Many people have probably heard that BJP leader Pramod Mahajan passed away yesterday after being shot by his brother in a family dispute. From the obituaries I’ve been reading and from the Wikipedia page, an image of Mahajan as a very complex and interesting figure emerges — an icon both for some positive shifts in the Indian political system as well as of some of the problems that have come with it. Rather than dwell on the negative, in this post I’m going to talk a little about Mahajan’s role as the architect in the deregulation of India’s mobile phone industry in the early 2000s. I view this as something positive Mahajan did that may actually have been against the law at the time he did it.
Mahajan’s political record is somewhat mixed. Widely acclaimed as a brilliant campaign organizer, Mahajan was credited with helping the BJP rise to power in 1998, and with the consolidation of its power in state elections in 2003. But Mahajan is also blamed for the BJP’s shocking electoral loss in 2004, and indeed, he publicly accepted the blame for making strategic mistakes in that campaign.
In December, the BBC suggested that he was one of a handful of people being considered to take over the reigns of the BJP party. But the same article describes him as part of a new breed of “technocrat leaders who lack a grassroots base,” suggesting that Mahajan perhaps wasn’t quite of the stature of people like Vajpayee or Advani. At any rate, the technocrat angle plays heavily in Mahajan’s involvement with the deregulation of India’s mobile telecom industry. This process of deregulation occurred between 2001 and 2003, and led to India’s spectacular cell phone boom, which has been a major engine of economic growth and has also transformed Indian society in some interesting ways. (The ripple effects are still being felt, and I’d be curious to hear readers’ thoughts about the mobile telecom revolution.)
The best summaries of the deregulation process I’ve seen are at The Hindu’s Business Line and Frontline. As I understand it from these articles, in 2001 there was still a law on the books in India distinguishing between licenses for “full mobility” and licenses for limited range (or WLL) service. Only a handful of companies had the coveted full mobility licenses, and compatibility between the two wasn’t allowed even though the technology was available to allow phones to switch back and forth between different kinds of service. Some of this gets pretty technical:
Limited mobility or Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) refers to a mobile service that should work only in a defined area. This is in contrast to cellular mobility, which works all over the country. There was a long-standing policy that in the interest of revenue generation, the limited mobility and cellular mobility services should be kept separate and distinct. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had recommended the use of a V5.2 interface using Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) architecture for WLL services, and in a letter on September 28, 2001, urged the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) (under Mahajan’s Ministry) to ensure that this interface was not tampered with so that mobility was limited to the short-distance communication area in which the subscriber was registered. (link)
Reliance Infocomm (RIC) was a big winner in the subsequent deregulation of the system because it was able to roll out a service that worked with both systems (freely switching between the two) without having to get an expensive license for “full mobility.”
On February 26, 2002, RIC rolled out its WLL (mobile) network with full-fledged mobile switching centres, totally ignoring the V5.2 restrictions. This in effect enabled RIC to offer full cellular mobility through multiple registrations/roaming, and violated the licence agreement. RIC rolled out its service in full public gaze, with a mega advertising campaign. Mahajan inaugurated the scheme. (link)
In 2002, RIC offered a service that was cheaper than anything else available on the time, and that worked everywhere. Pretty soon the other companies had to cut their rates to match, and the cell phone boom was on. Millions of people for whom mobile phones (or in many cases, any phone at all) would have been an impossible luxury went out and got phones and cheap, pay-as-you-go subscriptions all over the country.
Mahajan was investigated for favoring Reliance through a quid pro quo arrangement. It was revealed that he did have some connections to individuals who made a lot of money on Reliance stock, but as far as I’ve been able to discover he didn’t receive any direct personal benefit. Corruption charges were filed with the Courts, but were never pursued aggressively by the opposition Congress party, and the scandal went away.
Read the Frontline article and see what you think. My own opinion is, allowing Reliance to go forward in 2002 (perhaps against the letter of the law) was a very smart decision that made a difference in the lives of many people all over India — not just the elites. And while I don’t agree with Mahajan’s approach to secularism (I’m a Congress-wallah) or what the BJP stands for in general, I think the Indian cell-phone boom might be a fitting way to remember Pramod Mahajan.
great post. my main concern with the cellphone boom (and you mentioned all the good points) is the problem of e-waste and how India is going to deal with it. it already “recycles” a large quantity of toxic e-waste imported from developed countries and the people who do it do so under poor conditions, without very little regulation. now indian electronics and high-tech companies and consumers who constantly want the latest model are contributing to it and are more concerned with profits right now rather than the end-use debate going on in Europe. it’s a great development for india and also a potential environmental disaster.
i guess without him Reliance wouldn’t have been able to hand out $10 mobile connections to the masses. However, on the same basis, the great Indian MMS scandals can then be blamed on him too, indirectly ofcourse.
