EMPLOYABILITY: THE KEY TO SURVIVAL

In a recent address to the nation, the US president Mr. Barack Obama, while referring to the rising unemployment, called upon young Americans to take on folks in Bangalore and Beijing, meaning that they should work harder to challenge the competition brought forth by the fast developing Asian economic giants. He did not mean to take on the challengers physically, but to improve ones own educational and performance levels to make Americans more competitive.

The secret behind America’s growth as a global economic and military power is that it brought into the country the best brains and talents from all over the world, regardless of the race, color or religious faith and provided them opportunity in excel in their own field. Today, you find more immigrant settlers contributing to the national development than Native Americans.

What caused the current recession in the US was that it was caught napping while developing Asian economies were preparing to capitalize on the opportunities that came along with globalization. In the past, the US has remained an imposing global power unchallenged almost for half a century since the end of the Second World War, and this resulted in complacency in every walk of life with the assumption that all good things will always remain for ever. The collapse of Berlin wall and the break up of the former Soviet Union that followed re-doubled the belief that they were untouchable.

However, the arrival of fiber optic cable changed the scenario and enabled high speed communication between countries resulting in thousands of jobs being outsourced to developing nations that helped to cut down costs considerably. The Americans were caught off guard when companies started shifting their backroom jobs to Asian destinations where cheap, but highly skilled labor force was available. India, China and other South Asian countries were quick to encash the opportunity.

Mumbai has a similar status like the US in that what made it the commercial capital of the country is the contribution from people all over the country. If TATAs, Birlas, Ambanis, Hindujas and Ruias invested in manufacturing, the Kapoors, Khans and Bachans contributed to the film industry. Mumbai could not have built so many high rise buildings without Andra workers and the middle class would have starved without Udupi restaurants. Other people played supportive roles in making the Mumbai of today.

The local Mumbaikar, unfortunately, was not fast enough to adapt to the changing situation and outsiders who were more adaptable grabbed the opportunity. Politicians have been demanding jobs for local people and earn cheap popularity, even resorting to violent means, but, surely, this is not a winning strategy in the long run. Intimidating potential employers in the name of regional politics will only result in the flight of jobs out of the state. Empowering the local people by creating more opportunities to horn their skills will be the only viable solution in this era of globalization.

Bhopal Tragedy: US should compensate the victims

Twenty Five years have passed since the disaster stuck Bhopal where thousands of innocent people perished in their sleep when the lethal gas, Methyl Isocyanine, used in the manufacture of pesticides leaked out of the factory owned by the American chemical giant Union Carbide. There was hardly any time to run for cover and the leakage had claimed thousands of lives besides damaging the lungs and eyes of those who survived.

Warren Anderson, the Union Carbide CEO at that time, did not feel even apologetic about the incident, leave alone the megre compensation paid to the families of the dead and the injured. The issue has dragged on for years and those who suffered have not been rehabilitated in a decent way. Dow Chemicals, in the meantime, bought Union Carbide which then ceased to exist, and this effectively blocked the compensation issue. Further, Dow Chemicals distanced itself from the disaster claiming it was not the owner when the accident took place. What a convenient answer?

At the time of the disaster, US was the dominant economy in the world dictating terms to others and the American chemical giant even used the diplomatic circle to threaten the Indian government of adverse economic consequences if it pressed harder on compensation issues. The global economic scenario has changed since then and we are no more on the receiving end. India is now a global economic power to be reckoned with and it is high time we stared telling the US multinationals, “Look here, if you can’t fulfill your social responsibility, we will not be mere spectators and may have to show you the door apart from holding you legally responsible for any damage.”

The US administration has been dishing out billions of dollarsto save the cash crunched and mismanaged business houses to support its overpaid and non performing executives and it will be only proper and fitting if the Indian govt., at this juncture, take up the issue with Obama administration and negotiate a reasonable deal for the victims of the disaster. Better be late than never.

