“I wonder why the corporate community is not opening its mouth against bad governance by the State. You have provided the best corporate governance in the world. But you don’t raise your voice against bad governance, which has led to corrupt practices. This in turn is affecting the lives of larger communities. Good governance should be converted into a public debate,” Tully suggested.
He was responding to a question from the audience, after delivering a lecture on ‘The Indian Way Ahead’ at JRD Tata Auditorium, National Institute for Advanced Studies, in Bangalore on Saturday.
Positive business practices had greatly impacted the lives of Indians. India had not ignored the economic realities of life. Many communities knew that capitalism was a productive way of doing things, and the country’s market economics was lively. Yet, the “chalega attitude” of many Indians was adversely affecting the country’s accountability, he observed..
India, he said, had shown great maturity during the post-independence era, by avoiding extreme revolutions. Challenges were met with great courage, even after three leaders were assasinated, and four wars forced upon the country. Mild tremors of unrest were felt when the emergency was clamped. However, the country quickly came out of its woes. Several forces stood against the efforts to convert India into a Hindu nation, and helped in retaining a secular identity, he noted. “I felt the future of India was at stake seeing the Sikh riots, demolition of Babri Masjid and the Godhra carnage. But the country handled the issues with great maturity. India is like a great ocean, where waves hit the shores hard and become silent at times,” he said.
Seeking a review of the Indian education system, Mark Tully said it was currently focused on examinations. Narrow academic structures had to be broken, and Indians have to evolve a competitive education system which utilised the talents of both the winner and loser, he advised.
He also said that acts of religious intolerance should be dealt with sternly.
