Nation on the move: the Dynamics of Demographics

India is a truly diversified nation. A federal system with thirty odd states and union territories within, of different culture, cast and creed, different climatic zones,  the population speaking hundreds of languages;  India with the multiplicity of  hues and shades that it possesses in every area, stands so unique among nations of the world. Managing a nation as diverse as India, could be a challenge for any Government.

Helped by global changes such as fall in crude oil prices and increased inflow in FDI that helped the country in controlling its Current Account deficit, the national planners today focuses on imaginative campaigns such as ‘Clean India’ ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ and now ‘Startup India’ etc. Infrastructure, Energy, Healthcare and Entrepreneurship development are paramount priorities for the Central Government.

Within this background, we have to view the Indian demography.  Heading to become the most populous nation of the world in a decade, India enjoys the unique advantage of having more than 50% of its denizens coming under the age of 25 years. It is estimated that by the year 2020, Indian will be one of the youngest nation on the Planet Earth with an average age of 29 years, which is far lower than China, America and Europe. With its youth power at the peak, the nation offers many possibilities and opportunities to its citizens.

 Indian youth also have to face its challenges.  That comes in the form of unskilled labor, rural population, global job travel restrictions and limited focus on entrepreneurship. These challenges have to be overcome so that the country can enable and empower its youth into job creation, wealth creation and the distribution of the same.

 In the last decade, many nations of the world underwent drastic political changes within, led predominantly by its youth who were idling and were devoid of activities of employment and entrepreneurship. They felt suffocated within their existing systems led by people who were alienated from the reality, sitting in glass houses, on denial. For a nation such as India, with more than 65% of its population below the age of 35 years, there could be a demographic disaster.  This calls for campaigns to consolidate and lead Indian youth power constructively into peaceful activates of job and wealth creation.

 Between  the agony and ecstasy of the its growth, somewhere the planners of the country couldn’t focus properly on the necessity of preparing the Indian youth to take up employment which lies not only in the brick and mortar economy but also in the digital world. Unskilled labour is an unwanted force. Immediately the country needs to define various skills (old and new) that are required, create the curriculum and impart the same through the existing and new institutions.

An ageing world would require assistance from the youth for running their affairs smoothly. For every nation of the world, youth power is required for sheer existence. India possesses the Youth power in abundance.  Immediately equipping Indian youth with skills and empower them to meet the current and emerging global needs will be an opener for them travel across the world. An example is the Indian IT force during the turn of the last century.

 A century so characterized by Knowledge, it is imperative that the people are imparted with the same. Therein comes the process of learning.  Of the various methodologies that are available today, experiential learning process gains utmost leeway in developing personnel.  

 Preparing Indian youth, skilling them up, upgrading their proficiency and making them employable and or leading them to entrepreneurship are the Nation’s top most priority

 To put it briefly, India has its work cut out for the future.

Mentoring: The need of the hour for start-up entrepreneurs

Start-up Challenges

Rahul has always been a creative kid. He is among ideas and comes out with solutions on how to improve things, fill the gaps and resolve challenges being faced by humanity. Everyone known to him expected him to make a good entrepreneur and later a successful industrialist. After his engineering studies, he went ahead in right earnest to bring up a company by converting some of the ideas that he had nurtured long in his mind, into product solutions.

As Rahul started up, he began facing many challenges in the company related to manpower, governmental regulations and in organizing finance. He never had any inkling of these before and never faced any of it. Alone, he started getting into the resolutions and in the process, his product ideas completely took a back seat. Instead of spending quality time on his ideas, he began running after government offices and financial institutions to solve the impediments that never seemed to end. After two years, nothing happened and Rahul by then had turned out into a tired, unhappy, passion less person. He was completely crestfallen and he dropped out of his entrepreneurial journey.

Mohan was a young person full of ideas and passion with a high level of innovation within him. As he finished his studies, he wanted to try his hands in entrepreneurship. Though he had fairly good idea of his product solution, in order to understand the business and its processes, he started attending seminars and workshops related to entrepreneurship where he established traction with some experienced people. In the process, he could get a fairly good know of things in the anvil. It is then he decided to get an experienced, empathetic advisor on a long term basis to guide him in his difficulties. His search led to a former CEO of a company who accepted to take up the role. As he started his journey of entrepreneurship, Mohan could seek guidance from his advisor on a continuous basis and with that, he went on building up his company and turned out to become an award winning start-up entrepreneur in two years’ time.

