly, it would require more than just political brilliance to convince people as to why he chose to join hands with Amma. It was the same Chief Minister who ordered his arrest under POTA! In fact, Vaiko has been vociferously against the Jayalalithaa regime on several issues.

Whilst the electoral arithmetic (35 seats offered by Anna DMK as against 20 offered by DMK) of seat sharing seems to have been the immediate trigger for Vaiko’s sudden shift in loyalties, the long term prospects of winning seem blurred. Vaiko's position now is akin to Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata. He has taken a bold step to enter the electoral chakravyuha. He has no other choice but to fight. And even if he wins, he needs to win big. Else, he runs the risk of being wiped out as a political force. Either which way, his relationship with his mentor, Karunanidhi and the DMK are over. Atleast for now.

Fears of a monopoly

2006-01-21T18:03:00.000+05:30

These are exciting times for the Indian civil aviation sector. This week, Jet Airways swallowed Air Sahara for 500 million dollars in an all cash deal, giving birth to the largest private sector airline in this country. The combined entity would control over fifty percent of the market and, currently reports over Rs 7000 crore in revenues. That’s not all. The Jet-Sahara combine would control two-thirds of the parking bays, a crucial and most sought after infrastructure requirement for airlines, in both Delhi and Mumbai airports. And there’s more. The combine would control over sixty percent of the traffic between the nation’s political and financial capital every day.

Just after this deal was signed, smaller players in the field started crying hoarse and made feeble noises about a monopolistic situation created by the merger of India’s top two private sector airlines. Their fears are not misplaced for several reasons. For starters, the other airlines in the fray viz Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines, Go Air and SpiceJet are way too small in comparison. For argument’s sake, let’s leave Air Deccan out of this discussion, for it’s relatively older, low-cost player and reportedly has a marketing alliance with Jet in place already. That leaves us with the other three – which are still wet behind the ears and yet to make a big dent on the market leader. That’s not to say that they are insignificant. All three – in a short time – have adroitly positioned themselves in a market that is on the threshold of an explosion. Never before, has the Indian traveler had it so good. Sample this – the average cost of a ticket say between Mumbai and Chennai is around Rs 3500. Given the plethora of fare options - full fare, check fare, discount fares or what have you; the consumer is undeniably enjoying the benefits of competition.

Would this deal create a monopoly?

The law of the land does not term this deal illegal. It does not even call it monopolistic. In fact, monopoly laws in India particularly in the aviation sector are blurred primarily because this is the first instance when the private sector is playing such a dominant role in this industry.

Monopoly, as economics 101 defines, is a situation when there is a single seller, in a given industry. Monopoly, as a concept, is not evil. It is an ideal that every company fantasizes about but competition – the life-blood of free market enterprise – ensures that a monopolistic situation does not arise. There are many companies in several industries that enjoy not just leadership - but a dominant position in the marketplace. For instance, HLL is a dominant player in the FMCG business, whose rivals are much smaller and possess lesser clout in influencing forces that define success in the marketplace. So, dominance, unlike monopoly, is a tangible goal that every company aspires to achieve. What the Jet-Sahara combine has achieved in the aviation sector is market dominance. Now the questions that need to be asked are these: Were the methods used to achieve this status of dominance against the law of the land – both in letter and spirit? Will this deal place the Jet-Sahara combine in a position that will deprive the consumer’s right to choose – both in terms of pricing and quality of service – as against enhancing it?
Road to market dominance

A company’s leadership in market is measured on a quantitative parameter of sales. In rare cases, it may ascend to a position of dominance by virtue of a revolutionary idea - developing an innovative product and, thereby creating a new market for itself. Sony’s Walkman or Apple’s I-Pod are cases in point. These are pioneers whose dominance lasts as long as a me-too product does not arrive in the marketplace.

But there may be a few situations, which require Govt regulation. A dominant player may use unscrupulous methods to influence Government policy to restrict new entrants in the market. Here, the market leader can control pricing and quality of service, which may be detrimental to the consumer. He may also control access to resources – physical infrastructure or manpower. Price them exorbitantly, pushing it beyond the means of competition. This too, deserves regulation.

