Who is the Commander-in-Chief? Do we have one?

Posted: December 21, 2008 in A K Anthony, bangladesh, chief of integrated defense staff, commander in chief, George Fernandes, india, Indira Gandhi, Leadership, military, Pranab Mukherjee, Pratibha Patil, president, strategy, war
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There has been a lot of talk, rumors if you will, about how India is ready to take battle into the boundaries of Pakistan. How, if necessary, we are ready to wage war also.

As long as it is rhetoric, it is fine. But could it actually move from talk to action? Should Pakistan call India’s bluff, do we have it in us, to press the W button? I have my serious doubts.

I have no doubts on the capabilities of our armed forces. Irrespective of corruption charges in the Defense purchases, I still believe that we have enough fire power, guts and numbers, to take on Pakistan in battle, if we had to.

But for any war, there is one most crucial element, and which is the Commander in Chief. You need a strong person at the top, to commandeer and army into war. Someone who is aggressive and smart, someone who can motivate, someone who does not worry about petty politics and votebanks, but has a clear eye on the best interests of the country. Someone who, if required, can go and stand with the jawans, in the trenches, and without his Z+ security tagging along!

Do we have anyone of that stature at this time? Do we even have a Commander-in-Chief?

I can trust Dr. Manmohan Singh, our PM, to go and battle in the boardrooms of the World Bank, or position India at Davos, or pitch for investments to heads of states of G8 countries. But can he command our forces in a war?? I don’t think so, really.

Defense Minister A K Anthony who has been meeting the Defense heads? External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who has been making the loudest official noise regarding war? Nah..! These guys are politicians to the core. Also they are not politicians with charisma that can make the country follow them. I cannot imagine either of them coming on TV or at the Red Fort, and goading the country and countrymen, with anything like a “jai jawaan, jai kisaan”, or a “ask what you can do for the country…”, or a “har har mahadev”.. ! Nah.. these chappies can negotiate with Sharad Pawar or Mamata Banerjee or Jyoti Basu, for poll alliances and the like, but commanding the forces in war.. no, I will not put my money on these characters.

The official designated commander-in-chief, the President of India, Mrs. Pratibha Patil? As someone who could lead us in war?? Ho..ho.. ho.. ho.. Laughable to even think about it, right? On the other hand, a scary thought, that if we are pushed into war today, she would actually be the commander in chief! Oh My God.. ! We have a LOT to be worried about. Until this is resolved, I pray that there is no war..

One of the commanders of the defense forces? The Army or Navy or the Air Force? I am not sure how well the Chief of Integrated Defense Staff has been working in India now. But the potential of this Chief, being the commander-in-chief at wartime, appears to be the best option for India. The hiccup to this being the fact that in India, politics has always been supreme over the Defense forces, and it is unlikely to change in a hurry. So getting the Chief of Defense Staff to take over the overall reins of decision making and leading the country in war, looks like a remote possibility.

We had stronger leaders during war time in the past. Indira Gandhi, whatever be her other problems, was a strong woman, and one who could lead from the front. One who could fire the public imagination, and motivate the armed forces, with a strong speech from the Red Fort. The country was behind her in the 1971 Bangladesh Freedom war.

War was thrust on India, during the Kargil confrontation. It was still a conflict that was restricted to the location there, and did not become an open war, with no holds barred. Still war it was. Again, the Defense Minster then, George Fernandes, with all his other faults, was a courageous man. A union leader, he could again fire up the people, did not hesitate to go to the trenches when required, and was a suitable commander of sorts, at that time.

But at this time, we lack a serious commander in chief! No, this is not the right time to go to war – if only for this one reason!!

The citizen / voter / shareholder is a sucker.. shit happens!!

Posted: December 21, 2008 in india, life, politics, Uncategorized
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Come across some of the most shocking instances in recent days, that convinces me that we, the ordinary citizens, are helpless fools, and much as we agonize over things, shit happens!!

