More Noise - Less Logic

There are some catchy tag lines heard on Radio Mirchi Hyderabad. "Idi chala hot Guru" which means 'It is very hot Guru'. There is another one 'More music, less talk Guru". If I have to use a tag line to describe the ongoing movement for a separate Telangana state, it will be "More Noise - Less Logic". It is more of rhetoric than rationale that is powering the movement. Of course, it is very hot Guru.

The issue has become, is made into rather, an emotional one. Emotion blinds rationale and makes people biased in their judgement. Biased people can not see the other side of the story.

The two common demands heard all over Telangana are "Give us our jobs. Give us our water." Majority of the people of Telangana seem to believe that people from Andhra are taking away their jobs and their water. The comparisons are blown out of proportions. It is as if there is no unemployment in the rest of India, in Andhra particularly. They are made to believe that everyone will get a job, a government job in particular, in a separate Telangana state. Rationale says it is just not possible. They are also made to believe that every acre of land will be irrigated in a separate Telangana state. Rationale says it is also not possible. Unfortunately rationale has evaporated into thin air.

The movement for a separate state is ostensibly built on the relative underdevelopment of the Telangana region. But numbers don't say Telangana is so badly underdeveloped relative to Andhra. Also it is not strong enough a reason on which a movement can be sustained. So, the leaders have made it into a sentimental one. Underdevelopment is no longer the reason behind the demand for a separate state, but self-governance. Who can argue against self-governance?

Though it is not publicly admitted, the Telangana movement is fuelled by hatred towards the people of Andhra. People of Andhra are seen as exploiters. There is a law of power which says 'show an enemy to keep your flock together'. That is exactly what the leaders of the movement are doing, showing the people of Andhra as enemies. This enmity shows up at times, like boycotting examination evaluators from Andhra region, setting fire to the properties of Andhra people. Sentiments are whipped up so that people don't see the hollowness of their promise. Unfortunately the movement is led by a gifted orator, KCR, who is very effective at it.

I hope some realization dawns on our people.

Why is he mum?

The crown prince of India, prime minister in waiting (speculation is rife that he might replace Manmohan Singh in 2012), Rahul Gandhi seems to be tight-lipped on all the major issues facing the nation now. But he hogs disproportionately huge amount of publicity, just by travelling to various parts of the country.

Kashmir is literally burning. The chief minister, said to be favored by the crown prince, has lost control of the situation. Rahul Gandhi does not speak anything about it. The naxalite menace is spreading fast and the maoists run parallel government in a significant number of districts. He does not speak about it. But he attends public rallies alongside those very maoists. Andhra Pradesh is witnessing a fervent, divisive and sometimes violent, agitation demanding a separate state. He does not speak about it. He does not even visit AP on his tours, probably to avoid the local media. But he goes to colleges and universities across the nation urging students to join politics. He should make his presence felt, shouldn't he?

The nation expects its future prime minister to have a view on every major issue. Surprisingly the media also does not seem to ask for his opinion on any of the issues. How should the nation understand his silence? Is he trying to be politically correct by keeping quiet? Or is he simply clueless on issues?

Aashayein - Welcome change from Bollywood

Finally Bollywood is breaking free from the so called  'formulae', peppy songs, dances, skinshow... Aashayein is one such different movie, unlike the regular bollywood flick. Kudos to Nagesh Kukunoor for making such a sensitive movie. The movie is a heart touching portrayal of human emotions. It is all about a young man (John Abraham) who comes to know that he has got only three months left to live and how he lives those three months. Everybody may not like the movie as it is short on entertainment. But if you can feel it, the tale no doubt moves you.

John Abraham is a revelation as an actor in the movie. The movie proves once again that good story telling is what makes a good movie, not shooting it in foreign locations.

Telugammayi

There is a new Telugu movie called 'Maryada Ramanna' (మర్యాద రామన్న), which has a song that starts with 'Telugammayi' (తెలుగమ్మాయి) . The song goes on to describe a Telugu girl so beautifully. Not just this movie, there have been many movies in recent past which had songs extolling the good qualities of a Telugu girl. Ironically none of the heroines enacting the role of that beautiful Telugu girl was a Telugu girl. May be the movie makers don't find Telugu girls beautiful enough. May be it is the Telugu audiences who don't find Telugu girls good enough to be heroines. We like only those fair skinned girls who come from Mumbai, Goa, Delhi..any place other than Andhra Pradesh. It is probably true that men like exotic women. If Telugu girls are not really beautiful, those songs must be hypocritical. What I don't understand is why these songs go on to become big hits. May be the people of AP have not really noticed the irony.

