AmreekanDesi

Last week the CBI removed Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrochi from its wanted list, and removed the Interpol Red Corner notice against him. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon supported this decision saying that the case had become an embarrassment for the government.

“It is not a good reflection on the Indian legal system that we harass people while the world says we have no case”[link]

That’s pretty much a public apology from the great nation of India to a man who never was cleared of the corruption charges against him. Bend over Bow in subservience, India!

The thing is, the CBI hasn’t really done a great job with this case. Their attempts to get Quattrochi extradited to India were rejected in Malaysia and Argentina, with the judges noting that the CBI never presented its case properly.

Not saying anything, but this gives the impression that the CBI did a sham job at getting him extradited. Maybe someone didn’t want Quattrochi to come to India?

Let’s start with some history on the Bofors scandal, which remains till date one of the biggest scandals in Indian politics.

It all started when India decided to purchase 400 155mm Howitzers (fancy word for really-big-kickass-gun) from Swedish company Bofors AB for $1.4 billion in 1986.

In 1987 the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks for this deal.

Ottavio Quattrochi was a businessman close to the Gandhi family and a prominent man in the hallowed passages of Indian government. His name came up as the middleman in this deal.

The Bofors scandal was huge. Rajiv Gandhi lost the 1989 elections due to the backlash of these allegations.

Other accused included the Hinduja brothers and Win Chaddha, an agent of the Bofors company. (Hi! My name is win. I am here to win your contract!)

Chaddha died in 2001. Gandhi was assassinated in 1991, and was cleared of the corruption charges against him in 2004. In 2005, the charges against the Hinduja brothers were dismissed by the Delhi High court.

The Wikipedia page on Quattrochi throws up some interesting information about the amount of clout he used to enjoy.

From roughly 1980 to 1987 – Indira Gandhi’s final years and Rajiv Gandhi’s honeymoon years – Quattrocchi had the Midas touch. No deal was refused to him. “It was understood,” remembers a Congressman from the original Mrs G’s days, “that a fertiliser contract meant Snamprogetti. That was considered the favour to Sonia and Rajiv.” [link]

It is alleged Quattrocchi was so influential with the office of the prime minister — Rajiv Gandhi — that bureaucrats used to stand up when Quattrocchi visited them.[link]

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PBS is running a six part series called ‘The Story of India‘ which premiered in the US tonight.

The Story of India already aired in the UK in 2007, and is narrated by historian Michael Wood and shows (attempts to, at least) the history of the Indian subcontinent over the past few thousand years.

Two hour long episodes were telecast tonight, of which i saw the first one and tivo-d the other. The first episode marked the beginnings of civilization in India, and was rather interesting.

To begin with, the logistical stuff for US readers. This series is broadcast on PBS. You can check what channel that would be here. For New York city, it happens to be channel 13 (WNET) for Time Warner cable. For those who missed today’s episodes, i am not sure if they will be repeat telecast, but do check out the rest of the series, if nothing else, for bright visuals and rich music.

(Image courtesy: pbs.org)

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Once upon a time, there was a nation that could have lived happily ever after. But then that nation decided to become a democracy, and a confused mix of socialism and communism and capitalism.

Things would never be the same again.

Down the line, several new isms joined in. Big brother communalism started dividing the people on the basis of their regional identities. The nation of twenty one national languages and thousands of other languages and dialects started breaking up. South India hated North India. North India was suspicious of South India. Things came to a pass in 2008 when Maharashtra started beating up people from other states for taking up local jobs and not speaking the local language.

Separatism soon engulfed different corners of the nation. Kashmiris started burning flags and killing people. ULFA went on a rampage in the northeast. Naxalites took over Andhra and adjoining regions.

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We always think about Mahatma Gandhi as the freedom fighter, fighting for India’s independence, leading millions of people in protest against the British, liberating the country in his own unique way. What about Gandhi the person, a husband and father of four children?

The movie Gandhi My Father takes a close look at one of Mahatma Gandhi’s life’s biggest personal regrets. A rare movie that talks about his family and the problems in his own personal life. That he was able to rise above them in achieving what he did is just an illustration of his being the great man that he was.

It isn’t easy being great. It is harder being a father when you have greater things to achieve. This movie is about Gandhi and his relationship with his eldest son, Harilal Gandhi.

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