AFTERMATH OF MUMBAI VIOLENCE

3rd December 2008

It's been over a week since the terrorists attacked Mumbai and over 4 days since they were eliminated (1 was caught alive and he has been giving information how the attack was planned and carried out). What has the government done in the meantime?
Nothing, except some political decisions taken to ward off political attack from OPPOSITION PARTIES. It appears that the government was more worried on how to repulse the opposition attack, rather than another terrorist attack. It does not seem to be bothered about the public outcry against inaction.
The following political decisions were taken in the past few days:
*Central Home Minister, Shiva Raj Patil was dismissed.
*Maharastra Home Minister R.R.Patil was asked to resign since in addition to not working on intelligence report suggesting attack via sea route, he had the guts to say that "such small incidents do happen in big cities".
*Maharastra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh is under pressure to resign but he has been able to defer his resignation by raising the question of his successor.

Since then, no action seems to have been taken by the government..the IB and RAW chief are still there. The National Security Adviser, who overlooks the security apparatus, enacted a drama by submitting his resignation and the Prime Minister rejecting it.

It appears that the Central government is in a limbo, unable to take any action.

The general public at large and of Mumbai in particular, is very upset with the politicians. Rarely has any incident united the Indian public. There is a unanimous call to the politicians to take some action and desist from dividing the nation in the name of religion, caste or region. Let us throw the likes of Raj Thackery in the Indian Ocean.

So what should be done now? I suggest the following:

1. We should have a separate ministry to take care of internal security.
2. The ministry should be headed by a competent professional having experience in security matters.
3. All the security agencies should be under a common command and under the Minister of Internal Security. Even agency like Coastal Guard should be under the internal security.
4. The infrastructure for internal security needs to be revamped. The elite NSG commandos should not be stationed ONLY at the 4 metros as per the current plan, but be stationed such that they can reach the place of incident within a short time. Let us have at least 30 or 40 cities where they are stationed. Don't we have the army at so many cities in the country. The army is meant to fight external aggression, but the commandos are meant to fight internal agression. So why should they be stationed in 4 metros only? Similarly, the intelligence agencies should be revamped by not only replacing their heads with competent professionals, but also officials at various levels.
5. The intelligence data should be properly analysed and proper action taken. We should err on the side of being over cautious, even if it means entailing inconvenience to general public. Phrases like "actionable intelligence" should not be used by these agencies..any information is useful..it has to be taken in the correct perspective. We should also share intelligence with other friendly countries so that we have good intelligence.
6. Steps should be taken to enforce security measures at all public places like airports, hotels, malls, etc. Currently, we have a long list of VIP's exempted from going through the secutity drill. Only a handful of executives like President, Vice-President, Prime Minister etc should be exempetd. Rest should be traeted at par with the common man.
7. The police reforms should be implemented soon. Special security cover for VIP's should be reviewed and only those who really require it should be provided. The NSG should be kept away from VIP security and a special force should be constituted to take care of the VIP security.
8. Money should not be any constraint in implementing the above. I am sure the public would not mind paying extra tax if it is convinced that the money is being propely utilised.
9. Involve the general public in neighborhood security. Educate the public on how to do it. I am sure people would not mind getting involved in such a scheme since it is for their benefit.
10. AND LASTLY, FOR GOD SAKE KEEP POLITICS, CORRUPTION AND NEPOTISM OUT OF THIS.

INDIA LIBERATED

29th November 2008: Time 8:00am
After a fierce "battle", the brave commandos were able to liberate the last hold out of the terrorists, the Taj Mahal Hotel. Thus ended the 60 hour nightmare in which the terrorists had held the entire country to ransom. The whole world watched live how the security forces battled the terrorists at the Trident (Oberio) Hotel, Nariman House and Taj Hotel. The entire area near the Gateway of India and Colaba, where the operation took place, was turned into a BATTLEFIELD. The three famous buildings, major landmark of Mumbai, have been devastated in the operation.

Statistics;

About 183 killed
About 294 injured

22 Foreigners killed and 23 injured

1 terrorist captured alive and 9 killed.

20 policemen and and 2 NSG commandos sacrificed their lives for the nation.