Is the UN a "Dead" body?

In the aftermath of the First World War, leaders of all nations came together and formed “The League of Nations” in 1919 aimed at preventing similar catastrophe in future. But it miserably failed to stop the Second World War when Adolph Hitler and his axis forces ran riot bringing unspeakable misery to the people. This made the world leaders stick their heads together once again that marked the birth of the United Nations in 1945.

The military conflict we witness today the world over bears vivid testimony to the fact that even the new found formula has been ineffective in persuading warring factions to lay down arms and get back to the negotiating table. There has been blood shed in Bosnia, Chechnya, Russia, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Ireland apart from so many tiny nations in Africa where genocides have become the order of the day and the UN has just been a silent spectator unable to play any role in resolving the crisis.

The war in Afghanistan was the end result of Al Qaeda strike in US cities, popularly known as 9/11 and one can justify the instant US reaction as there was no time for seeking a UN mandate. The decision to defend Kuwait from Iraq’s invasion can also justified in that the gulf state deserved international protection from the evil designs of dictator, Sadam Hussein.

But what is totally unjustifiable is the war against Iraq unleashed by US and its allies under the assumption that the country possessed weapons of mass destruction without adequate evidence, and above all, without UN sanction. If a senior member state of the UN which wields veto power can unilaterally carry out strikes against a member nation, it questions the very legitimacy of its existence.

Death and destruction have become an every day affair and membership in the UN has ceased to have any meaning. With five countries invested with veto power, Security Council resolutions are regularly hijacked or modified to suit the wealthy and influential. The UN has been reduced to the status of a toothless tiger and its function is no more democratic.

The UN has to shed its role of a watchdog and need to be given the mandate to draw troops from member nations and deploy in troubled areas if it has to make an impact in the world order, as otherwise, the day is not far when it will meet with same fate of League of Nations.

Swiss Banks Encouraging Corruption

If the criminal is punishable under law, the same law should be applicable to his accomplice abetting the crime.

In the pretext of assuring total privacy and secrecy to its customers, the Swiss banks have been attracting all the illicit money from the corrupt politicians and businessmen all over the world. The recent demand from the IRS (USA) that sought details of accounts of 52,000 US citizens is not surprising at all.

Asia, especially India, is one of the most corrupt nations in the world. Politicians and influential business tycoons are able to beat the system effectively with the clouts they wield in the corridors of power. All their ill-gotten money is siphoned off and parked in the safe hands of Swiss banks that assure total secrecy of their accounts regardless of the source of funds.

Another continent is Africa. Rich in natural resources like diamond, gold and other minerals, the corrupt leaders of small nations are plundering their own land and pumping gold into the Swiss banking system. Again the drug cartels of Latin America and the international arms dealers inject funds liberally into these banking channels. Swiss economy has been flourishing because of this inflow of cheap, but illicit money. There is no one to raise the voice for transparency of the transactions. Even the terrorist organizations shop around the world for arms and ammunition uses this tested route.

If UN can impose sanctions against Iran and North Korea for trying to achieve nuclear capability, why not impose similar sanctions against Switzerland for abetting corruption all over the planet?

THE PARADOX OF INDIAN MIGRANT IN US

“They gulp some packed food calling it a breakfast, eat no lunch and the only time they cook is for dinner when they are totally exhausted after the days work. This is really pathetic” lamented the old man whom I met during my morning walk in the bay area of California. “Why do they come here and toil like this if they cannot eat two square meals a day when they can afford to live like a prince in India.” continued the old man, tears literally running down his cheeks. True, the migrant Desi is a confused lot and is being caught between devil and deep sea. They are being forced into a new culture and lifestyle in their new found home and retuning to their origin is not that easy.