In the Jet-Sahara deal, the methods adopted to achieve a status of dominance are clearly above board. Jet, a listed company, has played by the book and has been transparent in the process of acquisition. Sahara, despite its dubious pedigree, has snapped a pretty package, way higher than what analysts had predicted.

So, if this acquisition and its process are legal, are the fears unfounded?

Clearly, Jet will resort to business tactics to get returns that justify its huge investment.
But since access to resources is such a crucial aspect of this business, it is imperative of the Government to ensure a level playing field. The aviation business is unique. The Government creates the physical resources that private players pay and use. These may be parking bays, booking counters, license for routes etc. Unlike, say the FMCG business, if HLL’s dominates the distribution network, a worthy competitor or a bunch of them can create a parallel infrastructure. In the case of aviation, that may not be possible . So, if one player controls a significant portion of that infrastructure and capacity addition is not in the hands of market participants, then it creates a skewed market. Therefore, the Jet-Sahara combine may not create a monopolistic situation, but viewed in the context of the Govt being both a competitor and controller of infrastructure, it does creates a bias – particularly for private sector players. In the long term, this may offer an opportunity to the Jet-Sahara combine, to influence pricing or quality of service that may serve its interests or not the consumer. It is this long-term consumer interest that needs to be protected. And, that’s why the Government needs to intervene.

Run up to a political tsunami

2006-01-14T13:47:00.000+05:30

2006 assembly elections promises to be the tipping point in Tamil Nadu politics for many contenders and for many reasons. If the sabre rattling, in the run up to the polls, is any proof to go by, it is clear that battle lines have been drawn between the two leading alliances. The DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance – the umbrella coalition of opposition parties in the State minus the BJP continues to stay united despite rumours of rumble in the ranks. Jayalalithaa, on the other hand, is still playing her political cards close to her chest. But the gameplan that was drawn by the DPA alliance to oust the Jaya regime, way before the Lok Sabha elections 2004, has been dramatically altered. Let’s look a few reasons why.

Rewind to 2004. Jayalalithaa’s image heightened after she came clean from the charges of corruption that were the very reasons for her humiliating defeat in the previous assembly elections. The High Court clearing her in the infamous TANSI land case was a shot in the arm for the rank and file of the Anna DMK. With renewed vigour, Amma’s popularity reached at an all time high. And here’s when things turned horribly wrong. Three separate events – the Govt employees strike for a pay hike was dealt with an iron hand by the State. In one stroke of political high handedness, Jayalalithaa, passed an ordinance modifying Tamil Nadu Essential Services Maintenance Act (TESMA). Overnight, over 2 lakh Govt employees were sacked. A few months earlier, a similar treatment was meted out to a genuine student uprising. Medical college students across the state protested the mushrooming of private medical colleges. The Director of Medical Education suspended 5000 students across the State – crushing their attempt at a democratic means of dialogue with the Govt. Then came Jaya’s piece de resistance. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly convened an emergency meeting on the last day of the winter session to order the arrest of journalists of The Hindu – for what it claimed “malicious and defamatory reportage against their beloved Amma”. While the Central Govt intervened to broker peace between the editors of the newspaper and the Govt, the death knell for Jayalalithaa had been rung. These ostensibly unconnected events revealed the brute force and the audacity with which the State Government chose to clamp down any form of opposition to its policies. But then, this aggression was short-lived. Jayalalithaa’s power drunk glory came crashing to the ground with the humiliating defeat that the AIADMK front faced in the Lok Sabha elections. Of the 40 Parliament seats (including Pondicherry) – the DMK-led combine swept all the 40 seats. This victory signalled two things: One, the people of Tamil Nadu were clearly miffed with the present regime and had shifted loyalties. Secondly, a point psephologists had predicted, that the combined electoral arithmetic of the DPA coalition had routed the AIADMK’s electoral prospects.

