Network is the focus
From zero experience to threshold experience
Simple secrets of doing business, how to relocate our emphasis to do business in this truly different times. One has to be bold enough to walk through the new and unknown roads down. Times are changing fast. Let us retool and rework for the days ahead. It is not mathematical models, but the ability to relate, facilitates the business through.
VINOD CV
The business is all about the ability to build relationships. One does need a personalised attention to buy even a simple thing or on deciding a seemingly unimportant business proposition. Times are such that choices are many. The days of customers looking for sellers are over. Now seller is chasing the customer. We are living in a buyers market. In a buyers market with multiple options for the customers, to standout in the crowd is the toughest thing. How to stand out and how to reach to the relevant customer is the challenges of any organisation. Running a successful business is tough in a competitive world. “A major part of keeping profitable and growing your business is maintaining a focus on business development” says Claire McLennan in an article ”tips for acquiring new business”. The strategy is to maintain competitive edge by opening up business
While discussing about opening up, it is sure that one can’t operate in cocoon. Business develops as we do business. It is when the very important first contact is made; future follow up measures can be undertaken. So, many marketing function boils down to making the very important first contact. Just like the Chinese proverb- a journey of two thousand miles also start with a single step- any long standing and fruitful association bears the pangs and pressures of establishing the initial communication. One cannot get away with the scoring of first run if he is planning to be in the middle to score big ones.
Before making the first contact, considerable thought and research must go, to identify the potential customer. World over companies wanted to eliminate the inefficiency of wasting the energy by following the non-productive client. There is no point in squandering time with a non-prospective customer. A smart businessman is noted for his ability to distinguish between the possible and unlikely customer. Intuition and cumulative experience of businessperson has to be relied to spot the right target. Sometimes this is very easy when customer didn’t have the wherewithal to buy so that he can be well bypassed in the campaign. Theories of management textbooks wont help much here. It’s the understanding of human mind and experience gathered over the years may save one in deciding the prospective ness of a-would be buyer.
In this connection, results of some surveys are relevant. Recent surveys by Warne, a Toronto marketing company, tracked more than 3,500 people who inquired about an advertisement. Here is what the surveys found: 19% of the inquirers made purchases within six months (whether from the advertiser or a competitor) and 29% purchased within a year. By 16 months, 43%, and by 25 months, 57% had made purchases. That translates into two in 10 that want to buy "now" and four others that want to buy "later" — or about six prospects for every 10 queries. Clearly, inquiries are a key to sales. But to understand and distinguish the potentiality of the buyer at the time of enquiry or during a follow up session is important
That's because all queries look alike at the outset. You can't tell which will fade and which will turn into prospects. Since good follow-up requires three or four subsequent contacts, companies cannot afford to respond to every request for information or pricing with such attention. So the good gets tossed with the bad.
So first contact is very important in all aspects as the process of warming up a cold client to a hot prospect stars there. And the person who makes the contact has to be thoroughly prepared for it. He must be in full know of the things. No fumbling and mumbling will do. A total knowledge of the market and competitive advantages of the product shall figure in the radar screen of his mind as and when require. Any shortcoming in this regard will expose the marketing man and his prestige will be in doldrums.
Another thing is, Understanding the customers’ needs in proper perspective. There is no point in pushing a buyer to make decision. The persuasive, charming and pleasing manners can do the trick. In any successful negotiation what is important is the ability to see things from other persons perspective. It is the keynote of success. In a business opportunities also, this is no different.
There are times when the customer is not aware of the product or not aware the range of services entailed in the package. A smart marketing man ought to have the insight to understand the level of customer awareness. There is no point in explaining the things which one is already aware. Nobody has time and energy to listen the empty prattles anymore. Reading the level at which customer operates is very significant. It applies to the general awareness of the customer as well as the knowledge of the particular product or service offered. Raising the customer from the ‘zero awareness’ to ‘threshold awareness’ to make a purchasing decision is the challenge a marketing man must address.