The acronym “DCBA’ (Desi Confused By America), refers to Indian workers who migrated to the US since the 1970s in pursuit of the “Great American Dream” when everything was going well. Born, brought up and studied in India, they still retain some of their original culture and values imbibed on them when they were young or have at least made a sincere attempt to retain their identity. Another serious challenge faced by this community is taking care of their ageing parents in India. They cannot return to India as many are in the peak of their career and, even if they return, they cannot easily adapt to Indian work culture. They would very much like to take their parents with them, but the parents find it difficult to adjust to the new environment in their advanced age.

The children born to them (delivered in America, obviously a tested method to obtain American passport without hurdles) who are referred to as ABCD (American Born Confused Desi) know little of India and the only link between them and their erstwhile motherland is the occasional trip they make to their land of origin accompanying their parents during their visits. Torn between two different cultures, they are fast losing their original identity. Many of them marry outside their community into different cultures and the consequential cultural mismatch. Some marriages survive and some not.

Thanks to globalization in that it is fast producing a new Indian breed alien to their own culture. This is here to stay and is happening with change the world over. The older generation feels they have lost their sons and daughters to an alien culture and are depressed about it. But reality is different and we need to accept it gracefully.

Learning from Ants!

Have you observed the ants? During summer they work very hard building ant hills and storing enough food grain for the rainy season. The ancient Indian economists followed this ant philosophy and taught us to save a portion of our earnings for the rainy days. In addition, we were told to maintain a sustainable standard of living so that we don’t have the misfortune to reduce the standard of living during the days of recession. We were also advised to save enough to invest in the education of the next generation because those wise men knew that empowering the young through education holds the key in ensuring the future security of the society.

In sharp contrast, look at the American economists? They want people to spend, spend and spend regardless of their financial capacity. If you have no money, use credit cards, buy today and pay later so that manufacturing industry will survive and so their employees. Then when they reach the saturation point, people don’t buy anymore, manufacturers produce less, jobs are cut, those already bought up to their credit limits cannot pay up and the whole system collapses. Luxurious living became more important than safeguarding the interest of the next generation.

Irresponsible over-consumption and artificial credit creation are responsible for today’s economic disaster. Long ago, Abraham Lincoln, one of the first Presidents of the USA said, “You cannot build a strong economy on borrowed funds” and he was absolutely right!

DEMOCRACRY FOR THE RICH AND INFLUENTIAL

Is India being reduced to a democracy for the rich and influential?

You can mount an attack on the highest democratic institution of the country, The Parliament House, caught in the process, tried and convicted by a court of law and still get away with, you can mow down the people sleeping in the pavement with your luxury car and escape conviction, you can poach, at will, an endangered specie like Chinkara or a black buck and hush up the case, you can pass through the green channel at the airport on your return from an international trip with dutiable items and plead ignorance when caught and scot free, you can shoot a bar attendant point blank and still get a bail if you have the right connections, you can import an aircraft under the guise of commercial use and keep it for personal use and evade import duty until some news channel blows the whistle, you can be involved in any number of bomb blasts killing innocent people and be a free man if you have political patronage, you can be an MP with murder charges against you and your party leaders will back you up, you, as a minister, can be prosecuted by CBI for financial scandal after a long awaited Governor’s permission, who, in turn, gets threatening calls from abroad for doing his duty and so on and so on. The list is endless.

The police are unwilling to register if you lodge a complaint and, if registered, the complainant is treated as the accused. You are unwilling to render help to the hapless bleeding victim of a road accident, even if you are a medical professional, because you are afraid of the consequences of your involvement. The judges are influenced and the poor victim who was gang raped is made to witness the sad spectacle of her assailants being set free for want of evidence adding new threats to her personal security, leave alone the inconvenient questions hurled at her by the so called “defense” lawyers. The employers, if they belong to a multinational, flex their muscle and financial power to ensure that the legal proceedings don’t tarnish their local image regardless of the anguish and trauma inflicted upon the victim and her family. These have become routine and even the intelligentsia have learned to live with it resigning to their fate.

