At the outset let me disclose that this Post has been provoked by
- Vodaphone….Our Government giving a Clarification with retrospective effect ,effectively overturning the Supreme Court order that agreed with Vodaphone not being subject to Billion of Dollars of tax in India and
- Ratan Tata…..he expressed his frustration that India is headed towards becoming a Banana Republic
…..but neither has sponsored it !
Take it as a Sunday Chuckle or Trivialisation…..
India is the Biggest Banana Republic…Literally…Take a Look at the Stats below
Top Ten Countries in Banana Production sourced from www.nationmaster.com
| Rank | Countries | Annual Production in metric tonnes |
| # 1 | India | 11,000,000 |
| # 2 | Brazil | 6,339,350 |
| # 3 | Ecuador | 5,000,000 |
| # 4 | China | 4,812,530 |
| # 5 | Philippines | 3,560,800 |
| # 6 | Indonesia | 3,165,730 |
| # 7 | Costa Rica | 2,101,450 |
| # 8 | Mexico | 1,802,280 |
| # 9 | Thailand | 1,720,000 |
| # 10 | Colombia | 1,570,000 |
Ofcourse what Ratan Tata meant was in a totally different context….of Economic & Moral Depravity… how India is shaping up disastrously in the way it is being governed and the way business is being run…. the increasing Income Inequalities and Disparities and Inadequate Distribution that concentrated maximum Wealth in minimum hands….the unprecedented and shameless scale of corruption…the dominant vested interests and powerful forces…the collapse of business ethics and moral fibre in those who govern and those who do business…the unholy nexus between the two…policy paralysis…increasing level of relative poverty….increasing anti business stance of the government that’s killing entrepreneurship and business…..trust deficit as government changes policies ,tax structures and laws at it’s whims and fancies to suit vested interests and coalition partners and that too with retrospective effect of years…how can Business plan forward ?
Atleast,Mr Tata,there are enough Bananas to go around ! ….A Banana Hit Song of Yesteryears comes to mind…. Let’s sing together that popular Jamaican Folk Song ” The Banana Boat Song” …the 1956 version by Harry Belafonte while our Country continues to slip on banana peels !…unless ofcourse you fear we may be taxed with retrospective effect for our performance !
Cheers !
4 thoughts on “India is the Biggest Banana Republic !…Surely Vodaphone and Ratan Tata would agree !”
VODAFONE
First of all, Vodafone deal has been purposefully done to evade taxes. Please read http://business-standard.com/india/news/vodafone-must-pay-withholding-tax-govt-told-hutchison-essar/472652/ . Next Mr.Tata himself has been key in 2G problem. Since he is a big industrialist he has been pardoned. NO BIZ MAN IN INDIA HAS THE RIGHT TO SPEAK ABOUT ETHICS. EVEN INFY NARAYANAMOORTHY DOESN’T HAVE RIGHT – http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/an-agonizing-life-in-limbo-for-the-infosys-whistleblower/
Hey Guruprasad…that was an intense response !…this specific blog was posted in lighter vein and even mentioned to take it as a Sunday Chuckle !…am not taking sides with nor judging anybody here…neither Vodaphone ,nor Ratan Tata and nor our Government !
However,on a serious note,you have conveyed an argument and thought track that is quite popular and well founded too…Cheers !….Gaurav
For understanding it you have to read abt Banana republic and the case of Gautemala …www.johnpilger.com
http://www.johnpilger.com/videos/the-war-on-democracy