Some stark examples:

  1. Vilasrao Deshmukh, after resigning as CM, does not feel it necesary to attend the Legislature. And he justifies it in public saying that “now he does not have any specific responsibility, so what’s the big deal about attending the House?”.  Is he so pathetic as to not realize that he is an elected representative, and his constituents would expect him to be in the House, and playing a role?? CM or not??
  2. R R Patil, dropped as Dy CM, on account of Mumbai terror attacks, is made the head of the NCP Maharashtra unit. So where is the accountability factor? Punishment for being responsible??
  3. Chhagan Bhujbal, involved in Telgi scam and other messes, and who had to vacate his chair earlier, is quietly brought back, again as Dy CM..?! Again, what about accountability?
  4. The board of Satyam, a public company, involved in IT, having name brand independent directors on the board, still go and strike a deal with the Chairman’s family owned infrastructure and real estate companies, for a staggering $1.6 billion. And actually expect to get away with it. Because after all, shareholders are supposed to be suckers (could not go through, however..!)
  5. Telecom licenses which were always auctioned earlier, given away to new and unknown entities, for peanuts, and on a “first come, first served” basis. And those entities, immediately go and sell stakes in their companies, for HUGE profits. No heads have rolled so far. The minister is not feeling an iota of guilt. There will be the political protests and the Joint Parliamentary Committees, so that all the politicians can get their own share of the loot. As far as citizens are concerned, they know the public memory is small, and this too will be forgotten and forgiven!
  6. Amar Singh, crooked Indian politician contributes more than $ 1 million to a Clinton fund. As do others from India. But Amar Singh? Any questions on the sources of the income? And why the Clinton fund? What goes on here? We the suckers of the world, the citizens, cannot question!!
  7. Cabinet minister, A R Antulay makes allegations about the cause of death of ATS Chief during the Mumbai terror attack. Crass, crude and clueless as these statements are, and also for once, not appealing to ANY section of society, he still insists on making these. Perhaps with an idea to break the for once, united thought across the country. The Congress apart from distancing itself from his statements, does not have the guts to take action against the minister, nor condemn him in public. Because they fear minority vote backlash. And we the citizens of the country need to be silent observers to this nonsense.

When will things change? When will a common man ask questions and expect to be answered? Will it ever happen? Do I live in a dream that life can be different?

I have no answers. Meanwhile… shit happens!

Rab Ne Banadi.. Aditya ne kyun Banayi??

Posted: December 14, 2008 in bollywood, bourne ultimatum, movies, Shah Rukh, vinay pathak
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For a change, went and saw Rab Ne Banadi Jodi, on Friday night, without waiting to read the reviews in the papers. After all, there had not been any big releases for a few weeks, and in fact, I had not seen any movie for a couple of weeks. So with SRK and the YashRaj banner, and Aditya Chopra being the director, there was enough motivation to venture into the theatre, without waiting to see what others were saying about the film.

Well, I wish I had waited for the reviews!

The film does not work. On any front.

So Shah Rukh looks different – an old 1970s poor man hero kind of look (well, the half of it, in this film). So should I be happy to see the change? Change is good. But it should still be a good change. This look looks awful, was grossly exaggerated and not entirely necessary at all. It was there only to contrast with the other look that the same character puts on, and we are to believe that the contrast being so stark, the wife of the character is unable to recognize the two as being the same person! Only for that reason, that simpleton look was grossly overdone.

The new heroine makes a fair debut. She looks cute like the so many new young actresses on Indian screens look these days – well, on television and on the larger screen. Anushka portrays a good Punjabi girl, a homemaker and yet a firebrand who can take on the world when needed. She has a good smile, but overall, she does not have many scenes to showcase her talent. We will have to wait for her next one, or there is a fear that she may go the Gracy Singh way. Cute debut but then disappearing into oblivion!

The fundamental idea of the film – of the hero trying to win over his bride and make her to love him – is just too thin, to be carried for 3 hours! There are no other twists or turns.

And the fundamental way that the hero attempts to do this, is quite incredible.

He changes his looks and appears as someone else, to woo his own wife. Now if the face and dress change can still be imagined – although it still does not get to me, that she will not recognize him – can anyone explain how a shy and introvert kind of person, can overnight, with a change of clothes, become an extrovert, who can be boorish in talk, who can be crazy, drive bikes etc.?? There is no explanation for the attitude changeover, while there is one about the appearance changeover.

As I said, the thread is too thin anyway, to run for a full length movie. No other sub-plots, no nothing. A Japan factor is added, for no reason at all. And does not make sense except for being a diversion.