Perhaps if Rahul, instead of jumping right into making of the company all by himself, had taken the route of Mohan, he too could have become a successful businessperson.

The difference between Rahul and Mohan is very clear; Mohan had a mentor which Rahul didn’t have.

Who is a Mentor?

The story of Mentor comes from the Greek classic; Odyssey by Homer. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, before he goes to fight the Trojan War, entrusts the care of his son Telemachus to Mentor, his friend and relative, so that Mentor could bring up Telemachus as a King in his absence which Mentor did, in the due course.

The word Mentor evolved to mean trusted advisor, friend, teacher and wise person. History offers many examples of helpful mentoring relationships: Socrates and Plato, Hayden and Beethoven, Freud and Jung etc. Mentoring is a fundamental form of human development activity where one person invests time, energy and personal know-how in assisting the growth and ability of another person. The mentor may be older or younger, but have a certain area of expertise. It is a learning and development partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wants to learn.

History is replete with feat of princes and kings making their mark which we read and get thrilled, but people like us can also get into accomplishments and each of us has a birthright to actualize our potential.  It is where mentors come, as they help us to move toward that actualization.

The person in receipt of mentorship is was earlier known as a ‘protégé’- an apprentice and in the recent years, as a ‘mentee’.

The act of Mentoring

As mentioned in the beginning, mentoring is the process of informal transmission of knowledge, social capital and psychological support received from an experienced person by a recipient as relevant to his work, career or professional development.  Mentoring usually is informal communication, mostly face-to-face, for long-term duration, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge or experience and a person who is perceived to have less.

Mentoring existed since Ancient Greek times. By 1970s, it spread to the developed industrialized nations like the United States of America and later to other parts of the world, mainly in individual developmental context.  American management describes it as an innovation in people development.

Mentors bring a positive difference in the lives of the mentees. They wear many hats, acting as consultants, counselors, role models, cheerleaders, advocates, and friends. Mentors share some basic qualities such as:

·         A sincere desire to help a person

·         Respect for young people

·         Active listening skills

·         Empathy

·         Ability to see solutions and opportunities

·         Farsightedness

·         Flexibility

The start-up entrepreneurs need an ecosystem to succeed. They are constantly breaking rules and making mistakes in their effort to drive the businesses forward, not knowing whether they are doing the right thing or not. For this very reason, having a mentor is invaluable.

It is unto the mentee to choose his mentor. Essentially a business mentor must be a person of experience in the domain the mentee dwells. He must have ‘been there and done that’. Such a mentor understands the business completely; its best features and the pitfalls. The mentee must take notice of the background of the advisor and approach the person to be his mentor. Such a relationship will add immense value to the business.

As an aspiring company-builder, the entrepreneur always find himself in situations where  he “doesn’t know what he doesn’t know” but he has to stay in the motion and make decisions regardless. The smaller the company, the faster is the need to move, often without enough information to make perfect choices. Without a savvy guide, in the form of a mentor, he may end up making crucial early mistakes that could have otherwise been avoidable.

Every single day, the start-up entrepreneur face challenges. It is where having good mentor becomes essential. A good mentor’s advice will help you take action on your imperfect “good plans” because they can give you extra confidence to move forward without hesitation. The mentees can talk to their mentors frequently and it helps them take timely sensitive decisions to move forward faster

A mentor also connects the mentee to the stake holders in the business eco system. It could be the customers, the regulators or the financiers. So when the mentee does not know whom to meet for a favourable decision, it is the mentor who with his years of acquaintance with many professional and entrepreneurs around, calls them up and connect them to the mentee. It goes a long way as otherwise the mentee would only have been cutting circles in the periphery and wasting his time.

