The Indian Government at the centre scrapped Article 370 on Monday, 5^th August 2019; the article in the Indian constitution had granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. This day in true sense will be called Historical Day. The integration came with an order saying “it shall come into force at once”. Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah moved the Rajya Sabha, announcing the government had decided to repeal Article 370. Shah also announced that government has decided bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, which will have a legislature, and Ladakh, which will be without a legislature.

The BJP led Government in centre had promised the nation about the integration. 1953, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, president of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, died in a jail in Srinagar where he was detained by the Sheikh Abdullah government for protesting against Kashmir being an “autonomous republic within India.” Shyama Prasad Mukherjee died mysteriously in the jail. A year before his death, Mukherjee was the president of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh – the predecessor of the present day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Several resolutions were passed by the Bharatiya Jana Sangh against the policies of the Jawaharlal Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah government on their stance on the Kashmir issue.

As a nation we were eagerly waiting for integration of Kashmir with other states, and it took 73 years! The five characters responsible for J&K problem were Maharaja Hari Singh, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, Lord Mountbatten, Sheikh Abdullah and Mohammad Ali Jinnah. But in every case the buck stops at Pt. Nehru. The brief history about this state is: in 1947 when India and Pakistan got freedom, Kashmir did not join any of them. Hari Singh who was the ruler decided to remain free. When on 22^nd October 1947 the Muslim tribes attacked Kashmir, Hari Singh sought help of Indian Government against the attackers. Prime Minister Nehru told him that Government would help him if Kashmir was ready to join India.
Kashmir became a part of India. But it was mentioned in the pact (article 370), that
Kashmir will get a separate honour. Except the economy, foreign policy and armed forces, the Kashmir government will be the supreme power. Article 370 gave it significant autonomy, including its own constitution, a separate flag, and independent decision making in all matters.

Article 370 and 35A are brilliant examples of how poor leadership can wreck even a county’s constitution. The petition can be termed as ‘illegal’ since it had been filed by Nehru without cabinet approval. To mend Nehru’s poor decision, India took 73 years, which is too long a time….

 Clause 3 of Article 370 empowers the President to declare the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under the Article out of action anytime. A Presidential Order was issued using this provision to implement what the Bharatiya Janata Party had promised in the Lok Sabha election held in April-May 2019, and which had been the party’s long-standing demand since 1953.

Article 370(3) reads, “Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this article, the President may, by public notification, declare that this article shall cease to be operative or shall be operative only with such exceptions and modifications and from such date as he may specify”. Instead of scrapping Article 370, the government used the power given by the same Article to the President to make the provision ineffective. Scrapping of Article 370 would, otherwise, require a constitutional amendment under Article 368. But by invoking Article 370(3), the government has cleverly bypassed the amendment route.

Today, the 73^rd Independence Day is indeed special to us; Kasmir is integrated with India as Indian State and is put on the same footing as the rest of India. Kashmir will no longer have a separate constitution but will have to abide by the Indian constitution much like any other state. All Indian laws will be automatically applicable to Kashmiris, and people from outside the state will be able to buy property there.

Many Hindu Kashmiris feel like it’s their rebirth and they feel like honoured Indian citizens, while quite a few have a feeling of resentment. It will take some time for people of Kashmir to adjust to the status.  All said and done, the integration will develop the state of Kashmir and Ladakh tremendously. It is the beginning of a new era in the country. It’s a feeling of euphoria for the entire nation. Since Independence, the locals in Kashmir had been facing double whammy (two fold setback). They had to tolerate the hooliganism and violence of the anti-national politicians and the youths had to join groups of stone pelters as bonded labourers, often suffering bullet injuries from the paramilitary forces.

I am happy for though it took long 73 years time of waiting, the problem is ended! This year’s Independence Day should be celebrated cheerfully.

WISHING ALL INDIANS A HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Modinomics will boost growth 

The book Modinomics – Inclusive Economics, Inclusive Governance authored by Sameer Kocchar talks about Narendra Modi’s thought process and his idealism on the Indian Economy. Mr. Modi feels that neither Soviet style socialist path nor free-market western capitalist economy is going to work for India. He is of the view that the country must have a unique blend of its own socio-economic policies that would leverage India’s unique strengths and propel it further to centre-state economy. Modi also feels that India’s unique strengths – its diverse demography, geography, and natural resources are not utilized so far. Modinomics is about inclusive economics and inclusive governance. The book highlights the uniqueness of the brand Narendra Modi – who is very Swadeshi at heart, while also globalist and pragmatist. He is bureaucratic, always thinks big, while he pays attention to details. A Gujarati to the core and believes in India first.

The book talks about Modi’s rise which has overlapped with the UPA II Government’s downfall due to the economic slowdown. Modi’s intelligence and pragmatism helped him captured the political and economic mind space left vacant by the UPA. Modi’s Gujrat model has stood tall on two things one is his is personal vision and ambition for the state and second is his ability to get the best out of the bureaucracy by delegating it authority and responsibility. Modi’s hawk- eyed administration kept the state administration tick round the clock. His astute communication allowed him to rise; he is blessed with oratory skills. He used social media to the fullest by subtle messaging and a natural wit. He is the most followed leader on social media and his website is interactive. Kocchar has written the book precisely in a chronological order.

