[MvB ACM No9]

Well said and very true... It's an argument that I have also heard from my dad about IIT/IIM grads making a beeline for jobs abroad on the pretext that things are too bad to work in India... "If the best leave, then how do you expect things to change? And don't crib if you're doing nothing to change things."

As things stand on campus, the batch decided unanimously to have a protest march and also submit a signed petition to the Governor after that. That is of course along with other measures like exerting pressure thru the media, alum etc...

There are certain things that need to be worked out operationally on all these fronts, but that is where the issue stands...there is also I believe an effort being made to cover other IIMs also in the entire thing...in terms of supporting and pressurising the powers-that-be...

On the issue of Gandhi/Nehru, I do not wish this thread to degenerate into a pro-Gandhi vs anti-Gandhi debate. My views are simple. Nehru was and still is the root cause of most of the problems in India. He was trhe biggest calamity to afflict India...ever! Gandhi, as the person who shoved the incompetent nehru down our collective throats is also therefore to blame and this should be acknowledged... I hope that ends the Gandi issue...

- M

[rachitjain_18]

I salute this honest an patriotic guy, who turned up for a PSU to work in a hiterland when most of IIM grad are to hunting for foreign lands. He is the is the inspiration for all of us.
All of us from high degress should join hands and work for our nation and kick off these bastards from the society.:grab:

[srinal_2000]

Originally Posted by MvB ACM No9

Well said and very true... It's an argument that I have also heard from my dad about IIT/IIM grads making a beeline for jobs abroad on the pretext that things are too bad to work in India... "If the best leave, then how do you expect things to change? And don't crib if you're doing nothing to change things."

As things stand on campus, the batch decided unanimously to have a protest march and also submit a signed petition to the Governor after that. That is of course along with other measures like exerting pressure thru the media, alum etc...

There are certain things that need to be worked out operationally on all these fronts, but that is where the issue stands...there is also I believe an effort being made to cover other IIMs also in the entire thing...in terms of supporting and pressurising the powers-that-be...

On the issue of Gandhi/Nehru, I do not wish this thread to degenerate into a pro-Gandhi vs anti-Gandhi debate. My views are simple. Nehru was and still is the root cause of most of the problems in India. He was trhe biggest calamity to afflict India...ever! Gandhi, as the person who shoved the incompetent nehru down our collective throats is also therefore to blame and this should be acknowledged... I hope that ends the Gandi issue...

- M

Mikey, keep us in the loop on the POA. Our sincere support is with you guys. Any update on Manju's family? Was he the only bread winner?

Srini

[Scorpio_19]

Well folks, peer groups have some opinions for their own kind. Agreed that we folks want to get into a b-school, so this murder will definately raise some opinions from fellow PGites. Well dears, I am surprised that there is not a single opinion on Mr. Kutty from Kerala, working with the BRO in one of the most dangerous places on this planet, Afghanistan? After all, wasn't he too a human being? Wasn't he too an Indian who died in the line of duty in a far off dangerous place. Agreed, he was just a plain-jane driver. Agreed, he did not have the grey-cells that the ex-IIM-l person had, however, dears, he too was a human being like any of us, I'm posting this view after just going through today's newspapers. I've seen both articles side by side on the front pages, and am posting this comment after it struck me about this aspect.

[alcatraz]

Today's Indian Express has Manju's story on the cover page...seems this was done after his batchmated took it upon themselves to make sure this story does not just fade away...

Think about it...it could well have been any one of us...it was amazing how the story just died under the ruble of the Bihar elections. Its time we as a society stood up and make sure the government acts on this in whatever way we can.

Anish

[Lone Wolf]

Guys,
It's quite easy to feel angry and deep anguish at the corruption and the dangers of oposing it.But then it is difficult to really put that into action.In this light,the crusade carried out by Manjunath (may his soul Rest In Peace) against the oil mafia deserves all the more respect and admiration. Ordinary men can make extraordinary results. I think only those men should go for such crusades if they have nothing to lose and no one attached to them.Guess the debate as to whether stand up for one's own convictions.... or to stay safe and work for fat salaries will go on...

