Re: presenting Muthu...
Yamanoor Srihari <yamanoor-/[email protected]> Wed, 3 Mar 2004 23:38:37 -0800 (PST)
| Newsgroups | gmane.culture.region.india.general |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
--0-1047221697-1078385917=:87288 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii A very insightful piece, appropriate for the election time! I would like to know what Muthu thinks about the election commission trying to let people vote "None of the Above". Given Muthu's disillusionment, does he feel cheated about the now infamous "India Shining" campaign? If Muthu is from Tamil Nadu, he will remember the DMK's very similar desparate attempt in 2001 on SUN TV. Do both incidents portend an ominous sign? I would like Muthu to sound off on some of these other issues as well! Srihari "M.S. Suresh" <[email protected]> wrote: Presenting Muthu... Let me introduce Muthu. Who is this "Muthu"? Muthu is one of the many names in India that both males and females have. Muthu is a layman, an average Indian, who has a good job, good salary, good spouse, good children, a working cellphone with international roaming and WAP facility, a maruti zen, a Palm, a good house, lot of savings, good bank balances, a pentium 4 multimedia computer at home for the globalized children... someone who is by and large, "a happy Indian". There are a lot of such Muthus, and the problem is not with that. The problem is that India, with a population of over a 100 crore, does not comprize Muthus alone. The more pathetic, unfortunate and more sad a problem is that these Muthus are either not aware of this, or are indifferent to this painful reality. So long as Muthu and family are well, India is a great country. When the cellphone does not work, when the maruti zen yawns when enroute with family to the Beach in the middle of a hot sunny overbridge, when negotiating through a high traffic signal, when Muthu's flat appartment faces water scarcity, when the roads are not good for the precious maruti zen to vroom along, then, Muthu starts cursing India. "What a wretched country! I am going to US", Muthu sobs and laments. Sad, but True. (phrase courtesy: the great number by Metallica.) Fortunately, one of those Muthus stops being just another Muthu, and "thinks": 1) Where does India want to go today? (allusion courtesy: Microsoft) 2) What do our Political Parties say to us these days? 3) What have these Parties been telling us all along, since 1947? 4) What do these words mean: "stability, economic growth, GDP, inflation, foreign exchange, poverty alleviation, literacy... secularism, hindutva, globalization, communalism, employment, silicon valley... etc."? 5) What has India "achieved" since 1947? These questions may all be too big, but their answers, unfortunately, are too short and single worded. This particular Muthu who thinks, knows that. Imagining that India is one large Multinational Organization, Muthu starts doing a SWOT Analysis on India. Before getting any further with this Analysis, some hard realities about India being a Democracy strike Muthu. Coalition Politics is becoming inevitable - so proclaim the Parties and the Analysts alike, agreeably. But why? The number of Voters favouring a single Party and its ideology is reducing. Parties which were once strong and large have split up (why, is not the point, that they have split up, is). Parties which were once diametrically opposite in ideologies now work together as Coalition Partners for just one reason: to win the election. These Coalition Partners even switch partnership at another point in time, for the very same reason: to win the election. Oh no, this is not a joke, this is politics, politics in India, Muthu grins. Another one bothers Muthu: the number of Voters is reducing - "now who can argue with me on this point?" Muthu wonders. One can safely assume that over the last three decades, the voting rate has come down from over 65% (or more) to even 50% (or less). While chewing on those numbers, Muthu keeps in mind the following: a) rigging, duplicating of votes b) India's total voting strength vis a vis total population of over a 100 crore (1billion, in globalized terms) c) those who really bother to cast their votes Muthu takes the next step and feels that India has some dire priorities to be addressed: 1. Control Population - not brutally, but something like China, with a clear 'over the period of time' strategy 2. Provide Literacy for the remaining 70% of India's population, likewise, with a clear 'over the period of time' strategy 3. Draw up a clear "Organic" Growth Strategy for the next