The mindless and continuous chattering is not associated with elegance in business. A smart marketing man prompts the customer to open up. While the customer speaks, a view into his future potentials and apprehensions is available for a marketing man to analyse. That will help in allaying doubts. Allowing customer to talk may make a businessman understand his related needs and anxieties.
Another significant aspect on which marketing people often fail to give sufficient attention is the space needed for the buyer to take decision. There exists a tendency among sellers to rush through the business. It is not right that all customers countenance this. Penchant to do this may repulse a perceptive customer.
Customer is the one who sustains market. He is the raison d'etre of the business. He must be treated with respect and care. A customer once created, shall be retained. While putting forward a business proposition, a marketing man must remember this. Any information withholding or distortion may switch off the customer later when it is found out. The cardinal rule is to be truthful. There shall not be any information shocks later. But one ought to be thoughtful enough for not to pass information, which is not in the immediate interest of the prospective customer, be it about the product, company, or services. Being truthful doesn’t mean that belting out everything. It means that the businessperson has to divulge all related things, relevant to the product and service to the customer at the outset.
It is the persuasive charm of the marketing man combines with the value addition he offers, make a business proposal through. Simple, hassle free approach with utmost sincerity and a truly professional attitude will help a seller to clinch the deal.
Friday, December 31, 2004
Thursday, December 30, 2004
FROM EARTH TO LIFE- Thimakkas activities on greening Restaurants(Enviornment)
From Earth to Life
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VINOD CV
By commenting on what is environmentalism, the article takes a route through the activities of Thimakkas (A project of Thimmakka’s Resources for Environmental Education, http://www.thimmakka.org) latest project greening south asian restaurants in US. A lovely poem is there too at the end to relish. Thanku
Environmentalism, as a term is semantically more tilted to the vocabulary of politics. Caring and revering nature is a more emotionally and poetically poignant description.. Whatever one calls it, from the very practical point of the survival of the existence of this lovely earth to the sentimentality of preserving the charms and wonders of our mother planet, a green check list is the order of the day before venturing into any activity.
Even before, Environmentalism has become a fad, particularly after the publication of ‘Silent spring’ in 60s, which revolutionised the western world’s environmental awareness; the indigenous communities and tribal were living in full consonance with the grammar of an environmental existence. The entire societal project the eastern philosophers put forward through millenniums was in line with respecting Mother Nature. The latest in this series is the father of Indian Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s social and political programme, which he introduced during Indian freedom struggle. One can safely say he is he is first green thinker of our times.
Though it is said that Easterners including South Asian community is by their religious upbringing indoctrinated to treat nature as mother, many a times in real life situation, they cut a sorry figure as far as environmental literacy is concerned. Thus the failure to understand the cost effective and ecologically sound practises with regard to environment is sorely missing in the south Asian communities. Thimmakka is formed to bring the said communities into the high level of ecological alertness. The effort of the organisation is to present alternatives from the native wisdoms so that acceptability will be high. Thimmakka is committed to introduce social justice perspectives through the environmental campaign. Such a holistic and culturally fruitful programme with environmental angle makes the effort of Thimmakka a special one.
It is here Thimmakka’s new attempt to green Ethnic restaurants assume path breaking significance. Especially as a diasporic community, ethnic minorities like south Asians visit their restaurants frequently. This is the ideal place to initiate them into the sustainable and logically unavoidable ways of living to minimise the impact to environment. More than that, the restaurants as business hubs themselves need lot of training and technology to eliminate wasteful and costly methods, which are environmentally hazardous. As a programme for the present, GER makes the restaurant and the community green savvy. But as the future beginning of a great campaign, entire community who frequent is invited to the new trends in environmental consciousness. So a total overhauling in the thinking of entire community is effected by the greening project of restaurants. It is not greening of restaurants. It is about greening the minds. Greening the minds of future. Greening the ideas of a community. It is about greening the way one think and live. The greening process will be so easy when the message is sent in their own languages, in their own idioms and in their own cultural means with the help of community leaders. The efficacy of talking to people by reaching out to their cultural universes is evident in the success of the programme so far.