But Telugu girls make good sisters in our movies. And these girls from other states don't make such good sisters. Can you see why? I think it has got to do with the psyche of a typical man. Hope you can guess what I mean.

How are teams built?

I always wondered if we need to spend so much money on the so called team building exercises. A highly paid speaker comes and speaks about the qualities of winning teams. Some games, which supposedly illustrate team spirit, are played. I always found them either boring or amusing, but not useful. We grow up in a society that values individual achievements more than collective achievements. So, it is difficult for us imbibe true team spirit. And we don't become good team players just by listening to speeches or playing mock games.

In my view, the ultimate team building exercise is to make a team fight a war against another team. It is only in a war that true camaraderie is built. But we can't make teams in organizations fight wars. If there is any exercise that comes close to a war in building teams, it is to make a team play a sport against another team. Of course, the teams should seriously play to win. All individuals will work towards a common goal, that is to win. And a common enemy, the other team, strengthens the bond between the members of a team. There might be some aberrations, but it has been largely successful in building cohesive teams.

Unfortunately not many managers in IT companies understand this. May be they never played sports.

Bandh is dead.. An alternative

'Bandh', which literally means 'shut down' in English, has been the most employed form of mass protest in India for decades. The idea behind 'bandh' was that people show their protest by voluntarily shutting down almost everything, offices, shops, transport... Until two decades ago, a day of bandh was not so much of inconvenience to the people. It was in fact an extra holiday. Kids did not have to go to school. Most of the workers were employed by the Government and nobody cared if the offices stay closed for another day. Life was slow then and a day of bandh did not really disturb anything. It was also an easy form of protest as all that one had to do was to stay home all day. So most of the bandhs were 'successful' then.

But things have really changed in the last 15 or so years. We live in a more globalized society now and life has become relatively faster. A day of bandh upsets lot of things, lot of schedules. In today's competitive world, parents and schools are not happy about an extra holiday. Most of the employment is in the private sector and workers have no choice but to go to offices anyway. Shopkeepers don't want to lose a day's business; so shops are only 'half-closed'. A bandh is normally 'unsuccessful' these days unless it is 'enforced' by the party which calls for it. People generally don't like things being forced on them; they show their defiance in subtle ways like keeping the shops open. So a bandh is no longer serving its purpose as a form of protest. And governments too have stopped taking notice of bandhs. As a democratic nation we need an effective form of protest and it is high time we choose another form of protest.

I suggest an alternative. Instead of calling for a bandh, political parties ( or people's organizations or Maoists) shall appeal to people to show their displeasure by wearing a black ( it can be any dark color) arm band or a black badge on their clothes. Nothing is shut down and life goes on as usual. It is also a much easier form of protest. If the cause really resonates with public sentiment, we can see a truly voluntary mass protest. The mood of the nation also can be gauged just by looking at the number of people wearing a black badge on the streets. Governments too can't afford to ignore public dissatisfaction about an important issue like 'price rise'.

Threat to Indian democracy - Part 1

Some facts to consider...

1. Shiela Dixit of Congress has won three successive terms (1998,2003 and 2008) and been ruling the state of Delhi since 1998.
2. Congress, along with NCP, has won three successive terms (1999, 2004 and  2009) and been ruling the state of Maharastra since 1999.
3. Naveen Patnaik of BJD has won three successive terms (2000, 2004 and 2009) and been ruling the state of Orissa since 2000.
4. BJP has been ruling the state of Gujarat since 1995 except for 18 months in between. Narendra Modi has been the chief minister since 2001 and has won two successive terms (2002 and 2007).
5. BJP has won two successive terms (2003 and 2008) and been ruling the state of Madhya Pradesh since 2003.
6. BJP has won two successive terms (2003 and 2008) and been ruling the state of Chattisgarh since 2003.
7. Congress has won two successive terms (2004 and 2009) and been ruling the state of Andhra Pradesh since 2004.
8. Congress, along with allies, has been ruling the nation since 2004 and retained power in the 2009 election with the party itself winning 206 Parliament seats.

Two more facts which are more like exceptions in India.

