In a country plagued by a massive income disparity and widespread corruption, communism is an experiment which cannot lead to worse outcomes than what already exists. It isn’t so surprising then that the Marxist ideology and its ideas of equal privilege have attracted a fair amount of traction in India. However, in 2011, when the Communist Party of India lost in Kerala, it took with it the seed of Marxist thought and influence in the country.
In The Past and Future of the Indian Left, Ramachandra Guha examines the Marxist ideology and talks about what it means for India by deeming it as a religious doctrine having scriptures and deities, going into the details of how the Communist party of India gained power in the country.
Ramachandra Guha was born and brought up in a broad-minded Hindu family. He has always believed that one could be Hindu while still respecting the faith of others—something he learnt from Mahatma Gandhi. However, he started to doubt the sanctity of his religion when he witnessed a village of Muslim weavers destroyed by a mob of Hindu fanatics.
While we once again question the times we live in, trying to find the difference between Hindutva and Hinduism, read on as Guha talks about his correspondence with individuals who send him mails filled with hatred and insults to have a deeper understanding of the ‘Internet Hindus’, as he calls them.
Chamcha’ is a Hindi word synonymous to the English word ‘sycophant’. In A Short History of Congress Chamchagiri, it is this word that Ramachandra Guha focuses on when he talks about Congress while mentioning instances he witnessed first-hand, charting the transition of the Indian National Congress: From a democratic party into a dynasty. And their followers who have transformed their attitudes: From admirers to slavish devotees. Guha plays with the idea of whether the nation would have been a different place had Indira Gandhi and the rest of the Gandhi family not come into power.
Read on as Guha questions whether the Indian democracy has been plagued with the undemocratic ways of the Congress dynasty and their blind ‘chamchas’ for generations.
The issues of today are the issues of yesterday. There have been many factors playing out for the longest time in India that caused a discriminatory attitude amongst many Indians—issues that continue to be biased towards Hindus and prejudiced against Muslims. Moreover, the staunch idea of Hindutva fuelled this issue further with its supporters in many political leagues. In a nation as diverse as India, can political prejudice towards one demographic be good for the nation?
In Redeeming the Republic, Ramachandra Guha discusses various factors that have been responsible for the continued disparity of the state of things. Delving deep into the ideology of Hindutva bigotry, he gives frank opinions on whether this would be beneficial for a country like India to still hold on to such regressive notions. This modern-day read highlights how the country is still under the influence of bygone ideologies and where this is likely to take the country.
On 12 November 2008, Tata Steel was awarded the prestigious Deming Prize. Being one of the most difficult awards to win, the Deming Prize is one of its kind and is awarded to a company recognizing the quality of work done. There’s a lot that goes into making a company so well-organized that it becomes worthy of winning the Deming Prize and no one knows that better than the managing director of Tata Steel at that time, B. Muthuraman. In Tata Steel Wins the Deming Prize, the MD not only describes how he heard the news and how much it meant for him to have won this award, but also throws light on what goes into the process of creating an organization that works in an efficient manner.
Read on, as Harish Bhat, brand custodian of the Tata Group, talks about the company’s victory and how they set about achieving this goal.
It is common knowledge that the tea brand, Tata Tea, has quite a legacy in the Indian market. It is cherished by the people of the country and for many it has become a way of life. But how did it come to be?
In 1989, R.K. Krishna Kumar, the managing director of Tata Tea, was keen on creating an international foothold for the company and had been pursuing Tetley for a while. The outcome came in the form of Tata Tetley Limited, which created a stronger bond with the international associates of the Tetley company.
In Tetley Enters the Tata Fold, Harish Bhat, chairman of Tata Global Beverages and brand custodian, writes about the many hurdles that had to be overcome by the company in order expand its reach. This read is a spectacular tale of how Tata Tea tested the global waters for expansion. Bhat gives a vivid account of the acquisition of Tata Tea’s first international brand, which helped make the brand a global one.
The year 2007 was an important milestone for the IT sector in India: A one of its kind supercomputer, EKA, was released that year and it was ranked the fourth fastest supercomputer in the world.
EKA helped India make a mark globally, joining the leagues of countries like USA, who had dominated this sector until then. Additionally, EKA also played a major role in the Chandrayaan project, which was another leap ahead for India technologically.
In EKA: Birth of an Indian Supercomputer, Harish Bhat narrates the story of how it came to be a crowning IT achievement of the country and details the journey of two Indian scientists, Dr Sunil Sherlekar and Dr Narendra Karmarkar, in creating one of the fastest supercomputers with the support of one of the most powerful companies of India, the Tatas.
On 2 April 2011, when India won its second Cricket World Cup, Priyamavada Merchant was proud of herself for having successfully carried out the task of draining out the rainwater at Wankhede Stadium. She and many other women who have found a second career when they thought it was too late for them through Second Careers for Intelligent Women (SCIP).
Launched in 2008, SCIP helps women who have taken a break from their careers by creating a bridge to help them return to the workplace. Many women have, at some point, given up their careers due to personal reasons and find it difficult to get back to work after their sabbatical. SCIP helps such women realize their potential and gives them the much-needed impetus to enter the work environment for the second time.
Yet another inspiring read from Harish Bhat, brand custodian of the Tata Group, Second Careers for Intelligent Women brings forth narratives of women who have found the opportunity to re-start their careers.
All that glitters is not gold, but Tanishq was determined to give India as much gold as its heart desired—and for that, it needed to glitter. It is no secret that Tanishq is one of the most successful jewellery stores in India today, but, at the beginning, as a first attempt at corporatizing the jewellery business, there were many challenges that the company had to face. The very first being, how could people trust a gold merchant if it was not a family business? Overcoming outdated dogmas about how a jewellery business should function, Xerxes Desai, the founder, would have to go quite a way until they could make it big in the market. In this detailed account of Tanishq’s journey, Desai tells Bhat how his company arrived at its path to success.
Read on, as Harish Bhat, brand custodian of the Tata Group, describes an account that will definitely inspire entrepreneurs, and those aspiring to become one, to create and preserve a successful business empire.
On 12 April 2001, a ‘Shankar Sharma’ wrote a letter containing information that shook the Tata world off its steady feet. The letter brought up allegations against Tata Finance and its director, Dilip Pendse. However, the identity of ‘Shankar Sharma’ still remains unknown.
Tata Finance had a lot of hope placed in it, and seemed to be meeting these great ambitions, and Dilip Pendse was the man behind most of its success. But this was all an illusion—a great deal of filth was shrouded by grandeur and the letter became a means to unveil the gravity of the situation. Suddenly, Tata Finance, the company providing the most dependable financial guidance, was not in a position to manage its own financial goals. Unable to pay its depositors and investors, the company ran the risk of not only losing its priceless credibility, but also good credit. In such a situation, Ratan Tata had to take the reigns back into his hands.
Read on as Harish Bhat, brand custodian of the Tata Group, describes in detail how Tata dealt with this grave financial situation, ensuring that they could avoid such calamities in the future.