Modi’s charisma got the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies the whooping 336 seats in the 2014 Loksabha election. No sooner he came to power, he sent a loud message to corporate houses and investors—both nationally and internationally, that India is open for business again. His mantra “maximum governance, minimum government” says a lot about his liberalization instinct and opening of the economy further by reducing hindrance. He is well aware of the left centered intellectual mainstream in the nation; which will initially create some roadblocks for him to push forward major economic reforms. Modinomics centers on lower government debt, more privatization and greater openness to foreign investors.

India’s economy is stumbling under high inflation and the worst slowdown since free-market reforms in the early 1990s, and the budget is the first major test of Mr Modi’s reformist credentials since he swept to power in May with a pledge to boost growth and create millions of new jobs. In its first ever budget, the new government has promised a new era of fiscal prudence and greater opportunities for foreign investors in key sectors of the economy, what is worth praises is defense is given priority which was overdue. To ensure that the military, which has repeatedly used warned of outdated and inadequate equipment, has its way on the modernization drive, the government has budgeted Rs. 94,588 crores, Rs. 5000 crore more than what was sanctioned by the previous government in February in the interim budget this year. Overall defense spending has gone up by Rs. 26,000 crores.

The budget promotes skilling and vocational training among youth and to make them job-ready. The stress is laid on rural entrepreneurship; to encourage rural youth to start their own ventures, Finance Minister. Jaitley has announced a spending of Rs 100 crore to start village entrepreneurship training schemes. Recognizing the importance of stepping up vocational trainings and bringing it at par with the higher education system, he has announced the ‘Skill India’ programme and allocated an amount of Rs 14,389 crore for job creation, a huge part of which will hopefully be spent in training the youth.

The Finance Minister has also proposed setting up of five new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and five Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) across the country at a cost of Rs 500 crore, this shows the new government’s inclination and keenness to accelerate the skills of youth, education is given priority. For the farmers, the budget has announced a slew of much-awaited measures. Focus on increasing irrigation facilities, farm markets, financial help to landless farmers and Kisan TV to provide real time information to farmers would help in increasing productivity of the farm sector. Moreover, Haryana, Jharkhand will have research centers in Horticulture, Agriculture and Maharashtra will get agri-biotech clusters.

The budget is has tried to touch the aspirations of all sections of society. Landless farmers will be given cheaper credit, the rural poor have been promised broadband, cheaper TVs and better roads, Dalit-focused schemes have been allocated more money, the middle class have been given tax breaks and India’s holiest river will get funds for a clean-up.

To give a stimulus to the infrastructure and manufacturing sector, a 10-year tax holiday for undertakings that generate and transmit power has been unveiled. Focus on industrial infrastructure such as a plan to establish seven industrial cities in India would enhance industrialization and create employment opportunities in the economy. The allocation for urban infrastructure earmarked at Rs 50,000 crore is really appreciable and this would expedite the pace and urbanization in the country and give a massive boost to growth and expand the national economy much faster.

The boost to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts is very encouraging news for the real estate and infrastructure markets as it offers innovative and modern tools of investment to Indians. These are all important signals. Investment allowance of 15% to the manufacturing companies investing Rs 25 crore in plant and machinery would accelerate capital investments and propel manufacturing growth.

Steps are undertaken to revive SEZs would help to rejuvenate the investment cycle. Similarly, facilitation to manufacturing units to sell their products through retail and e-commerce would reduce the selling cost and benefit both manufacturers and consumers. Furthermore, it is also a taxpayer-friendly budget as the income-tax exemption limit has been raised by Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,50,000, the PPF ceiling to Rs 1,50,000, housing loan rebate to Rs 2,00,000, investments under 80C to Rs 1,50,00. In view of this, through appropriate tax planning those drawing a salary up to Rs 6,00,000 can bring down their tax liability to nil.

Taking into account the fact that our Finance Minister got only 45 days’ time to prioritize his priorities and for drawing up the budget for 2014-15, he has done an excellent job because this budget is undoubtedly very progressive, astute and realistic. Modi has consolidated ministries and scrapped cabinet panels to streamline administration and speed decisions. Finance Minister, Jaitley has been honest about not being interested in “mindless populism” in burdening public finances.

I personally think Modinomics is put into practice in the Union Budget – 2014 in inclusive economics and inclusive governance.

In most football teams the quarterback is the team leader. Why is that? Is there something magic about that position? Does he automatically become the leader – the guy who makes the team play and achieve goals when he is named quarterback by the coach? No, there’s more to it than that. He is named quarterback because he’s already a leader. He’s already the kind of guy the other players like to follow. And if the coach is wrong about making him the quarterback, he probably won’t stay quarterback very long. If he can’t lead the team, he won’t have much value even if he can hit a receiver at 40 yards. Every successful team must have a leader.

“Your actions are so loud, I can’t hear what you’re saying,” observed Ralph Waldo Emerson. Every time a leader sends a message, he or she is providing two mes­sages: one is the content what the leader wants done and the other is the process or style how the leader conveys it. The latter is more important than the former, be­cause it provides the cultural context for the recipients.