The worst part is the end. The character that the hero takes on, and which he is not, woos the girl, and goes to the extent of professing his love. The heroine, married to the original character, is now in a quandary. If she accepts this other character’s love, she would be doing ‘wrong’.  And still she is tempted, as that ‘other’ character has been what she always wanted in a husband.

So why is the hero doing this? What’s the deal here, anyway?!

Ok, having said that, a “good” ending would have been, for the girl to ‘discover’ that these two are the same, and how selfless her husband really has been and what pains he has taken to make her happy.

But THAT does not happen. And I think, even in this thin plot, here is where Adi missed the one opportunity to make something out of the story.

Here, the girl makes her final call on staying with her husband, and not go with the ‘other’ character as she prays at the Golden Temple, and God gives her a vision that says that hubby is best for her.

That’s too weird.

Why not have her “discover” what her husband has been upto?

Here she finds out, much later. And that also because the husband goes out and tells her, in a way.. by dancing with her, instead of the flashy ‘other’ character.

This is the biggest loss in the story.

So are there any silver linings at all? Well, yes.

1. Vinay Pathak has a fun role, and does a good job. His stars are truly on the rise, and he keeps making the most of the opportunities that are coming his way.

2. It’s interesting to see small town Punjab life. We had seen villages, we have seen cities. This was in between. About the large houses there, about the cinema being a constant source of entertainment, about a “trade fair” being an outing for the family, and things of that nature. Interesting glimpse..

3. The songs.. they are hummable for a while. Don’t expect any of them to be remembered after 6 months also, but for now, there are 2-3 that can stay on your lips, even if its on account of the fact that these are bombarded at you, every few mins, on radio.

4. Finally, the last silver lining was seeing the preview of Ghajini while seeing Rab Ne!! Ghajini looks like a taut thriller, and from the looks of it, an Indianized version of The Bourne Ultimatum. But these are my impressions only from the preview. It may yet be something different.

YRF has a tremendous track record. Earlier, with all the films that Yash and Aditya directed and produced. And in recent days, with the great flicks that they produce for others as well, e.g. Dhooms, Chak De, Hum Tum, and scores of such ones. Aditya himself has a great track record as a director and a tremendous reputation as a film maker.

The last thing that Aditya Chopra needs to do is to direct such junk.

Aditya, tune Rab Ne Banadi… kyu Banadi, yaara??!

Recent Management Learnings!

Posted: December 14, 2008 in Business, Leadership, Management
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A summary of few recent management learnings, unfortunately out of experience!

  1. An IIT tag does not assure a good manager or a good technologist or a good leader. Sad but true.
  2. An IIM tag does not assure a good manager or a good leader or a good business head. Sadder but true again.
  3. A good project manager does not necessarily graduate to becoming a good business head. Its truly shocking how clueless about business realities, cost heads, urgency on revenues, urgency on cash flow management, even a good project manager can be!
  4. A good sales and marketing person does not necessarily become a good business head. Here too, there may be an understanding of how to go and get new business. But managing P&L, managing a larger team, managing timelines.. all of these can be alien concepts to the person. Unbelievable, right? But it happens! Ask me!
  5. Boom times have generated some slick talkers, who are otherwise shallow in capabilities, to have added a lot of corporate tags on their CVs. Can you believe that one such person who had worked in some heavyweight corporations in India and outside India, and headed business development efforts in these organizations, could not put together a page of formal correspondence, lacked email etiquette, did not know how to create a decent spreadsheet?!
  6. Can someone with 20+ years of experience, including a few years in the Internet business, someone with management education background, not know how to use Excel? How in the world are you expected to evaluate this? Would you subject senior management candidates to such fundamental testing?? Okay, by the way, the Excel part was the ‘tip of the iceberg’ in the larger problem statement!
  7. That niceties are not guaranteed in this world, so don’t expect them. Someone with 5+ years of association, being treated as extended family, part of the innermost circle, can also walk out with 3 days notice and not feel an inch of guilt in doing so! That is the state of affairs of the day.

So there are the problems. Do I have any solutions? Any real answers? I guess, no easy ones.

Apart from the fact that I now appreciate the words of a couple of VCs. One of them had said that between the time that they meet an entrepreneur to the point when they actually make the investment, could be as long as a year’s time. And the other one had said that they would meet an entrepreneur, in formal and informal settings at least 15-20 times, before they take a call on investment.