[Anurag83]

I received a mail from one of my friend ,the story of an IIM L grad with extraordinary courage and honesty.Wanted to share it with u all.
Bye, Machan



It was a cold morning in our hostel in IIM Lucknow. Sometime in Januray 2004 I guess. I remember the time because it was our last term, so things were a bit relaxed. Placements were around a month away or so. Life on campus was suddenly a lot different. With no pressures of an avalanche of projects, assignments and mind-term exams, we were soaking in our last few weeks at L. Regular visits to the city for a lunch or dinner, usually someone's treat for a pre-placement offer or something, and watching cricket in the common rooms. India was touring Australia then, and having just drawn a thrilling test series, were finding themselves a bit lacking in the one-dayers.

So it was one such morning that I woke up and headed to the TV room to watch India play Australia. That's when I met him, sitting in the TV room, wearing his customary happy smile. He greeted me enthusiastically, as he always did. Very few people were as upbeat about life as he was. He was Manju, a senior of mine who had passed out the earlier year. He had come down to campus to meet a few profs, and a few friends. Manju had been placed in Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

Manju was one of the well known faces on campus. To be a well known face at IIML you had to be good at something or notorious, since at any given time, there were 500 students studying there. Manju belonged to the earlier category. He was the booming voice of "3.4", our campus band. He sang with gay abandon, from the bottom of his heart, and with an infectious enthusiasm. One of those singers who made the listeners feel like singing along, or at least clap in tune. I can't claim to have been very close to him, but I got to know him quite well as we were in the same INDEX team. INDEX is a market-research event where a team of 20 students has to work night and day for around a month. Having Manju in our team was obviously great, as we would prod him to break out into a song, and he would readily agree.

That cold morning, we got talking, reminisced a bit about our INDEX days, exchanged notes about the latest happenings. A few minutes later Sunil joined us. Conversation invariably turned to Manju's work life. We asked him how it felt to work in a PSU like IOCL. Was he the "bada babu". He shrugged. He said work was OK and all, but he felt that the business would improve a lot more if there was transparency. Apparently, part of his job was to inspect samples from petrol pumps, and report back to the company. The petrol pumps were ideally supposed to adhere to very high standards of purity. But he said the adulteration in the petrol pumps in UP, where he was posted, was usually so rampant, it's a wonder even a single petrol pump was functioning. Sunil and I, ever the free-market-nuts, talked about how allotment of petrol pumps, rather than being an "allotment" should be a transparent auction or bidding process. A petrol pump license should not be a political capital to be bartered. Manju agreed. He said the reason why this adulteration happened so brazenly was that the dealers knew that no matter what happens, their licenses couldn't be cancelled. If everyone does it, how many pumps will the company shut down? He said he usually tried to cajole, convince and scold the dealers to not indulge in such dishonesty. He said some fell in line, but most of them usually got back to the same old adulteration business. In fact Manju said, some of the petrol pump owners are downright scary. Whatever he spoke of his job shocked me and Sunil. It was clearly a job that tested one's integrity and courage a lot.

I didn't meet Manju after that. Never really thought about him much. Didn't even hear about him from anyone. I just read about his murder today on our IIML group. Didn't know the details initially, but I immediately remembered what he was telling us about his work. I wondered if it was related to that. Yes it was, as is confirmed by this Indian Express report -

IOC official seals petrol pump, is killed

Manju was murdered for doing his job honestly. Considering the circumstances, this case is no different from that of Satyendra Dubey. But not a single TV channel has carried this news today. And except for the Express Lucknow edition, no newspapers have deemed it fit to report on the front page either. People always crib about how IIM grads never do anything for the country or don't join PSUs. Here was one IIM grad who joined a PSU. Did his work honestly and in the right way. The work he did was to make our lives better. To ensure that petrol sold is not adulterated. And he was murdered in cold blood. If a CAT exam report deserves 4 separate articles, surely this deserves at least one? On the front page?

It leaves me numb. I wonder what the police, IOCL, and Mani Shanker Aiyer are planning to do about this.

Rest in peace, Machan. Whatever place you are at right now, I am sure you are rocking it. You staked your life on your integrity. I really doubt if I would have done the same, had I been in your shoes. Hats off, and bye, Manju.

[assignus]

very sad!
Rest in peace

[anuragxp]

Really shocking incident, all the guilty should be publicly stoned. Don't forget to sign this online petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/manju005/

[vahgar]

RIP Mr Manjunath..you did something that only 1 in a million would have dared. You are a man apart.

RIP.