Book Release: Extreme Turbulence - India at the Crossroads

Yesterday my book, 'Extreme Turbulence - India at the Crossroads' was formally released by Shri Yashwant Sinha former Finance Minister in the NDA Government. He said, "I opened this book casually, and then I could not put it down till I had finished it". And he continued praising the book lavishly.

Mr. Kuldip Nayar, the noted journalist, who was supposed to discuss the book had obviously not read it. So he talked about independence and poverty in India. He also said "The rich are dishonest, cheats, blah! blah! blah!".

The function was great. The "blah! blah! blah!" created some sort of a stir in the forum and became the basis for a lively discussion. It continued for over half an hour. This is the first book opening I have been to in Delhi where the discussion session lasted over 30 minutes.

As soon as I got down from the dais, Jiji came up to me and embraced me with tears in her eyes. She was weeping with joy and pride. That is when sorely I missed my parents. I imagined how Papaji and Chandji would have reacted. Maybe they were watching from the other side.

As I walked out into the hall, Mr. Sukumar, the CEO of Harper Collins came up to me and said, "Congratulations, that was great". What a relief. I had been very aprehensive about my performance at the function - the book covers such a wide range of topics, and I was not sure of myself and my ability to field all the questions. Now, it was over. My family and friends told me I came out smelling like a rose in the discussion session!

The discussion session was followed by cocktails and snacks. I was swamped with requests to sign copies of my book. I must have signed at least 20 copies. The food was good. Usha thought that the Kababs were excellent. Purnima loved the mushrooms stuffed with cheese. I stuck to beer and fish fingers, both of which I love.

We left after 10 P.M. and the party shifted to C-47. Ajay, Shiro, Praful, Gaurav, Gautam, Sai, Vaibhav, and their friends were all there. The evening finally ended after 1 A.M.

Next morning Shubha called. She said she saw Vinod Dua leaving with a copy of the book. Lots of people who had come to the book release had to leave as the hall did not have enough seating capacity. Litika, the head of promotions in Harper Collins, also told me that they had not expected such a response but they were able to get all the right people to the book launch.

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Well, this is the formal address I made to the audience:

Hon’ble Shri Yashwant Sinha, Shri Kuldip Nayar, Mr. Sukumar and Friends,

I am meeting Mr. Sinha today after nearly 27 years. Mr. Sinha may not remember me, but I can not forget him. Maruti was registered as a company in February 1981. At that time, I was working for Maruti under the custodianship of Shri M.C. Gupta. Mr. Sinha was a member of the first board of Directors.

As Maruti’s Chief Executive, I personally took board resolutions to his office to have them signed. I went to see him right after he took over as a director of Maruti. I had expected to walk into a conventional office, but his office was not conventional. I walked into an impressive sitting room, with a sofa upholstered in white, some easy chairs and a centre table. In the corner of the room was a small table, perhaps 4’ x 2’, with just a few files on it and a chair was facing the wall. My interaction with Mr. Sinha made me certain that I was in front of someone special. I was right. At that time Mr. Sinha was a Joint secretary in the Ministry of Transport. His rise in politics to become the Finance Minister and the External Affairs Minister in the NDA Government is an extraordinary story.

Thank you, sir, for your graciousness in releasing my book and thank you again for your lavish praise of my book.

Shri Kuldip Nayar has kindly agreed to speak on my book for which I am extremely grateful. When I think of Mr. Nayar, many things come to my mind. I think of a person of distinction, long experience, great social commitment, and a well-respected doyen of journalists. I look forward to what he has to say on my book. Whatever Mr. Nayar says will certainly provide more insights to me.

My publishers, Harper Collins, have asked me to share with this distinguished audience a few words about my “turbulence”, that is, my book. I would prefer you read my book rather than listen to me. But my publishers are my boss and, therefore, you will have to bear with me. I promise I will try to make this introduction short. I will not talk on the contents of this book, but say a few words about the premises on which the book is based.

As the title suggests, the primary focus of ‘turbulence’ is the challenges of change. This focus leads us to the first premise. If future were predetermined, change provides no challenge. The challenge exists because the future is not somewhere we are going; it is something we are creating. We have to decide on the type of future we want to create.

The second premise relates to the nature of the challenge. Never before in the history of humankind has the rate of change, the challenges to be faced, and the cost of failure been so high. The coming decades will see many major discontinuities in the economic, political, and social spheres. How will we, as a nation, face this ‘Extreme Turbulence’?

The third premise relates to solutions to these challenges. Never before has humankind acquired so much knowledge and proficiency to meet the challenges of change. Can we use this knowledge to create a brighter future, and a more inclusive and prosperous society?

The fourth and final premise recognizes the paradigm change in the power equation. Power that was vested wholly with the nation-state is now shared with the nation’s institutions and individuals.

This means recognizing that a nation can create prosperity only through institutions and civil society implementing new ideas and pursuing the country’s dreams. Will we dare find the means to integrate the resources of the government, institutions (both private and public), and civil society into a coherent force for social and economic development?

The final premise is also the motivation for writing this book. Developmental strategy, popularly called ‘perspective planning’, has been a monopoly of the government since independence. Unfortunately, we have not so far developed any institutions or alternative frameworks to bring ‘perspective planning’ to the civil society. If the civil society has to be involved in a push for development, these issues have to be brought to them in a manner that is simple so that they can understand the issues.

I have tried to take a small step in this direction. I do not know how far I have succeeded but I have described, with stories, the challenges and how the governance in India, Indian business and industry, chiefly the successful ventures, have tackled the upheavals and challenges of extreme turbulence.

It is my hope, Ladies and Gentlemen, that this book will initiate a discussion in our civil society of how we can contribute to our aspirations for a better future for India. If that happens, I will consider myself fully rewarded.

And, finally, I take this opportunity to thank my publishers, Harper Collins, for their cooperation in making this “turbulence” possible.

THANK YOU!