Survival of the Fittest!

It was 14^th August 2012. Meeting with the dullest person of India on the brightest Delhi morning! Indian National Congress party (Congress) was at its peak, not sure of corruption or ruling. I was barely 8 months old in India after my brief stint in Dallas TX of almost 7 years, off and on. Prior to me was another American Senator scheduled to meet the aspiring Prince of India! I overheard the self-obsessed price charming trying to compare a senator’s post to something equivalent in India. He somehow did manage, though he was wrong, as usual!

Irrespective of my agenda with Rahul Gandhi, I was more intrigued to learn him, his mind set, his party and his surroundings. Time was in my favour, may be to demonstrate me that it would be the last time I am destined to deal with him. “70% of India’s population live in villages. They know nothing but farming. We want them to continue farming. We promised them water, we promised them rural roads, we promised them agricultural benefits, we promised them electricity, we delivered all, one by one, in approx. 15 years EACH!” I wanted to interrupt but he wouldn’t stop, “in return, they promise us to keep in power. They are our real voters!” I did get a chance to ask how about balance 30% population? He just couldn’t wait, “They live in towns and cities and are well connected with our MLA’s and MP’s and congress workers. They pay the ‘right fee’ and get their works done. Look at the development we have done in last 65 years after Independence. We respect businessmen and they respect our ways of working! It’s a great arrangement and strategy we have in place and hence we are successful!”

So approximately 3900+ members of legislative assemblies (MLA’s) across 28 States of India managing respective State govts; and 545 members of parliament (MP) all elected directly through voting to the Union govt, with all elections held every now and then throughout our lives! I learnt one thing for sure, irrespective of its merits, that these congress party leaders surely knew how to control and manage the bureaucrats. You know who really runs India? Or at least I must ask MODI’s India? It’s the bureaucrats! Now it doesn’t matter if you know any minister or leader anymore!

So there are about 10,000+ bureaucrats or famously known as babus’, though I never agreed to such an underestimating word, for individuals who consider themselves superior to Gods! They believe that the God himself has to follow the procedures and policies as laid out by these highly educated officers. The only time I have seen them bowing before the God is when they themselves were in trouble. It’s like a doctor after giving up, consoles the relatives waiting outside the operation theatre by simply whispering, “Everything now is in God’s hands!” It’s their education and subsequently training imparted, shapes them to be so proud and negative. Union Public Services Commission’s (UPSC) examination is what they appear for and every year, with average of 1000

graduating out of more than 10 Lakhs (1 million) appearing for it, in certain numbers as Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, followed by Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and a dozen more including railways, postal service and so on. That’s 0.10% passing or success rate! The examination syllabus includes ‘everything’. Everything possible on this earth! The mess you see around you and all over this country is because of this! Heard about Jack of all is master of none? Upon selection, they start their career with junior postings in some random districts across India. Gradually over a period of 30-40 years, depending on how hard they follow instructions or how influentially they perform, they constantly keep climbing the ladders of success and hold various positions, virtually all over India! For IFS officers, it’s almost all over the world gradually becoming Ambassadors or Foreign Secretaries in India!

My beloved Prime Minister Modi believes and relies only on these bureaucrats. He believes all the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) or its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MLA’s and MP’s subsequently ministers in State and the Union Cabinet are insignificant. He believes it’s because of him and the brand MODI, these leaders have been able to secure victory and able to retain their seats. He also believes that almost all of them, have some or other selfish agenda and Modi being absolutely neat and clean, at least in last 6 years as Prime Minister, has the purest intention towards development of India and upliftment of Indians. And believe me, he won’t compromise when it comes to India and his people.

People like Kunal Kamra and Arnab Goswami would do a better job highlighting each and every mistake, blunder, gaffe or booboo the congress party or Rahul Gandhi and Modi or his partymen do on daily basis. The memes being circulated on social media are definitely relevant! The idea of this article is not political or to favour either of the two ideologies. Hence I would refrain from highlighting accomplishments and failures of manifestos of such political parties. This article is purely to share the practical scenario, just like I usually do in all my articles.

Have you heard the proverb ‘Fortune favours the bold’? It just made more sense when this COVID-19 hit India! My PM MODI can no more be blamed for recession or crashing economy of India. Just rewind your lives a little bit and assume its January 2020. Or may be December 2019. The bureaucracy first develops a strategy to convince the PM on something they believe. Once they convince the PM, they begin to implement the policy! The PM, his cabinet and the bureaucracy has a clear mindset, that all businessmen in this country are thieves. Some of them are bigger thieves, some of them average and some just pickpocketer. Hence the govt became ruthless and would not accept any more stealing, more strictly since last couple of years. In the process if you close your shops, business, corporate houses or even if you die, you might as well. Some shop owner operating in cash in some part of India, not contributing to GST, income tax and not even accurate data and GDP, since it’s all cash transactions, need not exist for this govt. It was not just the builders and developers who were crying foul, but automobiles, transport & logistics, travel & tourism, manufacturing including biscuits and underwear were shutting down factories in last few months. Monies in banks are not safe and so are defaulters in the United Kingdom. The THINKTANK decided that one billion farmers and poor need to be made richer because it’s them, who ultimately would vote and keep the brand MODI in power, domestically. And the selfish irrelevant Indian diaspora would do the same Internationally!

