THE GREAT INDIAN TAMASHA.


We have been witness to so much during the last few months. Seems like a country in a hurry to concur. Markets came crashing around the world. Chain Bomb Blast in towns and cities. Bankruptcy of top US bankers, Economic meltdown of many mighty countries’. Among all these mayhems, we also watched the long debate of 123 agreements with US, which has been now made in to law by the US president. The Americans are certainly trying to gobble up the power trade and lasting profits for as long as one can remember. [Best policy will be on lines of BOT, build operate and transfer]

All these hyper action happened in the backdrop of the greatest recession witnessed by the whole world after the great depression in US during the thirties. Those who professed
Thoroughly about the finance management of free markets are no more in the scene. The so called finance experts are now hiding and are no more seen preaching to the people about the virtue of investing in the style and methods they told was the right thing to do.

All those buoyant blue eyed kids are a confused lot now, those market experts, who were seen like the persons with a magic wand, who are capable of doing nothing wrong any where any time. The millions of middleclass people who got trapped in this lure for wealth in double quick time by investing their hard earned money in the way shown by those so called market and finance experts, must now be regretting for their foolishness ,because all or at least a major portion of their savings has been lost in weeks. Dreams shattered terribly disappointed and mostly disillusioned. The world and the ways of the gods are funny at times and strike where they are most complacent. The Titanic story must be remembered by all those who might think their might is the mightiest. [The owner of the ship claimed it to be unsinkable only to be proved wrong in the very first voyage itself.] Only to be reminded rudely and cruelly at times to prove how wrong they were. I remember an old lady who was in her late sixties investing heavily all her income and savings in mutual funds which on the other side was used for investing in share markets from where some did earn good profits to begin with and was told by the undersigned to be careful as it was like gambling. Her reply to me then was that, we all are under one kind of risk or other because our own house roof also may fall up on us any night. She went on with her interests in mutual funds while, I went on minding my own business. Fortunately, I have not met her after the melt down and sincerely hope she has got at least some thing left.

India has survived mostly unscathed because we were not very deeply involved with investments in US and Europe. The silence of the Chinese has some thing eerie about their involvement as they were the main investors in US along with Japan, Singapore, and other Asian and European countries.



It is always ideal for all countries not to make any businessman with greed, a big entity. Like Lehman brothers, AIG etc. The trouble is that they will never be satisfied, no matter how big they evolve themselves in to be but always will be greedy for more and more and at times make them do crimes even to sustain their growth and rate of growth.

We only witnessed last week the drama produced, directed and played by none other than our big mouth business tycoon Vijay Mallaya [Kingfisher boss]. After a successful
tie up or take over of Jet air, he was seen justifying the firing of thousands of employees to show and hold the government responsible for not cutting on the fuel rates even after the international price of petrol nose dived to 68 dollars a barrel from 163 dollars a few weeks back.

He was clearly playing the game in lines of 'you cut the price or we cut the jobs'. The action was amounting to blackmail tactics, perhaps the brain child of the super tycoon.
This is only one instance, where by a single man can dictate terms with the destiny of millions of people because they are too big for any country. No one should be allowed to grow to such levels [holding 60 percent of market share] where it becomes monopoly and at that level there are no more competitors and the guy starts to dictate terms.

US pitfalls has been experienced and seen by us all. We should at least make sure that it does not get repeated in India. Our bank nationalization and land reforms [though not done in all states but Kerala and perhaps one or two more states in India] of the sixties is landmark policies which has helped the government to have control over matters important to our countrymen and country. We have also witnessed the US following the same path but this time to save their country from certain disaster. How many states in India have a policy which stipulates the maximum number of acres of land owned by a single individual? If the government succeeds in bringing a ceiling for the maximum number of acres of land [say 10acres] permissible in UP, MP, Bihar and some other Indian states we will only be doing justice delayed but not denied for long.

If we analyze the state of affairs in those states we can witness that most of the land is in very few hands unlike in Karala where The Karala Land Ceiling Acts made those poor farmers working like slaves only for some individuals to get richer, while they were left to toil and die but, things changed dramatically over night as the workers in farms became the land owners. That was the beginning of an era where ultimately the middle class is in majority and thriving as well. Such examples can not be seen in most of the North Indian States. We either see the super rich with thousands of acres or the most poor who does not own land and lives like a slave in his own country. Starving to death or committing suicides etc. No body cares. I just witnessed on CNN news revealing that in AP alone 1800 farmers committed suicides and in many cases the Dist head did not even visit, leave alone helping them.






Indian government came out with prudential accounting norms in late eighties and early nineties. After which some banks which was showing profits for decades and handsomely contributing to the government kitty for long, had taken a set back due to some heavyweights turning out to be the willful defaulters. The confederation of Indian Industries which was then headed by ICICI bank chairman Mr.Kamath had forcefully
and openly criticized the government for not closing those loss making banks overnight, so as to leave the field alone for the private players to make hay while the sun was shining. Nationalized Banks not only turned around in a couple of years but have started contributing heavily to the GDP of the governments, while the profits made by ICICI have gone in drain in useless US Securities and investments which has turned sour.

The urgent measures now undertaken by the government of India is mainly to bail out the private bankers and not the nationalized banks which are all sound and healthy. Even after writing off all those farm loans and also earlier losses was also got reversed or made up.

If we have to survive as a unified country then we all have to open up our eyes to the reality. We just can not give in to the demands of some section saying Mumbai is for Maratis’ alone or for that matter India is for Hindu’s alone. Our secularism is our strength and we should hold on to it.

We also must make sure that our business is not hijacked by youngsters from Harvard and Radcliff alone. We have some of the best educational institutions in the world for Engineering Business Management Medical Science etc. The best brains in the world also belong to Indians. What more fundamentals or help do we need. Our teachings and scriptures which are thousands of years old are best suited for the development of the whole world. It has been proved since long, as can be seen from the fact that Germans have more Sanskrit literature than the country of its origin which is India.

It is important to hold on to our strengths rather than looking out for strength and guidance. If some is seen cloning those failed teachers again then god only can save our country.


Compiled by,

M.Balakrishnan,16a 3rd layout,Meena Estate,Coimbatore .INDIA PIN-641028, RES.PH 2310637[std 0422] cell.9894474174