I don’t have to mention the sequence or details of the events that led to the great disaster of Singur. What actually deserves mention and laudatory applause are the ethics, values and principles that make Mr.J.R.D.Tata the gentleman he is. Poor Mamata Bannerjee, little did she know that her move to stand by the farmers in protest against one of the prolific industrialists of the country, who was trying to bring the poster child of Indian innovation in frugal manufacturing and numerous other opportunities to the state of West Bengal, would ultimately not result in any significant enhancement in her vote bank. The Nano, which drew the attention of the world towards India, is now resulting in bent eyebrows about the friction industry faces with vote bank politics in this part of the world. Some western newspaper had a report whose title read “Tata Nano falls in Indian ditch”. The Singur imbroglio will not only scare away huge potential investments in the state of Bengal, but could also force a rethink about foreign investors planning to invest in India’s booming economy. The comments it has drawn from Indian industry stalwarts clearly speak for themselves. Sunil Mittal made it clear enough when he said “If the house of Tatas can face such serious problems, then it is definitely a sorry state of affairs”. Infosys and many other conglomerates have stated that they are closely watching the Singur episode and would take cues from it about their future intent of investing in the state and even their current investments. A Trinamool Congress henchman close to Mamata said on condition of anonymity that Mamata Bannerjee might have to face the stigma of driving off investments from Bengal for a long time.
But Mamata Bannerjee is not new in the game of politics. Her stature might not have grown at the pace with witch UP CM Mayawati’s has, but it is still worth taking note of. She’s always found the protest route the best thing to do. Right from the time she forayed into politics, she was vociferous and also got literally, I mean physically charged at by CPI henchmen, the police and also probably the RAF. But this has never deterred her to keep away from the political bigwigs. She’s slowly and steadily earned a noteworthy status in the Red/Left dominated politics of the state. By now, she’s experienced enough to know opportunity from disaster. Then, where did she go wrong in case of Singur? Simple. She couldn’t comprehend Mr.Tata. In fact, many of us might have done the same mistake if we were at her position. The prospect of relocating the Nano factory would mean incurring a loss of about Rs.500 crore, which is a huge sum by any standards to forgo. Therefore, she thought if she could force/choke the govt. or the Tatas to return the disputed 400 acres of land, she could score a noticeable political victory and significantly increase the size of her vote bank by tilting the farmers in her favor. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn the way she expected them too and she has nothing to do now.
The whole episode brings to the fore the reason why the Tata group is not only a national brand of repute, but internationally acclaimed for its core values and business ethics. This makes me proud as a future member of this group, whose leader is a man who doesn’t believe in compromising his values for anything.
But Mamata Bannerjee is not new in the game of politics. Her stature might not have grown at the pace with witch UP CM Mayawati’s has, but it is still worth taking note of. She’s always found the protest route the best thing to do. Right from the time she forayed into politics, she was vociferous and also got literally, I mean physically charged at by CPI henchmen, the police and also probably the RAF. But this has never deterred her to keep away from the political bigwigs. She’s slowly and steadily earned a noteworthy status in the Red/Left dominated politics of the state. By now, she’s experienced enough to know opportunity from disaster. Then, where did she go wrong in case of Singur? Simple. She couldn’t comprehend Mr.Tata. In fact, many of us might have done the same mistake if we were at her position. The prospect of relocating the Nano factory would mean incurring a loss of about Rs.500 crore, which is a huge sum by any standards to forgo. Therefore, she thought if she could force/choke the govt. or the Tatas to return the disputed 400 acres of land, she could score a noticeable political victory and significantly increase the size of her vote bank by tilting the farmers in her favor. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn the way she expected them too and she has nothing to do now.
The whole episode brings to the fore the reason why the Tata group is not only a national brand of repute, but internationally acclaimed for its core values and business ethics. This makes me proud as a future member of this group, whose leader is a man who doesn’t believe in compromising his values for anything.
