It is India’s golden age, and we are wasting the opportunity – Meera Sanyal
Meera Sanyal
Introducing Meera is a difficult task, and so I am not going to tell you about her qualifications, or her banking career, or that she is Chairperson, India Services and Foundation, Royal Bank of Scotland, or the many awards that she has received… I am just going to ask the person who has the grit and the gumption to take on the big and mighty to share her thoughts….” – Rotarian Pranay Vakil
“Mr. Nirav Shah, Mr. Deepak Kapadia, Ms. Anar Shah, Mr. Manoj Patodia, Mr. Mudit Jain, and my dear friend Pranay… this feels a bit like homecoming because I recall having received a very warm welcome here from the Rotary Club in 2009. That memory has stayed with me. So, I would like to start by saying thank you very much.
What I would like to share today is what I stand for. It is for the first time that I am actually talking about it.
There is a story that sparked my conviction of what we need to do at this point in time. Recently, I was talking to a young, confident 18-year-old girl. She belongs to the Millennial Generation: termed so because they were born at the turn of the millennium. This lady of a very confident generation, asked me, “Tell me, in one word, why you are standing for the elections.” Since we are not a generation used to expressing anything in one word, I had to think awhile before I told her, “I am standing for the future.”
She smiled and said, “Whose future?” I said, “Your future… the future of our children… so that every Indian child can have the opportunity to fulfil her or his dream.”
Her reaction surprised me. She looked at me with eyes filled with tears and said, “We have no future.” What we see around us creates that sense of despair. We read about terrible violence against women and also violence against men who are trying to protect them. In Mumbai, we saw what happened to Keenan and Reuben.
The state of the economy gives us reasons to doubt whether it is high inflation, low growth, falling rupee, or all of that. There is a sense of loss of faith in the institutions of the country, and corruption, scams, and criminalisation of politics makes you feel powerless. This is particularly acute among young people, which is really a pity since this should have ideally been the Golden Age of India.
In our country we have this magnificent demographic dividend which the whole world envies, and which is the “consumption”. We have talented young people who can be the work force to provide the “supply”. We have a falling dependency ratio, which means there are more hands and fewer dependent mouths. It is a phase which comes rarely in the history of a nation – Japan saw it after the war, the United States after the Depression.
India is seeing it now, and we are wasting this opportunity. This is a tragedy because we will not get that chance again. Therefore, when I say I stand for the future, what is it really that I stand for?
What are my objectives? I believe that our foremost objectives should be to secure our children’s future, restore faith in good governance and get India back on track. I also think time has come to revive Bombay. The city that leads the country should be a city which leads the world. And within these four objectives, I have constructed a 10-point agenda. As leaders of industry and leaders of Bombay, please share your thoughts so that I can refine my ideas as I move forward.
When I talk of securing our children’s future, I have three things in mind. First, we need more jobs and more opportunities. Second, we need to provide our children with skills and knowledge to deal with India in the 21st century. Third, I believe we are the custodians of the future and have to leave behind an earth where our children will have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, forests and open spaces.
Restoring faith in governance has two aspects. One, we need to have faith in the institutions that were set up to protect our democracy. Today, we do not believe in our police force, the CBI, the IB, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the judiciary, and now, even the armed forces. If we do not protect these pillars of democracy, we will have nothing left to stand between us and chaos. We, thus, need to remove corruption and weed out criminals from politics.
The other aspect of good governance is safety. Every single person in this country should be safe at any time of the day or night, anywhere, no matter what they are wearing or what religion, gender, caste or community they belong to.
Can these be done? I believe they can; solutions exist. We have to implement police reforms, judicial reforms and administrative reforms. For instance, if we empower the police force, which is supposed to protect us, I believe it will.
Let us also get India working. We have to empower enterprise. Unless business succeeds, we will not have prosperity and we will not have a future for our children. It should be easy to set up a business, run it or shut it – all of which are currently impossible. We have to get the economy back on track. We need to have a new wave of de-regulation and focus on energy security, food security, water security, and, finally, infrastructure. There is no reason why 20 years after liberalisation, infrastructure should be in such a shambles.
In the city of Mumbai, we need to do two things. The first is to make it a more liveable city and the second is to get business back on track. Business in Mumbai is dying and people simply cannot live here anymore. We need more affordable housing, more open spaces, a real focus on mobility. It is not just about public transport, but the way we manage traffic, pedestrians and create access for people who are challenged and elderly. We need to look at a city as a living organism and how it can thrive and grow. Mumbai was the hub of Indian industry. Now, if you look around the country, cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad are fast overtaking it as commercial centres.
What I stand for, thus, is a goal with four objectives and ten agenda items.
Excerpts from a Q&A session:
Q: In every other country you have infrastructure before facilities. In our country it is the reverse. For instance, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port came up in 1989, and 25 years later, the infrastructure is still poor.