A poem for earth written in connection with sending this piece
Sleeping girl in a shy green skirt
Earth is an invitation for pure romance
She is the silky seduction with thousand eyes
Earth is a mother with oceans in the womb
She is the blessed bosom with the pearls of silence
Earth is ever ready to feed her toddler trees in prayer
In the language of love, Earth is the soul
And sky is a monk in meditation
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
VINOD CV
By commenting on what is environmentalism, the article takes a route through the activities of Thimakkas (A project of Thimmakka’s Resources for Environmental Education, http://www.thimmakka.org) latest project greening south asian restaurants in US. A lovely poem is there too at the end to relish. Thanku
Environmentalism, as a term is semantically more tilted to the vocabulary of politics. Caring and revering nature is a more emotionally and poetically poignant description.. Whatever one calls it, from the very practical point of the survival of the existence of this lovely earth to the sentimentality of preserving the charms and wonders of our mother planet, a green check list is the order of the day before venturing into any activity.
Even before, Environmentalism has become a fad, particularly after the publication of ‘Silent spring’ in 60s, which revolutionised the western world’s environmental awareness; the indigenous communities and tribal were living in full consonance with the grammar of an environmental existence. The entire societal project the eastern philosophers put forward through millenniums was in line with respecting Mother Nature. The latest in this series is the father of Indian Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s social and political programme, which he introduced during Indian freedom struggle. One can safely say he is he is first green thinker of our times.
Though it is said that Easterners including South Asian community is by their religious upbringing indoctrinated to treat nature as mother, many a times in real life situation, they cut a sorry figure as far as environmental literacy is concerned. Thus the failure to understand the cost effective and ecologically sound practises with regard to environment is sorely missing in the south Asian communities. Thimmakka is formed to bring the said communities into the high level of ecological alertness. The effort of the organisation is to present alternatives from the native wisdoms so that acceptability will be high. Thimmakka is committed to introduce social justice perspectives through the environmental campaign. Such a holistic and culturally fruitful programme with environmental angle makes the effort of Thimmakka a special one.
It is here Thimmakka’s new attempt to green Ethnic restaurants assume path breaking significance. Especially as a diasporic community, ethnic minorities like south Asians visit their restaurants frequently. This is the ideal place to initiate them into the sustainable and logically unavoidable ways of living to minimise the impact to environment. More than that, the restaurants as business hubs themselves need lot of training and technology to eliminate wasteful and costly methods, which are environmentally hazardous. As a programme for the present, GER makes the restaurant and the community green savvy. But as the future beginning of a great campaign, entire community who frequent is invited to the new trends in environmental consciousness. So a total overhauling in the thinking of entire community is effected by the greening project of restaurants. It is not greening of restaurants. It is about greening the minds. Greening the minds of future. Greening the ideas of a community. It is about greening the way one think and live. The greening process will be so easy when the message is sent in their own languages, in their own idioms and in their own cultural means with the help of community leaders. The efficacy of talking to people by reaching out to their cultural universes is evident in the success of the programme so far.
A poem for earth written in connection with sending this piece
Sleeping girl in a shy green skirt
Earth is an invitation for pure romance
She is the silky seduction with thousand eyes
Earth is a mother with oceans in the womb
She is the blessed bosom with the pearls of silence
Earth is ever ready to feed her toddler trees in prayer
In the language of love, Earth is the soul
And sky is a monk in meditation
Friday, December 10, 2004
Freedom Child- A social commentary of a sexual scandal in Kerala(Society)
A Enquiry into the societal conspiracy behind the sad end of a 17 year old kerala(Southern most indian state) girl who died after giving birth a baby girl.
The Freedom Child
A MIRROR WE CAN’T MISS
SHE IS UNLIKE ANY CHILD. UNLIKE ANYBODY BORN IN KERALA FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES, SHE POSES QUESTIONS, WHICH CAN SHAKE THE EMPTY AND MOTH-EATEN FOUNDATIONS OF THE MALAYALI MORAL PSYCHE. SHE IS THE PIERCING MIRROR HELD TO OUR CRUMBLING HYPOCRISY.
