Our ideology, experiences paint the lenses through which we colour the world and established management
practices. The policies of the Government of India, for example, for the first 45 years of Independence started
with a deep suspicion of the private sector. The countrys interaction with the East India Company and colonialism
played a major part in creating this mindset. On the other hand, the focus of public policy was on the distributive
justice of wealth creation. Even today business houses suffer from a deeply etched dominant logic which restricts
their ability to see a vibrant opportunity to serve people in the bottom zone.
The Buffer Dilemma
Recently I saw a documentary of Favela and Mott Haven and how power politics plays a significant role in these
establishments. When the director asked small kids who by then are very familiar with the usage of assault rifles,
about people of the glamaorous part of the city they only responded that those people comprising of bankers,
investors, industrialists never hated their community or inhabitants - they always wished that they were never
born. When you are conditioned and taken in this kind of environment right from childhood, and you feel the
burden surmounting- do the words of politicians and care takers arent merely rhetoric? And who gives this
hope? The Buffer class! Theoritically, just as in rail coaches, they act as a cushion again unexpected and unwanted
shocks in the journey. Piglet (from Winnie the Pooh) once said, It never hurts to keep looking for the sunshine-
and therefore we believe in dreams- be it realistic or unrealistic! The fact that the journey to achieve that goal is
much more beautiful than the sense of achieveing it. Most charitable organisations think that the private sector
is greedy and uncaring. From this perspective profit motive and poverty alleviation do not mix easily or well. The
onus then comes upon the people at the bottom to rise to the level of the buffer class at least. Bill Gates is
associated with his famous quote, If youre born poor-its not your fault but If you die poor then its your fault!
By the struggles, he has faced in his life and his uneneding toil he is very right to bring this aspect of hard work
and that it yields favorable results- I am in complete resonance with this fact! But the other side of the story
should also highlight the fact that Bill had access to mainframe computers when only a selected few in the world
had. His level of familarity to the machines date back to his age of 10! He was born in the environment of Silicon
valley with access to most of the things and also where he exhibited a high degree of supicion followed by
innovation. How many of the people living at the bottom of the pyramid are this much resourceful? Bil speaks of
growth, but for people living at the bottom of the economic pyramid, growth is not the question, but it is of
survival! And one does not sees dreams in a fire fighting position! Can we just keep aside particular scinitillating
examples and speak of the general mass- one which is not resourceful and perhaps has then become
incompetent? What happens to iron when it is kept idle in the open, exposed to the harsh environment and
weather conditions? A gap of 1% population controlling the 67% of resources- maybe then the society requires
mercenaries of Raz-A-Ghul to snatch from the riches and give it back to the community! That brings me to the
irrestible force paradox, an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force! Same is the paradox of power in the
hands of the aam aadmi, hence domination by the elite!
Power flowing through capillaries
Stone pelting as a part of demonstration is a routine thing in Srinagar after every Friday namaz where a multitude
of voices swarm in to protest against atrocities of the Indian army and the government. Only when such routine
events go uncontrolled, is the media active enough to highlight these events and then begins a mysterious
manipulative game of blaming either front depending upon who suffered the most. A friend of mine serving in
Kupwara region of J&K for two years now says simply that its not politics that goes behind these demonstrations
and aggressions, but its the plight of economics that controls everything. A stone-pelter is paid anywhere
between INR 250-500/- for putting up a good resistance against the army/police men. They also get extra money
for hitting police/army men above the waist. Risking ones life for that less an amount and that too when local
intelligence unit keeps a videotaped eye on all commotion- is not courage but a fear, a fear of hunger-maybe not
of the immediate person but his near and dear ones. In his book, Curfewed Nights, Basharat Peer tells that military
checkpoints were everywhere, and humiliation and abuse from the Indian security forces towards the Kashmiri
residents was part of daily life. The possibility of being caught in gunfire or encountering a land mine while
returning from school was quite evident and reasonable. It brings us back to the same notion that why & what
is Indian army and government trying to protect? The figures represented by the atrocities of these very
protective forces as reported by international agencies are correct or biased and incomplete? What are the
developmental measures been taken by these very government bodies, if at all, and even so why are not they
reflected more actively then the modern notion of upsurges and skirmishes. Why at all media shows only what
it feels like should show and what is the real picture at all! Edgar Allan Poe, particularly known for his tales of
mystery and the macabre, said sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction! Who knows what the truth is? Or is
there any Winston Smith working for the Big Brother Party trying to manipulate history by working closely in a
cubicle and articulating the way humans of tomorrow should think! Power flowing through capillaries I believe is
the most dangerous. The very change makers are the ones who advocate against change and bring down anyone
who wishes to go against them.
The so called profit driven notions dictate decision and resource allocation processes for developing countries
and keep people in the lower zone at the mercy of the ruling elite. We always see talking of Dalal Street or Wall
Street, any dip in the stock market and the ruling class gets in to a fit! Many more jobs would harm the businesses
stock average and not the fact that employment opportunities would be created for millions around. Its
interesting to see then whose interests are reflected on the Wall Street and the Main street.