1. The Left front has won seven successive terms and been ruling the state of West Bengal since 1977.
2. The SDF headed by Pawan Kumar Chamling has won four successive terms and been ruling the state of Sikkim since 1994. In the 2009 election, it has won all the 32 Assembly seats. Imagine an assembly without any presence of the opposition.

Some very well researched predictions...

1. The JD(U) and BJP alliance headed by Nitish Kumar has been ruling the state of Bihar since 2005. It is all set to retain power in the upcoming Assembly elections. Of course, this is not my prediction. Results of the 2009 parliament election in Bihar also indicate so.
2. The DMK under Karunanidi has been ruling the state of  Tamilnadu since 2006. It is all set to retain power in the upcoming Assembly elections. This too is not my prediction. The principal opposition party, AIADMK, has already given up.

Almost every media house in the country is peppering us with the prediction that Congress, along with its allies, would win the 2014 general election and the crown prince, Rahul Gandhi, is all set to become the Prime Minister of India. 2014 is still a long time to go, but the analysts are not afraid to place all their bets on Congress. Have you ever seen this kind of (too early) unanimity in analysts' opinion in the last 20 years?

I would also not be surprised if Narendra Modi retains power in Gujarat in 2012.

History of the last 30 years says the elctorate of our nation generally voted against the incumbents. Now they seem to be voting for the incumbents. Anti-incumbency is out and pro-incumbency is in. I am just wondering what could be the reason behind this. Have all these re-elected incumbents ruled so well to deserve re-election? Have Indian politics changed for better? I don't think so. Something is seriously wrong about this new trend.

To be continued...

Who wins?

• Hector or Achilles (watch the movie 'Troy')?
• A small gift with lot of love or an expensive gift without any love?
• A good product with no sales pitch or a bad product with a hyperbolic sales pitch?
• A guy who speaks lot of sense in not so fluent English or a guy who speaks nonsense in fluent English?
• A guy who has a simple bike with tankful of petrol in it or a guy who has a high-end bike but very little petrol in it?
• A not so good-looking woman with a heart of gold or a gorgeous woman with no heart at all?

I want the former to win, but it is always the latter who/what wins.

Evil news paper

Have you ever wondered what purpose a newspaper serves? So many things might come to your mind. But there is one which you have not seen before. Come and see it for yourself in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Here is a daily called ‘Sakshi’, which means 'witness' in English. In reality, it does not stand witness to anything but the ulterior motives of its promoter(s).

One might ask “what is wrong for a daily to be partisan? Which daily is not partisan?”. Yes. Media, all over the world, was never truly impartial. Almost every media house displays sympathy for either an ideology or a cause or a political party. But this one is not like anything else. Its sole purpose is malice. Its goal is not to build credibility for itself, but to destroy the credibility of all other dailies. Where else does a daily run a series of editorials on how bad the other dailies are? It has been largely successful in doing so. People of Andhra Pradesh do not trust any daily now; every daily is seen as equally bad.

Half of the news stories on this daily are not news at all, but its opinions and fabricated lies. It has mastered the art of presenting biased opinions as news. Whenever it has to report some good deed of its (political) opponents, the story begins with something like this, “At last, they do …”. To report a bad deed of them, the story begins with “As always, they do ..”. Do you notice the connotations implied by the phrases ( their equivalent phrases in Telugu) ‘as usual’, ‘as always’, ‘at last’ and ‘finally’? Whenever a story is attributed to ‘a politician who does not want to be named’ or is learnt ‘from our sources’, it is nothing but a lie.

The rot doesn’t just end with the quality of news, but it runs deeper. There is something more disturbing about the ways of this daily. It operates by the tried and tested principle of ‘divide and rule’. It tries to divide readers on the lines of political party, region, religion and the worst of all, caste. Everyday you can find indirect but very clear hints that drive home this very divide. Somebody does something because he/she belongs to a specific political party. Somebody criticizes them because they belong to a different caste. It wants to destroy the middle ground. In its view, every person belongs either to one extreme (a party or a caste) or the other extreme (another party or another caste), that nobody is neutral. And the result on the society is disastrous. A significant percentage of newspapers readers in Andhra Pradesh choose their daily based on their caste or religion or political affiliation; certainly not a good sign of things to come.

Puzzling.. yet super hit song

Goes below the starting lyrics (pallavi) of a song from the movie Khaidi, one of the all time hits of Telugu cinema. The movie is said to have propelled Chiranjeevi to super-stardom.

