Chori, chori!

CHORI CHORI, CHUPKE CHUPKE

Not many people may be aware that the NDA government had closed down a few public sector undertakings with little or no public hue and cry. This is one instance of initiating change the way it will work in India in every aspect of our life—personal, organizational, national. Change by stealth — chori chori, chupke chupke.

CHORI CHORI, CHUPKE CHUPKE

‘On your face’ kind of change attempts are bound to meet with furious reaction and the Anna Hazare movement is the most recent attempt to initiate this kind of ‘sea change’ that predictably has met with serious resistance by those adversely affected by the Lok Pal Bill.

I recall conducting a study at a Tata group company that was on the throes of computerisation in the 1980’s. As was to be expected, employees numbering in several thousands indicated resistance on account of the familiar arguments—loss of jobs, lack of promotional opportunities, and unstated fears of technology etc.

Did the management launch an all out offensive to bring in computers as a productivity tool which it undoubtedly is? NO. What they did was to initiate change through stealth. Thus the company that also had a school for employees’ kids introduced computer lessons for children in all classes. Soon these kids started pestering their parents to help them with their computer lessons homework. The parents had little option but to try and learn the basics of computers. It soon dawned on the employees that they would benefit from the use of computers. The management then installed computers at many locations in the factory with games software where employees could play for half an hour a day at company cost. To no surprise of the management team the union ‘demanded’ computers starting with the union office! They could see how the computers would help manage their accounts smoothly, efficiently and accurately.

It’s all like getting your baby to have bitter medicine by distracting her attention with a toy or story. It seems to be part of our psyche that we prefer stealth rather than blunt methods. Thus one can see that we produce far better spin bowlers rather than pacemen in cricket. The stealthy manner in which a spinner like Prasanna brought about the downfall of the best of batsmen cannot be forgotten by those of us who were lucky to see him operate. That kind of bowling remains by and large unmatched by our pacemen barring exceptions.

In recent years stealth has enabled change agents in our country to bring in legislation like Right To Information act, Right to Food, Right to Education. There were no fast till death, no Jantar Mantar style demonstrations no TV cameras whirring in the background in the process of getting the policy makers on the same page as activists.

Here is a very recent sensational case still developing. A Chennai based construction company is stealthily attempting to get the government to agree to import unskilled labourers to work in projects in Tamilnadu. The reason for this import of what is available in plenty in India? There is a slowdown in the migration of labour from north Indian states that usually supplied unskilled labour to Tamilnadu. With little publicity the company is getting the government to change policy. Their cause is helped by a precedent. A steel plant in Jharkhand has imported hundreds of Chinese unskilled labourers, stealthily.

K.R.RAVI