The Brown man's Burden

The great imperialist Rudyard Kipling exhorted the 'virtues' of colonialism and called it the 'White man's burden'. The phrase was later used to justify the policy as a noble enterprise aimed at benefiting the world as a whole. In reality it was nothing but an arrogant euphemism coined by a greedy, power hungry, cavalier colonist.

More than a century later the wheels of time have turned full circle and the phrase looks like it needs a bit of modification. Going by the events of the past decade especially in the world business the phrase 'Brown man's burden' seems rather appropriate. What with all the Indian companies going on an acquisition spree of oversees companies. Be it the high-profile and sometimes hostile Mittal acquisition of Arcelor or the Tata-Corus deal or more recent Tata bid for jaguar and land-rover, the Indian companies have come of age and are bursting out of the national boundary and into the international playground of business.

The recent surge in the number of Indian born CEOs is also a pointer in this direction. Some of the biggest foreign business houses - ranging from UK to the US - feel a need for an able and efficient leader. A requirement the Indian born business leaders are able to fulfill with great aplomb.

But this 'Browning' of International business is not without its pangs. The recent Tata bids for Jaguar and Orient hotels have also brought out age old prejudices to the fore. May be its sub-conscious in nature but there is a mild element of racism which stops some of the international business establishments from accepting an Indian connection. This is downright foolish and can hurt their long term growth and they need to understand that if an Indian company taking over makes sound business sense then so be it, they should not - and need not - hanker based on obsolete ancient prejudices. In the long run these same business houses will reap the benefits of having an Indian connection.

The advent of Globalization over the past 25 years has created a level playing field for all involved and hence provided erstwhile marginalized countries like India a chance to show their prowess. That is exactly what is happening and will continue to happen in the coming days and the world will be better off adjusting to the changed condition.

Oh No...Not again!!!

As yet another blast rips through India - this time ripping through the Rajdhani express - one is left with a sinking feeling of helplessness. Indian cities have become sitting ducks looking invitingly at 'cavaliar' terrorists who want to try their hand at inflicting destruction.

Will this state of events ever stop? How many more lives need to be lost before this descrepency is corrected.India has always been a beacon of peace and harmony. But being peaceful is one thing and being utterly open to attack is totally another and sadly we are at the latter stage.

America for all its belligerance and war-mongering has been atleast successful in one thing : protecting its civillian population from terrorist attacks. The fact that there has not been a single terrorist attack of note in the US post 9/11 is a testiment to this fact. Infact the under-fire Bush administration can claim this to be one of its successes over its 7 year term.

Forget the US, is there any state in the world that is hell-bent on protecting its civilians than Israel. A Jewish country surrounded by Arab land and not to mention the land dispute, is a recipie for terrorist attacks. But the way the little country has warded off terrorists is an example for countries like us. Yes, Israel does use some devious means to kill the terrorists but atleast they can argue that their civilians are safe. A great example of Israel's iron resolve was the way they went after the 'Black September' terrorist group who killed israelli athletes at the Munich Olympics. They literally hunted them down.

India should also follow a policy of zero tollerance when it comes to going after terrorists and should leave no stone unturned in protecting innocent citizens. Lest we forget, the terrorist attacks could become a regular occurance in our cities and towns and we'll be left uttering the words 'Oh No...Not again!!!!' in dismay.