Like the Great Bong, I refrained from even letting the thought of the ghastly murder of Manjunathan into my mind let alone write about it. However, this Indian Express edit piece comes as a weeny bit of consolation if you can call it that. Its byline is promising:
Wanted: bright, young, honest Indians willing to die in vain … Manjunathan Shanmugham was from IIM. He, too, had the choice of a cosy job in the private sector where the most dangerous threat is to one’s annual bonus. But Shanmugam joined the public sector IOC and lost his life to the oil mafia. Their deaths pose several questions, and not one of them lends itself to a comfortable answer. First, if parts of the public sector are prone to be hijacked by private mafia, what does that say of the official establishment’s credentials as a modern employer? Remember, NHAI and IOC are high profile PSUs, not some moribund state organisations in a forgotten corner of the country.
There you go. Think twice before you think of “serving the nation.”
Is it too farfetched to say this is the result of the glorious, Pillars-of-Modern-India policies? Control. Government monopoly. And consequent corruption and crime.
In Shanmugham’s case, his quality control duties were complicated several times by the fact that the government controls the price of kerosene. The subsidy on kerosene makes fuel adulteration hugely profitable. The poor mostly buy the fuel at black market prices.
How is this different from the nature of corruption in the erstwhile–should I add Communist–USSR? Perhaps only the degree.
Perhaps, Mani Shankar Aiyar will pilot a bill on stricter penalties for adulterators. They will not exactly be quaking in their boots the day Parliament makes that into law. These people are in the system. And they bank on the fact that there are so few Dubeys and Shanmughams outside it.
Isn’t it strange? For nearly fifty years, the government ensured that it drove away talented and competent people, now it seethes at the IIM and IIT grads that they’re not contributing to the country. In the good old days you lost only your job; now you pay with your life.
Update: Free Speech in Outlook India has opened a new discussion thread on the issue (free registration). Please make your voice heard even there.
Tags: Commentary, Indian Politics, Media Watch, Society & Culture, Weblogs
On 11.25.05 Niketan says:
Sandeep
These cases are getting a high profile because it involved grads from the prestigious institutes. Daily there are thousands of Indians who are fighting/ and finally resigning themselves to their fate in the corrupt environment.
There is a difference in this case and the Satyendra Dubey case. As far as i recollect, the Satyendra Dubey case was one of a robbery gone wrong (Correct me if I am wrong about this). The entire media used this as a weapon to beat the govt. The media made the case that the entire Golden quadrilateral was riddled with corruption. In this case, almost nobody has nailed the govt even though newspaper reports indicate that there is a problem with the IOC Now is the media asking Mani Shankar Aiyer to step down?
Keen to hear your observation on this.
Please do not mistake that I am brushing aside the murder. The guilty parties have to be brought to book.
On 11.25.05 Sandeep says:
Nice observation, Niketan. I’ll certainly respond to you in a separate post instead of in a comment. It might take a couple of days.
On 11.26.05 laks says:
the government’s subsidy of kerosene is certainly a factor in this. andy mukherjee of bloomberg wrote about the wrongful subsidy policy of GoI some days back. with this artificial pricing scheme, even the black market value of kerosene is lower than the market value. indeed that’s the reason the black market exists in the first place.
instead, he aruged for a welfare scheme (if it is politically not avoidable) based on cash payments, allocated through a national social security number without subsidizing any commodity.
On 11.28.05 Kaunteya says:
NDTV, The Hindu, TOI have covered this incident with a defeaning silence. Their favourite secular fundamentalist, Money Sucker Iyer is at the helm of affairs and that explains.
Sandeep i likes your statement-”Think twice before you think of “serving the nation.”
Yea, you really need to think twice to serve this nation, specially under a government which is so opposed to anything remotely nationalistic.
On 11.28.05 Sandeep says:
Kaunteya,
That’s not surprising, and thanks for the compliments.
On 11.28.05 Niketan says:
Kaunteya
I think only the Indian Express seems to have reported this incident. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I still maintain that if this had happened during the NDA tenure, petroleum minister Ram Naik would have been declared guilty by the media, there would have been a huge noise in parliament and the poor minister would have been forced to resign. Nothing of that sort seems to have happened.
Niketan
On 11.28.05 Niketan says:
Here is the example of what I had mentioned earlier. Go through Dilip’s article about the Satyendra Dubey murder and look at how he clearly implicates Vajpayee and the GQ. As of today there is no article from him regards the Manjunath case.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/10dilip.htm
Please do not think I am trying to divert a focus from this. The point I make is that as long as there is such a bias in our so called free media, we will never be able to tackle the problem of corruption.
On 12.08.05 Vineet Khare says:
Hi
I am a journalist with the Tehelka newspaper. I am outraged by what has happed to the IOC man in luckonw. I wish to do an expose on this entire scam. If someone has any information on this, please get in touch with me. I promise to take up this issue. Your identity would be a secret. If you know anyone who knows about this cartel, please tell him to get in touch with me. It’s an issue we cannot let blow away.
Thanks
Vineet Khare
Senior correspondent
tehelka
9891366422
If there are problems reaching me, (it’s an IDEA mobile as you must have noticed) send me an SMS and I will get back to you for sure
On 07.05.06 Desicritics.org: Media, Culture, Politics, Sports and More with a South Asian Focus says:
, cleaning up of Mithi River, injustice towards Homosexuals, banning of sale of elephants, etc. but we have also taken up the responsibility of attaining justice for the common Indian citizens like Jessica Lall, Manjunathan Shanmughan, Meher Bhargava and Satyendra Dubey. One agrees that there has also been misuse of this Youth Power by some scrupulous youth organizations and individuals but then it’s just the case of separating the bad apples from the good ones.
On 07.05.06 The Indian Youths - United We Stand at To Each Its Own says:
[...] Our surroundings, our political/social environment today is so much different to what it was 10-20 years ago; then why should our thinking be that ancient too. I wouldn’t be wrong if I said that today’s youths are so much more emotional and fired up towards needed causes and social issues, many of which have no relation with us directly or in-directly. Not only have we gone on street marches with our views on Reservation in Education sector, building of Narmada Dam, cleaning up of Mithi River, injustice towards Homosexuals, banning of sale of elephants, etc. but we have also taken up the responsibility of attaining justice for the common Indian citizens like Jessica Lall, Manjunathan Shanmughan, Meher Bhargava and Satyendra Dubey. Agree there have also been mis-use of this Youth Power by some scrupulous youth organizations and individuals but then it’s just the case of separating the bad apples from the good ones. We are not only aware of our duties towards our families but also our responsibilities towards our country and its people. Today we are blessed with advanced technology & means which the previous generations lacked and thankfully we have made positive use of it by creating and spreading more awareness. For example - sending out SMS, email fwds, blog posts, online discussions, etc. This has not only helped in connecting various youth groups nationwide but it has also made it possible for many Indians overseas to lend their support to the needed causes back home. But the major support and backing that has inspired and encouraged youth involvement has come from the Media. Yes, I agree most of the time we blame them for their selfish goals and TRP ratings but how can we deny their involvement. Even if their support is a part of some money-making plan, as long as they are making our united voice reach the common man - our purpose is served. So yes we are self-centered when it comes to betterment of our nation and yes, we are un-attached to materialist gains and we don’t give a damn what you think about us. But just remember that we have our eyes on you, no more injustice, no more excuses, we are out to achieve positive results only - We are the Indian Youths. [...]