Are we fast emerging as the largest, but the most irresponsible democracy of the 21st century where the powerful, wealthy and influential can hijack the whole system to suit their personal agenda? The British, no doubt, looted the country, but they had something in place to protect the interest of the law abiding citizen. This is the sad irony of Mr. Bharat that has completed 60 glorious years after independence. The politicians plunder the country’s wealth and the multinationals join the bandwagon in that our elected representatives and ministers have become salable commodities who can be bought and sold in the open market to make policies and enact laws to increase the bottom line of industrial giants and power houses. Factories are being put up in agricultural lands affecting the livelihood of scores of farmers because the small car is more important to the nation than the basic subsistence of the peasant. Soft drink manufacturers are locating their factories in rural areas draining the ground water resources creating artificial scarcity of drinking water and when the villagers resist, police force are sent to silence them and booked under discriminatory laws. Even in the extreme cases where the rural population is relocated for a right cause, the promised compensation does not reach them and is eaten away by the babus en route.

If this is the independent India’s state of affairs today, what have we in store for the future generations? In the last sixty years, we have not managed to produce a single leader with commitment to a national agenda. On the contrary, our system has produced more dealers than leaders. Enacting a law that imposes life ban for tainted men from holding public office will alone revamp our democratic values.

WEST RESPONSIBLE FOR SRI LANKAN SCENARIO

With the exception of Taliban who wants to propagate Islamic tenets and enforce Sharia law all over the world, terrorism is a product of deprivation. Tamils, forming almost 15% of the Sri Lankan population, have been, in the past, targeted and discriminated by the majority Sinhalese community and were always treated as second class citizens. Successive governments abetted in the crime.

What started as a small movement called TNT led by a group of young men under the leadership of Prabhakaran, it grew into LTTE, a powerful force to be reckoned with. As a ruthless terror group, they organized their own army with naval and air wings and had excellent logistical support, leave alone the dedicated suicide squads willing to strike in the name of their cause.. It took the government more than decade to dismantle the outfit.

The USA and UK are now calling for measures to combat the humanitarian crisis. Where were they for the last 30 years when the LTTE was fighting the Sri Lankan govt., when the Tamils were fighting for a legitimate cause? Where were they when the genocide was going on in Burundi and Rwanda where Tutsis and Hutus were slaughtering each other? Where were they when the Black Africans in the erstwhile Rhodesia and South Africa were mercilessly butchered and mutilated?

I find the western attitude very difficult to understand. You religiously watch as things happen and cry foul when all is over. If the healthy, wealthy, developed and influential nations of the world cannot take initiative in arresting an impending humanitarian crisis, what kind of legacy we are leaving behind. When a 9/11 strikes USA or terrorists bomb London, they call upon world nations to fight terror, but turn a blind eye to the problems elsewhere.

When a child wielding a toy gun makes a mock threat, we ignore him. Now that the child has grown up and the toy gun has been replaced by AK-47, we all panic in that we have been caught off guard. This is what has happened in Sri Lanka. The UN, of course, has been reduced to a non-entity.

THIRD FRONT CIRCUS: A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE

Now that the general elections are around the corner, a bunch of political opportunists from various regions are forming a grand unholy alliance with only one common objective, i.e., capture the political power at the centre. Having failed to strike a deal with other parties who have a reasonable national status, this disgruntled, power hungry lot have no national agenda, no vision and their sights are set on the Prime Ministerial chair. Even before agreeing to agree on the basic issues, some one in the caucus wants the alliance to declare their prime ministerial candidate even before going to polls. Fully assured of a big fight over the PM’s post, in the event of a very unlikely scenario of winning a majority, attempts are being made by some quarters for a pre emptive strike so as to cement their position after elections.