Meera Sanyal: It is shocking to talk about ports. While we have JNPT just across the harbour, we also have the plan of the government of India to build a container port terminal in Mumbai. So, an entire swathe of land, which should have been converted into sports facilities or open spaces, is now going to become a container port terminal, adding to the already burdened infrastructure of Bombay. The port at Bombay is not doing well and the new port will also not do well. Hence, we would have simply wasted all that space and created problems and pollution.
Q: India has many selfless people like Arvind Kejriwal and you in public service. How do you explain a situation where you have venal politicians on the one hand and such gems on the other? At a personal level, I feel we should outsource the government of India to Singapore or some other country.
Meera Sanyal: One of the reasons I have stayed with my organisation is that it has a very good heart and an extensive micro-finance programme, through which we have financed over 65,000 women across India. When we found that there were women who were so poor that they could not benefit from micro-finance, we set up a foundation to give outright grants. I discovered soon that 70 per cent of these women had become successful entrepreneurs. In the last few years, I have spent a day and a night with these women in their homes across 15 states in the country. After doing this, I have found that India is in very good shape. India has a big heart and broad shoulders. It deserves better. Indians are the most entrepreneurial, hardworking, decent and generous people in the world; only our leadership does not reflect these qualities.
Q: How do we remove impediments? For example, has anybody thought of rationalising the taxation system so that we have time to implement what you have suggested?
Meera Sanyal: I agree that a lot of our laws and policies are like a chakravyuh. Once you are inside, there is no way of getting out. Therefore, we first need to know what outcome we want. We want our people to succeed, to have time, to work hard and prosper. We have lost track of that in the last 60 years.
Q: There are enough people in the community who are corrupt. How are we going to solve that problem? I think society itself has to improve before politicians take action.
Meera Sanyal: I remember a World Wildlife Fund campaign – “When buying stops, killing will stop.” It is the same with corruption – when giving stops, taking will stop. I am all for the Lokpal Bill. We also need a good ombudsman. The United Kingdom has a simple, two-three page Anti-bribery and Corruption Act. The giver of a bribe goes to jail and pays an unlimited fine. The taker of a bribe also goes to jail with prison terms between 10-15 years. He also pays an unlimited fine. Moreover, anyone who facilitates the giving or taking of a bribe goes to jail and pays an unlimited fine. We need simple jurisdictions like this.
Q: Would it be easier to get elected as an MLA first? Why MP and not MLA?
Meera Sanyal: The job of an MP is primarily to make simple laws that can be implemented. Mohandas Pai insists for instance that I become a corporator. A municipal corporator’s job, however, is to spend an amount of budget, not to help make legislations. So it is not that one rises in rank when one becomes an MP. People like us would be able to take knowledge and experience of some aspect of life to Parliament. Today, 30 per cent of our parliamentarians have criminal records. Most of the others are either career politicians, or sons and daughters of politicians. So, we need people with experience in some aspect of life to go and make better and simple laws in Parliament.
Q: Will you share your views with us on transparency?
Meera Sanyal: I absolutely believe in transparency. It is completely shocking that political parties should be excluded from the RTI. The public want to know who has made contributions to a political party and whether the party thereafter goes and allocates a mine or a spectrum or an aircraft license to those individuals or industry. Also, the amendment to the Representation of People Act is completely shameless and shocking. We have to stand against that, because if we do not, there will be no future.
Q: Not many people know that you go and spend lots of time with villagers in their villages. It would be nice if you could share some of your stories…
Meera Sanyal: These stories are almost like a string of pearls that helps lift my spirit on a bad day. But, I will share the story of a group I like to call the Sisters of Sampurna.
Self-help groups working together and creating alternative livelihoods are really transforming India. These groups are aggregated at the village level and, finally, as a federation at the district level. The federation in Orissa’s Karanjia district is called Sampurna.
On the day I landed in Karanjia in April last year, to get a sense of what was happening in the area, it was pouring. I rushed into a little, dark room and sat down, soaking wet. There were 14 or 15 women and I could hardly see their faces. But as I ran through my standard set of questions with them, I found that in every village where the sarpanch or gram pradhan was a woman, the metrics was always better. There were teachers in schools, the midday meal was better, the hand pump was better placed, the village cleaner.
One of my questions was, “Have any of you ever stood for elections?” Surprisingly, everyone in the room said yes. This was very unusual. I then discovered the catalyst – a girl called Sulakshana, who works with an NGO called Pradhan. When Sulakshana realised that she would have to move out of her village in five years’ time, she decided to focus on political instead of economic empowerment. For six months thereafter, she trained women in the federation on panchayati raj, government schemes and so on.
In the 2012 panchayat elections in the state, 187 women from the federation stood for 125 seats in the district. The results were staggering. Of the 125 seats, these women won 87! Out of 13 gram pradhans, seven were girls from Sampurna. They are now changing that district. They have a full agenda.
I was curious and asked them as to what had motivated them to stand for elections. The answer was simple: “There are 6000 members in the federation. This means 6000 husbands, 6000 mothers-in-law, 6000 fathers-in-law, 6000 sets of parents. This means a lakh.” I then asked those who had lost, “Are you disappointed?” They told me, “Didi, what is there to be disappointed about? We will make them work.”