five years 4. Implement that Strategy with a time frame 5. Evaluate the effects Muthu shares this thought over a chat with some fellow citizens who shoot back with questions from their MBA/CA/... books: "Array babaa Muthu, what about our huge Debts? Fiscal deficits? Foreign Exchange? The Rupee? The Trade Deficit? The inflation rate? The GDP? The ... ?" Muthu smiles, and examines some creative possiblities: Why not make a systemic and organic change in the Indian Administration? Why not remove Democracy and institute Bureaucracy? No, this is not a joke, Muthu goes on. Organizations are a bureaucratic setup, with Leaders, Managers, Hierarchies, Reporting Relationships, Responsibility, Authority, Accountability, Delivery, Quality, Competition, Systems, Procedures, Methodologies, Impact Assessment Mechanisms, Tools for corrective action, Performance Appraisal... etc. all laid down in our management books. Organizations are run with profit and growth motives, and a lot of Organizations are empires like Tata, Reliance, Birla, Wipro, Infosys... Muthu sparks with creativity. Muthu's realistic assessment of the status quo and the pragmatic outlook for the future do attract our attention; but Muthu's creativity is a little too imaginative, though not completely non-viable. Our choices are limited: 1) carry cyanides on our necks and die for our politicians 2) abstain from voting like a cynic, pay income taxes through the nose 3) catalyze a change in the system by working with people 4) continue to be the typical Muthu, the happy Indian, curse India and migrate to US when something does not work 5) remain in our rooms and listen to Heavy Metal. Please think, it is election time. :) MSS Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT Click Here --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iluIndia/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. La vie.. http://www.stanford.edu/~yamanoor http://yamanoor.tblog.com --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search - Find what youre looking for faster. --0-1047221697-1078385917=:87288 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit <html><body> <DIV>A very insightful piece, appropriate for the election time! I would like to know what Muthu thinks about the election commission trying to let people vote "None of the Above". Given Muthu's disillusionment, does he feel cheated about the now infamous "India Shining" campaign? If Muthu is from Tamil Nadu, he will remember the DMK's very similar desparate attempt in 2001 on SUN TV. Do both incidents portend an ominous sign? I would like Muthu to sound off on some of these other issues as well!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Srihari<BR><BR><B><I>"M.S. Suresh" <[email protected]></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"><TT>Presenting Muthu...<BR><BR>Let me introduce Muthu. Who is this "Muthu"? Muthu is one of the many names in India that both males <BR>and females have. Muthu is a layman, an average Indian, who has a good job, good salary, good <BR>spouse, good children, a working cellphone with international roaming and WAP facility, a maruti <BR>zen, a Palm, a good house, lot of savings, good bank balances, a pentium 4 multimedia computer at <BR>home for the globalized children... someone who is by and large, "a happy Indian".<BR><BR>There are a lot of such Muthus, and the problem is not with that. The problem is that India, with a <BR>population of over a 100 crore, does not comprize Muthus alone. The more pathetic, unfortunate and <BR>more sad a problem is that these Muthus are either not aware of t his, or are indifferent to this <BR>painful reality. So long as Muthu and family are well, India is a great country. When the cellphone <BR>does not work, when the maruti zen yawns when enroute with family to the Beach in the middle of a <BR>hot sunny overbridge, when negotiating through a high traffic signal, when Muthu's flat appartment <BR>faces water scarcity, when the roads are not good for the precious maruti zen to vroom along, then, <BR>Muthu starts cursing India. "What a wretched country! I am going to US", Muthu sobs and laments.<BR><BR>Sad, but True. (phrase courtesy: the great number by Metallica.)<BR><BR>Fortunately, one of those Muthus stops being just another Muthu, and "thinks":<BR>1) Where does India want to go today? (allusion courtesy: Microsoft)<BR>2) What do our Political Parties say to us these days?<BR>3) What have these Parties been telling us all along, since 1947?