From this defeat, rose another Jayalalithaa. This Jaya would take no more non-populist decisions. She would no more order midnights arrests nor would she direct suspension. Instead, she became the epitome of generosity, re-created the image that of a benevolent mother that was once her political passport. All controversial legislations – TESMA, Forcible religious conversions act, power tariff hike, bus fare hike were revoked overnight. This new-found image of Amma was further bolstered by a remarkable achievement by the Special Task Force in killing Sandalwood smuggler, Veerapan. Although, Veerapan’s death did not garner political mileage, it certainly did wonders to the image of her Government. The characteristic intransigence of the Jayalalithaa regime suddenly was supplanted by transparency and dialogue. This, suddenly, was a Government that took action, that produced results. Or it seemed.

It was during this time, the grand old man of Tamil Nadu politics, was cleverly dotting the i’s of his gameplan. Everything had worked perfectly for Karunanidhi. He quit the NDA and joined the Cong led coalition at the right time, usurped the role of the king maker with finesse, cobbled up a coalition in the State and led it from the front to victory, and installed his grand-nephew and ten others in the Union cabinet. But nature had other plans.

In December 2004, a tsunami, a word that would soon be added to common parlance in India, left a trail of death and devastation in Tamil Nadu. The damage was unprecedented. The rebuilding efforts required the Government to rise above petty political concerns. And that the Jayalalithaa regime did well - to its credit. Even the World Bank has acknowledged that the remarkable repair and relief work carried out by the State Govt. This natural disaster was not factored in Karunanidhi’s political gameplan. Worse, still, the state had more tragedy in the offing. The torrential rains in 2005, caused more death and destruction. Despite the best of efforts, the State Govt’s handling of rehabilitation came in for criticism. Particularly, the stampedes at relief camps were just unpardonable. But were they blips or was it a failure of administrative machinery? Facts would point to the former but the DMK would vouch for the latter. Unquestionably, the healing touch of the State Government has erased the follies of its past from the minds of the people. Karunanidhi understands this better than anyone else. Therefore, he is now re-drafting his plan to take of the challenges of the new reality. As of Jan 2006, the DMK-led coalition has begun issuing the war cry. While Amma is quietly working on building her campaign on her recent achievements. Will the DPA last or will Jaya manage to break it? Will Amma go with the BJP or will she go it alone? These answers will unfold in a few months. Clearly, this is a political tsunami that is waiting to lash the State of Tamil Nadu.