In the revolution led by Mandela to transform model of racial division and oppression into an open democracy, he demonstrated that he didn’t shy away from taking up arms, but his real qualities came to the fore when world saw him as an activist — during his 27 years in prison and in the eight years since his release, when he had to negotiate the challenge of turning a myth into a man.

Leaders establish the behavioral realities at the workplace. They establish and embody the real values of the organization and, by extension, its rela­tionships with customers, suppliers, competitors, policy makers, government, and to environmentalists – to all out there. A leader’s canvass has to be large enough to support the details, objectives, methodology, scope and the goals to be achieved. He is required to provide true perspective. He should create a picture of future with lots of colors in it – making it striking for his followers.  Because if the picture of future is absurd no matter how he convinces his subordinates, they will start searching for the truth.

Alfred Sloan was able to take the best of what the theorists could offer. The fact is Sloan had raw guts to revolutionize decentralized bureaucracy, as each General Manager of General Motors was fundamentally bureaucratic. Each Division had a full set of assets and resources, self-directed management principals and practices, designed to meet its unique needs. Each GM could enter into external alliances and business deals. This often saw one division (SBU) in “friendly” competition with other SBUs. Sloan was literally hero worshiped by many as he practiced what he preached. General Motors as a company moved away from vertical integration to a flat organizational model. This gave the world of cars frequently new models with a slogan “building a car for every purse and purpose”. Whilst their competitor Ford was following strict Taylorist systems in building the famous “black cars.” Sloan at General Motors sold cars in all shapes and colors, and occupied leader’s position in the market. This acumen of Sloan kept General Motors in good stead for decades.

No matter what the nature of an organization, no one in it really reads up well or writes or does what he/she means. Each one believes what he/she sees. There is no more powerful shaper of behavior in the organization than the leader of it. In an organization the leader is considered an archetype.

Margaret Thatcher played the catalyst that set in motion a series of interconnected events that gave a revolutionary twist to the century’s last two decades and helped mankind end the millennium on a note of hope and confidence. The triumph of capitalism, the almost universal acceptance of the market as indispensable to prosperity, the collapse of Soviet imperialism, the downsizing of the state on nearly every continent and in almost every country in the world – she   played a part in all those transformations, and it is not easy to see how any of this would have occurred without her.

Leadership is not a science. Hence being a leader is an adventure, this because the leader himself   can never be sure whether he/she will reach the goal, he may stumble or fumble. If only he is driven by genuineness, serenity and passion he can achieve goals.

“Think Different.” Mahatma Gandhi, in his younger days a sophisticated and Westernized lawyer, did indeed change his thinking more radically than most people do. Ghanshyam Das Birla, one of the merchant princes who backed him, once said, “He was more modern than I. But he made a conscious decision to go back to the Middle Ages.” This is because he wanted to reach out to the millions of poor, uneducated Indians who would accept a leader who could be related with, associated with and represent them. Gandhi changed not only his external appearance but he had the compassion – he changed internally too.

Some people inherit leadership positions, such as kings, or nobles, or heads of family businesses. Some are elected: chairman, governor, patrol leader. Some are appointed, such as a coach, a city manager, or a den chief. Or they may just happen to be there when a situation arises that demands leadership. When a disaster occurs, masses start searching for a leader.

In 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards and hastily Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as the Prime Minister. Prior to this Rajiv Gandhi had not shown much interest in politics. He attended college at Cambridge, England; married an Italian, Sonia Gandhi; and worked as a pilot for the Indian Airlines. But, once he took charge of the Prime Minister’s post his government encouraged foreign investment, and industry boomed with the loosening of business controls. He sought to increase Indian investments in modern technology. He removed many restrictions on imports; India invested in exports thus encouraging foreign investment. He has a extensive vision, a large imaginative canvass to draw pictures of modern India! As no leader is spared of criticism; Rajiv Gandhi was also criticized that he was indecisive as he changed his cabinet members frequently.

As a young boy, Narendra Damodardas Modi helped his dad serve tea in Gujarat’s Vadnagar railway station. At the age of 63, and as leader of India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, he is about to serve the world’s largest democracy as prime minister. Modi built his reputation over the years with his Gujrat Model on economic growth, building an efficient business administration and selling the state to the world: in 2009, the Gujarat government hired the US lobbying and public relations firm, APCO Worldwide, to promote this state as an investment destination. Since Modi took control, Gujarat has led the nation in GDP growth and accounts for 16 percent of industrial output. This western state boasts of uninterrupted power supply and the finest road infrastructure in the country. Modi’s biographer, Mukhopadhyay, describes him as charismatic, an “extremely hard working person” a good administrator. Narendra Modi personifies the “rags to riches” story. He is set to become the 14^th Prime Minister of India on 26^th May 2014.

In the end, it’s the leader’s self-discipline, his truthfulness and the excitement and commitment with which he works. A charismatic and genuine leader I always emulated. His clarity in messaging, his actions, his guiding spirit, his affection towards his team mates, his style, his dressing sense, his diction determine his and in turn his organization success.

Friends, good leadership is indeed the need of the hour.