The golden era of music
Film songs from the golden era of Hindi music have such magical powers that, even today, they are appreciated, hummed and sung. They hold sway over the hearts of those who grew up listening to these melodies, and even the generations thereafter. Such is the love and affection for these enthralling numbers that only by paying a tribute could we, in a very small way, show our appreciation for the maestros.
Rotary’s Fellowship Committee, thus, organised an evening of unforgettable melodies on September 28. It was a trip down memory lane at Thackers. All Rotaryannes had gajras on their wrists and the mood was perfect for an evening filled with nostalgia.
Pankaj Kakkad and his troupe rendered timeless songs in their melodic voices, enlivening the atmosphere. The medley of songs ranged from Shamshad Begum’s mesmerising melodies to Kishore Kumar’s immortal chartbusters.
Several qawwalis got our Rotarians and Rotaryannes on the floor. For instance, Malti Jain, Sweta Vakil, Pranay Vakil, Deepak Kapadia, and Suresh and Indira Kotak immersed themselves in the music and the mood. They wore qawwali topis and swayed and danced to the peppy tunes. A special mention needs to be made of Ashok and Sudha Gokal who inspired all to get up and dance.
For the 125 Rotarians, Rotaryannes and guests, age did not appear to get in the way of total enjoyment of the event. Rotarians and Rotaryannes across age groups – from those in their Thirties to 99-year-old Haso Thadani – took delight in the music and the splendid ambience. Rotarian C K Srinivasan spoke about how some of his favourite songs had transported him back to yesteryears.
The spread for dinner was a gastronome’s delight. Delicious pani puri, ginger mutter wrap, undhiya, surti dal, panki aloo tikki, ragda, Hyderabadi biryani, pizzas and more rubbed shoulders with mouth-watering desserts like pista chikki icecream and sitafal rasmalai.
President Nirav Shah thanked Ashok Minawala and the Fellowship team for organising a brilliant event. He was also full of praise for the dedicated efforts of Manoj Murarka and Ashok Gokal. A vote of thanks was also expressed for Pankaj Kakkad and his troupe for the enjoyable music and the Thackers for the delicious spread.
Rotarian Burjor Poonawala lauded Nirav Shah by saying, “You have a golden heart and today’s evening was really enjoyable.” His sentiment was echoed by many other Rotarians who felt that the evening was “very relaxing and enjoyable”.
As the evening came to an end, many melodies resonated in everyone’s heart.
But the one song that rang on in everyone’s mind was the soulful Abhi na jao chod kar, ke dil abhi bhara nahi.
New social media initiative
The Rotary Club of Bombay has moved further into the Digital Age with a social media initiative.
The Club will soon introduce an official Facebook Group, which will provide Club members and spouses, an excellent platform for social networking. Initially, the group will be used for two main purposes – posting photographs and using it as a discussion board to post comments.
So, finally we will be able to view all those photographs that are clicked but not printed in the bulletin! Members and spouses will also be able to post comments on the group’s Timeline to discuss any and all topics of the Club.
This group has been created as a “secret group” with the highest security and privacy settings that Facebook offers. The group will not be search-able on Facebook. The membership to the group is by invitation only, and everything posted will be visible only to its members.
Facebook is available on many platforms. Besides the website which is can be viewed on a regular PC, Facebook is available as a free mobile application (or app) on iPhones, android phones such as Samsung phones, Microsoft mobile phones such as Nokia Lumia, Blackberry, and also on older Nokia phones.
So do look out for an e-invite in your email inbox soon, and become part of this new revolution.
Alyque Padamsee
will be felicitated with the Rotary Award for Contribution to the Arts 2013-14, and will talk on — My Life in Theatre and Theatre in
My Life
October 15, 2013
Alyque Padamsee is a multi-faceted genius who wears three significant hats. The first hat is that of “brand guru” of modern Indian advertising. The second one is of the “guru” of English theatre in India, while the third is that of a man totally committed to public service.
In fact, Alyque is currently guiding the Mumbai police force in its campaign against eve-teasing and sexual molestation.
Alyque, who is credited with having built over a 100 brands, has had a long and successful innings in the advertising industry. The Advertising Club of India has named him the Advertising Man of the Century. His bestselling book on advertising, A Double Life, is syllabus content in several business schools. He is also the only Indian to have been voted into the International Clio Hall of Fame, the Oscars of world advertising. He is at present the CEO of AP Advertising Private Limited.
Internationally, Alyque is famous for his portrayal of Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Sir Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi. He has been associated with theatre since decades and has over 70 productions to his credit. He has also been a communications guru for over five decades, and a consultant to several prominent personalities and companies.
He is the Chairman of The London Institute of Corporate Training, and a renowned speaker at national and international forums.
Besides numerous prestigious awards for his contribution to both theatre and advertising, Alyque was also conferred the Padmashri, the fourth highest civilian award, by the President of India in the year 2000.