THE COUNTRY SALUTES THESE BRAVE MARTYRS.
The country also salutes the other warriors who took part in the "liberation' and killed the terrorists.

A sad ending, but this does raise many questions as whether this was avoidable IF our INTELLIGENCE agencies were DOING THEIR JOB PROPERLY.

Lastly, let us not forget the sacrifices made by the heroes..

I am reminded of an old Lata song:

Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo
Jara Yaad Karo Wo Kahani
Jo Shaheed Huey Hai Unkhi
Kuch Yaad Karo Kurbani

INDIA UNDER SEIGE

26th November 2008: Time 10:00pm
In a well planned attack, 26 terrorists strike at 10 different places in Mumbai,the financial capital of India,killing over 130 and injuring over 300 innocent people, some of whom were foreign tourists. The places targetted included the Taj Hotel, the Oberoi Hotel, Nariman house and the Chatrapati Shivaji rail terminal. The hotels are frequented by foreigners, mostly Americans and Britishers. The terrorists had even asked the hostages to disclose their nationality, clearly indicating their intentione. This attack on Mumbai is similar to the 9/11 Al Quaeda attack in US.

28th November 2008: Time 12:30pm
For well over 40 hours, the terrorists have held the Mumbai city to ransom. They have holed themselves in the Taj hotel, Trident (Oberoi) hotel and the Nariman House. It is still not confirmed how many people are still held as hostages. The armed forces, with the help of the Mumbai police and other para-military forces, are doing a commendable job in trying to flush out the terrorists without causing any harm to the hostages, the hotel staff or the guests. If one looks at the TV coverage of the operation being carried out by the forces, one can realise the risk the men in uniform are taking to protect the sovereignity of the NATION. I SALUTE THE ARMED FORCES, THE NSG COMMANDOS, THE MUMBAI POLICE, THE FIRE FIGHTERS AND OTHER PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE OPERATIONS FOR THE BRAVE ACT.

But the following facts surprise me. It is said that the 26 terrorists had come by ship to Mumbai some time back. Most of them stayed at Nariman House and had stocked huge stock of ammunitions and food in preparation of a long drawn battle with the security forces. Similarly, two of them had joined the Taj Hotel as employees and had provided all the information required for the attack in the hotel. A couple of them had checked in the hotels as guests also. The Central government had intelligence reports that terrorists may use the sea route for attack. BUT OUR INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES WERE NOT ABLE TO MONIOTOR WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE HEART OF MUMBAI CITY FOR OVER SEVERAL DAYS.

This is not only shocking but shameful on part of the intelligence agencies. Inspite of knowing how the terrorists had attacked a 5-star hotel in Pakistan, they did not take a lesson and remained lax. The response from the Indian government was on expected lines - "we will ensure that the terrorists do not succeed in their nefarious design" ...or "our countrymen have great resilience and normalcy will be shortly restored" bla bla. It is high time that heads should start rolling..we have had the maximum terrorists attacks in 2008 with the government not seeming to show any muscle and courage to act. Not only the Central Home Mnister, Shivraj Patil, who belongs to Maharastra should be sacked, but the Head of Intelligence bureau and RAW should be replaced. We should work in close coordination with the intellligence agencies of our allies like US, UK, France, Israel etc. It is also reported that as soon as the news of the terrorists attack reached US, the FBI offered to help and we just did not take a decision then. This raises a very vital question: IS IT BECAUSE OF VOTE BANK POLITICS?

Why Do Employees Leave The Organization?

Why does an employee leave the organization? This is a million dollar question which has haunted the CEO’s and the HR managers of organizations worldwide. Many surveys have been carried out to know the reasons for attrition and how to control it. Surveys have listed various reasons for the employee leaving the organization. Most of the time, during the surveys, it is the reason the employee projects as responsible for his quitting the organization. Or it may be the reason that the HR manager perceives as being responsible for the employee leaving the organization. This may or may not be the same reason which prompted the employee to “look outside the organization for greener pastures”. Sunil, a senior software engineer, resigned since he was offered a much higher salary in another organization. When I asked him why he even thought of quitting the organization, he reluctantly admitted that he was unhappy that his contribution was not properly recognized during the last appraisal, although the client had spoken very highly of his performance in the project. His manager, who was aware of the facts, did not support him, since he was under pressure from his manager. Hence he decided to leave the organization. However, the reason he gave for quitting the organization is that he got a good salary hike in the new organization. In another case, Rima, a female employee resigned from the job, since her manager was harassing her since she would object to his advances. However, officially, she was moving to her hometown to be near her sick father.
The major factors, as mentioned in major surveys, responsible for attrition are:

1. Higher compensation – you have to move out to get more
2. Work environment – performance is not properly recognized
3. Manager’s behavior
4. Employee growth

From my experience in conducting exit interview of employee leaving the organization during the past ten years, I have noticed that most of the time, the reason mentioned by employee for leaving the organization is very different from the actual reason. Of the above mentioned 4 factors, I would rate the "manager’s behavior" as being responsible in at least 50% of the employees resigning. It is on account of some triggering incident by the manager, which hurts the employee and he decides to leave the organization. This may be due to one or more of the following factors:

1. Employee is not recognized for achievements
2. Assurances given by the manager are not honored
3. Job given is not as per employees liking or skill set
4. Employee notices favoritism by manager towards another employee / group of employee
5. Employee is threatened to follow the manager’s wish or face persecution

Srinivas, a manager in one of the software company, resigned since his manager, Prasad, was micro-managing the group reporting to him with the result that he was unable to meet the deadlines. Srinivas brought this to the notice to Prasad’s manager, but he turned a blind eye and held Srinivas responsible for the failures. Srinivas quit the job since he had an offer from a Fortune 100 company.

So what is the way out in such a situation? The top management has the responsibility to ensure that the manager’s treat their team members properly. The Human Resources department should act like a watchdog for the management and should command respect of the employees. The employees should have the confidence on HR that their problems, if any, will be properly and sincerely dealt with and confidentiality maintained. The managers should be coached to be more considerate towards their team members. They should act as their mentor and guide. The management should have zero tolerance when any incident of harrasment / persecution of employee by any manager is reported.

LOVE KNOWS NO LANGUAGE

A friend of mine, Naresh, recently narrated an incident which touched me. His younger brother, Vimal, is an Indian and has married a Britisher, Carolyn. They have four children, all in their teens. Carolyn and the children do not understand Hindi, the language spoken at Naresh's home. Recently, Vimal along with his family visited India to meet his mother, who is around 72 years. Vimal's mother understands English, but is unable to speak fluently. The family would meet during the breakfast and dinner as also during the day, when they were not sightseeing or shopping. Naresh and Vimal would take turns acting as a translator and have the conversation between the mother and Carolyn and the children move on. But most of the time, it was limited to pleasantries or the mother asking them to eat some food stuff she had fondly prepared. Sometimes, the mother would look at Carolyn and the grandchildren and smile, saying nothing. It was left to Carolyn and the children to understand the meaning of the smile. Days passed by and finally came the night when Vimal had to leave for UK. The entire family had gathered over dinner. The mother, as usual, was smiling and offering each one of them the food stuff she had prepared specially for them. When the time came for leaving, she hugged everyone goodbye. The expression of her face had changed. The smile on her face, evident minutes earlier, had vanished. She was getting more and more sober and emotional, trying to control her feelings. Carolyn was keenly observing her mother-in-law's changing emotions. Her expressions were also changing. Finally, when the two of them met and hugged each other, the mother-in-law could only say "goodbye and thank you". Carolyn could not control herself and tears came flowing down her cheeks. For some moments, both of them remained embraced and silent. Then they looked at each other ..then a final hug and the mother-in-law could not control herself, she moved away saying in Hindi.."I wish she keeps loving me like this, I cannot withstand the parting"..and wept. Carolyn stood motionless and as if trying to pull out all her strength, could manage to mutter, "Mom, I love you."

TO DO OR NOT TO DO

It's been more than a year I published any post on my blog. Inspite of my wanting to write, somehow or the other, laziness coupled with lack of time prevented me from doing it. However, I have now decided to spend some time writing on issues that are close to my heart - issues as diverse as politics, mentoring, HR or even economics.

See you later......