What Mentors are not

A mentor is not a bank that he would dole out funds for the young entrepreneur whenever he is in financial trouble. At the first place, a mentor could oversee the financial situation and assist the mentee not to create a financial mess or if genuinely funds are required, he could get the mentee connected the appropriate agencies such as Angel/Venture capitalist, Financial institution etc.

A mentor is not a punching bag. Many often it happens that the mentee gets into deeper emotional relationship with the mentor. It is really detrimental to the progress of the organization as the emotional bond will take away the objectivity that the mentor could bring into the relationship. When the objectivity is lost, the mentor-mentee relationship truly loses the value.

A mentor is not a ‘no’ man. The changing times has brought in so much of changes in the buyer/customer/consumer behaviors. The old rules and process of engagement may have been obsoleted. If a mentor clings to those and does not understand the changing times and adamantly advises the mentee to stick to basics, then he is not delivering any value but also retards the progress of the enterprise.

A mentor must not be part of the loot. He should never lead the mentee to any unethical/illicit situations. In this world of fast bucks, it is possible that the lure may tempt the entrepreneur to go after it. So making short cuts and greasing palms could therefore be a way. If the advisor too is guiding his ward into the world of quagmire and deceit, he is not qualified to be a mentor.

The ‘Start-up India’ Program

It is really exciting times for the start-ups in India. The union government has taken many entrepreneur friendly policies to help the startup revolution that they plan to bring out in the country. Dedicating INR 10,000 Crores towards it, the government plans to exempt the startups from paying income tax in the first three years, allowing 80% percent deduction in patent fees, starting up industry specific incubators, industry-academia  partner program etc. All these will give the necessary fillip to the new startup entrepreneurs.

In his announcement speech at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi; Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken time to tell the entrepreneurs assembled there and to those listening to him from various parts of the nation thru electronic media, about the necessity of having good individual business mentors to help the start-up.

It is indeed a good advice to heed. A good mentor reduces so much of business risk. Being alone at the top, the entrepreneur really could be on the lookout for a sounding board or a saner advice at the difficult times and having a good mentor by the side is a great relief

Conclusion

Mentoring, at its core, guarantees young people that there is someone who cares about them, assures them they are not alone in dealing with day-to-day challenges, and makes them feel like they matter. This increases the entrepreneur’s self-esteem considerably and gives him the confidence to move forward as he would be assured of an experienced sane advice at all point of his forward momentum.

Research confirms that quality mentoring relationships have powerful positive effects on young people in a variety of personal, academic, and career situations. Ultimately, mentoring connects a young person to personal growth and development, and social and economic opportunity.

The sad fact is that in spite of the understanding, yet one in three young people will grow up without the critical asset called a mentor!

Disruption, Effectuation & Blue Ocean in Entrepreneurship

Disruption 

Disruption in business is considered by established businesses as a painful inflection.‎ Imagine the tumultuousness caused when a successfully running business is obliterated into nowhere by a completely new business model or a substitute model! It is akin to the game of Cricket where a seasoned batsman, very good in playing spin bowling, is suddenly castled with a googly and there goes his wicket! When a set business is on with the planning and execution that go along with it, is totally surprised by a new entrant with a new model that is hitherto unheard of; the resulting loss and the subsequent pain that it causes and the disruption that it brings to the industry is tremendous. In the recent history of business, there had been several instances of disruption. The disruption caused to the postal business by the courier model and the impact that was brought into the communication industry by email technology at first and later by technologies such as instant messaging, WhatsApp etc. still linger in our mind. However this perspective isn't anything new from the understanding of the theory of it on management science. Long back, Michael Porter of Harvard Business School, in his ‘Five Force Analysis’ had spelled out the distinct forces such as the power of bargaining of the customers, that of the suppliers, the intensity of the competition, the power of the new entrant and finally, the power of the substitutes that impact businesses in which the last two forces have immense power to cause business disruptions.  

In the disruptions that we see around, the core of it happens to be the innovation ‎that caused it. In most of the cases, it could the technology that enabled the innovation. All the billion dollar businesses that had emerged in present times stand testimony to the above fact. For instance, we are now seeing the disruptive power of ‘e-commerce’ over the traditional retail model in India. 