I am seeing that hiring senior management is almost as critical for a company, as an investment is for a VC. Much as we are pressed with our growth ambitions and schedules, and which tempt us to go for a candidate over a few interactions, that is really not a good thing to do. The potential gain that we could get in getting a senior manager into the company sooner, is far offset by the risk of hiring a wrong person. The damage that a decision of that kind can do, takes up so much time and money for the company, to recover, not to speak of the opportunity cost that is lost! A senior hiring MUST go through long and extended interactions, whether the candidate likes it or not. That is the only way. Formally and informally, figure out if the person is really the one you want to take up a critical responsibility in your organization.

Mumbaikars will not pay taxes!

Posted: December 1, 2008 in india, mumbai blasts Nov 2008, politics
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A quick and immediate protest that Mumbaikars can go for, is to make an income tax contribution of Re 1/- as advance tax, in December!

A token payment that is a slap on the face of the government, to protest against the betrayal of the city’s taxpayers. For the government’s apathy towards the city, for their inability to protect us.

Let’s spread this message. ALL tax paying Mumbaikars must pay only Re 1/- this December. The empty coffers of the Income tax will let the country know the real value of Mumbai’s contributions to the exchequer.

The Prime Minister must go too!!

Posted: December 1, 2008 in india, Manmohan Singh, mumbai blasts Nov 2008
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We have been admirers of our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. In the 90s, when he took over as a Finance Minister during precarious times for the country, he single handedly brought back the country from the brink of disaster. Even this time around, when Congress was to form the government, he was a good choice. Better he than the old foggies like Arjun Singh or Pranab Mukherjee or Shivraj Patil… !

But there has to be the right person at the right time! And at this time, Dr. Singh is far from being the right person!

One had to only hear him speak to the nation in the midst of the encounter, and you could sense that he was totally out of place. He looked like he was addressing some Global Conference in Economics, and he was presenting a technical paper there!

The time was to inspire, to motivate, to rekindle the nation’s patriotic fervour. To speak strongly and let the nation know that he was going to act, to let the world know that we will not be suckers anymore. And that had to come out in an emphatic speech.

Instead, he was insipid and boring.

How can we have confidence that he is the man to lead us out of this mess? When all this time, he has not been able to stand up to the Left parties, to his own party colleagues and ministers, leave alone to “Madam Gandhi”, how do we expect him to stand up to terrorists or to a fearsome neighbour, who is willing to go to war with us??

Surely, at this critical time, we need a younger PM, one who shows huge energy, one who can motivate us. A strong leader. I do not quite see a person in the horizon at this time. And in that, maybe our misfortune. But if we can find someone who fits this bill, we must go with such a person, and Dr. Singh could continue to be the Finance Minister, and wade us out of the economic crisis (hey, that’s not gone anywhere, just in case we forgot about it!).

Thank you, Dr. Singh, but not now, Dr. Singh.. Enough is Enough!!

A few general rants at this time..

Posted: December 1, 2008 in india, mumbai blasts Nov 2008
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Okay, so everyone has a right to this. And I exercise mine.

Rants!!

1. I am getting a little sick and tired of the following words:

  • Iconic structures (about the Taj and the Oberoi): good for a while, but gets on my nerves as they keep repeating these words,
  • Resilience and spirit: enough is enough. With these two words, I mean.. !

2. It’s easy for the rich and famous to say that there is no prejudice in society. Yeah, maybe it does not matter as to who it is that they party with, at the Taj or the Oberoi. The reality of prejudice is with the common man. So poignantly shown in Khalid Mohammed’s Fiza, when the educated Muslim youth, played by Hrithik Roshan, could not get a job in Mumbai! If some of these youth then succumb to brainwashing and go to the other side, who is to blame for that? This society, who else?!

Would YOU hire a muslim youth to work in your organization almost as comfortably as you would hire a Hindu? Is there an inkling of bias in the back of your head? Until that is there, let’s not pretend that the prejudice does not exist. Also let’s accept our role as a society, in this situation, then.

