Passionate About India

I remember when Tehelka did the sensational sting exposing the dirty world of Indian defence dealings. To me, it was inspiring. So was each of the stings carried out by them later, and then by India TV quite oft en. And as a mark of respect to the brave torch bearers of sting operations who put almost everything they have at stake to show the world the truth, we at The Sunday Indian started our sting operations cell. Our past stings have exposed the fake passport racket in India and the way cow bones are used to make statues of gods and goddesses in India. But I think those stings were nothing compared to the sensational sting operation that we carried in our last issue... It showed the world how an Abu Salem or a Kasab can enter India – despite being well known – and then systematically get a driving licence, a house ownership, a house on rent, a bank account, a mobile number and even a PAN card! All we didn’t do was to apply for an Indian passport on that basis; I am sure we would’ve...

I was quite young when the Harshad Mehta scam hit the headlines and the stock markets crashed. Since I was never fascinated by gambling money in stocks and was busy chasing my own dreams, I did not pay much attention to the hysterical front page stories that used to come out in newspapers! But yes, I was concerned about the direction of India both as an economy and a society. The abysmal GDP growth rates reported in those days used to make me think about the future of entrepreneurs in India. India’s pathetic education, health and infrastructure scenario used to make my blood boil in anger and frustration. I sometimes thought India doesn’t have a future. I still get angry at the state of India. But now I am convinced that India has indeed a great future – particularly at a time when we seem to be getting bad news from everywhere. For a while, I was flabbergasted when some colleagues informed me about the downfall of Satyam and Ramalinga Raju. But then I thought for a while and realized ...