Effectuation 

It is here that I would like to bring a concept that is gaining currency in the realms of entrepreneurship now. It is called Effectual entrepreneurship and is based on the effectual reasoning.  Conceptually originated by Prof. Saras Sarasvathy of Darden Business School of University of Virginia, it has now gained traction as a thought movement in the form of ‘Society for Effectual Action’ led in the forefront by business leaders and academicians from all over the globe.  

Before proceeding to Effectual entrepreneurship, I would like to lead your thoughts to effectual reasoning and its opposite, causal reasoning. Causal rationality begins with a pre-determined goal and a given set of means and seeks to identify the optimal – fastest, cheapest, most efficient, etc. – alternative to achieve the given goal. Effectual reasoning does not begin with a specific goal. Instead, it begins with a given set of means and allows goals to emerge contingently over time from the varied imagination and diverse aspirations of the proponent of it. 

We can compare causal practitioners as the great generals seeking to conquer fertile lands and effectual entrepreneurs as explorers setting out on voyage into uncharted waters. 

In a well-established industry with well-defined customers, competitors, business models and low dynamism, a causal process would work well. However with the advent of very advanced disruptive technologies, we don’t live in such a world anymore. Our world is replete with shorter product life cycles, fast changing business ecosystems, unique business models, rapid product innovation and novel distribution systems. Therefore a well-defined, well established industry does not exist any longer. It is here that the Effectual entrepreneurship scores well. 

Effectual entrepreneurs begin with the following three categories of means:

1.       Who they are – their capabilities, talents and traits

2.       What they know – their competencies, learning and experience; &

3.       Whom they know – their social and professional connects.  

With the above means, the entrepreneurs begin to think and implement possible effects that can be created with them. Mostly, they start small with the means that are closest at hand; and without any great planning, move almost directly into action. Unlike causal entrepreneurship that comes alive through careful planning and execution, effectual entrepreneurship is all about execution. 

Effectual reasoning is inherently a creative process. To take an analogy, the straight and simple task of cooking dinner may be considered to contrast the two types of reasoning. A chef who is given a specific menu will only need to pick out his favourite recipes for the items on the menu, shop for the ingredients and cook the meal in their own well-equipped kitchens, is an example of causal reasoning. An example of effectual reasoning will involve a chef who has not been given a menu in advance, and is led to the kitchen where he has to explore the storage area for unspecified ingredients and cook a meal with them. While both causal and effectual reasoning call for domain-specific skills, effectual reasoning demands more imagination, spontaneity and risk-taking. By far, the effectual process is deemed the best to tackle the uncertainties and the unknowns of future business.

Causal entrepreneurship focuses on expected returns but effectual entrepreneurship emphasizes on affordable loss. Causal entrepreneurship depends upon competitive analyses whereas effectual entrepreneurship is built upon strategic partnerships. Causal entrepreneurship urges the exploitation of pre-existing knowledge and prediction, effectual entrepreneurship leverage on contingencies and surprises (googly!).

Causal entrepreneurship is based on the logic, “to the extent that we can predict the future, we can control it” and spends enormous amounts of thoughts and resources for developing predictive models. Effectual entrepreneurship is based on the logic, “to the extent that we can control the future, we do not need to predict it.”

If one looks at the germination, growth and consolidation of companies such as Ebay, Facebook, Zara, Gap, Alibaba etc., one could come across the manifestation of effectuation principles in the establishment of these hugely successful companies. What is listed is only some prominent ones where as there exist many companies of various size and shape, belonging to multifarious industry segments  that are  following effectuation principles of entrepreneurship.

 Blue Ocean Strategy

Coming to think of it, it could be observed that many of the successful effectual enterprises follow the Blue Ocean Strategy of business. Blue Oceans are defined by untapped market space, demand creation and the opportunity for profitable growth. Blue oceans can be the market created from within red oceans by expanding existing industry space well beyond its boundaries or a total new market that did not exist till now. Compared to the industries thirty years back, many industries we have today such as mutual funds, cell phones, gas-fired electricity plants, biotechnology, discount retail and coffee bars were nonexistent then. With Value Innovation as the core theme that places equal emphasis on value and innovation, it is a new way executing strategy that results in the creation of a blue ocean and a break from the competition. By creating newer industries and newer market spaces exclusively for oneself, Blue Ocean Strategy makes the competition irrelevant because the rules of the game are only waiting to be set. 

