Mamta's life is not safe… Because in these elections, nothing else can prevent the inevitable from happening!

There is mayhem in Bengal. In fact, that’s been the other name of Bengal since years of CPM rule. Open a Bangla news channel and all one sees are murders after murders. All political murders. Complete unrest. And it is so unfortunate to see the interviews of the helpless relatives – they can but do absolutely nothing. Really, opening the TV channels is so disheartening. Not that the rest of India is far better. But what’s happening in Bengal is unbelievable and never seen before in any part of the country, including Bihar. The CPM government – seeing their end coming nearer – has gone berserk and increased their complete total gunda raj by many folds. In between all this mayhem, there are some other interesting developments. The old man who was the man behind the whole mess, Jyoti Basu, has suddenly decided to get more active issuing two requests! One, to the Congress Party to stop supporting the Trinamool Congress and start supporting them to preserve peace! He has also appealed to Congress party supporters to vote for CPM because Trinamool and Mamta were hands in gloves with the Maoists! Although at his age, the latter part of the gibberish can otherwise be excused; yet, behind his appeal, there could be a much well thought out scheme! And Mamta should be careful to not fall into the trap. What I suspect is that the cunning, old hat that Basu is, this attempted truce could snowball into something bigger. CPM and Congress have always been quite close. And if by chance, Basu succeeds to win the Congress over, then the CPM – despite all odds – again stands a remote chance to win the forthcoming elections!

A tie up – more than splitting Trinamool votes – would mean that from the Centre, the Congress won’t supply enough reserve force during elections to man the various booths. That will leave CPM with the golden opportunity to create the worst kind of mayhem and rigging. After all, Jyoti Basu is the man behind years of scientific rigging practiced by the CPM over years! During his time, rigging used to be more specialised and scientific, with detailed grassroots calculations of the non CPM households. Rigging was done only in places where such households were more in number; and that too only as much as was required, by simply not allowing some people to come to vote from their homes. With years, however, CPM has grown in violence as the anti-CPM households have grown in numbers. And if this year by chance the Central Reserve Police Force is absent during elections, it will be the worst elections in Bengal’s history because this is a do or die situation for CPM. There are already whispers in political corridors that CPM, with its years of black money, is all set to buy the Congress support through some agents in Congress. However, the truth is that only two things can make CPM win this time.

One, if didi decides to dig her own grave by showing some immature tantrum and walk out of the Centre (She is very capable of it and has done it in the past). That’s the only way the Congress will find it easy to leave her and back CPM. However, that is less likely this time as Mamta – quite unlike her character – is being quite restrained as she also understands that this is her golden chance to realise her dreams. The second way she can lose is again by digging her own grave, but this time literally. She has no second line and failed to capitalize on the chance to make one when, instead of the 4 cabinet rank ministries she could have taken, she chose to take only one in the government, only to keep her second line out of limelight. That means that God forbid, if something happens to her, Trinamool Congress will not be able to win due to the lack of another saleable second in command. And that is why I fear that the worst resort of getting rid of her must be there in the minds of her rivals. And if by chance something happens, only she will be to blame. Because she hardly takes care about her security properly. I don’t think that’s bravery. I think that’s being foolhardy. After all, if they do manage to harm her, what will happen? Yes, a lot of bloodshed from her party workers side too. But how does it matter? In a state where there is so much anarchy already, a little more will hardly be a big deal. However, this can ensure Trinamool is wiped out almost forever. And the blame can easily by then be shifted on to the Maoists!! That is why I fear it as a possibility as this is total do or die for CPM. And they are killing to avoid death. The only question is, how far will they try to stoop down. Mamta must understand that there is real risk to her life. And be extremely careful about it. Because after all, nothing else can prevent the inevitable from happening these elections! She is sure to win this time. All she has to do is to stay alive.

DISCOVER THE DIAMOND IN YOU!