Some of the bureaucrats are impressive. They are intelligent and matured. Honest as much as I learnt. But that’s 0.10% of the 0.10% who secured positions. The balance 99.90% tighten their collar when they demolish a building citing it to be illegal, or by grounding an airplane through interpreting regulations as per their manipulation. Trusting them to manage a country of 1.3 billion? Almost all the bureaucrats have their kids studying in the USA. These bureaucrats have explored considerable number of countries around the world and are smart enough, I guess, to learn how USA and European countries develop and stay ahead. Why didn’t they really implement the same in India in last 70+ years? Congress did not stop them, they only cared about their money. Bureaucrats and congress leaders always had a sweet deal amidst themselves. In the process of any development, money was always there. So I do not accept non-performance of bureaucrats during congress regime, because of congress regime. Further, in last 6 years of full freedom to bureaucrats with an open hand and tremendous powers, including some of the bureaucrats being the cabinet ministers themselves, do we see any visible changes?

Well, open your eyes and accept the truth - we are already 30 years behind. By the time you deal with this COVID-19, may be more! Modi govt and the bureaucrats do not appreciate the manipulation, especially if done by smart people and businessmen of India. It’s only the PMO's right to do so! So 100 people deposit Rs. 10 Crore in a bank, which lends this Rs. 10 Crore to a builder, who develops a building with 20 flats and sells them to 20 buyers for Rs. 20 crores. These 20 buyers availed loan of 10 crores as well from the same bank! These 20 buyers worked in different industries ranging from automobiles to I.T. to tourism to consumer goods. The bank further lent money to the same 20 people to buy cars for themselves as well. The bank which had deposits of Rs. 10 crore, has already lent Rs. 25 crores. The bureaucrats just pull the thread by having the depositors ask for their Rs. 10 crore back and the bank starts pressurizing the 20 buyers who were defaulting instalments because some of them didn’t even had their jobs anymore, with their cars already repossessed, with no luck, since bank couldn’t find bids in the auctions to sell either the flats or cars. The entire thing crashes like a pack of cards. 2016 was the last year when such crashes were given rest in cash transactions, through demonetization. Modi govt hated unaccounted economy and GDP, which was more than the accounted one! But the leader had to be ruthless to find out the goons and thieves. Last 2 years was the turn of targeting these accounted frauds and exaggerated, illegitimate boom of Indian economy. Bureaucrats were pulling the carpets slowly, gradually, one by one. It was not just Yes Bank, Jet Airways, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Anil Ambani and others you hear in the news. It was a bloody massacre of the entire Indian business and economy, which you didn’t even notice or felt.

Congratulations! You will very soon start feeling the heat. Modi govt is determined to entertain only neat and clean, legit and sensible activities. They don’t care if you build one million cars in your factory under Make In India, now they care if you really have buyers for these one million cars. If you had a fleet of 100 trucks to haul cargo all over India, govt wants to know what cargo and who for. They don’t care if gradually your fleet is parked and you have been losing business, leaving you with no choice but to shut down. More than 12 lakh (1.2 million) apartments unsold all over India, from govt’s perspective, the builders may commit suicide, bureaucrats won’t care. The bureaucrats only want you to build apartments if there’s a genuine demand, with your own capital and genuine buyers with real money to buy your apartments. Do you think we are prepared for this?

Heard of SURVIVAL of the FITTEST? We have entered the phase. As responsible family men, you should plan your resources and lives in India accordingly. There would be no more false, fake or hyped transactions. Banks are mandated to NOT LEND YOU ANY MORE MONEY. Because, you will, sooner or later, default the loan. Everything from the bureaucracy’s perspective is now supposed to be 100% safe. Well, safe guard yourself, your monies, your career, your family. Do you remember witnessing shopping malls, theatres, restaurants, hotels and even airlines being empty in 2019, even before this COVID-19 stole the show?

I was very confident only on one factor. That was 100 Lakh crores (US$1.3 Trillion) the govt were to spend on infrastructure. Our PM and his bureaucrats would have very well spent that money and built India and its infra in next 10-15 years by really spending 100 Lakh crores. That would have definitely taken infra companies to new heights and considerable population in the form of labour and other vendors would have directly or indirectly benefitted from it. This $1.3 billion after rotating 3 times, which it does on average anyways, would have taken our economy to more than $5 trillion and hence all the confidence you observed in our PM every time he spoke about going from $2 to $5 Trillion. But now with negligible GST and income tax collection, no grants or aids from foreign funds and no foreign investment foreseen, we are in trouble!

Would the bureaucrats care? They have so much money, most of you can’t even earn that in your lifetime. Would the PM or govt go after the bureaucrats and find their names in SWISS bank or Panama leaks? Never! These bureaucrats are so powerful now, all thanks to our beloved PM, they can very well topple his govt too! This UPSC and IAS and this bureaucracy culture encouraged in 1922 were to be put to rest in 1947 with the British. Be ready to pay the price. They are just 10,000 and you are more than 1.3 billion. They protect each other like no one else. Their nexus and node is so strong and you can’t doubt their loyalty to each other. You are put to test, not by Congress, not by Rahul the clown, not by PM Modi or RSS, you are now put to test by this bureaucracy, roots of which the British planted 100 years ago, to genuinely witness this destruction over 100 years!