The etymology of maa-behan ki gaali

2005-11-29T09:28:00.000+05:30

"Bain-chod, tand bahut jyaada hai," exclaimed a pan-chewing haryanvi jat standing next to me at an STD booth in M-block market. Before, I could react, the STD booth walla wearing a silly pink monkey cap replied, " Main thon,bainchod, kulfi ho gaya". With the belief that Indian society had not yet become so liberal, I deduced that these two armchair meterologists were not the incestous type. But "bainchod" is swear word. Now, why were they swearing at each other over the weather? I thought.Later I realised that the term 'bainchod' was a sweet Delhi way of starting a conversation with strangers. In the next fortnight, I realised alluding to fornication with your mother (or your sister, if you like) in hindi was next best thing to a cigarette. It was tool to enter a conversation with a complete stranger and within minutes you could be on 'bainchod' back-slapping terms with him. It is in the process of understanding the etymology of the b-word, did Delhi teach me a thing or two about life. It was a long, cold January that I set foot in Delhi. My parrys-corner sweater refused to protect me from the cold blast that welcomed me to the nation's capital. "Super sweater saar," I remember the oily malayalee salesman saying to me at Junus Sait, Chennai's one-stop woolen retailer. It turned out that the sweater for which I had paid a fortune was no better than a tantex banian for Delhi's winter. So I decided to seek professional help from my Kashmiri room mate who took pity on me and introduced me to the world of woolen inner-wear (not underwear). "You better wear this or you'd be dead, by the end of the week," he explained bluntly.Until then, winter was just a concept to me. In my good old Madras, there were (and still are) only three seasons - hot, hotter and hottest. Well, I had read about snow and winter in fairytales and books. Cold, in the context of weather was.. Ooty or Kodi where I went almost every other summer. "So, I can manage it," I thought. I was never so horribly wrong ever in my life. So there I was - a sun-bathed-by-birth-tam-brahm - forced to wear a woolen inner wear, three sweaters, a grey monkey cap and drinking a cup of Chai! Mind you, this wasn't even the Nair version. I was in Delhi to attend a training programme. I had, by a sudden turn of events, found a job as a hindi reporter for a mainstream hindi news channel - reporting in the rashtra bhasha. My overnight professional transformation was followed by a linguistic rebirth. "Well your hindi is fine...you just need to start thinking in Hindi now," began my trainer. What happened thereafter will be saved for another blog sometime.How I fell in love with Delhi and its abuses is the subject at hand. So here I was in Delhi attending a training session along with 30 seasoned reporters from all over the country. Every morning, a Toyota Qualis collected 10 of us from Rockland Inn in CR Park where we stayed (Delhi is full of these shady 'inns') and dropped us at The Park where we had to undergo these torturous 9-hour long training sessions. Since, there were thirty of us, the Qualis had to make three-trips. It was in all fairness, first-come-first-to-get-a-seat arrangement. The same routine was followed in the evening as well. On the ride back, we all jointly indulged in 'reflecting our views' on the day-long training session. In short, these were delicious bitching sessions. Some cirbbed about how bad the lunch was, some complained about how terrible the training was and how awful the trainers were and so on. And in each one of these complaints, I was privy to some exquisite hindi punctuated by some top-class maa-behan ki gaali. Now, I had less than a month to prove to my employers that I could not just communicate in Hindi, but I was darn comfortable at it as well. I must admit that consistent exposure to gaali-vocabulary did wonders to my confidence.Jayantda, a senior reporter, often mixed his Queen's English with chaste hindi with sprinkled with a strong Bengali twang. Now our man had learnt his first lessons in reporting in Delhi and it was quite evident with the way he swore. His enunciation was perfect. Sample this, "These trainers worth a tuppence, have the gall to tell me that I think like some bainchod some cub reporter." Note the typical victorian english and the right delhite placement of the b-word.Jha, a Bihari who married a rich zamindar's daughter in Orissa, had a typical Bihari isshttyle of speech. His bainchod were more guttoral. He would also stress more on the "bain" than the "chod". I am no expert in linguistics. My knowledge of the subject is limited to just one year of studying it in college.But, frankly, I strongly believe that it is possible to place a man - his social standing, his origin by the way he swears. Swearing is not a mere expression of frustration or anger. The choice of abuse reveals a lot about one's personality. For instance, when we use the four-letter word, many avoid using maternal associations. The thought seems rather ungentlemanly even when you are swearing at someone. I know of a friend, who would even when provoked to the hilt, would not say more than a "damn" or "darn" or "oh bother". Thus, revealing a very refined upbringing where swearing was strictly forbidden by powers that be - family, teachers or mentors. ((more to come))

Budget 2004 - Yeh gaadi to chalti rahegi!