The declaration of emergency in 1975 was, no doubt, a sad chapter in the history of Indian democracy. But when Indira Gandhi released all political prisoners and declared general elections in 1977, the hitherto warring factions formed a formidable but infamous alliance called Janata party with the sole objective of throwing Indira Gandhi out of office. Voted to office by a nation that wanted to avenge the excesses of emergency, they concentrated on taking revenge on Indira Gandhi rather than focusing on the national priorities. They had no common program and once the main objective was achieved, they manifested their true color, disagreeing on every issue, which frustrated the common man who voted Indira Gandhi back to power in 1980. This is exactly what we are witnessing in third front alliance.

Mayavati, Jayalalitha, Chandrababu Naidu and Sharad Pawar are all regional leaders with big political ambitions. They will never achieve a consensus if elected in that they have all their own personal agenda and national issues will be shifted to the back burner. Together they will tarnish the image of Indian democracy already tarnished for fielding tainted candidates and make a mockery of parliament. There is a severe shortage of honest aspirants and even parties with a national presence are looking for popular candidates drawn from entertainment and sports industries regardless of their background. Successive governments have deliberately ensured that no one enacts a law against fielding candidates convicted for various offences.

It will be black day for Indian democracy if regional leaders voted to power. It is unfortunate that the people have been reduced to a mere spectator who can do nothing but to choose the lesser evil.

WHY BLAME PAK ALONE?

We have been blaming the Pak government for their inaction in dealing with terror outfits involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. While the neighbor’s cold attitude is understandable for obvious reasons, what have we done with the culprits already in our custody?

The brutal attack on Indian Parliament in 2001 seems to have been forgotten. Eight Indian security personnel paid with their lives while trying to save our politicians who seldom bother about the soldier. Even the return of the gallantry awards conferred upon them by their families has no effect on our thick skinned leaders.

The accused has been convicted for capital punishment by the highest court in the country, but, till today, the sentence has not been carried out using an ‘obsolete’ provision in the law that the court order cannot be carried out until the President disposes of the clemency petition filed by the convicted.

The clemency provision was introduced in our legal system in good faith to enable the President to commute the death sentence to life term imprisonment under special circumstances. That does not mean the provision can be misused to bail out terrorists.

Now that the elections are around the corner, the chances of hanging Afzal Guru are very remote in that it will affect the minority vote banks. Communal politics practiced by our politicians have grown alarmingly and this will have wide repercussions on national security. If Pakistan is a safe heaven for terror outfits, India is a safer heaven for convicted terrorists.

DANGEROUS DEAL

Pakistan’s signing a ceasefire agreement with the Taliban clearly shows how weak is the civil government there and who is the real boss. With the US forces chasing them out of Afghanistan, Taliban is slowly establishing in Pakistan with the support of ISI and the army. Now they have found a safe heaven in NEFP and have been even successful in enforcing Sharia laws. This will eventually lead to total Talibanisation of Pakistan and, once the control of their nuclear arsenal fall in the hands of the Jihadis, it will result in a global catastrophe.

It is high time the world leaders opened their eyes if they want to prevent another 9/11 happening. The US will now realize how their most trusted ally in the fight of terrorism is now openly abetting terror activities. The Taliban’s signing of a ceasefire agreement with Pakistan should be seen as the first step towards a grand plan to take over Pakistan and unless the UN declares Pakistan as a state sponsoring terrorism and impose sanctions against the regime, in all likelihood, the future generations will be paying a heavy price.

ISOLATE PAKISTAN

In the aftermath of the terror attacks in Mumbai, various intelligence agencies, both Indian and foreign, have investigated in depth all the facts and figures connected with the attackers and have gathered enough evidence to nail Pakistan as a nation abetting terror activities by providing a safe heaven to the perpetrators. India has already provided several dossiers to the Pak government substantiating the evidence that the neighbor’s territory is being used to carry out the operations involving its nationals, but to no avail.