She was born on Aug 15th, 2004. Exactly on the same day, 57 years ago, the proud Prime Minister of India unfurled the national flag and delivered his historic “tryst with destiny speech.” (1947 aug 15 India won its political Independence after being a colony of british for 200 years)
She was born at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital (MCH). It is for sure that in the hospital records, against her name, the place for her father’s remained unfilled. But her mother’s name has filled the newspaper columns across Kerala for the last 3-4 months. Now the mother is no more and her ill-fated face stilled in time after undergoing unspeakable agonies, travelled to our drawing rooms, courtesy the insensitive TV journalists with anaesthetized sensibilities. This unfortunate child born to this unlucky mother on the Independence Day, is the hapless daughter of Shari S. Nair who died after going through the trauma of sexual abuse, and the possible poisoning later to facilitate the easy burial of evidences.
The ordeal of the 17-year old girl’s life, starting from being the winner of a small time beauty competition at Kottayam, to the tragic end at the MCH hospital is a frightful pointer to the atrocious times we live in. That it happened the way it happened is not surprising while analysing the recent sex scandals. In all these cases, it is a mix of beauty contests, fashion shows, serial acting, modelling, mobile phones and love affairs, that proved to be fatal. Invariably, the story line is, young and over ambitious girls around the age of 15-17 getting lured into some kind of relationships with men who cheat the girls and lead them to a glamour ring where a kind of semi-prostitution and allied activities thrive to cater to the demands and needs of the high and mighty - in recent Kerala parlance, ‘VIPs’.
Many times an elder woman also makes an appearance in the racket, and the girls who get trapped, either willingly or unwillingly, lose their sense of discretion and decision making power till they find themselves pregnant and thrown away. Parents cooperate and even connive at times without knowing the full gravity of the situation, thinking that their girl is on the path to stardom. Initially, both the girls and their parents get blinded, by the flow of easy money and the promise of immediate celluloid triumphs. Being poor and defenceless, their lines of resistance get weakened till disaster visits them, as happened in the Kiliroor case.
The society in Kerala has undergone breathtaking changes in the last 20 years or so. The invasion of satellite TV and the acceptance of Hindi films with sleazy stories and lurid song sequences have fuelled the trademark liberalism of this generation. Reduced space of social resistance movements and the withering of the intellectual idealism accentuated this trend.
Media cleverly passed the buck in the critical hour of reckoning and even acted as cheerleaders. Irresponsible women’s magazines in the state infected by a bug borrowed directly from the salacious Sunday magazines and city editions of some well-known English newspapers, went to town detailing stories which had obvious hints, tips and fast facts to become instant celebrities. Celebrating and glorifying the success of film stars by the so-called family magazines had a profound impact in securing the social sanction for many ill adventures.
Thus the cultural and intellectual consent for treating the body as an object of adulation and a medium of commerce are well endorsed by these insidious endeavours promoted and acquiesced by media. The not so vigilant society played into the hands of big time media merchants interested solely in the flow to their coffers. So the price Malayali paid and the pain he experienced seeing the lifeless face of the mercilessly battered Kiliroor girl were long over due. The ticket for it was really taken while reading and rejoicing the success stories of models, film stars and their utterly rubbish gossips.
The group suicide of a Namboodiri family at Kaviyoor in Kottayam in connection with the Kiliroor case is quite revealing. Namboodiri’s daughter, a 15-year-old upcoming classical dancer was duped after luring her and her family about the prospects in TV serial acting by a self-styled talent scout, Latha Nair, who is the prime accused in the Kiliroor case. How can her priest cum astrologer father be blamed if he thought that sending his daughter to some preliminary tests with another woman was necessary for an acting career.
How can we find fault with him if he thought that his talented daughter has a chance when many girls with upper caste surname tails are making names in the film and serial industry. He belongs to the Malayali middle class community who is entranced by the pervasive success tales of past Kalathilakams and their subsequent married lives, which were fed as the favourite diet to the readers of pop Malayalam magazines. What is left unstated in these features is the kind of trials and tough days, these so-called successful stars encountered in their route to stardom. Unpleasant stories of compromises remain unsaid and unknown, while the effort of bestowing a non-existing goodness and decency to these fields continue unabated. Cost of that information deficit is terrible and devastating as it leads the uninitiated and the unsuspecting to cleverly disguised traps. This becomes a collective tragedy of the society when the supposedly alert media acts as a shameless collaborator in this project of deceit.
