Padma Bhushan Award Stinks

Sekhar Gupta
Tarun Madhira tarun.madhira@gmail.com
Date: Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 4:51 PM
Subject: Congrats for Padma award & Poor content research & quality in your recent express columns - Addendum to my mail
To: sg@expressindia.com

Dear Shekhar jee

Congrats for your Padma award announced on Republic Day, from an Express loyalist for several years, though I subscribe for other dailies incl business ones BS & ET. Though I admire you as an incisive reporter & like many of the Walk the talk interviews, I was shell shocked to know how little you know about Govt. Undertakings or even about Armed Forces & their issues.

It speaks so low about you if you pen such things yourself rather than delegate it to someone else coz., this is undeserving from your Pen for the quality of its content except for the theme which is acceptable.

Though the strike by businessmen 'truckers' and working class of PSU can't be painted in the same brush, the strike per se are not justified by anyone. Infact many of the officers & thier leaders were shown live conceeding the same line and conveyed to the media that there were four such strike notices issued and withdrawn based on solid assurances from none other than Minster himself were not acted upon.

I buy the employees contention that being full time professionals in organised in public utility related areas, Strike is the last thing and rarely it occured in the industry because it is thier profession. I know the tricks played by several industrial houses with vested interests when it comes to PSUs coz., it is No ones baby so they dont hesitate to use it for all means including poaching of the talent. Expecting top class Techno talent and Scientists and MBAs for Rs. 30-40 thousand can happen only in Indian PSUs. As I know many of them excepting for some semi qualified people from ranks most of the educated donot need the job security in Oil Industry coz jobs are always available in India & Abroad for manufacturing unlike Services like Financial ot IT based which you seem to refer. Being related to this Industry I have seen even retired low level people from ranks being paid not less than 1-1.5 lakhs per month. In IT this is much above the figure. In many cases jobs were lost but . Several jobs are immediately available with 30-40% lesser salary & this is limited only during the low time. Come On you cant be that ignorant about professional job market in differnt industries Shekhar , for the experienced and qualified hands.

Nowhere you tried to touch the circumstances which led to such situations in Oilmen case as well as the outcome of the meetings of the Armed Forces Chiefs with the PM rather than with the concerned BABUS. WE EXPECT YOU TO DO THE HOMEWORK PROPERLY BEFORE OFFERING VIEWS TO THE PUBLIC, SHEKHAR. PLEASE DONOT JOIN THE LEAGUE OF SOME HINDI TV CHANNELS intersted only in Sensationalism, which I have personally seen, since my business is indirectly linked to the oilmen and I was also affected to some extent at that time and I was feeling bored with free time though I rarely watch Hindi news channels. Common People can say anything since they are the affected and they are not expected to know about all the problems of PSUs & Armed forces, but not the Media which has some responsibility. By the way there was no discontent in the entire rank & file of the Armed forces to precipitate a strike, but limited to a few affected small groups which were not properly benchmarked compared to their peers in Govt and other services. So this is also a different case.

The irresponsible media esp Hindi TV channels were virtually instigating a war like situation with their reporting. And no wonder Pakistani media was also crying hoarse about it without even any credible investigation or proven evidence. Nevermind even I agree with people's views and perceptions which may be perfectly correct. But can we substantiate it conclusively in the first 3-4 itself. News Channels were just forcing views and injecting venom in peoples minds virtually to wage a war and pressurise thinking in the government and people, who are already traumatised by the 26/11 incidents and the next 3-4 days events.

In case of Oil men Stike I have seen full page Ads given by the ministry reeling similar figures and Clippings which arreared in leading national dailies Economic Times, Business standard & Hindu/Frontline which are portraying the true picture by exact analysis of the history and chronology of events preceeding, based on documentary evidence which contradicts the Govt. line, which negates your 'empty rhetoric & emotional spills from your pen look.

Readers including myself respect you a lot for some of your qualities. So please take care to write only on the issues about which you have full information to keep your image intact. If it is an interview things would not have been so much in poor light, since it is a dialogue in first place and secondly rarely does one appears to be that incisive in interiews so they carry lesser impact to that extent than the print, of course except for some Karan Thapar, who is an outstandingly incisive interviewer and reporter on political and business issues because he does a lot of home work since he works for the content viewed by the most educated and influential in India.

Yours etc
Tarun Madhira