The Pak response was understandable, a cold denial, as expected, to everything, even though the international agencies who joined the investigations have conclusively accepted the evidence. So long as the hardliners are calling the shots in Pakistan, the civilian government cannot act independently except as a spokesperson of the fundamentalists. In such a scenario, it will be impossible to make the neighboring state to take any effective measures to combat terror. Even if a technical ban is imposed to fulfill the international pressure, the culprits will regroup under different names and function as usual. The US has provided millions of dollars to Pakistan to combat terrorism, but these funds have been diverted elsewhere. The discredited nuclear scientist A.K. Khan, known for passing on the nuclear weapon technology to North Korea, Libya and Iran, has also been scot free by the by the Pakistan high court adding further testimony to the govt.’s intentions.

Surgical air strikes as a clean up operation will only worsen the scenario and may lead to a full scale war damaging the economies of both the countries already reeling under pressure due to the unprecedented global recession. This will also give Pak an opportunity to divert world attention from terrorism. How do we handle the situation?
In my opinion, we should isolate Pakistan among the international community. India should mount a major diplomatic offensive. Suspend diplomatic relations, stop all bilateral relations including trade and sporting ties and call upon all friendly nations who are potential targets of terror attacks to follow suit. Our diplomatic maneuvers with US, Russia and China has to be more effective to ensure a total barricade on the aid and arms supply to Pakistan. A UN resolution imposing an international embargo on the supply of military equipments to Pakistan will also help the cause.

OBAMA HAS SHOWN THE WAY

By slashing the maximum remuneration payable to top executives to US$500,000, US President Baraak Obama has shown the way to battle in America’s most challenging economic crisis. The successful corporates were on a money laundering spree and this is evident from the take home pay of the CEO of the bankrupt Lehman Brothers which was a whooping US$256 million.

Indian business houses are second to none with Mukesh Ambani gifting a Rs.250 crore aircraft to his wife on her birthday and Anil Ambani gifting a luxury yacht to his wife worth Rs.400 crores. Politicians have also not lagged behind with people like UP chief minister Mayavati having a regular birthday bash spending crores of rupees, leave alone the generous privileges and perks enjoyed by the MPs who show least regard for parliament sessions.

Multinationals operating in India and other top Indian companies are also known for their lavish compensation package for senior executives. It is high time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his team take measures on the lines shown by the American President if we have to reduce the impact of this global economic crisis.

WHO WILL BAIL OUT THE OLD?

Economic meltdown is a reality and is here to stay. It will certainly take a few years before things can be restored to normalcy. Governments all over the world are pumping money into the economy trying to spur the consumer demand and are announcing bailout packages to the cash starved economic entities.

Joining the band wagon, the Indian government has also taken various measures like reducing the cash reserve ratio of commercial banks, making available additional funds to alleviate the cash crunch with the hope that it will enhance the growth rate.

While these measures may provide interim relief to the economy, there is a group of silent sufferers called the “retired class”. Many of them have no medical insurance or medical reimbursement facilities, no pension or any other type of regular income and are solely dependent on their savings which they have parked in fixed deposits with banks that ensured a reasonable income with low risk.

With the banks cutting down the lending rates, they have also brought down the interest on deposit rates and this has adversely affected the cash flow of the retired class. As they advance in age, their expenses are gradually mounting while their income is steadily declining bringing unspeakable misery in their daily life.

When the government can bail out economic entities pumping millions into their kitty, why can’t they bail out this unfortunate group by subsidizing the banks for the differential rate and ask the banks to maintain at least 10% interest on fixed deposits?

BAN THESE PRIVATE ARMIES

The recent assault on a Mangalore pub by the so called moral police “Sri Ram Sena” to enforce a moral code on pub goers cannot be reviewed as a stray incident, but with concern and alarm. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena also, recently, under the leadership of a member of parliament, invaded a school during the republic day function and manhandled the students in the name of parochialism. What signals are we sending to a civilized society? Are we stooping so low to be branded as the world’s largest mobocracy? We cannot allow vandalizing hooligans to disrupt the normal life in the society. They need to be dealt with iron arms regardless of their religious or political affiliations and the offence should be made non-bailable.