What one must know is that a well-designed package is readied to draft the woman into the roles, which the market wants to fit and fix for them. From beauty contests to modelling, the victim is glorified as the victor. And the smiling girl or boy is just a new recruit to the logic of the market where he or she thinks that they are scoring points. The reality is that points are scored at their expense. That is the mesmerising art and science of showbiz. To one success tale printed, there would be hundreds of failed stories of painful tears, awful abuse and lost innocence. Nobody says about it and nobody reads about it. At least the Kiliroor case must open our eyes and harden our resolves. We owe that much to the little girl born on the day we celebrated our initiation into freedom. Born on the Independence Day of an illustrious Nation, she will remain as a lasting indictment to our ethical ineptitude. This is a curse our morally hollow society surely deserves.
helo
The Freedom Child
A MIRROR WE CAN’T MISS
SHE IS UNLIKE ANY CHILD. UNLIKE ANYBODY BORN IN KERALA FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES, SHE POSES QUESTIONS, WHICH CAN SHAKE THE EMPTY AND MOTH-EATEN FOUNDATIONS OF THE MALAYALI MORAL PSYCHE. SHE IS THE PIERCING MIRROR HELD TO OUR CRUMBLING HYPOCRISY.
She was born on Aug 15th, 2004. Exactly on the same day, 57 years ago, the proud Prime Minister of India unfurled the national flag and delivered his historic “tryst with destiny speech.” (1947 aug 15 India won its political Independence after being a colony of british for 200 years)
She was born at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital (MCH). It is for sure that in the hospital records, against her name, the place for her father’s remained unfilled. But her mother’s name has filled the newspaper columns across Kerala for the last 3-4 months. Now the mother is no more and her ill-fated face stilled in time after undergoing unspeakable agonies, travelled to our drawing rooms, courtesy the insensitive TV journalists with anaesthetized sensibilities. This unfortunate child born to this unlucky mother on the Independence Day, is the hapless daughter of Shari S. Nair who died after going through the trauma of sexual abuse, and the possible poisoning later to facilitate the easy burial of evidences.
The ordeal of the 17-year old girl’s life, starting from being the winner of a small time beauty competition at Kottayam, to the tragic end at the MCH hospital is a frightful pointer to the atrocious times we live in. That it happened the way it happened is not surprising while analysing the recent sex scandals. In all these cases, it is a mix of beauty contests, fashion shows, serial acting, modelling, mobile phones and love affairs, that proved to be fatal. Invariably, the story line is, young and over ambitious girls around the age of 15-17 getting lured into some kind of relationships with men who cheat the girls and lead them to a glamour ring where a kind of semi-prostitution and allied activities thrive to cater to the demands and needs of the high and mighty - in recent Kerala parlance, ‘VIPs’.
Many times an elder woman also makes an appearance in the racket, and the girls who get trapped, either willingly or unwillingly, lose their sense of discretion and decision making power till they find themselves pregnant and thrown away. Parents cooperate and even connive at times without knowing the full gravity of the situation, thinking that their girl is on the path to stardom. Initially, both the girls and their parents get blinded, by the flow of easy money and the promise of immediate celluloid triumphs. Being poor and defenceless, their lines of resistance get weakened till disaster visits them, as happened in the Kiliroor case.
The society in Kerala has undergone breathtaking changes in the last 20 years or so. The invasion of satellite TV and the acceptance of Hindi films with sleazy stories and lurid song sequences have fuelled the trademark liberalism of this generation. Reduced space of social resistance movements and the withering of the intellectual idealism accentuated this trend.
Media cleverly passed the buck in the critical hour of reckoning and even acted as cheerleaders. Irresponsible women’s magazines in the state infected by a bug borrowed directly from the salacious Sunday magazines and city editions of some well-known English newspapers, went to town detailing stories which had obvious hints, tips and fast facts to become instant celebrities. Celebrating and glorifying the success of film stars by the so-called family magazines had a profound impact in securing the social sanction for many ill adventures.