2005-11-29T09:26:00.000+05:30

As the country's Finance Minister, Palaniappan Chidamabaram, adorned in a nirma-white "Mayilkannu Veshti", walked with his briefcase through the corridors of the Parliament, the second biggest spectacle of world's largest democracy was in full display (the first of course were the elections). As the Nattukottai Chettiar with impeccable English "rose to present the budget for the year 2004-05", the nation watched with expectation, clinging to on to every word he spoke, noted every word that he emphasised and attributed meanings to his deliberate pauses.
The first half of the two-hour long speech was politically correct - 'of, for and by the farmer' spiel - which must have warmed the Marxists' hearts, seated adjacent to the treasury benches. As the DD camera fixed a three-button frame on PC, the over-his-shoulder view that one got was the cherubic pan-chewing rail mantri from Bihar. The image couldn't have been more perfect that this - a visual definition of the CMP, with a glum PC on the forefront and a beaming Lalu on the backdrop. A few days ago, the Rail Mantri had given away largesse amounting to thousands of crores of tax payer's money so that young, pan-masala chewing bihari boys could travel free on Rajdhani express to attend interviews of Sarkari Naukris in Dilli. While, I do not intend to rebuke the motive behind Lalu's freebie binge, retired railway officials tell me, that this budget has done nothing but to drain the railway's coffers even further. One retired Chairman of the Railway board, explained at great length, how he and a few of his colleagues spoke out of turn to impress on their political bosses to cut the flab of the staff. Forget downsizing, all they got were transfers or forced retirements with a suggestion that they try burning their own flab on the treadmill instead! These poor well-meaning chaps are cooling their heels in retirement, tapping their heads in disdain, watching every minister ruin the institution that they spent their lifetime building. "Sometimes, I wonder, how the Railways function....every day and night, trains go on ...despite the politician and the bureaucrat. It's a miracle really....there's only one thing which keeps it going. That's the commitment of the staff," one retired official noted.
Back to PC's budget. As Chidambaram spoke eloquently "mixing passion and reason" to convince the voters of rural India (and his homeground Sivaganga), poor Lalu found it difficult to keep up with his Harvard-educated colleague's angrezi. Also, blame it on the timing. One hour before lunch, with Rabri's home-made "Sattu Roti aur Dal" waiting, Lalu could do little but to doze off for a little while, fantasizing about his lunch or his lady or both. But when Chidambaram said, "backward state.....", Lalu sprung back to life, knowing fully well that PC was talking his language. He shook his head, smiled and thumped the benches hard, when the ispessal package for Bihar was announced. A staggering Rs 3500 crore! After getting his pound of makhan, Lalu stopped smiling and promptly went back to sleep.
PC went on, spoke at length on his plans to reduce revenue deficit and stick to his medium-term fiscal correction plan. After all that spiel, he went ahead to announce a series of freebies completely anti-thetical to fiscal prudence. To top it all, Chidamabaram said, with his classic tonality and cadence, that the Govt aims to bring down the fiscal deficit to "4.4% of GDP this year." How is going to do that? Where is going to get the funds from? asked the purist. As these questions arose, Chidambaram continued with measured staccato. The sting in budget 2004, was in the fag end of the speech. Two deadly blows - one to the meek, tax-paying, middle class and the second one to the shrewd, tax evading day trader of the stock market.
With the announcement of a 2% education cess across the board, Chidambaram ensured that every salaried employee took home less money and paid more for what he normally consumes. A majority of the middle class still does not know the impact of this cess. For a taxable income of let's say Rs 3 lakh per annum, if one were paying Rs 4000 per month as income tax, that would now go up approx to Rs 5000. What's worse that every product that you buy, the mfr is now passing off that 2 per cent onto you - so your monthly supermarket bill or that new car you wanted to buy or that air-conditioner that you wanted to gift your mother or that holiday that you'd planned with your wife are all now steeper! One might argue that the increase is only a marginal 2 per cent, the flip side is that this two percent is unlikely to meet the noble cause for which it is being levied. Using this cess, Chidambaram intends to fund the nationwide programme to educate the girl child and poor children across the country. Noble indeed, and yes if that means I'd have to pay a Rs 50 more to FoodWorld, so be it. But here's the ghastly truth: for every rupee that the Govt of India spends on a development project, 65 paise goes to fund the pot-bellied mantri, the babu and his peon. The rest, if any, goes to local district, taluk level party biggie who'd much rather use it to buy gajar ka halwa for his beti or fodder for Lalu's stable. It is this "leakage" of govt funds that I don't want to fund out of my pocket.
The second one is even harsher. Currently, every stock broker pays the following: brokerage fee, service tax and of course, income tax. (Yes, there are tax avoiders but avoidance is not illegal - it is cleverly circumventing the rule and does not amount to breaking the law). The finance minister has introduced a tax on every transaction through the market on the buyer. In short, every security (stocks, bonds, futures, options or any acceptable financial product) sold through the market attracts this 0.15% transaction tax. The buyer will pay this tax. So if a trader makes 50 transactions - 25 buys and 25 sells, he will pay this tax on half of his transactions irrespective of whether he books a profit of not. In return, the Govt has withdrawn the long term capital gains tax on stock transactions. The brokers are up in arms - crying hoarse that their livelihood is at stake. The long term impact of this new taxation is not yet clear. Pundits argue that the transaction tax will suck the liquidity out of the market and consequently it will make the BSE unattractive for FIIs for short-term exposures. While the benefit of Lalu's kin is detrimental to large section of the middle class, similarly, the benefit of a few invisible foreign investors is not worth worrying at the stake of the desi trader or the retail investor. The contours of Chidambaram's policy on areas such as service tax implications are rather vague and whether it affects the interests of the salaried small-investor remains to be seen.
While we accuse Lalu of being populist, Chidambaram's first budget of the UPA Govt seems no different. Taking care of the needs of rural India deserves appreciation - simple because over 60 per cent of our country depends on farming for their livelihood. However, if that is done at the cost of industry and services - which accts for 28% and 51% of the GDP respectively -Chidambaram is no better than Lalu.
Like Lalu's train, the nation's "gaadi chalthi rahegi". Because of or inspite of Chidambaram's budget.

