NEW DELHI: This is with reference to Aakar Patel’s article of December 30 titled “Why Parsis are India’s finest citizens”.
This particular column by Mr Patel is perhaps the best of his recent ones that I have been reading in your newspaper. The fact of the matter is that Parsis brought sunshine wherever they went — be it Bombay or Karachi (Ardeshir Cowasjee, for example). As for Ratan Tata, one flaw in his otherwise sterling business foresight is his failed investment programme in Bangladesh a few years ago, when he miscalculated the country’s natural gas reserve.
Regarding their charity work, Parsis are like the Americans — big hearted and their wallets always open for education and the underprivileged. As for the Ambanis or the Birlas, they made their money by squeezing the system or at the expense of the poor. Despite their vast riches or billion dollar mansions, these people will always stay small in the hearts of India’s population. Nobody cares about them — they are just another face in the crowd.
Rajat Roy
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2013.
