The world of Twitter is exploding with #AccordingToRahulGandhi posts on the strength of his putting his foot into his mouth yet again. But you cannot fault his message, though the way he worded it was execrable. To claim that the man who invented Coca Cola sold Shikanji and the couple who set up MacDonald’s ran a Dhaba is really bad scripting, even if you wanted to dumb things down for an audience in rural MP.
If only he knew his Indian history well, especially that of Indian business, he would not have made such an inane statement. He would have been better off quoting examples of Indian successes, who succeeded despite all odds. And let me tell you, in India, no matter who is in power, odds are what you will face, if you set out to be an entrepreneur. India is a paradise for those who want to set up business because of the opportunities it presents. But at the same time, the bureaucratic controls,corruption and lack of skilled and ethical manpower, make it a nightmare. And yet many have succeeded despite all of this.
Right Mr Gandhi – here are a few examples for you:
1. Did you know that K Pandiarajan, who is now a Minister in the ADMK Government in Tamil Nadu founded and built up a huge Human Resources firm? His father was a worker in a match factory in Sivakasi.
2. Did you know SS Vasan (he was a good friend of your great grandfather Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, whom I adore) of Gemini Studios began life hawking magazines at the Trichy railway station?
3. Did you know P Venkatachellum who created and built up a huge business in sauces and condiments in the 19th century and exported his products all over the world, started off as a cook?
4. Did you know K Krishna Rao who later founded the Woodlands Chain began life as a grinder of idli batter on Acharappan Street in Madras?
5. Did you know Karur Vysya Bank was begun by a stamp vendor and a wholesaler of condiments more than a 100 years ago?
6. Did you know MRF (featured widely in the #AccordingToRahulGandhi hashtag) was begun when the founding family was down and out thanks to Government machinations?
7. Did you know TV Sundaram Iyengar failed in several businesses before starting off his eponymous conglomerate? And he had no godfather backing him.
These are just a few I could think of off the cuff and all from in and around Chennai. There must be thousands more across India. The problem with you, and your arch rival Mr Modi, is that you think all successes are from overseas. Start looking this way please.
How I wish that this article gets published in leading
newspapers of the country for the benefit of every one
including the Congress Chief!
Touche! Appreciation of the West for their scientific temper and process orientation is good; but why do we need a stamp of approval from “phoren” experts for everything?
The man you admire, Jawaharlal Nehru – for all the good things that he possessed, together with his government of the time (including some Finance ministers from these parts) and bureaucrats continuing from the Imperial British era, put in place a regressive business environment that not only stifled entrepreneurship but also looked at Entrepreneurs with suspicion, placing emphasis on a socialist model of command and control and giving rise to license, corruption and harassment. The overhang continues to this day. There were those Entrepreneurs who despite the environment, bravely started enterprises and gamely ploughed on, in the maze of challenges and difficulty. Some cunning ones used the system to their advantage getting plum licenses and approvals, giving rise to the crony capitalism that flourishes today. While scientific temper through education is all fine, there was a vacuum by not emphasizing enough on ethical and moral values. Just making us look back at our own heritage and culture may have done the trick here but that was not considered secular enough for modern education in India, which repeated history to its students as told by former western rulers. We ended up with neither enough scientific temper (innovation, inventions, patents etc other than jugaad) nor ethical moral values, with education being a rat race for marks. Last but not the least, do we seriously believe the one who made reference to shikanji and McD Dabba would be a befitting successor to his Great Grandfather’s PM Mantle and lead this Nation ?
It is really timely and much needed public correction. Politics is not shooting from the hip. Thanks a lot Sri Ram….n.k.majumder.