 Many of the companies follow a process that starts with what one has and select among possible outcomes. Effectuation entrepreneurship; a logic of thinking that uniquely serves entrepreneurs in starting businesses, provides a way to control a future that is inherently unpredictable, an objective that is followed by Blue Ocean Strategy too.

MODI & PAKISTAN

The intention was good and the offer, probably genuine. But surely, Narendra Modi, the new Prime Minister, wouldn’t have bargained for a situation like this. In the process he had ignited the anti-Indian sentiments of the separatist Kashmiris and the Pakistanis.

The case of Pakistan is classic - a country tottering on economic collapse, shunted by countries of the world for being the sponsor of global terrorism, with huge political strife brewing internally, and the hawkish Army trying to wrest control, the situation gave the country the proverbial ‘last straw’.

Was it necessary or could the status quo have helped? We hear the BJP and the Congress wrestling it out on the media, plenty.

What are we going to do? Send the Pakistan High Commissioner back and face the same act by Pakistan in return and thereby improve the enmity into bigger scale?

One feels that The PM could have attempted the reconciliation move little later. For him there were so many other pressing matters for the country, from Policy Paralysis down, to focus upon. Knowing that the Indo-Pak relationship had never been good for more than six decades, in spite of the best attempts by many statesmen, including his own former PM; he could have aimed to attempt it a little later, after giving stability to the country.

So what is the suggestion? Now that we had decided not to talk at the Secretary level, drop the whole thing down. Do nothing. Don’t attempt anything for some time. And that includes the Hurriyat too.

The best punishment that you can meet out to someone, is to ignore him. And let it be.

IROM SHARMILA - SAINTHOOD OR MARTYRDOM?

Cruelty to fellowmen by the military of her own country, backed by its lopsided policies in the guise of security of the nation, forced her to hunger strike, to push the central government to repeal the rule.  Did she ever think that it was going to be an eternal act? The indifference of the government and her resolve of not going back until something happens, have forced her to be at it, ever!

In the process, Irom Sharmila lost her real life. She became a poster girl of the media and a role model for all such NGOs and associations that take-up issues of suppression & cruelty of the State on its citizens. Huge newsprint reams and thousands of hours of media time were spent on her.  A normal women, she was forced to spurn the love of Desmond who wanted to marry her. She hasn’t eaten solid food for 14 years and the all the pleasures of living had become a mirage to her.

What is left for Irom Sharmila now? From a living crusader, she will have to move into sainthood but posthumously. Or if she loses her life in the middle, a martyrdom!

That perfectly fits Indian political system. All political parties are looking for martyrs. From MK Gandhi downwards, we have plenty of them. But from time to time, these parties, in order to rejig its importance, need fresh martyrs. The Sharmilas of the world come handy for them.

Whose life is it anyway?

PEOPLE, PEOPLE

NARENDRA MODI:  The Chai-wala from Mehsana, Gujrat had reached the  PM’s ‘gaddhi’ and what an accomplishment it is! Can we term the BJP getting majority to itself to rule the country, as an end to coalition politics (at least for some time)? The Indian industry is pumped up to see him in action. He could achieve what many stalwarts of BJP (who are supposed to be much higher in social order than him) could not. Surely there could be heartburns when he decides to invite his party men to join him in the Cabinet. Let us wait and see.  One suspicion on him is how he is going to appease and take the trust of Indian minority communities. They could be worried about uniform civil code, Ram temple and repealing article 370 on Kashmir etc. Knowing him, based on his performance of the past in Gujrat, one thing is certain; Narendra Modi wouldn’t be found wanting on decision making.

RAHUL GANDHI: What a whimper he turned out to be!  An abstract personality who used a queer strategy to show his connect and empathy with the poor countrymen, could not sustain the campaign which he led for the Congress Party.  With his only fame to glory being a Gandhi progeny, the man never understood the country, its people and the politics. The electorate had seen him thru finally, it seems. What a show he made, smiling to glory, addressing the Press, happily owning up the responsibility of the election debacle! Will he ever learn?  Will the country ever be saddled to bear him as its PM in future?