ఇదేమిటబ్బా
ఇది అదేను అబ్బా


అదేమిటబ్బా
అది ఇదేను అబ్బా

.............
.............
.................

 I don't know if people really noticed the funny part of the lyrics. The song starts with a question "what is this?" from the hero to the heroine. The heroine replies  "this is that only". Then the hero asks again "what is that then?" and the heroine replies "that is this only". And the 4 minute long song finishes without revealing what it is. Sounds absurd but I like it for the absurdity. May be it was intended to be a puzzle to the audiences. May be that is the reason why it was such a big hit. Kudos to the one and only late 'Veturi'.

Why not cheer Serena Williams?

I wonder why majority of men (Indians, don’t know about foreigners) don’t like the Williams sisters (Venus and Serena), especially Serena. In every match she plays, irrespective of the opponent, I see people supporting and cheering her opponent. Even when she wins, people don’t appreciate her. They rather sympathize with her opponent. I think it is because we all have a soft corner for white skin (fair skin in the Indian context). We find every white woman attractive, don’t we? If Serena is such a bad looking woman, she wouldn’t be a fashion icon in the US. Another reason I think why we don’t like her is because she is bulky, strong and muscular. I guess men develop some complex and feel little insecure when they see a really strong woman. With all these biases in mind, we simply ignore the fact she won 12 singles, 11 doubles and 2 mixed doubles Grand Slam championships. We should at least respect, if not idolize, the great champion that she is.

Any alternative to the 'blessed with a baby' phrase?

Every time a colleague becomes a father or mother, the only phrase that I hear is "I/we am/are blessed with a baby boy/girl". Why is it that everyone uses the same phrase? This is the only phrase that I hear, without any changes, from everybody. Isn't it strange? Isn't there an alternative phrase to convey the same thing in English?

My take on the Women's Reservation Bill

Everyone of you would have heard of the Women's Reservation Bill proposed by successive Indian governments. Every government since 1996 tried but failed to pass this bill in the Parliament. It means there is considerable opposition to the bill among the Indian lawmakers(MPs) even though every political party, except two or three, publicly expressed their support for the bill time and again.

This bill proposes to reserve one third (33.3%) of all the seats in the Parliament and state assemblies for women. Every one seems to have an opinion on the bill, most of them thinking it is a good proposal. I too have an opinion. I oppose it in the present form. You would have guessed the author is a man, and also a chauvinist :). I don't blame you. Popular media of our country (newspapers, magazines, news channels...) overwhelmingly and unanimously supported the bill. I think no other bill has ever received so much of media support in the recent past. Media is the biggest factor influencing public opinion in any society. Media so heavily polarized public opinion on this bill to the extent that any one opposing it is seen as a male chauvinist. Only few politicians like Lalu and Mulayam have the temerity to publicly oppose it (albeit for the wrong reasons).

I feel this bill is not really put up for discussion in the public domain. Ordinary people like you and I never discussed the pros and cons of the bill. Everyone would have heard or read many good things of the bill. Let use also see the bad things of the bill. Consider the question, why only one third of the seats for women, why not half the seats when half (little less) of the population are women? What is the basis for this 33.3%? Also imagine what would happen if this bill becomes a law. Close to 25% of the seats in Parliament are already reserved for SCs and STs. If 33.3% of remaining are reserved for women, only 50% of the total seats would be open for anyone. It means only 272 seats will be unreserved, open for all. Of these, one is reserved for Rahul Gandhi, one for Sonia Gandhi, one for Varun Gandhi, one for the Scindhia boy, one for the Pilot boy, one for Farooq Abdullah or Omar Abdullah, one for the Owaisi boy.. the list goes on and on. Where is the chance for a common man who has no reservation? Let us take the case of Andhra Pradesh. Of 42 MP seats, 10 ( 7 SC + 3 ST) are already reserved. If 11 of the remaining are reserved for women, only 21 seats would be open for all. Of these 21, one would be for YSR family, one would be for NTR family, one would be for Chiranjeevi's family, one for the Owaisi family....... The bill, in the name of increasing the representation of women, is taking away the opportunities of common men. There would be no big benefit to Common women ( equivalent of common men) either. Many of these newly reserved seats would go to the wives, daughters, sisters, even darlings.... of the great Indian political families. Above all, reservation is never a good policy. There is no end to it. So, my fellow common men and women, let us oppose the bill.