3. I have seen some very shocking reactions, which I hope, are only the result of these special circumstances and the stress caused on account of that. From highly literate Maharashtrians who are even more convinced now about Raj Thakeray’s anti-North Indian agenda, to celebrities like Simi Garewal advocating war against Pakistan and also advocating action against slum dwellers en masse, because few of them have been seen to carry Pakistani flags. When will we raise ourselves above all these petty matters, and take up the bigger challenges confronting us?

4. Is there anyway that a proper chain of command can be spelt out, on priority, just in case, such or similar incidents occur in future as well?? All of us who are familiar with government departments, including the police, are well aware of the heirarchies existing there. And how it takes ages for papers and files to move from one table to the next, just because of those hierarchies. About how the left hand does not know what the right is doing, in such departments. How then, will one government body interact with another, or take a person from the other department as his commanding officer, during such events.

I am sure time went by, just in straightening these things out, when events transpired this time. And when we had the Mumbai police, the ATS squad, the Naval Forces, the Coast Guard, the Army and the NSG, all involved in this exercise. Who was calling the shots? And if there was no one person, it was bound to be chaotic. At least in terms of their press briefings, all of these agencies were interacting on their own with the media, and giving out at times, different messages!

Please let us have a defined chain of command in place, for the future.. !!

Mumbai Events: The Media’s Role

Posted: December 1, 2008 in india, mumbai blasts Nov 2008, television
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Ever since the CNN correspondent reported the Gulf War from the trenches, no global event, no terrorist attack is an isolated incident anymore. All such events play to the gallery as a large reality television show.

The purists may not like it. But they cannot deny it.

It was no different this time around when, for an extended period of 4 days, terrorists battled the security forces in Mumbai. The plethora of news channels that have come up in India, all covered the events non-stop, round the clock. One had the choice to view the different perspectives and in that itself, there was a story.

While the events were going on, it was all about giving fresh news and inputs on the developments, post events, it was the analysis. Both of these aspects were important and showcased the values that the channels stood by.

During the period of encounter, there was temptation for the channels to give that bit of extra information, even if it was speculative to an extent. There was also the temptation to get that little extra peek into the happenings, and for the cameraman to move to a more vantage point compared to the others. In spite of the security restrictions. There was a temptation to get to the terrorists if they could, to get a scoop of a story in terms of the persons responsible for it, etc.

I was following the events, essentially on two channels. For a long time, I followed it on CNN-IBN. Over the years, one has generated some respect for Rajdeep Sardesai, and for regular viewing, this channel had become the default news source for me. So it was the channel that I kept watching for a long time, when the events erupted.
Prior to CNN-IBN, the favorite used to be NDTV. But this time around, due to recent habit, I continued to stay with CNN-IBN.

Till one evening, I turned to NDTV, just to see if they had anything different to offer. And I was amazed. I think NDTV, and especially Barkha Dutt and Sreenivasan, take reporting to a different level altogether. Their coverage was a clear notch above that of CNN-IBN. For one, Barkha manages to cut across layers, and gets interviews and soundbytes, where others are unable to. Secondly, she has amazing energy. She moves from place to place herself, gives a variety of perspectives, get the camera to go to different angles or different views, and in short, unleashes some great reporting for the benefit of viewers. Both she and Sreenivasan have excellent reactions, they gauge the situation well, ensure that politicians do not go into drivel. Besides that, they are also very concerned about the responsibility that they carry as a broadcast medium, and ensure that no randomness is picked up or pushed out through their channel.

In short, they provided some great coverage.

I tried Times Now briefly, and it seemed fine. The clout of the Times group was also enabling them to get some good insights including pictures and video coverage.

The defaulters who ran away with speculative stories, were the usual suspects, viz. India TV and Aaj Tak, although I did not really follow either of them closely. This conclusion is drawn from what others have shared about the two channels.

Its easy to be a great channel, with some principled reporting during normal days. It’s a crisis of this kind that really tests your resolve. I think NDTV sailed through the crisis well.

Why is there action now? Why did it not happen earlier?

Posted: December 1, 2008 in india, mumbai blasts Nov 2008
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The citizens’ voice has never been heard louder than on this occasion. And the citizens are also, more or less, speaking in a common voice. Their anger is directed to the same one direction. And some results are there for us to see. And with the relentless focus of the citizen groups that have emerged, more action will be taken. It appears that for once, the government cannot sit on proposals, cannot wait endlessly.

So what was different about this time than before? Was it just that last straw that broke the camel’s back, or was it something else?