Thus the cultural and intellectual consent for treating the body as an object of adulation and a medium of commerce are well endorsed by these insidious endeavours promoted and acquiesced by media. The not so vigilant society played into the hands of big time media merchants interested solely in the flow to their coffers. So the price Malayali paid and the pain he experienced seeing the lifeless face of the mercilessly battered Kiliroor girl were long over due. The ticket for it was really taken while reading and rejoicing the success stories of models, film stars and their utterly rubbish gossips.
The group suicide of a Namboodiri family at Kaviyoor in Kottayam in connection with the Kiliroor case is quite revealing. Namboodiri’s daughter, a 15-year-old upcoming classical dancer was duped after luring her and her family about the prospects in TV serial acting by a self-styled talent scout, Latha Nair, who is the prime accused in the Kiliroor case. How can her priest cum astrologer father be blamed if he thought that sending his daughter to some preliminary tests with another woman was necessary for an acting career.
How can we find fault with him if he thought that his talented daughter has a chance when many girls with upper caste surname tails are making names in the film and serial industry. He belongs to the Malayali middle class community who is entranced by the pervasive success tales of past Kalathilakams and their subsequent married lives, which were fed as the favourite diet to the readers of pop Malayalam magazines. What is left unstated in these features is the kind of trials and tough days, these so-called successful stars encountered in their route to stardom. Unpleasant stories of compromises remain unsaid and unknown, while the effort of bestowing a non-existing goodness and decency to these fields continue unabated. Cost of that information deficit is terrible and devastating as it leads the uninitiated and the unsuspecting to cleverly disguised traps. This becomes a collective tragedy of the society when the supposedly alert media acts as a shameless collaborator in this project of deceit.
What one must know is that a well-designed package is readied to draft the woman into the roles, which the market wants to fit and fix for them. From beauty contests to modelling, the victim is glorified as the victor. And the smiling girl or boy is just a new recruit to the logic of the market where he or she thinks that they are scoring points. The reality is that points are scored at their expense. That is the mesmerising art and science of showbiz. To one success tale printed, there would be hundreds of failed stories of painful tears, awful abuse and lost innocence. Nobody says about it and nobody reads about it. At least the Kiliroor case must open our eyes and harden our resolves. We owe that much to the little girl born on the day we celebrated our initiation into freedom. Born on the Independence Day of an illustrious Nation, she will remain as a lasting indictment to our ethical ineptitude. This is a curse our morally hollow society surely deserves.
helo
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Lashing Leviathan- (study of the power of STATE in the light of Swami Jayendra Saraswathis arrest)(STATE AND POLITICS)
Lashing Leviathan
THE STATE CAN STILL DO
VINOD CV
THE ARREST OF KANCHI SANKARACHARYA, SRI JAYENDRA SARASWATHI, REVEALS THE POWER INGRAINED IN OUR NATION STATE. IT IS INTERESTING TO ANALYSE THE HANDLING OF SISTER ABHAYA MURDER CASE AND THE INCARCERATION OF ABDUL NAZER MAUDANI IN THE BACKDROP OF JAYALALITHAA’S BOLD BUT RISKY DECISION.
It was the awesome power of the State that was in display. The characteristically soft Indian State, for many years in the first time, showed the inner iron. It was a welcome relief from the inured scenes of leaders visiting and propitiating the God-men and mutt heads. Jayalalithaa’s action of arresting Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, is one of the few moments in the recent history of the country when the might of the State decided to strike the so-called holy cows.
As the roulette of the Sankararaman murder case is yet to unwind, it is highly premature to jump into a conclusion with regard to the involvement of the Swami. A trial by media and politicians indicting the Swami is as uncalled for, as issuing a good certificate to Sankaracharya. Just like any accused in a murder case, Swami deserves all privileges the law presupposes, like being treated as an innocent till convicted. His standing and age are also factors to be considered while deciding facilities in the jail.
