MNS ......sometimes they are right!!!!

Over the years there has been a brow-ha-ha over the acts and means of MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena). While I feel that there is some kind of depth in the opposition that the people are doing for the MNS but it is only the one side of the story. There are many people who might find the ways of MNS to be a little on the assertive side or probably un-constitutional. However, having said that there is a bit of logic or sanity towards the objective of MNS however. This, I even say, being a migrant to Mumbai and staying in this great city for a long long time. So, why am I saying this? Why today when the whole of the nation and especially the educated lot is being censure about the ways and means of the MNS, why all of a sudden I am trying to focus them as sacrosanct? This would be one of the major questions that anybody and everybody would ask.

Let us address this issue then step by step.

MNS doesn’t target the educated migrant class unless provoked:
What I see from the history of the agitations that the MNS has been doing so far that they have seldom targeted the educated migrant class unless provoked. I am a migrant, working in Mumbai for my living. Honestly speaking over the years I am over here and being here since the inception of this political outfit, I have not seen the party posing threat on my existence in this city. Yes, I do get a bit disturbed when public property is vandalized and the processes are sent helter-skelter, however this doesn’t in anyway affect my personal existence and to be very honest, this is not the only party that is doing these things. There are parties, who appear to be very disciplined but are actually perpetrating more insecurity among the people in this city and trying to jeopardize public peace at the cost of public money. My comments are not reserved for them in any ways.

MNS is not against the migrants they are against the people who are creating a political imbalance:
Let us take an example for this. You are staying in a house and the guest comes in; you are happy to entertain him and shower your hospitalities on him. If this is not a guest and is a tenant you are very kind enough to give him shelter in lieu of money. However, you feel really intimidated when the tenant actually wants to be a part of your house-hold and tries to involve in all the aspects and decision of your house which is your own. Today this is what is happening in Mumbai. A part of the political lobby is bringing people from some part of the country promising them rickshaws and taxis and then immediately getting their votes and thus seats. This policy is creating a political imbalance in a city which is essentially a part of Maharashtra. Of course the actions taken by MNS may be regarded as un-constitutional, but so were the actions taken by freedom fighters regarded when the freedom struggle was on.

Let us understand one thing that we have unity in diversity, so what needs to be respected is both the unity and also the diversity that we have. It is perfectly ok for a non maharashtrian to setup base in Maharashtra and strive for self growth, but what is not ok is the fact that a lobby of migrants encroaching the political space of Maharashtra. This definitely creates a sense of insecurity which is prevalent especially in Mumbai and not in other metros. Let is keep this thing also in mind that in other cities like Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad etc though there is enough space for cosmopolitan thoughts to germinate the essence of the political sphere is very local and very resident. There the politician lobby doesn’t consist of a huge migrant population, which is prevalent in Mumbai.

The very essence of having different states was actually to respect the kind of diversity India has and thus to maintain the regional representations for different provinces. Any party that sees this basic thought process being violated by some loop-holes in our constitution is ought to raise its voice against this and so it is being done by the MNS. Having said that; I also agree that the medium of protest should be tactical and within the framework of the constitution so that there is a solution to this problem by amicable means. Beating up people and damaging public property is definitely not the option.

If there were more like Ratan Tata

My Grandfather told me once that it takes ages to earn respect and it takes minutes to actually lose it. One of the most important aspects in our lives is actually not the process of living but the inculcation of values inside the living process. What is born is a living being, but what actually makes this living object a human is actually the character that it adorns. I was very young probably 11 or so, but his words later found their own meaning in my life and I realized that this was told by a person who probably devoted half of his life to the most respected corporate houses of India, TATAS.

I could never understand as to why a business house could be synonymous with heavy words like values, principles and so on. My understanding for business was the mere fact where it is a process in which money is used to make more money. Money brings power brings more money brings more power. The bottom-line of any business house was profit and nothing else than that. Yes there was a kind of social display of this power but that was probably to make people like me and you aware of the fact that these corporate giants also have a kind of social responsibility which they actually fulfill. I was wrong. I was really wrong about this for one business house, the TATAS. Many people told me about the value practices of the TATAS but then I would not believe such high standards of honesty and ethics being practiced in one of the largest business houses of India. I was wrong. So what made me change my mind? Which was the incident that actually led me to take a complete rethinking on my opinion of business houses?

None of us could forget the bruises of 26/11 Mumbai attacks. At least not who stay in Mumbai and had to go through those horrific 3 days when the whole city was held hostage. The drama ended for many of us after the 3 days. The news channel stopped reporting because the show was over, politicians shouted for some days and declared compensation, which is actually the regular practice after any kind of attacks in this country, and life, as they say, was back on track displaying the true Mumbai spirit. Life however had changed for two people, one coming from the lowest income group and one coming from the most élite strata of the society. This is a story of the two. A hawker who sat opposite the Taj Hotel and the owner of the Taj Group Shree Ratan Tata were both affected in that horrific attack.

The TAJ hotel had seen the worst kind of combat over the three days and there was immense loss to life and property. A businessman’s’ nightmare is a loss to the property especially if it has a heritage value like the TAJ has. The property required a renovation worth hundreds of crores of rupees and some of the part of the property that was damaged had antique value which was not available any more. Ratan Tata had one of the biggest challenges in front of him and that was to restore the TAJ. This however, did not make him wary. The entrepreneur thought about the lives that were lost. Not only of those who were inside the hotel but also of those who were in the vicinity among which was also the injured hawker. Tata made sure that those injured were properly nursed in the hospitals and full funding was given from his organization. The hawker also benefitted from it and is today healthy enough to again look after his family. The employees of TAJ who had lost business were not retrenched, as it would happen in any BPO or any kind of corporate houses if one of the units would have gone sick.

On the contrary they were given additional benefits and salaries did not stop for the TAJ employees. Tata probably knew that business is not all about process it is about people, which very less people in India or in fact the world knows of. Tata knew that Human Resource Development (HRD) is probably more important than the contemporary idea of Human Resource Management (HRM). He also helped every family who were in any ways directly or indirectly affected due to the TAJ attacks not caring about the fact that he had a hotel to restore that demanded more than hundred crore rupees to spare. Where contemporary business houses would actually shut shop, TATA went ahead nurturing the employees of the sick household.

Results of these good works followed. In a span of less than two years the TAJ was back to its glory. The employees who were not deserted by the corporate house put in their best to restore this magnificent structure back to its own glory. It was a slap on the face of terrorism by peace, it was a victory of hard work and more-over victory of values exhibited by one of the most valuable person this country had Ratan Tata. The utter humility came at that instant when the Taj was re-inaugurated and in the advertisement you had the picture of all employees of the TAJ but Ratan Tata. He never wanted to come to the fore-front. This gesture probably was not covered by any kind of media houses.

For me, from that time Rata Tata is the candidate for the Nobel Prize. I may be a bit unjustified for that but then if a person can restore life, restore faith, command respect and still win a battle against terrorism with all peaceful means then he and only he can deserve the Nobel peace prize. I came to know about earning respect and still being rich. Ratan Tata is definitely the Model Millionaire of India and the face of India for the 21st Century.

The Damn Common Man today salutes this incarnate called Ratan “NOBLE” Tata.