<BR>4) What do these words mean: "stability, economic growth, GDP, inflation, foreign exchange , poverty <BR>alleviation, literacy... secularism, hindutva, globalization, communalism, employment, silicon <BR>valley... etc."?<BR>5) What has India "achieved" since 1947?<BR><BR>These questions may all be too big, but their answers, unfortunately, are too short and single <BR>worded. This particular Muthu who thinks, knows that.<BR><BR>Imagining that India is one large Multinational Organization, Muthu starts doing a SWOT Analysis on <BR>India. Before getting any further with this Analysis, some hard realities about India being a <BR>Democracy strike Muthu.<BR><BR>Coalition Politics is becoming inevitable - so proclaim the Parties and the Analysts alike, <BR>agreeably. But why? The number of Voters favouring a single Party and its ideology is reducing. <BR>Parties which were once strong and large have split up (why, is not the point, that they have split <BR>up, is). Parties which were once diametrically opposite in ideologies now work together as Coalition <BR>Partners for just one reason: to win the election. These Coalition Partners even switch partnership <BR>at another point in time, for the very same reason: to win the election. Oh no, this is not a joke, <BR>this is politics, politics in India, Muthu grins.<BR><BR>Another one bothers Muthu: the number of Voters is reducing - "now who can argue with me on this <BR>point?" Muthu wonders. One can safely assume that over the last three decades, the voting rate has <BR>come down from over 65% (or more) to even 50% (or less). While chewing on those numbers, Muthu keeps <BR>in mind the following:<BR>a) rigging, duplicating of votes<BR>b) India's total voting strength vis a vis total population of over a 100 crore (1billion, in <BR>globalized terms)<BR>c) those who really bother to cast their votes<BR><BR>Muthu takes the next step and feels that India has some dire priorities to be addressed:<BR>1. Control Population - not brutally, but something like China, with a clear 'over the period of <BR>time ' strategy<BR>2. Provide Literacy for the remaining 70% of India's population, likewise, with a clear 'over the <BR>period of time' strategy<BR>3. Draw up a clear "Organic" Growth Strategy for the next five years<BR>4. Implement that Strategy with a time frame<BR>5. Evaluate the effects<BR><BR>Muthu shares this thought over a chat with some fellow citizens who shoot back with questions from <BR>their MBA/CA/... books: "Array babaa Muthu, what about our huge Debts? Fiscal deficits? Foreign <BR>Exchange? The Rupee? The Trade Deficit? The inflation rate? The GDP? The ... ?"<BR><BR>Muthu smiles, and examines some creative possiblities: Why not make a systemic and organic change in <BR>the Indian Administration? Why not remove Democracy and institute Bureaucracy? No, this is not a <BR>joke, Muthu goes on. Organizations are a bureaucratic setup, with Leaders, Managers, Hierarchies, <BR>Reporting Relationships, Responsibility, Authority, Accountability, Delivery, Quality, Competition, <B R>Systems, Procedures, Methodologies, Impact Assessment Mechanisms, Tools for corrective action, <BR>Performance Appraisal... etc. all laid down in our management books. Organizations are run with <BR>profit and growth motives, and a lot of Organizations are empires like Tata, Reliance, Birla, Wipro, <BR>Infosys... Muthu sparks with creativity.<BR><BR>Muthu's realistic assessment of the status quo and the pragmatic outlook for the future do attract <BR>our attention; but Muthu's creativity is a little too imaginative, though not completely non-viable. <BR>Our choices are limited:<BR><BR>1) carry cyanides on our necks and die for our politicians<BR>2) abstain from voting like a cynic, pay income taxes through the nose<BR>3) catalyze a change in the system by working with people<BR>4) continue to be the typical Muthu, the happy Indian, curse India and migrate to US when something <BR>does not work<BR>5) remain in our rooms and listen to Heavy Metal.<BR><BR>Please think, it is electio n time.<BR><BR>:)<BR><BR>MSS<BR><BR></TT><BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><DIV> <DIV> <DIV><FONT color=darkblue> <P align=left>La vie..</P> <P align=left><A href="http://www.stanford.edu/~yamanoor">http://www.stanford.edu/~yamanoor</A></P> <P align=left><A href="http://yamanoor.tblog.com">http://yamanoor.tblog.com</A></P> <P align=left> </P> <P align=left> </P></FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV><p><hr SIZE=1> Do you Yahoo!?<br> Yahoo! Search - <a href="http://search.yahoo.com/?fr=ad-mailsig-home">Find what youre looking for faster.</a> </body></html> --0-1047221697-1078385917=:87288--