There are various other means of moral policing, but through non-violent means. You can mount an awareness campaign through email or distribute advisory leaflets or by even hold demonstrations, but resorting to violent means only lead to aggravating the problem. If every political party is allowed to raise its own army, there will be total chaos in civic life and will interfere with the effective functioning of the police force. There should be total ban on these illegal entities.

TAINTED SHOULD BE OUT OF POLITICS

The induction of Sanjay Dutt to Indian political arena under the banner of Samajwadi party is unfortunate in that it is showcasing the quality of Indian democracy which is known globally for empowering candidates with criminal records.

Sanjay Dutt had been earlier found guilty for unlawful possession of weapons by TADA court and convicted for a jail term. Amar Singh appears to be wanting to capitalise on Dutt's "Munnabhai" reputation to gather votes. What he does not want to understand is that by fielding a candidate with a record of conviction, he is encouraging people with tainted records to be elected to public office.

If good governance has to become a reality in India, candidates with history sheets should be debarred for life from contesting in polls. If Satyam fiasco has tarnished the brand equity of India Inc., the admission of Sanjay Dutt to Samajwadi party will damage the image of our democratic set up.
TAINTED SHOULD BE OUT OF POLITICS

The induction of Sanjay Dutt to Indian political arena under the banner of Samajwadi party is unfortunate in that it is showcasing the quality of Indian democracy which is known globally for empowering candidates with criminal records.

Sanjay Dutt had been earlier found guilty for unlawful possession of weapons by TADA court and convicted for a jail term. Amar Singh appears to be wanting to capitalise on Dutt's "Munnabhai" reputation to gather votes. What he does not want to understand is that by fielding a candidate with a record of conviction, he is encouraging people with tainted records to be elected to public office.

If good governance has to become a reality in India, candidates with history sheets should be debarred for life from contesting in polls. If Satyam fiasco has tarnished the brand equity of India Inc., the admission of Sanjay Dutt to Samajwadi party will damage the image of our democratic set up.

PARADIGM SHIFT IN PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

It appears to be story of the fence that ate the harvest. So in the case of Satyam’s auditors, it is a case of the watch dog shifting loyalties. PriceWaterhouseCoopers, an internationally acknowledged firm of professionals, have been so negligent in their duties that they have tarnished the image of a noble profession.

Times are changing. Greed has taken over and professional ethics are being ignored. A battery of twenty five lawyers is busy out there, struggling to read between the lines and looking for potential loopholes in law to bail out Ramalinga Rao and his accomplices. The legal profession, whose main job is to uphold the laws of the country, is trying to crack the laws to shield the criminals.

Window dressing the balance sheets, under and over invoicing, deflating the liabilities, inflating the assets, etc. have become part of the game plan that business houses are resorting to determine the value of their shares in the market. This is tarnishing global image of India Inc. in this era of globalization. Corporates needs to practice self regulatory mechanisms and ensure absolute transparency to retain their brand equity in the market place. Institutional controls are only complementary.

BOOK THESE CORPORATE TERRORISTS

The revelation of Ramalinga Rao, Satyam’s chairman, is really shocking. Apart from causing great loss to the investor, it has shaken the public confidence in the corporate governance of business houses and, in the process, has shattered the image of Indian companies in the international market. It has proved that the audited financial statements cannot be relied upon and is signaling the arrival of a new era of auditor-management nexus hitherto restricted to politician-criminal caucus.

Terrorists kill the innocent with AK47, but these corporate terrorists possess weapons of mass destruction which brings misery to the families of thousands of unsuspecting investors. Regulatory authorities like SEBI and other government bodies will make strongly worded statements (in line with what our ministers make in the event of terrorist attacks) and, in the end, the system, which is lenient towards the wealthy, powerful and influential, will look the other way.

In my opinion, the entire Board of Directors and their accomplice, the auditor, should be tried under anti-terror laws.