Cruel as it sounds, I think the terrrorists may have actually done India a favor by targeting the targets that they did. Surely, I do not belittle the losses of life at these luxury hotels, but I am viewing this from another perspective.

NEVER before had the rich and famous gotten so close to terrorist mayhem in India. The earlier occasions were all in crowded places, where the common man was to be found. In markets, on railway platforms, in buses. Even when the Mumbai blasts happened and places like Zaveri Bazaar and the Stock Exchange were targetted, it was still the sub-brokers and the day traders who got hurt and not so much, the business owners. Maybe a one-off case of a mid-sized business owner might have been there.

This time around, the people who have got hurt or killed in the 5-star hotels, other than the hotel staff, have ALL been a high profile category. Bank chieftains, eminent lawyers, large business owners, etc.

This has been a huge wake up call for the elite of the city.

When blasts happened at Ghatkopar or Mulund or even at the Gateway, it was still something to chat about, but for all practical purposes, the blast might as well have been at Malegaon or Jaipur or Bangkok, as far as the glitterati of the society are concerned.

This time, their comfort zone is broken through.

That terror could reach the plush comfort of their favorite hotels has shaken them up. Would a Simi Garewal have been so angry earlier? Would a Milind Deora openly taken on the CM, Dy CM and others earlier? Shobha De and Rahul Bose have never minced words. But their ire was only sharper this time, and this time around, we expect them to carry on their tirade, since they have proclaimed that ‘enough is enough’.

When no politician was willing to come and face the angry crowds on “We, the People” (Barkha Dutt anchored program on NDTV), the only exception was Abhishek Sanghvi, spokesperson of Congress. He had a rough ride against the citizens’ anger. But he made a huge commitment in front of the TV audience. He talked about 4-5 very critical changes, which have been pending for many months / years, to take effect within the next 3-5 DAYS! Yes, DAYS. The kind of speed that you can never associate with anything that has government written on it.

And we are already seeing the urgency at Delhi. Manmohan and Sonia realize well that this time, there is no running away. No way to let public memory die down. Because it will not die down.

The events were tragic. But if they have put the entire country into positive action, there is hope for the future.

So, are YOU afraid?

Posted: December 1, 2008 in mumbai blasts Nov 2008
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Amitabh Bacchan wrote in his blog, after the Mumbai terrorist attack started, that he took his licensed revolver with him, to bed. Albeit in discomfort, but that was HIS reaction.

I cannot quite identify with his response, but perhaps as a targeted celebrity, his concerns could be different from those of common citizens.

But all of us have been afraid. Some more than others. Any of us could have been in the Taj or the Oberoi, any of us could have been at the VT station, or in the train when the earlier train blasts happened. Our loved ones could have been there. In some cases, they might already have been so.

Sends a shiver down the spine to even think about it. What if??

Yes, the fear is there.

I remember as a child, in 1971, when the war in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was going on. And there were air sorties going above the skies of Mumbai (then, Bombay). We would have the periodic sirens going on, and we were asked to shut all lights so as to not give out the fact, looking from the sky, that this was the city of Bombay. Anti-aircraft combat was regular.

I was around 7 years old at that time. I still remember quite vividly, crouching in the balcony of our dark apartment, looking up into the sky, to see if we could spot any aircrafts. In fear as much as in curiosity. Even as my mom kept telling me to come inside the apartment, and not stay in the balcony. As if there would have been more harm done being in the balcony, should a bombing have actually happened.

But such were the reactions of fright. I was afraid then. But over time, those thoughts became fuzzy, and the larger exposure gained over the years, made me realize the folly of being afraid.

But we are afraid again.

Would I feel safe for my daughter to go to South Mumbai today? Would I worry for her if she had to? I guess so. Will I be wary of stepping into the Renaissance or the Hyatt today? I presume so. Will I worry to be at crowded places like multiplexes, airports, railway stations, malls? Again, I suppose I will (I flew from Delhi to Mumbai, on Friday evening, even while the Taj encounter was still on).

We may need to do, what we have to do. Life will not stop. But there will be new fears that we will live with now.

An Amitabh may sleep with his revolver by his side. We may just make more calls on our cells, to check on our loved ones, to let others know that we are okay. And perhaps pray some more..

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