SONIA GANDHI: The back seat driving is over. She could relax now and look after her health. Whatever be, one should admire that the lady is sheer steel. It really takes so much of guts to be the uncrowned queen of a country where once she came in as a bride of a native. She had undergone the transformation very well. Anyone in her place could have crumbled or ran away! Not her, of course. And, surely, there is plenty to look after and the unlimited assets, movable and immovable, created by her ‘family’ preserved here and there…

PRIYANKA GANDHI: Still a stunner, she continues to be the aspiration of millions of Indians. More articulate than her brother and more connected to the masses of India, everyone felt and wanted her to be in public life, leading the fortunes of the Congress Party. It never happened that way. The country’s loss had been the gain of Vadra, someone who came out of nowhere and took her hand (and surely benefitted a lot by it). Who knows, for the Congress Party, maybe she is still the ‘reserve’. Certainly we would hear about her a lot, in time to come….

NITHISH KUMAR : As one of the Socialist thinker and follower of Jayaprakash Narain, his early political life was that of a vagabond dreamer leader. He led an uneventful life until he met his mentor Mr George Fernandez under whose tutelage he sprung up to become a visionary Railway minister of the country and with that reputation, as the progressive Chief Minister of Bihar, one the most backward of Indian States. There too he did wonders to take the state out of the clutches of Lalu Yadav’s corrupt legacy. Ambition took the better of him (he nursed strong hopes being the leader of the nation one day) and that led to his ‘fights’ with Narendra Modi and finally that led to his nemesis. Will we hear about him again? Being from a state called Bihar, it is unlikely……

RUSSI MODY: He was a colossus once, on whose shoulders rested the largest company of the largest business group of the nation. Until Ratan Tata took charge of the Tata Empire, he was the heavy weight of the group and mainly within the company and the group, his writ ran. When Ratan Tata came to the helm, his fall started. Someone who had ingrained with the Tata’s name so much, it must have taken huge efforts by him to erase the distress of rejection in the last phase of his life. After living up to a full life of 96 years, he bid farewell, before seeing his namesake take charge of the nation. Salutes to the Corporate doyen!

CAPTAIN KRISHNAN NAIR: A late bloomer in business, he had created some of the finest edifices of Indian hospitality, before he took his journey to the heavenly abode at the ripe age of 92. In that sphere in India, his name compares only with the Oberoi.  A person with childlike enthusiasm and full of vigor, he was positivity personified. While most of his enterprises are located outside the state of his birth (and wisely so), his love and concern for Kerala was always high.  Though seemingly he had achieved everything in his life, including rare recognition such as Padma Bhushan, one is not able to fathom as to what were the thoughts in his mind when his group has a debt of about INR 5000 Crores at the time of his death! We read that only Socrates the Greek thinker cleared all his debts before his death.

HOW WOULD YOU RATE MANMOHAN SINGH?

Sardar Manmohan Sigh became the 13^th Prime minister of India in the year 2004 (not chronologically but people wise) when his party leader Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, an Italian turned Indian and also the wife of slain former Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, refused to adorn the PM Chair after the Congress winning the election that year by deposing the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP).  For a family that ruled India for 65 % of the independent era till 2004, the sacrifice of giving away the hot seat was done by ensuring a crony PM in the seat and Manmohan Singh fitted the bill very well, for he was part of no group within congress and his loyalty to the family was absolutely TOTAL.  Also, having no political base of his own (he represented the upper house of parliament as a nominated member of Assam State), he would be in no position to usurp the so called “first family” of the country.  In comparison with other PM aspirants like Pranab Mukherji, AK antony, Arjun Singh etc., the family knew that with Singh on the chair, it would have perfect control of everything;  power, position and  money

