Disturbing questions
Is carpet-bombing advertising a substitute for good manners and best business practices? Alas, many sawdust caesars of Indian industry somewhat foolishly venturing out into foreign territories to win friends and customers seem to believe so. A case in point is ICICI Bank which is all set to make yet another public issue to raise a mammoth sum of Rs.7,000 crore from publics in India and abroad. During the past six years of often desperate efforts to keep this nationally vital publication afloat, we have had occasion to write, phone, fax and e-mail numerous bankers, investors, venture capitalists and sundry other professed champions of the public interest with business proposals for loans, capital, partnerships etc. Inevitably given its sustained multi-media advertising blitz which proclaims it is a private sector people’s bank and implicitly the mirror opposite of the country’s notoriously unresponsive public sector banks, for a long time ICICI was on the top of EducationWorld’s agenda. Yet surprisingly a rain of letters, calls and messages to the high-profile worthies who manage this institution — managing director K.V. Kamath, directors Lalita Gupte, Chanda Kochhar, Kalpana Morparia, and Renuka Ramnath (who heads ICICI Ventures) — has never elicited the common courtesy of a reply. To that list add Nakichet Mor, the much lauded corporate social responsibility persona of ICICI Bank.
Of course implicit in this unanimous neglect to respond is the message that this publication’s business proposals were too ludicrous and high-risk to merit consideration. Nevertheless even within the community of hard-hearted kiss-up-kick-down bankers (bank credit to farmers as a percentage of total advances has reduced from 18 to 10 percent during the past three years which is one explanation of mass farmers’ suicides) it’s common practice to communicate mealy-mouthed rejection of dicey business proposals. That not even one such letter has been received from this professed people’s bank which is carpet bombing the media with its hum hai na ("we are there for you") messages, raises disturbing questions about the business philosophy and capabilities of ICICI Bank’s top management. And of the pink newspapers and business magazines which have serially celebrated these worthies as outstanding business managers.
Cadillac communist philosophy
Without doubt down south in peninsular India, the venerable, time-tested Chennai-based The Hindu (estb.1878) with its 12 editions, is the region’s most respected daily newspaper. With a certified circulation of over one million per day and advertisers of all shapes, sizes, hues and ideologies scrambling to promote their goods and services in its columns, this daily — whose liberal ideology belies its title — is riding high on a unprecedented wave of popularity. Currently The Hindu’s operations are supervised by its high-profile editor N. Ram and executive editor N. Ravi who wrested control of this influential daily two years ago following a brief internecine family feud. Since then this once arch-conservative daily has been given a complete makeover by an Italian designer and its conservative-liberal editorial line has moved left in keeping with the ideological predilections of Ram, often described in media circles as the quintessential Brezhnev-style Cadillac communist. Nevertheless even Ram’s most envious critics within the media and elsewhere concede that under his watch, this venerable daily has maintained its reputation for balance, fairness and integrity — an opinion shared by the editors of this relatively puny publication.
Therefore the editors of this tiny organ were taken aback when in The Hindu’s edition of September 28, several paragraphs relating to S. Kadur winner of the Infosys-EducationWorld Young Achievers Award 2005, were cadged verbatim from EW by Alladi Jayasri, reportedly a senior correspondent of the venerated daily. Although initially flattered by the attention which the twice-born ruling family of The Hindu refused to accord this not-so-modest publication in another context, the editors of EW felt it incumbent upon themselves to write to Ram and demand a private apology.
But despite a detailed letter setting out clear evidence of unattributed plagiarism and several reminders thereafter, Ram has maintained a stoic silence on the issue. Perhaps in conformity with the Left philosophy of what’s mine is mine, but what’s yours is also mine.
Convenient memory lapse
Lucknow University’s Foundation Day function on November 25 hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Vice chancellor R.P. Singh declared that the university would spare no efforts in making the "platinum jubilee" year of the varsity a memorable affair to which end he invited President A.P.J. Kalam to visit the campus. The tiny detail which Singh overlooked was the university, (estb: 1921) had already celebrated its platinum jubilee (75 years) in 1996. This cast a shadow over his request to the Union HRD ministry and UGC for ad hoc grants and request to all affiliated colleges to contribute Rs.25,000 each for the scheduled celebrations. The vice chancellor’s convenient memory lapse provoked teachers and students to openly criticise him in the local media for making false claims to raise funds as well as of trying to push himself into the limelight. Nor did Singh’s ingenious clarification that the platinum jubilee celebrations that had indeed begun in 1996 were merely being brought to a conclusion this year, cut any ice. Consequently the celebration was renamed 85th Foundation Day.
Matters came to a head on November 24 when following a query by Moulendu Misra president of the Lucknow University Associated Colleges Teachers’ Association (LUACTA) on the wisdom of staging a grand celebration while the university is reeling under a Rs.8 crore deficit, Singh publicly threatened Misra with an enquiry and suspension, provoking an ugly spat. But by then much damage had already been done and the state’s governor T.V. Rajeshwar and chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav disassociated themselves from the celebrations.
Finally, on Foundation Day Singh was left to make the best of a thinly attended function where he declared that his untiring efforts to put the university on the world map would continue.
Presumably for academic achievements.