The Hindu Business Line : Greenspan, Yunus confirm the need for more JRDs

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was struggling with the laptop presented him by JRD Tata on his birthday. He got it right after fiddling with the keys and got down to writing a message to Akshay Khanna who did the role of his son Harilal in the film Gandhi, My Father.

“You have done a good job. My wife Ba, whom I suppose you are aware of, wept seeing the film for which my friend JRD bought the tickets. Even today, I am not sure whether I did the good thing by imposing my views on Harilal. Thinking of it, I regret to making valets of my dear ones. I admit to arrogance while pretending to be humble. I think my life is an imposition, like the hours of homework dumped on school children.”

For a moment, the Old Man paused to get up and attend to a knock on the door. Jawaharlal Nehru walked in to the room well-ventilated by an ancient Crompton fan. Welcoming Nehru, with a toothy, grandma smile, Ba aksed, “Beta, kidhar ho (Son, where are you).”

Touching the feet of Ba, Nehru said, “Aaj Delhi se aya. Sonia aur Rahul ko dekhne gaya tha (I came in today from Delhi where I had gone to see Sonia and Rahul).” Gandhi laughed; Nehru frowned. “So Old Man, what are you grinning for,” Nehru asked. Gandhi, wiping his bald pate said, “So your family will be back in power. Have you decided on Rahul becoming the Prime Minister. You better do it fast while the decent gentleman in Dr Manmohan Singh wavers between his chair and his convictions.”

Ba brought in a few plates of phaphda, dhokla, jelebi and tea when JRD joined to make a decent crowd. The industrialist jumped for the Gujarati fare mumbling, “Indian food is not available at the Taj”, while Gandhi, enjoying a piece of dhokla, added, “None can match you, Ba.”

Nehru moved over to the table, read the message typed out on the laptop (with Gandhi’s permission) and inquired of Gandhi whether he was sending a rebuttal. “Jawahar, I am sending an appreciation. All my life I have never contradicted anybody; I have only been contradicting myself and confusing the public,” said Gandhi for JRD to add: “The Sensex is something like you, a contradiction.”

India’s Best Four have been together for too long and bandying wit never hurts them. Being banias, Gandhi and Ba have jointly placed their pension on the stock markets through mutual funds. Incidentally, they fall under the tax category of “freedom fighters”, and earn a dole of Rs 10,000 per month from the Government.

They were happy over the good returns promised (not yet encashed) by a foreign mutual fund. “See the economy is growing at 9 per cent says Sonia Gandhi and Dr Singh. On the TV channels it is always Chak De of King Khan. Come Jawahar, be happy, India is happy,” said Gandhi. JRD applauded, Nehru winced. Being shrewd, Gandhi added: “I hope it is not a repeat of the Harshad Mehta scam of 1992.”

Addressing his friends, JRD analysed the book by Alan Greenspan, The Age of Turbulence. “I don’t know whether to place Greenspan ahead of Paul Volcker. Even going by Greenspan, Volcker took on the tough job, as Fed chief, “to slay the inflationary dragon,” JRD said.

Two months into the job, Volcker saw the market selling bonds. Interest rates on 10-year Treasury notes leaped to nearly 11 per cent. Volcker, who was at an IMF meeting in Belgrade, cut short the visit to take a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. “What he masterminded that Saturday was arguably the most important change in economic policy in 50 years. The committee decided on his urging that it would no longer try to fine-tune the economy by focusing on short-term interest rates; instead it would clamp down on the amount of money available to the economy,” writes Greenspan.

JRD’s reading session got Nehru restive; Nehru knew history but not economics. Gandhi remarked, “JRD, is it like the clamp on Participatory Notes? Dollar generates rupees and RBI is finding the going hard.” JRD came over and hugged Gandhi. “You are right. Where did you learn your economics,” JRD asked and promptly came the reply, “A bania need not be taught economics. He is economics.”

Seemingly, the room had turned into a debating floor with Ba trying her best to grasp the lines. Jawahar reads a lot and had on him a copy of the autobiography of Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor.

Jawahar quoted Yunus: “I am not a capitalist in a simplistic right-left sense. But I do believe in global free market economy and participating in it by using capitalist tools. I believe in the power of the free market, and the power of capital in this market place. I deeply believe that offering unemployment benefits is not the way to redress the problem of the poor. To me, that ignores the problem and lets them rot.

“The able-bodied poor don’t want or need charity; the dole only increases their misery; it robs them of initiative and more importantly, of self-respect.”

Nothing could hold back JRD; Greenspan and Yunus were confirming free markets and the need for more JRDs. A pensive Nehru asked the gathering: “Then why did Yunus start Grameen Bank to help the poor? Are you saying that socialism, Planning Commission and public sector units are all wrong.”

Gandhi butted in: “In economics, nothing is for sure; it is more like my friend Dr Singh – starting as a socialist, turning a free market man before becoming again a socialist. Give me the e-mail address of Yunus and I will relay your question.”

Before going to the kitchen to prepare lunch, Ba closed the show: “Your debate makes no sense to me.”

P. Devarajan

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Greenspan, Yunus confirm the need for more JRDs