Academically brilliant, Dr Singh did his doctorate in Economics from Oxford University. After having worked in UNCTAD for two years, he came back to India to become a professor of International trade in Delhi School of Economics. Later he became a bureaucrat as an advisor to Central Minister of Trade & Commerce and thereafter, ascended to prestigious positions as the Chief Economic advisor to the Country’s Finance Minister, Governor of Reserve Bank of India and the coveted post of Deputy Chairman of Indian Planning Commission!  When Narasimha Rao became the Prime Minister of India in the year 1991, he handpicked Manmohan Singh as his finance minister. The peculiarity of India’s economic position then demanded a forward thinking economist to change the financial fortunes of the country and as finance minister of India, Singh truly did wonders by opening up Indian economy and also by ensuring fastest economic growth for the nation from then on. One could easily give him full credit of bringing financial independence to Indians who otherwise languished so poorly in a closed up economy dictated by socialistic democratic (!) norms.

All the while as a minister, he was always very calm, never was part of group politics in Congress Party (for which the party is very famous) and he never blew his own trumpet. He was completely obedient to his political masters. And his integrity was unquestionable. Lo and behold, Madam Gandhi gave the hot seat away by gifting it to Manmohan Singh, knowing fully well that he would completely be loyal to the family, come what may! This consistent, dogged loyalty gave him 10 years as the Prime Minister of India. While he allowed the back seat driving pleasures to Sonia Gandhi, in his own way, he tried to grow the country. In his first term, the nation grew very well and as a result, the people rewarded the Congress to return to power after the elections for another five years. Nobody would ever refute that it is only thanks to the good governance delivered to the country that Manmohan Singh was returned to power for another term, a feat other than Nehru, no PMs could achieve, in independent India.

However, nothing went well in his second term. It is not that he became complacent but many elements worked against him. The power of coalition politics was at its best wherein the regional parties such as DMK, TMC etc. made merry.  Within his own party, a level of political polarization took place in favour of Rahul Gandhi, the son of the Congress President and he had to live with two masters than one. The Rahul Gandhi factor led to many embarrassments and humiliations to Mr Singh.  The cancer of corruption, both within Congress and the various ministries, destroyed the credibility of his rule during the second term. His own health was not at its best. The multitudes of scams never allowed the smooth functioning of the Parliament and governance went into disarray. Everything in the country needed a judicial intervention.  The people’s movements led by Anna Hazare and Kejariwal added to his agony. Practically his second term saw complete policy paralysis within the country. Its’ growth suffered, inflation grew, Rupee failed and CAD went astray.

In the last year, the Prince in waiting took control of the party and tried to fight the election with a different perspective. But the damage was already done. While writing this, the Election results are yet to be announced but it is expected that the Congress would get the worst drubbing of its existence and the NDA led by BJP is expected to ascend to power. That is where things lay as of now.

How would posterity remember Manmohan Singh ?  A weak Prime Minister or someone for whom the circumstances didn’t help to emerge as a great PM?

On the plus side, his contributions to the economic growth of the country both as FM and later as PM, will ever be remembered. As PM, he also looked at welfare of the downtrodden with great concern. Several programs such as MNREGS, Food Security Bill etc. were carved out to help the rural, unemployed, poverty stricken countrymen.  He took India to higher levels in world order (e.g. G20). His integrity and character were impeccable (something we can seldom speak about all those great personalities of the country).

On the minus side, he was tied down by the party boss and the coalition polity. There were only a few instances of him putting his foot down on policy making (e.g. Nuclear Bill). He never could wade thru the quagmire, byzantine, ever-shifting political currents around him and many times suffered in the process. His communication, bodily and orally, was never inspiring.

His is a case of a well-meaning, straight forward, brilliant academician and bureaucrat of high integrity turning out as a Destiny’s child. As a professor in DSE, he would never have thought adorning the PM’s hot seat, ever in his life. There were several provocations on him during his PM ship that would have resulted in a man of high self-esteem throw away and walk out. He was forced to eat humble pie many times. But he swallowed all of it and held on to his chair. Why, you may ask.

For an Economics professor who had come to enjoy all those frills associated with power (PM’s perquisites, foreign sojourns, position and equation with global statesmen),  Manmohan Singh would have thought to give them higher weightage than the pricking ego bashings that he had endured. I am sure, he would have taken it as occupational hazard!

Time will tell about him, wait and see………………………