Thirumangalam Election

There are very strong rumours doing the rounds about the use or misuse of money in the Assembly bi-election held in Thirumangalam, Tamil Nadu a few weeks back. The grapevine has it that Rs.10,000 was the price of a vote. TV’s showed one of the leading political leaders handing over money to a voter openly. Possibly, the Rs.100 crore spent on the election will soon be reclaimed several times brimming over through persuasion or coercion. The winner is now the hero because his guilt has not been nailed.

Raju – From good to bad

Ramalinga Raju was by all accounts very good during the initial years of Satyam. He was known and admired for instilling a culture of quality and efficiency in his company. Then hubris took over, convincing him that he would forever remain the darling of the country and he could do no wrong.

This emboldened him to fashion two pies for his sons, in the form of infrastructure and real estate companies – ventures which require heavy greasing and political patronage to stay in business. He dug deep into Satyam coffers and thus started his descent from good to bad. He was caught and thus became the villain of the nation – and rightly so.

The depth of the Satyam tragedy lies in the fact that people who were in the know of things chose to look on, without seeing, or pretending not to see. The rot was all pervasive and everyone close to Raju became fallen heroes because of their silence and refusal to stand up for their convictions.

Transformation from good to bad

When a young person starts a venture, he is a picture of idealism and healthy ambition. The rat race and greed then begin to take their toll. They bend and crawl, to meet the demands of the political system in the country which encourages patronage, speed money and influence peddling. Expediency takes over moral compulsions. The silence of the co-accomplices is the easiest of things to buy. People who started as good human beings become contaminators of the system – very much like those polluting the holy river Ganges with filth and muck. And sadly, the general public around them becomes immune to the rot around them, accepting them as the way of life.

Nemesis of the bad

There lurks hope amidst all the chaos and murky dealings of people in high places. Perpetrators of crimes are getting caught and brought to book with a heavy hand. Politicians and corporate boards are beginning to realize that the Law of the Universe will mete out to them their dues, multiplied over, and they will all meet their nemesis sooner than later. The Infosys and Wipros of India remind everyone that there is a promise of good things to come for those who remain steadfast in doing the right things, coupled with attention to quality and efficiency.

Cleaning up of the Augean stables

In the aftermath of the Mumbai terror strikes, the media whipped up frenzy, (because danger was at their door, too close for comfort) and forced the politicians to run for cover or mend themselves. They are, with honorable exceptions, unlikely to be partners in the fight against the cancer of corruption and unethical practices because they are part of the devious system, depending greatly on the crumbs, grace and patronage of the political class. Raising a hue and cry depends on you and me, refusing to be onlookers when horrible wrongs are committed right in front of our eyes. And, as Gandhi said, we have to become the change we want to see.

Today, we are entering the 60^th year of our Republic. We owe it to ourselves and the generations to come, to force the politicians to mend their ways. Then, and only then, will the significance of the statement of purpose and vision found in the Preamble to our constitution begin to make sense.

The preamble to our constitution assures the following.

We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens:

Justice, social, economic and political;

Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

Equality of status and of opportunity;

And to promote among them all

Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation

There is a lot of hope hidden behind those words if we the people of India learn to demand them as our birth right.

For India at 60, you and I are the rays of hope.

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Last couple of weeks we saw a drama unfold – a drama that shocked millions of shareholders of Satyam, its 53000+ employees and a nation of a billion people – surely it appeared to be the scam of the century, as far as India is concerned.

In the days that followed, the Government took some stern measures – in that it arrested the Raju brothers, appointed a Board which promises intellect, respect and most of all experience that can sail this army of 53000 employees to a feeling of security, build confidence amongst its investors and lead from turmoil to victory.

Today, the market was abuzz with another news on Satyam. This time with the (t)rumour that Vivek Paul, the erstwhile Vice Chairman of Wipro, is touted to be the next CEO of Satyam Computers.

We don’t know how far this is true but it is believed that his entry to the company will bring a lot of confidence amongst the investors.

So, who is  Vivek Paul ? Let’s take a sneak peek at Vivek’s corporate biography

1. Vivek Paul is known in the outsourcing industry as a turnaround king. He turned Wipro from a mere $150 million company to a billion dollar IT giant by 2005 – all in a span of seven years.
2. Vivek joined a Private Equity Firm, Texas Pacific Group as a partner in 2005 but resigned from the firm in Dec 2008. Some say because he wanted to take active participation in Satyam. In fact, it is believed that Vivek wanted to lead a management buy out of Satyam or mount a take over bid through CSC (Computer Services Corp)
3. Vivek Paul was named among the best managers by Business Week, among the top 30 most respected global CEOs of the world by Barrons and among the top influential business managers by Time magazine.

So, with all these credentials and a company like Satyam which has a plethora of challenges to be tackled including streamlining the finances, reassuring the clients, instilling faith in the company, winning the confidence of the employees and most importantly proving to its shareholders that for Satyam it’s a new beginning, Vivek has certainly a lot to win over.

The question is will Vivek (Wisdom) take over Satyam (Truth) as its CEO ?

Time will tell…For now, see this interview by TiECon

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