As I look back, over the years, I realise that I’ve ventured far away from what I started my career with... I was supposed to be this management teacher whose passion lay in the areas of leadership and motivation. However, with time, especially after I wrote ‘The Great Indian Dream’ with my father, I have given very less time to writing on management! So much so that when I look back today, ever since the start of The Sunday Indian, I have only – and only – written on economics and politics, and at times on sports and cinema, but never on management! So this time, I thought I’ll write on my first love! More so, I have a reason for it. I really have been thinking – with the way our system is functioning, the best way to feel good and change things around is by changing ourselves, and by ourselves being the change we want to see! There is hardly anything that we can’t do if we want to, because we are all diamonds in waiting – in various stages. Some of us yet to be discovered, some of us yet to be cut, some of us yet to be polished, some of us yet to dazzle... And some of us – who have lost their sheen and sparkle a bit with time – in need of a re-polish! But we are all diamonds, that’s what I’ve always believed about human beings!

And if a diamond were to be the metaphor for us, then there are four things which make up a diamond... The first being the diamond’s carats. You would’ve always heard questions like, “How many carat diamond is that?” That’s the most important quality of a diamond. In human beings, carats are about the depth that we have; and it is represented by two Ps: Passion and Positive Energy! These are the two most important aspects that differentiate us from being a diamond with a high carat value! All successful achievers always have these two most important characteristics within themselves. They are extremely passionate about what they do... Passion for the poor is what made Mother Teresa go on and on despite being from a foreign country and being stuck in a dirty city with unseen poverty all around. Such people are also always full of positive energy. They never see negativity in anything! You talk to them about anything and they have a positive attitude. Friends of Sabeer Bhatia say that even when he was nothing, he would always dream big. That’s the attitude which led him to create Hotmail! Thus, a human being’s carat value is determined by his outlook in life, which is in turn dependent on his passion and positive energy!

The second great quality of a good diamond is its colour. And in successful human beings, colours are synonymous with two more Ps: Personality and People Skills! That’s what makes for the next most important quality of a diamond! If you want to bring out the diamond within you, you must inculcate a super personality and have high quality people skills. Successful people have great personalities; they nurture it, they groom it and they practice it! Personalities aren’t developed overnight! Personalities are developed with a lot of clearly directed efforts. And here, the ‘LAW’ of personality is about looks, actions and words... The way you look – not physically, but the way you carry yourself – the way you act or behave in front of others and the words you choose, make a personality. Prannoy Roy is an ideal example of a personality! The moment you look at him, there is respect; the way he behaves and uses his hand movements to explain things make him interesting; and of course, finally, when he speaks, the words leave you awestruck. And that’s why even after years he is still such a favourite of the masses despite so much competition on television today.

The other aspect that determines the colour of a human diamond is people skills. People who believe that they can go it alone or those who don’t respect the need to work with people for a common goal, can never be successful! It’s because Narayana Murthy believed in having good people around him and nurtured them, that today not just has he been able to retire peacefully, but even his deputy Nandan Nilekani has been able to hang up his boots leaving the organisation on Kris Gopalakrishnan. Infosys is the most beautiful example of how great people make great organisations and how no one needs to be indispensable in a great organisation.

The third quality of a good diamond is how well has it been cut! In human beings, the cut is about the hard work which is represented by another two Ps: Performance and Perseverance! Every successful human being has to lead by example. He has to perform. And his performance should always be an example to others. SRK is not SRK for nothing. Every star who acts with him praises him and becomes his fan. Why? Because when they see him and know him, they see his hard work; they see his track record of delivery; they see his performance. And they know he is a well cut diamond. The other aspect of performance is perseverance. As they say, talent is table salt. It is available aplenty. What differentiates the talented from the ordinary is a lot of hard work... and the ability to persist in the face of adversity. That’s what makes a Shah Rukh Khan what he is!

The final characteristic of a great diamond is its clarity. And in the human diamond, clarity stands for three different Ps: Principles, Perspective and Patriotism! These three Ps define a human being. Do you have principles that you can live by? Do you have a perspective and a plan of where you are headed towards? In other words, do you have a vision? And finally, what defines the human diamond is whether the individual has patriotism inside or not. If you don’t have any of these three, you will only remain a diamond that is perhaps well polished but will never dazzle and make its presence felt. Nurture these 9 Ps of a human diamond, and you will discover the diamond in you! All the best!!!
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'Discover The Diamond In You' is the name of Professor Arindam Chaudhuri's forthcoming book. The above article is a synopsis of the book. If you would want to know more about the book, send an sms DTDIY along with your comments on the article to 0-9818101234