In that case, what should be done to increase the representation of women in the Parliament and state assemblies? I have a different proposal. Consider doubling the size of the Parliament and state assemblies. Every constituency would elect one man MP and one woman MP, one man MLA and one woman MLA. Everything else remains as it is now. Half of the MPs and MLAs in this country would then be women. Isn't this better than one third? Common men and women also get more opportunities to contest and get elected to the legislative bodies. As a side effect, this would also reduce the clout of the political families. It is said that there is only one solution to the ills of democracy, that is more democracy.

Movie Review - Magadheera

         I watched the much touted Telugu movie "Magadheera" on Saturday, after suffering, though briefly, the ignominy of having not watched the latest masterpiece of Telugu cinema. I am so disappointed that the movie is not even half of what it is hyped to be. I am even more surprised that not a single voice came out and said that the movie was not so good. May be the overwhelming numbers of Chiranjeevi fans(devotees) swamped and muted the few criticizing voices. Another demonstration of the power of Chiranjeevi fans. May be the advertising blitzkrieg unleashed by the money power and marketing power of Allu Aravind ( producer, also the brother-in-law of Chiranjeevi) had its effect on the moviegoers.
         The movie is below par, except the occasional blips of brilliance. Lacklustre first half doesn't amuse anybody except those hardcore Chiranjeevi fans. The second half doesn't live up to the hype generated in the first half. We can clearly see the scenes inspired by(copied from..) movies like Troy, Alexander and Jodha Akbar. In most of the scenes, the graphic work was discernible to the naked eye ( which should not be). The plot of the movie itself is not as gripping.
         Charan (hero of the movie) doesn't have that stunning look to become an instant hit. Audiences need more of getting used to him, I mean more movies from him before he starts to make an impression. This being his only second movie, he is not really at ease. His dialogue delivery doesn't fit the role and leaves much to be desired. But Charan gets full marks for the stunts he did, the hard work he put in.
         Rajamouli (director of the movie) just gets the pass marks, not the distinction as claimed by the media. The movie is not entertaining as comedy is given a complete miss.
         Kajal (heroine of the movie) looks beautiful as is the norm with today's heroines.
         In the end, Allu Aravind gets the distinction for making lot of money out of an 'also ran' movie.

Can we expect reforms from the new Government?

      There is a lot of hype in the media, especially the English media, that the new central government lead by Mr.Manmohan Singh will actively implement economic reforms as it is no longer dependent on the support of the Left parties. The popular perception also seems to be in line with the hype as the Indian stock indices shot up by 15% on the very next trading day after the election results were announced.
      I think the hype is just that, only hype. The Congress party under the leadership of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi knows very well that it is populism more than anything else that won the election for them. It is not just the recently held LokSabha election, but also almost all the state assembly elections held in the last 10 years. Here go some such instances since Mrs Sonia Gandhi took over as the president of Congress party in 1998.

1. Congress significantly improved its tally in the Andhra Pradesh assembly in 1999 election with the promise of free power to farmers.
2. Congress won the 2002 assembly election of Punjab with the promise of free power to farmers.
3. Congress won the 2004 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections with the promise of free power to farmers and low usage households.
4. Congress and its allies won the 2004 Maharashtra assembly elections with the promise of free power.
5. Congress and its allies won the 2006 Tamilnadu assembly election with the promise of free power and free color television sets.
6. Congress lost the 2007 Gujarat assembly election even after promising free power to farmers.
7. Congress lost the 2008 Karnataka assembly election even after promising free power and free color television sets.
8. The union government headed by Congress launches nationwide the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which I would call "National Vote Buying Scheme" in 2005.
9. The union government headed by Congress approved pay hikes more than what were recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, with out any rider to improve accountability in 2008.
10. The same government writes off all outstanding farm loans in 2008.
11. The Congress party manifesto for the 2009 general election promises food grains at 3 rupees a kilo to the Below Poverty Line families.

