In Britain as well as overseas, the names of Hindujas, Mittal, Anil Agrawal and other top entrepreneurs are very well known. Bhikhu and Vijay Patel, Jasminder Singh, Sir Anwar Parvez and several others following their footsteps are also embarking on giant strides. But there are many more, some in the public domains, and some not. The Sunday Times report with Grant Thornton have published about the top 250 mid size firms that are making news, led by outstanding individuals (see report on page 17), and it is a moment of pride. It includes 9 individuals of Indian origin, who have changed the course of history.
It is a fact that most of these people had a very humble beginning. But they were visinaries. They had focus, acumen, leadership abilities and with pure hard work, along with their family support, cultural traditions, values and due diligence, they have played great roles in journey of a society's prosperity.
Not only their success has left an indelible impact, more praiseworthy has been their sense of social responsibility and willingness to share their wealth in the time of natural calamities as well as growing contributions in the worthwhile human service activities, especially in the areas of health, education and communiy development.
Naturally our brethren in the USA, have a head start. Physicians Pallavi and Kiran Patel have donated $200 million to the Nova Southeastern University, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, They have a track record of generosity, and by donating to a US institution, not only they have established their allegience and integration to the wider American society, but have also set a trend to help humans in need, beyond one's own community. It is an example of true philanthropy.
However a grand success like this is not only a credit to their individual profile, but they encourage and inspire others along the way. With our young entrepreneurs, who are developing the technology sectors beyond imagination, they are also creating a success road unknown, yet commendable.
We perhaps have still a long way to go. If you look at the track record of the British Jews, what began as a trickle is now grown into a free flowing river. The best is yet to come for us, but we are definitely on the right roads.
Today's success stories give us enough hope and confidence for a better tomorrow, for them, for us and for the lands of their aboard as well as their ancestral home land, predominantly India.
Tackling Terrorists
Terror attacks around the world are on the rise day-by-day. Latest attacks across the globe have claimed more than 60 lives – 58 people were killed in a mass shooting at a music festival near the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, USA. Two people were killed in a knife attack at the main train station in the French Mediterranean port city of Marseilles. In another terror attack, a police officer was knifed outside a football game and four other people were injured during the high-speed chase of the culprit in the city of Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. Isis claimed that the Las Vegas attacker is a soldier of Islamic state and carried out the operation in response to appeals targetting coalition countries.
India has been a victim of terror attacks for a long time. Kashmir is the hotbed of terrorists now. The terrorists from Pakistan are infiltrating into Kashmir and carry out attacks there. The terrorists are either targeting the security forces or the secular elements in Kashmir. The aim of the terrorists is to create unrest, communal flare-ups and create anarchy so that they can flourish in the troubled times. What isn't helping, is the neighbouring country's invested motive in harbouring and encouraging such anti-social elements. It appears that the many innocent lives that are destroyed each day aren't as important to them.
These increasing number of attacks calls for concerted efforts by nations together. If the nations are alert enough, then the nefarious activities of these misguided elements can be prevented. If we have to live peacefully, then every country has to step up security and vigilance. A slight relaxation in our vigilance is enough for the terrorists to strike.
The world as one unit has to join hands to fight terrorists. They have to share information on the suspected elements. If we step up and face them together, we will be able to foil the attempts of trouble makers. As long as we do not join hands and act the terrorists will go on killing innocent people. Ultimately the terrorists and terrorism cannot and shall not prevail.
BJP leader flays govt, Jaitley for 'mess in economy'
Veteran BJP leader Yashwant Sinha's attack on the government and finance minister Arun Jaitley in particular over the “mess in the economy” set off a political storm with the opposition claiming that his remarks were a vindication of their criticism and BJP forcefully rejecting Sinha's views. Sinha has criticised the government for the demonetisation of high denomination notes and the faulty implementation of the Goods and Services Tax.
Sinha who has published an article in a newspaper titled `I need to speak up now' claimed that he was airing concerns of several BJP leaders worried by a slide in the economy. Sinha also took swipes at BJP chief Amit Shah and indirectly at PM Modi. Sinha warned that the economic situation would not correct itself before the 2019 elections implying that BJP's re-election prospects were in jeopardy.
While the Congress has welcomed Sinha's remarks to claim vindication of its stand, the government vehemently rejected Sinha's comments and said India was a pivot of the world economy and the NDA would not flinch in the face of criticism and stick to measures that curbed black money and encouraged ruled-based behaviour such as tax compliance.
Sinha's son Jayant, a member of the Modi government, while refuting criticism said that conclusions drawn from a narrow set of facts simply missed the fundamental structural reforms transforming the economy.“We are creating a robust new economy that will power long-term growth and job creation,” Jayant said. Experts while acknowledging serious problems in the economy, said that big fiscal spending cannot be a solution to the problems and called for deep reforms. They say that the economy has been hit by short-term shocks imposed by demonetisation and the launch of GST. But the shocks will gradually fade away, resulting in a bounce back of growth in 2018. Both, GST and improved tax compliance are long-term goals, despite short-term problems.
While Modi and his close aide Shah remain unfazed by the criticism, and for good measure, thing to note is that this is the second time in a week that a senior party leader has gone public with criticisms of the economy. A couple of days back, Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy revealed he had written a 16-page letter to the PM citing statistics from the Finance Ministry to warn the government of five “storm signals”. He wrote the economy was “in a tailspin, it can crash”.
It may be worthwhile to mention, both, Yashwant Sinha, and Swamy have been sulky ever since they were excluded from the Modi government. Some say, “Sour grapes”.
