The Hindu Business Line : Did the bombs kill off all hope of living in racial harmony?

STORY so far: An outing to a nearby tourist spot results in a chance interaction with foreign visitors who marvel at Indian architecture and culture, but are dismayed by the tales of corruption, such as about a car company in a neighbouring State. I wonder if we project just the wrong things about the country rather than sell the positives.

Episode 107

Balaji Venkatesh writes in from New Jersey, "I completely agree with you. As a management professional who interacts with business leaders of multinationals in the US, I'm amazed at the lack of understanding of the advantages of doing business in India among the business leaders in developed economies. Folks still see India, as the land of snake charmers!

"It is time that their perception changed. While Indians individually have been able to create an impact in the global business scene, as a country there is a huge opportunity to change this perception."

And there's more: "I tell my foreign friends to read more about the technological advancements in India and suggest The World is Flat, a recent bestseller written by Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. He paints a positive picture of technological advantages in India and their impact on business, in addition to talking about the global world as a level-playing field for doing business."

True, Friedman calls it `Globalisation 3.0' — something where the major players aren't international institutions such as the World Bank or the giant companies. "Desktop freelancers and innovative start-ups all over the world (but especially in India and China) who can compete — and win — not just for low-wage manufacturing and information labour but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well," is how the editorial review puts it on www.amazon.com. "Bottom-line, India is definitely not for sale. If positioned right and if we start projecting the right image, India has the opportunity now, to live up to its potential — to be a developed economy," concludes Balaji, on a positive note.

Next is a mail from Govindraj Baliga, who writes, "Hi Swati, India has a lot of scope in terms of foreign investments. Our country is rich in human resources, and has a good educational system. Add to that our rich culture, all of which should attract foreign investments. But we are not representing our country in the right frame. Problems in infrastructure as well as political issues are main reasons for this. In most of the major cities, bad roads have been a bane. The latest example being Bangalore!" Politics is often too near-sighted to lead us towards development, it seems.

"Dear Swati, clearly, the answer is `no'," writes M. Radhakrishnan. "India has great potential in tourism, both pleasure and medical, setting up manufacturing units for meeting global requirements and software . What we lack are infrastructure facilities, safety standards and efficient bureaucracy, to name a few. Therefore, unless we improve these we cannot make India an attractive destination." That's a short prescription for our netas and babus!

On an earlier episode on company sickness, Radhakrishnan has this to say: "In most cases it is because of financial irregularities. This can be vouched from the fact that the promoters of these sick companies never become sick, that is, bankrupt. On the contrary, they become rich. Simply put, promoters never bring margin money, and siphon off most of the money they receive for project development and thus land their company in trouble." A clear case of defrauding the financial system, isn't it?

Well, there're a few mails from eager students too. "Hi Swati, this is Kirankumar from Hyderabad, a CA Final student doing articles. I'd like to ask a small question, please answer it, as it'd help many students doing articles."

Is he going to ask me the questions for the November exam, I fear? No, it seems Kiran reads financial dailies daily to keep himself abreast of things that happen. "Sometimes, I am the person in the office who has to talk about the `hot' topics in our field!" he informs, and asks: "Give me tips on how to best utilise the articles period, besides going for a job? How to remove the barriers that articled students face in terms of exposure owing to the size of the firm? Are there any good books that can help? Why don't we (peers) form a network through any Web site and share our ideas? Hope you will reply." I'm sure, Kiran, that you'd find answers to many of your questions in these columns.

My next correspondent is Nigamananda Sahoo, doing PGDM in Ghaziabad. " Episode-16 (or, 106?) was very good. (Oh, thanks!) I thought I will give a topic and you will give me some notes on it. There is to be a presentation session in our class. The topics are: i) learning is lifelong; ii) keep growing; and iii) up is not the only way." Interesting topics, I'd say, and Sahoo is quite hopeful that I'd give him `some ideas... some notes' on any one of the topics. "In the evening I will check mail," he concludes. All the best, Sahoo.

*********

A few days after the London cops shot the innocent Brazilian, I was visiting Pankaj, a friend of mine, to enquire about his brother Dheeraj working in the UK. "All well?" I asked his mother who seemed deeply worried following TV reports about how racial violence was spurting in response to the bombings.

"Did he call?" I continued, as if to draw her out of her shell. "Yes, he did, and advised me not to worry," she spoke, and began coughing. Pankaj informed me that she had taken ill thinking about her far-away son. "I told Dheeraj to come back to India and find a job here," said the mother and I shook my head in disbelief.

After I returned home, among the current news that Google throws up for `Asians in London', is a `10 hours ago' find from the Independent. `Did the bombs kill off all hope of the nation living in racial harmony?' asks the report posted on http://news.independent.co.uk. Anita Anand, presenter, BBC Radio Five Live, is cited in the story thus: "A friend was evacuated from Warren Street after the attack. Some woman pointed at his brown skin, and said `we're getting rid of this'." Another quote is of Tony Nunn, a charity fundraiser: "This has changed the lives of us all, and our attitudes. You do look at Asians with beards and rucksacks more. I think everyone is more aware of the people around them."

I'm sure that, in the wake of terrorism and violence, there should be many parents and families whose peace is gnawed at, as in the case of Dheeraj's mother.

And I ask myself if the solution to such worries lies in people returning to their homeland. Send in your thoughts by Friday.

Swati_CA@hotmail.com

For archived episodes of this column click on: htpp://www.thehindubusinessline.com/nic/swati/index.htm

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