The Hindu Business Line : Of war and peace

“How are you feeling?” A question that hundreds of friends and well wishers have asked me since my fortuitous escape from the carnage in Mumbai on 26/11. The honest answer is “I am feeling guilty”. No, not because I ask myself why I escaped while hundreds of others didn’t. I am too much of a believer in God and karma to ask that question. But because there have been so many such attacks on our country before, so many lives lost before, but what had I done? Simply turned the page of the newspaper, simply flipped the news channel, made sympathetic noises, and carried on with “business as usual”, justifying it along the way as the “Spirit of Mumbai”. Sure, that was required. Because indeed, if we had not picked up the pieces and carried on, we would have permitted them a far greater success — which we cannot and should not.

But should we not have done something more? Suddenly, you realise that “not my job” is perhaps not the best way to look at it. Sure, the Government is responsible: The politicians, the bureaucrats, the police, the fire brigades, the Army; they are all responsible to sort this out!

The question is — are we not ? As individual citizens and as corporate citizens, have we been part of the solution or part of the problem? Or just idle bystanders? Of all the things that are possible, I would like to share my thoughts on two; the fundamental premise of both being: To sow in times of peace, so that we can harvest in times of war.

Regulated Private Sector

Can we make emergency response units our job?

As a country, we have embraced and harvested the benefits of regulated privatisation in so many industries: Telecom, aviation, banking and insurance — the list is significant.

We have recognised the constraints that we have in terms of public investment in these areas. The same constraints apply to emergency response units. And under the circumstances, they have done a great job. The question is: As corporates, we are proud of our ability to manage and deliver results; are we up to the challenge of the business of emergency response units?

Let us park aside the contentious issue of private security forces and focus on the other emergency services. Are we willing to work for reform in policy, to build innovative business models, to recruit, train and motivate hundreds of staff, equip them with the best infrastructure, market the service effectively and deliver — in the business of emergency response units? Can we ensure that fire brigades reach in time? Can we ensure that ambulances can effectively save lives? Are we, as corporate citizens, ready to take the responsibility, “to make it our job”; to sow in times of peace so that we may harvest in times of war? I believe we are!

Responsible Individual Behaviour

Can we stop lubricating their machinery of war?

The world has long recognised the links between terrorist and criminal activities. After all, the money has to come from somewhere, the on-ground infrastructure, and information has to come from somewhere; and it does. Have we, as individual citizens, been contributing to this “cause”? Have we, without realising it, been helping to build the infrastructure that is then used against us? Every time we are tempted to buy that latest pirated movie, let us ask ourselves the question: Where does the profit from this go? What machinery does this seemingly innocuous act lubricate? What use can that machinery be put to?

Every time we are tempted to “pay in cash” to either save on sales tax or because we have got the cash to save on income tax, let us ask ourselves the question — who launders this cash? What do they do with it? What kind of cycle of corruption does it perpetuate? Every time we buy something that we know is smuggled (from the harmless iPhone before its official launch to the drugs doing the party circuits), let us ask ourselves the question —— is this, what makes our borders permanently porous, waiting to be used against us?

Are we, as individual citizens, willing to recognise the role we are playing in keeping this machinery lubricated? Are we willing to change our behaviour on these seemingly innocuous issues? Are we willing to sow in times of peace so that we may harvest in times of war? I believe we are! And if we do, then there is an inflexion point waiting to happen. Because if one billion Indians and 50,000 Indian corporates decide to sow, there is bound to be a bountiful harvest. And, then, the answer to the question “How are you feeling?” might well be “I feel good!”

(The author, a senior Mumbai-based banker, was present at The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower during the terrorist attack.)