British Tabloid to hamlet off Hyderabad

 

I trust the Daily Mail had missed out the report that has appeared widely in the newspaper columns that Mukesh had gifted to himself and his wife, very recently, a state-of-the art, customized Airbus aircraft, which has the latest fittings and gadgets. I got the impression that the newspaper tycoons in the West are different. They are born rich and their passions, ambitions, creations and proclivities are socially accepted. I need not have to explain the thousands of “rags-to-riches” stories in the West that had inspired many across the world. They are respected irrespective of their nationality, creed, culture and colour. They are the people, who have made impossible to happen by their own hard work and vision. I am sure a tabloid running down on Mukesh, in no way, would take the credit and respect that he enjoys amongst the world business community. The tabloid should also know that there could be a dozen Indians or more among 100 top rich persons in the world. Their contributions to the business and society are no less than Fords, Bill Gates and 

people of that ilk.

 

Let me talk about the other news – the one that has appeared in the Times of India –captioned “If IT merged with ET”. For the 

uninitiated, ET means energy technology. It is the first-hand account of a correspondent, who had visited a village 360 miles away from Hyderabad. He narrates the scene of an elderly Indian undergoing EKG test in that remotest village under the supervision of the local doctor. The diagnosis is being made by a cardiologist sitting several hundred miles away”– Bangalore – with the help of satellite images. That feat surpasses what some of the developed countries still cannot achieve. But the flip side of it is that 16 car batteries sourced probably from a nearby workshop power the entire system.– The village does not get uninterrupted power, but the doctors here practise telemedicine. That local doctor can hook to any part of the world and a cardiologist sitting in LA can do the diagnosis. My thoughts wandered further. If electricity was freely available in that village, that local doctor can set up a medicity in a clean and hygienic ambience, where the cost of treatment could be not even one-tenth of what one has to shell out in a city hospital. This could create jobs for at least 200 people either directly at the medical clinic or in the ancillary sector.

 

The report was not over. The reporter describes about the existence of a publishing company doing outsourced work in the same 

village. The skilled manpower to execute the work in the village is trained by Satyam Computers – an important IT company headquartered in Hyderabd. As a part of their corporate social responsibility, the company has trained the local people as data managers and created opportunities for their gainful employment. They are now linked up with the whole world through wireless communications. Satyam trained 120 villagers in data processing and English are now doing the work for a large British publishing house and a few other clients. They work in two shifts and do not move out of the village. Interestingly, a few villagers, who left for 

the cities in search of jobs or were doing jobs there, now had returned and have taken up these jobs. What that inhibits them is not the will to work, money or motivation, but power. Electricity goes off every now and then and every time they cannot hire the car batteries from the nearby mechanic.

 

I feel that though these two news reports are unrelated, there is an emotional link between the two. I wish I were wrong. What was the rationale for the British tabloid to depict a person, like many other tycoons all over the world, pursue his personal interest? Why did the tabloid willfully (that is what I believe) neglected his other achievements such as converting their rather small business outfits in the early 80’s into a global conglomeration employing millions of people, making their presence felt in wide-ranging areas like petroleum, retail, telecom, finance and what have you. The tabloid also should have mentioned that Indian businessmen are the second-largest investors in Britain creating several thousand jobs there and plugging the resource gap. Is there any apartheid policy even in journalism? I do not believe so.

 

I would have loved the tabloid reporting about small hamlet off Hyderabad, which is a perfect example of inclusive growth. Nothing 

can hold back the motivation of the villagers, their home-grown entrepreneurs, professionals who want to do things differently and succeed in their efforts. Yes, India is often termed as a country beset with caste, creed and things of that nature. We are changing that mindset. The British tabloid reporting made me feel that while India is breaking bonds with the past and marching ahead, countries 

elsewhere are getting trapped into mindsets that reflect apartheid, discrimination and backwardness. I wish I were wrong.