Why Arvind Kejriwal makes me yawn…

As featured in the Economic Times today (25.11.12)

The unabridged version appears after the picture.

Why Arvind Kejriwal makes me yawn…

When I was ten years old, I was introduced to a thrilling series of books called ‘The Secret Seven’. The investigative stories of The Secret Seven captivated me and transported me into a realm of mystery that I had never experienced before. I got to peep into the thrilling world of detectives (even though amateur)!

After that, I graduated to reading another series called ‘The Famous Five’. Then I moved to Agatha Christie and also Sherlock Holmes. I did get addicted to Tintin in my teens.

After that, I forgot about detectives and mystery stories. I began solving real world problems; and that too myself.

Now, Arvind Kejriwal brings back those memories. His relentless investigations and exposés take me to those childhood years when I would pick up a new Secret Seven book and immerse myself in a new adventure. Unfortunately, now these stories make me sleepy. They make me yawn. They don’t captivate me anymore.

This is why:

• I want inspiration, not interrogation.

Just around the time I turned twenty two, I began to work at my father’s socks factory. This was circa 1991.

Interestingly enough, a few months later, Manmohan Singh (the Finance Minister at the time) revealed his iconic and revolutionary budget that completely changed the course of India’s economic trajectory.

I still remember that day when Manmohan Singh read out his budget. He captivated me. And I was enthralled not because I understood everything what he said, but because of the inspiration in his voice and the conviction in his words.

Manmohan Singh seemed like a missionary. He knew his purpose and was delivering on a promise. As a young man, I loved seeing an experienced and intelligent man make a powerful case, for an important cause. Manmohan Singh inspired me to be like him – to be useful and purposeful.

And sure enough, I experienced the ‘Manmohan Effect’ first hand. Thanks to the Rupee Devaluation that the ‘91 budget brought around, my father’s company’s socks that had sold domestically for 25 years, overnight became ‘export worthy’ because they became globally price competitive!

For the next 6 years, I built my father’s export business. When I quit to become a digital entrepreneur, my export topline was at par with my father’s domestic topline!

I would not be shy to say that Manmohan Singh inspired and ‘enabled’ me to become an entrepreneur!

In Arvind Kejriwal, I do not find inspiration.

I think of 21 year olds today and really wonder what inspiration they can draw from him? Sure, spotting frauds and exposing them is an important job, but is it aspirational? Is this what leadership is about?

Will Arvind Kejriwal ever be able to ‘enable’ entrepreneurs like me?

• Mixed up roles

As a teenager, I remember seeing a Bollywood comedy movie that had a scene of an elaborate play, featuring the Ramayana. Only in this case, the actors playing the roles of Hanuman, Ram, Sita and Laxman completely transformed their personalities. Laxman became argumentative, Hanuman felt nervous etc, etc. That scene in the movie was very funny and left me in splits.

But in real life, I don’t think mixing up roles as comic, is a laughing matter.

I see Arvind Kejriwal’s role being played as confused and mixed up. Why would a person launch a political party when his agenda seems to be solely exposing scams? Is this what political parties are supposed to do?

I respect Arvind’s passion to uncover bad things. But isn’t that the job of the investigative officers? He seems to be great CEO material for the CBI or SEBI or any of the ‘watchdog’ agencies we have in India. If there was ever a ‘public vote’ to hire the CEO of an Indian ‘White Collar Crime Detection Unit’, my vote would be cast for Arvind Kejriwal.

But I’d never think of voting for him for any leadership position!

So my question is whether Arvind Kejriwal is political leader material or not? Is he capable of running governments, balancing the aspirations of people and keeping the country humming and in sync?

• I want a Merkel, not an Assange

Considering the economic collapse of the European Union and in the manner in which so many developed countries have bankrupted themselves, if there is one international political leader that inspires me, it is Angela Merkel.

As Chancellor of Germany, she has demonstrated command of her country, prudence of treasury and the ability to make tough, painful and brutal decisions. I so wish we could infuse her DNA into some of our political leaders!

Ironically though, a few months ago when I watched television to stay abreast of the EU politics, I would also see flashes of Julian Assange hogging substantial political limelight and media coverage.

Julian Assange had attained world fame by exposing governments and their misdeeds and misdemeanors. He was a male witch, on a demonic witch-hunt. And hunt he did. Memos after memos, cables after cables, he put them out, on the Internet. These were top classified global secrets that made important governments gasp and sputter. Politicians hated him and Assange quickly became an enemy of everyone.

Where is Julian Assange today? Julian Assange is holed up, like a fugitive in the Ecuadorian Embassy in the city of London. It’s almost like a House Arrest. His health has failed him and he looks defeated and spent.

No one wants Assange.

So, what is the difference between Assange and Merkel? It’s simple.

Assange focuses on the misdeeds of nations and their politicians. Assange is a gravedigger. He digs, brings out corpses and makes them stink. Merkel on the other hand is the doctor in the emergency ward. She works on trauma cases, accident victims and does her best to make them survive. She promises hope and delivers. She rescues countries for God’s sake!!

I am sure you will agree that we too need life savers in India – not grave diggers.

• Perestroika first. Glasnost later.

Michael Gorbachev is one of my favorite politicians. He exudes leadership and has the willpower to make really difficult decisions. He is a big inspiration for me. At the peak of his tenure, Gorbachev taught the world two Russian words that are almost biblical in spirit.

The first is Perestroika (Change) and the second is Glasnost (Openness).

Unleashing his policy of Perestroika, Gorbachev restructured the Russian Economy by inviting liberalisation and private sector participation. The policy of Glasnost shook the foundations of the secret world of Russian politics and ended the Cold War. The tearing down of the Berlin Wall was the most iconic representations of Gorbachev’s actions. Gorbachev changed the course of history.

The question is what comes first? Perestroika or Glasnost?

In the case of Russia as much as it is today in China, economic progress and reform is what takes pole position. It’s the upliftment of the country’s people and their financial well being that political leaders need to take care of first.

In many well-researched papers, it is proven that as the GDP of a state or a country improves, ‘inefficiencies’ such as corruption automatically come down!
Isn’t it logical therefore that we need political leaders who can guarantee us economic nirvana before anything else?

Arvind Kejriwal designed India’s “Glasnost” by helping introduce the Rights to Information Act (RTI).

And I applaud him for that.

Now, it’s time that he puts his obsession for Glastnost behind him and embarks on serious Perestroika! Arvind needs to use his intelligence, passion, drive, leadership abilities and his ability to spot wrong things to create the blue print of India’s economic reform! He needs to generate ideas, concepts and a hypothesis that will make India the world’s superpower, rather than the ‘land of a million scams’.

Personally, I want to stay awake in the night thinking of what Arvind Kejriwal will propose to make our country great. Not yawn and fall asleep when he unearths yet another grave and starts performing a public autopsy.

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You can read the compilation of my articles on

AAP, Arvind Kejriwal & Anna Hazare in AAP the BIG Fail

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