Author: S. Kamat
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 17, 2005
In two of your editorials and in
an article on the rehabilitation of tsunami victims in Sri Lanka
authored by Bachi Karkaria (Feb. 8), you seem to be losing
the Indian perspective of things. The first editorial related
to the hike of FDL in telecom, which you said has come rather late
in the day and that too with strings attached. India was compared
to 22 developed Western nations. Why don't you want India to
assert itself instead of being led by a ring on its nose? There is
a danger in trivialising issues and blindly wanting to follow
others.
In your second editorial you mention
that the retrospective slapping of excise dues on ITC will make foreign
investors shy away from India. Are we to be scared of a few foreign
investors when it comes to the question of implementing justice as
we see fit on our Indian companies? Even in the US, which you seem
to regard as the ultimate icon, there have been numerous example
like Enron, Worldcom and Maratha Stewart which have been awarded
sentences in line which their offences.
Karkaria extols the efforts made
in Sri Lanka by Pfizer, a well-known MNC, in its activities
in rehabilitating the tsunami victims. I have not seen any article
commending the efforts of our own people in Tamil Nadu. Our media,
including your paper, tends to be overcritical of our efforts
and intend on finding flaws. Cover international stories by all means
but also carry those little stories of Indian successes.