Sonia yet so far

2005-11-29T09:10:00.000+05:30

Among the six resolutions passed by the DMK at its Executive commitee meeting today, the most hilarious one was about praising Sonia Gandhi. The resoultion, loosely translated, said "we heartily congratulate madam Sonia Gandhi for installing a secular Government at the centre and so graciously opting out of prime ministership." This statement captures the essence of how debased and unprincipled Indian polity has become today.
Firstly, by attacking the earlier Govt's as being communal, the DMK is merely shooting at its own feet. For the past five and a half years, the DMK has ben part and parcel of the same NDA government, which it now accuses as being communal. Its own MPs - TR. Baalu, A.Raja were until recently Union ministers in Vajpayee's cabinet. The DMK may now have chosen to change its political company, but it does not belie the fact that it milked the NDA till the very end. The DMK and its chief Karunanidhi conveniently forgot the BJP's communal character when Murasoli Maran was being treated at Houston. The tab picked up by the same NDA Govt. It did not find the BJP leadership to be communal when the Prime Minister took part in the last rites of the esteemed Industries Minister. The motive is not to hit the DMK below the belt. But the fact of the matter is, what right does the DMK have to occupy a high moral and secular ground? Where was the DMK Cheif when Gujarat was burning? Even a hardline Hindutva votary privately admits that Gujarat was a blot on India's secular image. The Chief of the Dravidian party did not raise his voice against Godhra or what followed at Gujarat. His silence was intepreted as political astuteness. It was in fact approval. If there is one political party in the country that deserves to labelled as being communal and fostering a divisive agenda - it is the DMK. At the forefront of the Dravidian movement, Muthuvel Karunanidhi's treatment to the brahmins of Tamil Nadu was as heinous a crime as what Modi has done to Muslims in Gujarat. The only difference instead of bloodshed, it was large scale humiliation and enforced marginalisation. This concerted project has managed to erase the community's presence from public life. The late Murasoli Maran, who many say, would have insisted on sticking on with NDA would be turning in his grave to have seen his party joining hands with the party whose president they had conspired to kill. The DMK was singularly resposnible for entertaining the LTTE. At a press meet, in those times, Maran thundered,"We did not know we were harbouring a Frankenstein monster." LTTE may have been Frankenstein, but Maran did not refute his party's support and encourgement to the killers of the former PM of India.
Now, the wife of the very same Rajeev Gandhi may find it politically correct to have polite conversation with Karuna and his kin over lunch. But her roots in Orbassano irked Karuna as much as did to Sushma. The cold, calculated,political creature that Karuna is led him to wait for her to opt out of PMship before he could lunge at cabinet berths. Though he had been offered more than he could chew, Karunanidi chose to throw a tantrum and wanted much more. Now that he has been mollified, like a wailing baby shut up by a pacifier, he and his party shamelessly pass a resolution attacking the NDA and praising Sonia. In fact, there was even one resolution by Karunandihi's cronies praising their beloved Kalaignar for having won 40 seats and for having secured 12 ministeral berths for the State. Muthuvel Karunandi must be happy man. As he turns 81 soon, he has provided financial secuirty for four generations after him. Now his 7 ministers would ensure four more generations of the Karunanidhi's family would live a life of opulence.