      It is also rumoured that Congress bought the support of trade unions and employee unions in the 2004 general election with the promise of halting the disinvestment of public sector undertakings. Looking at the voting patterns in the 2004 general election and halted disinvestment in the last five years, I believe it is a fact. I don't say these populist schemes alone won the elections for Congress, but everyone has to agree that these schemes have played their part in Congress victories. They also tell us that the current leadership of Congress party is heavily banking on populism.
      The English media of the country fervently reminds us of the achievements of the Congress government led by Mr P V Narasimha Rao with the present prime minister as his finance minister and foretells a similar achievement by the current government. But the present leadership of Congress party long forgotten PV, never publicly gave any credit to him. In fact, it never hesitated to show its disrespect for the late prime minister. We can't expect anything on the front of reforms from Mr. Manmohan Singh either as he is a remote-controlled puppet. His track record of the last five years speaks louder than the words of Mr.Advani.
      All the other political parties also seem to have learnt a lesson or two from this. These days, every state government is offering rice and wheat at over-subsidized prices, 2 or 3 rupees a kilo. Almost all the state governments are offering free, but limited and poor quality, power to farmers.
      The real problem with populist policies is that political parties are afraid to discontinue them anytime in the future and it takes quite a few years to correct them. Populism is the anti-thesis of reforms(both economic and governance). I think we will see a decade or two more of populist politics and little reform in this country. All the current optimism is unfounded and will fizzle out sooner than later.

Double standards of Indian Liberals

All of you might be aware of the recent incident at a pub in Bangalore. Some self-proclaimed protectors of Indian culture raided a pub and allegedly molested some women. The whole English media in the country vehemently condemned the incident and ran so many special stories and interviews from so called freedom loving citizens(only urban, of course) of the country. People denounced the moral policing and called it a violation of the fundamental rights of citizens. More importantly, linked it to the BJP and Hindutva. I don't understand how this is linked to the BJP. There are probably a thousand other issues in the country, like the Navin Chawla one, that deserve more attention.

Where were these liberals when the government banned smoking in public places? Where were these liberals when some states imposed a blanket ban on alcohol? Where were these liberals when two-wheeler riders were forced to wear helmets? Not wearing a helmet can only harm the rider. Drunken driving at night ( most probably returning from a pub) can harm many others.

I wonder why these so called liberals (English news channels included) react only to issues that can be linked to the BJP and Hindutva.

Telugu News Channels

Everyday when I go home in the evening, there are many Telugu news channels(( I know five of them) on TV, all showing the same news. News is OK but the news readers are pathetic. I learn from my friends in the media that the only qualifications needed to be a news reader on one of these channels are presentable looks and above average diction. Where has journalism gone? These men and women just sit before the camera and read out from prepared text. These people lack basic awareness of current affairs. The way they present business news and sports news is nothing less than blasphemy.

All of you might be aware of the Satyam saga going on. The stock exchanges, in reality, had decided to remove the Satyam stock from their indexes. But these news readers reported that the Satyam stock is delisted from the exchanges. I guess the people of AP deserve more. Any media company listening?

Linguistics - Pongal is not English

Many andhrites use the phrase "Wish you a happy Pongal" to wish a happy Sankranthi to each other. There is nothing wrong with it as such. But many people, including some school teachers, think Pongal is the English name for Sankranthi and teach the same to others. The truth is that there is no English name for Sankranthi. Pongal is the Tamil name for the same festival celebrated in Tamilnadu. It is perfectly OK to say "Wish you a happy Sankranthi".

AP Politics - Hail Pavan Kalyan

Addressing a protest rally two days ago, PRP leadar Pavan Kalyan spewed venom on Congress leaders. Though experts see his language as too harsh to be politically correct, I think he did exactly what is just needed now. Every allegation he made is true. It is very well known that Shabbir Ali ( minister for power in the state cabinet) has links with suspected ISI agents. Of late, he is the only politician to show the guts to call a spade a spade. It is a pity that Congress leaders, in response, bring up his personal life rather than coming out clean on the allegations. The state badly needs a politican like Pavan Kalyan. Keep it up, PowerStar.

Why Nagarjuna Finance Case Now?

The Andhra Pradesh Police have reopened the Nagarjuna Finance Limited case now. NFL raised deposits from the public and failed to repay them. There were rumors that the promoters siphoned off the money. It all happened some time in `1999 or 2000. Prima facie, it looks like a routine Indian style investigation. But, I think it is neither routine investigation nor the action of the government to safeguard the interests of the depositors. It is to target and arrest Nimesh Kampani, who happened to be one of the non-executive directors on the board of NFL then. Why only Kampani? Because he gave the much needed lifeline to the Eenadu group promoter Ramoji Rao, by investing a large sum of money in the company. The Congress government in AP is fighting a no holds barred battle against Ramoji Rao. It even stalled the proposal of the PE firm Blackstone to buy a stake in the Eenadu group. Unfortunately it is now the turn of Kampani to face the music.