But the most important message of this whole episode is that State is capable of touching anybody with the wrong end of the pole, if it wills. When Jayalalithaa was confronted with sufficiently strong evidence against the Swami, her souring of personal relationships with him also might have prompted her to the political decision of arresting the revered mutt-head. Political observers lauded the authority and command she showed in the process.
Fact of the mater is that the strength and power she displayed is the reflection of the power of our glorious Nation State, executed through the authority of Tamilnadu State Govt and police. Though Jayalalithaa is a doughty lady with a great penchant for exercising power, the clout and confidence she exhibited while deciding to arrest Sankaracharya shall not be missed for her personal power. It was the limitless sovereign power of the all-powerful Indian State on act. It is true that the Tamilnadu Chief Minister is one of the few leaders in India who has the ability and willpower to use the inherent power of the State.
Jayalalithaa, unlike many other spineless political leaders, had enough resolve to use the inalienable and undivided power, the society has bestowed on the Nation State. She is not the one to blink an eye in the event of adversities. Jayalalithaa herself has tasted the power of the State, visiting her from the wrong side when she was arrested with charges of corruption.
It is educative in this connection to ponder over Abdul Nazer Maudani’s arrest and Sister Abhaya murder case as both cases highlights the implications of the working of the State and its Organs - muscles in Maudani’s case and muzzled thinking in Abhaya case.
Maudani’s arrest and subsequent incarceration is sequel to his alleged role in the Coimbatore case, but was preceded by a series of defiant speeches and daring violations of law, in which he took the State and its power as too silly. For a long time, the State and its various law enforcing arms looked other way and didn’t respond properly, which made a false impression that the Govt., and its law & order machinery is weak. But the State and its organs like intelligence agencies were gathering evidences against him and they used it very effectively once he was arrested in connection with a very serious case like the Coimbatore blast case. It was proof that the seemingly weak behaviour of the State shouldn’t be enough to conclude that it will act weak in future too. The change in style with which Maudani was treated before and after his arrest is a clear instance in this regard.
But in the Sr. Abhaya case the story runs in a different direction. It is a case of the State (in this case, Kerala Police) allegedly helping the accused by not recording the evidence in the true spirit of investigation. The systematic destroying of evidence with an eye to weaken the prosecution case, later led to the CBI hitting a roadblock while trying to get to the bottom of the mystery.
This is in sharp contrast to the readiness of Jayalalithaa and TN police going after the Swami. That earnestness was not visible in Kerala in Sr. Abhaya case as the case involved touching the religious sensitivities. No wonder, some people are saying that Swami Sri Jayendra Saraswathi would have been untouched if he were in Kerala. Though the cultural contour of the social setting is different in Kerala and TN, the power of our Nation State is equally available to Jayalalithaa and a Kerala Chief Minister. What makes the difference is the power to use the power. Jayalalithaa has the grit and determination to use that already bestowed power.
But in the confusion of the Swami’s arrest, what shall not be forgotten is that, in the Sankararaman murder case, the latest indication is that the prosecution case is not as strong as it was made out to be in the initial days. So in the event of Swami coming out unscathed in the case, Jayalalithaa would be paying a very high price. The possibility of such a situation must be deliberated before using the sacred and sovereign power of the State. Indiscriminate, whimsical and arbitrary use of it for personal gains will recoil and damage the credibility of institutions and individuals involved. So the rule is, Power of the State, since it has absolutist dimensions at times, ought to be used with great care and discretion.
THE STATE CAN STILL DO
VINOD CV
THE ARREST OF KANCHI SANKARACHARYA, SRI JAYENDRA SARASWATHI, REVEALS THE POWER INGRAINED IN OUR NATION STATE. IT IS INTERESTING TO ANALYSE THE HANDLING OF SISTER ABHAYA MURDER CASE AND THE INCARCERATION OF ABDUL NAZER MAUDANI IN THE BACKDROP OF JAYALALITHAA’S BOLD BUT RISKY DECISION.