Riding on Vaiko's shoulders

2005-11-29T09:07:00.000+05:30

Karunandhi is perhaps the most wily politician in India. His ability to use any adverse situation to gain political mileage is his greatest asset. Despite being an ally of the NDA Government, Karunanidhi went throgh the humilating midnight arrest orchestrated by Jayalalitha. Although this rash and indecent act yielded little in return for Jayalalithaa, it endeared Karuananidhi to crores of Tamils across the world. The wily old fox that Karunanidhi is, understood that this incident was not good enough to win an election. It earned him pity-for-the-moment from people. Not symapthy. Sympathy could translate into votes and he knew how to exploit it. All he needed was one ripe situation. And came the situation in the name of Vaiko.
When Karunanidhi realised that the incarceration of Vaiko, is translating into large-scale symapthy, he immediately cashed in, erased the nasty feud with Vaiko in the past and rushed to adorn the role of saviour-mentor. His demand to then Central Government to revoke the draconian POTA fell on deaf ears. This was the biggest political point he could ever score. The scriptwriter in him sensed the building of an exciting plot. The hero - clearly Vaiko, jailed on charges of mouthing insipid political rhetoric about LTTE, was beginning to evoke symapathy among large sections of people. The seasoned politician inhim was quick to realise that in political parlance sympathy is spelt 'votes'. The Villan here was obviously Jayalalitha - his betenoire. She had, he accused, misused POTA on Vaiko and he played on the emotions of the Tamils to teach her a lesson for inflicting such pain on "his brother" Vaiko. The villian's sidekick - quite inadvertently - was the NDA government. The law brought in with the motive of curbing terrorrist actvities - especially in terror-stricken state of Jammu and Kashmir - was creating political turmoil in Tamil Nadu. Even in his nightmare, Vajpayee could not have imagined a law enacted by his Govt could be used to jail his own ally in the very same term. It happened. Call it error of political judgement or sheer political fortune for Karunanidhi, Vaiko became a scapegoat. So here was a hero and a villian and all that was required was to create a point of conflict. In one act of political masterstroke, Karunanidhi staged a demonstration against Jayalalithaa for jailing Vaiko and stepped up pressure against the Central Govt to repeal the law. It was killing two birds with one stone. Vaiko's supporters and symapthisers were swayed by Karunanidhi's concern for their leader. Before, Vaiko could realise the true colours of this political game, Karunanidhi appealed to him to apply for a bail - "in the interests of the people of Tamil Nadu," he cried. Tired of a long jail term and confused by Kalaignar's sudden affection, Vaiko applied for a bail. Before he could plan his next move, Karunanidhi withdrew support to the NDA Govt on flippant grounds - the only credible motive being the imprisonment of Vaiko. Catch 22 for Vaiko. He admired Vajpayee and would give his right arm to stay as an ally of the BJP. But here was his political mentor, who had gone all out for his cause. He was left with little choice. Reluctantly, Vaiko's MDMK too pulled out of NDA. And, from then on Vaiko political course was dictated by Karunanidhi. The number of seats Vaiko's party would contest, the specific constituencies were all at Karuna's discretion. The piece de resistance was in dissuading Vaiko not to contest the parliamentary election. In short, while Karunanidhi rode on Vaiko's syampathy wave, he made sure that his party reaped all the benefits. While the fiery speaker in Vaiko drew large crowds, the candidates he was canvassing for were from the DMK. While Karunanidhi's family-owned Sun TV conveniently blanked out his public meetings, Vaiko could do nothing in protest. The Tiger of Sivakasi after being made a political scapegoat was now turned into a vote-laying golden goose. As the 14 lok Sabha took shape and a record 7 ministers from the DMK took oath of office at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, there was one man in the audience who felt miserably left out. A man, on whose name, the DMK won the elections, Vaiko suffered in silence.