Few weeks back I read that World Bank has banned Satyam for 8years because Satyam had installed some spy softwares on workstations inside tha banks Washington headquaters. I was surprised and thought that how can a company like Satyam do something so unscrupulous. Hindsight I can comprehend now how they as a company could do that, as that was nothing compared to what that company has been cooking for years.I know of a fresh graduate who got thru campus interview in satyam and when she heard of Satyam scandal, she knew that the much-awaited joining letter was never going to arrive. I know my seniors who have worked at Satyam for 7-8 years and are now wondering what will happen to them. They have given their best, worked very hard and lot of times even sacrificed their personnel life and happiness for the sake of company. They did not do anything unique as we all do that but what their boss did in return is abysmal. Its not just people directly effected who are traumatized but Satyam news has left most Indians flabbergasted. The largest corporate scam in the history of India; I have read endless news related to this issue. Everytime I see Ramalinga Raju’s picture I am outraged and wonder what is going through this man’s crooked mind. His quote, “It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten” completely threw me off and made me abhor him thinking this man is too self-obsessed to think about anything or anybody around him. Was he doing all this for money and power or just for kick? It must be a different kind of high knowing how much power and cachet he enjoyed. I have wondered innumerable times that does that man feel any remorse for what he has done? Then I wonder, is he rueful because his house of cards fell apart or because he is loosing all his money or that, he will be remembered as con and rogue instead of an extremely successful entrepreneur and leader? Has he ever felt contrite for obliterating the lives of so many families? I am sure I am not the only one who is wondering all this.
Raju and his coconspirators played with the lives of satyam’s 50,000 employees and in turn their family members. What makes me most angry is the fact that the auditing company whose job was to stop the fraud were party to all this. It is startling how synchronized were their efforts to deceive and bamboozle people. Was there not a single person who could stand up and protest all this chaos? We all are ambitious but I do not think most of us can cheat and play with the lives of so many people. Was Raju really convinced that he could get away with a fraud of this enormity? Was everybody involved in this living in denial that they thought they could get away with all this? Even if all these people are send to jail, it will never solve the mess this situation has created in the lives of so many people.
When satyam says it will not pay its employees salary for 2months is it even thinking of the consequences? How can any family survive without pay for 2 months and what are they supposed to do? Infosys or other IT companies cannot all of a sudden hire 50,000 or even a fraction of Satyam's employees, not atleast in these uncertain financial environments. Economy all over the world is contracting and it seems like times that are more difficult lie ahead of us.
Therefore, what should be done with criminals of this sort who not only cheat but because of their actions lives of endless people are ruined? Sometimes I wonder that are we too laid back as a nation, we are outraged with anger when terrorists bomb blast in Mumbai but within few days we are back to normal. We will hear about Satyam for few days and then forget it and the rest of us will get used to the fact that this also happened and leave those affected to fight and live or die through their struggle. I am angry and outraged but I will most certainly not do anything about the situation like most of us. I will fight for my own survival in these uncertain times and leave the rest to god and our judiciary, which very well might pronounce some sentence to him. Raju and his coconspirators will appeal and then they will be bailed out and their case will continue for 10yrs in our judiciary and some day he might actually go to jail.
Who is planning to help those affected? I read that government may bail Satyam out of this mess. If government bails Satyam out and Satyam somehow sails through this crisis then what role will government plays in Satyam’s future. Will the size of the company shrink? How much of its work force will be reduced? Most importantly, if government bails out Satyam then it will be the taxpayers of India who save Satyam. Before spending so much taxpayer money on a tarnished company government should think if it is worth. Can Satyam retain its customers and compete with giants like Infosys and TCS to draw new customers. Should government provide incentives to other companies to hire Satyam employees? Whatever may turn out in the end their will be still many nameless faces who in reality will pay the price of this con, marriages will break, people will struggle to earn basics, and many criminals will be born because of this muddle. The bottom line always is that the common man is the only one who actually pays the price.
At times, my elitism irritates me; sitting in my comfortable couch, centrally heated apartment in America drinking my evening tea I am outraged and all I am doing is writing a blog and I want to convince myself that I am indeed outraged. Maybe we have redefined the word outrage and it is because of people like us that hooligans like Raju, Madoff have the nerve to play with the lives of so many people. After all, we all are herd of sheep and cow who never actually get “outraged.” As a society, we have become so self indulgent and selfish that we never do anything until it affects us and even then, we rarely have the courage to stand up against the wrong doers and demand justice in a timely manner. All we will ever do is to discuss it over a cup of tea or coffee or write a blog.
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