It was the awesome power of the State that was in display. The characteristically soft Indian State, for many years in the first time, showed the inner iron. It was a welcome relief from the inured scenes of leaders visiting and propitiating the God-men and mutt heads. Jayalalithaa’s action of arresting Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, is one of the few moments in the recent history of the country when the might of the State decided to strike the so-called holy cows.
As the roulette of the Sankararaman murder case is yet to unwind, it is highly premature to jump into a conclusion with regard to the involvement of the Swami. A trial by media and politicians indicting the Swami is as uncalled for, as issuing a good certificate to Sankaracharya. Just like any accused in a murder case, Swami deserves all privileges the law presupposes, like being treated as an innocent till convicted. His standing and age are also factors to be considered while deciding facilities in the jail.
But the most important message of this whole episode is that State is capable of touching anybody with the wrong end of the pole, if it wills. When Jayalalithaa was confronted with sufficiently strong evidence against the Swami, her souring of personal relationships with him also might have prompted her to the political decision of arresting the revered mutt-head. Political observers lauded the authority and command she showed in the process.
Fact of the mater is that the strength and power she displayed is the reflection of the power of our glorious Nation State, executed through the authority of Tamilnadu State Govt and police. Though Jayalalithaa is a doughty lady with a great penchant for exercising power, the clout and confidence she exhibited while deciding to arrest Sankaracharya shall not be missed for her personal power. It was the limitless sovereign power of the all-powerful Indian State on act. It is true that the Tamilnadu Chief Minister is one of the few leaders in India who has the ability and willpower to use the inherent power of the State.
Jayalalithaa, unlike many other spineless political leaders, had enough resolve to use the inalienable and undivided power, the society has bestowed on the Nation State. She is not the one to blink an eye in the event of adversities. Jayalalithaa herself has tasted the power of the State, visiting her from the wrong side when she was arrested with charges of corruption.
It is educative in this connection to ponder over Abdul Nazer Maudani’s arrest and Sister Abhaya murder case as both cases highlights the implications of the working of the State and its Organs - muscles in Maudani’s case and muzzled thinking in Abhaya case.
Maudani’s arrest and subsequent incarceration is sequel to his alleged role in the Coimbatore case, but was preceded by a series of defiant speeches and daring violations of law, in which he took the State and its power as too silly. For a long time, the State and its various law enforcing arms looked other way and didn’t respond properly, which made a false impression that the Govt., and its law & order machinery is weak. But the State and its organs like intelligence agencies were gathering evidences against him and they used it very effectively once he was arrested in connection with a very serious case like the Coimbatore blast case. It was proof that the seemingly weak behaviour of the State shouldn’t be enough to conclude that it will act weak in future too. The change in style with which Maudani was treated before and after his arrest is a clear instance in this regard.
But in the Sr. Abhaya case the story runs in a different direction. It is a case of the State (in this case, Kerala Police) allegedly helping the accused by not recording the evidence in the true spirit of investigation. The systematic destroying of evidence with an eye to weaken the prosecution case, later led to the CBI hitting a roadblock while trying to get to the bottom of the mystery.
This is in sharp contrast to the readiness of Jayalalithaa and TN police going after the Swami. That earnestness was not visible in Kerala in Sr. Abhaya case as the case involved touching the religious sensitivities. No wonder, some people are saying that Swami Sri Jayendra Saraswathi would have been untouched if he were in Kerala. Though the cultural contour of the social setting is different in Kerala and TN, the power of our Nation State is equally available to Jayalalithaa and a Kerala Chief Minister. What makes the difference is the power to use the power. Jayalalithaa has the grit and determination to use that already bestowed power.
But in the confusion of the Swami’s arrest, what shall not be forgotten is that, in the Sankararaman murder case, the latest indication is that the prosecution case is not as strong as it was made out to be in the initial days. So in the event of Swami coming out unscathed in the case, Jayalalithaa would be paying a very high price. The possibility of such a situation must be deliberated before using the sacred and sovereign power of the State. Indiscriminate, whimsical and arbitrary use of it for personal gains will recoil and damage the credibility of institutions and individuals involved. So the rule is, Power of the State, since it has absolutist dimensions at times, ought to be used with great care and discretion.
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