large quantity i doubt it as a %age of total waste indians recycle less then tiawanese ever did back in da day every chip of value had a gold on it, and some tiawanese made an ok fortune from it, either way if you look at it from number employed as a % of population in this field its not much. Its agriculture and even raw sewage in MP thats more of a concern for me…
GGK:
that’s why i put ‘recycle” in quotes, because i wonder how long it will be before appliances and electronics are just dumped, especially if proper e-waste processing facilities are not in place to cope with the rising usage. right now, you’re right, as a percentage few people are employed in the field (but those that are do it in dangerous conditions and process mostly imported e-waste) and right now India is not faced with a deluge of obsolete appliances and electronics, but it will become a problem, as it has in the U.S. and Europe, South Korea etc.
Yeah, the new era brought good things along with bad things. Mahajan, at his best, helped usher in this new era in the Indian economy. But the corruption question that came with it is a real concern (though the old era of License Raj was probably worse).
Incidentally, Reliance has gotten in lots of trouble since 2002. Just now I was flipping through some more articles, and I came across a number of references to disputes the company has had with competitors MTNL and BSNL. Over the past few years the company has been asked to pay hundreds of crores in fines to those companies for piggybacking on their services without paying for it. I don’t think that can be blamed on Mahajan, but it does seem that the cell-phone boom has not been without some hiccups.
He also helped to organise and rabble rouse on Advani’s Ram Yatra which ended in the Bajrang Dal demolition squads and thousands of dead in the subsequent communalist riots. Worth remembering his role in that blood orgy. Imagine how well it could have been co-ordinated had the demolishers had mobile phones. Oh well.
Yes, the Rath Yatra is important, and I wouldn’t deny or downplay it. I am a secularist, and I am opposed to the BJP’s politics. In 2004 I was elated (for more than one reason) to see Manmohan Singh become PM.
I don’t know about his involvement in subsequent communal riots — haven’t seen reference to that anywhere. If you can document a role for him in Bombay 92 or Gujurat 02 I will add that into my post.
My point is, he was a complex individual. Since he just died, I thought I would focus on a positive contribution he made.
Fair enough Amardeep. My reference to his role in that was the very incendiary and provocative nature of the Ram Yatra in the first place and the culpability a politician should take for the bloodshed that ensued in the aftermath of that whole incident. But I respect your wanting to focus on his positive work in light of his death.
Amardeep,
You can either be a secular or a Congresswallah but not both. A Congresswallah is separate-laws-for-separate-religions supporter, which by definition is communal. A Conresswallah is also an anti-feminist who supports oppression of minority women through Constitutional amendments : I am sure I don’t need to remind you of the Shah Bano case, which is also non-secular. So, please make up your mind as to what you are.
Oh yeah, good luck trying to find support for enacting separate laws for separate religions in the US.
Mahajan Skeptic (4# & 6#)
In your scheme of thing I guess India was a Ram Rajya (oops, that is communal !), I meant paradise under “sickular” Congress until Devil (BJP) came and serpent (LKA) robbed Indians of innocence.
Amardeep,
There is a reason why many people support BJP
Hint 1: It is not hatred against Muslims, that is secondory. Hint 2: Ever heard of “Hindu Rate Of Growth” ?
Regards
hmm…
strange, how this extrapolation, of time (1992), political events (the post-demolition riots) and technology has even been made…
back in those days, the only thing i remember hearing in india about mobile phones (in hindustan times, which has entered the same trash constellation that times of india set course for and reached, a long time ago) was “mobile phones launch in (for example) england! call anywhere in the world while watching a game of tennis at wimbledon.” but they did cost a few-thousand–minus-ONE dollars and weigh about that much in grams too (hehe, lame joke.)
phones (ye olde landline) were, on their own, precious commodities. either wait in line for a minimum five years, or pay everyone / suck (up to) everyone.
when mobile phones did finally come to india (~1995?) they were playthings of the rich. anyone else remember hearing about “rent mobiles to flaunt at gatherings/weddings” ?? of course, now it’s (to allude to Daft Punk) “mine’s harder, better, faster, stronger’ ” 🙂
sigh.
amardeep, it makes me smile slightly, the way “the scandal went away” and “i’m a congresswallah” were separated by just a few lines, yet, on the surface, seemed so distant 🙂
the GSM/CDMA scandal isn’t f(l)avourable and was buried by the same congress that’s been getting funding from the same RIL for so long. actually, (to flog an old point) Business and Congress have been in each others pockets for, well, uh, forever. btw, one amongst the many whisperings that stands out is of the particular closeness the current defence minister enjoyed with/to dhirubhai ambani. and that’s just one. another was how pilot’s son’s education being financed by you know who. but these are just whisperings, so…
where does that leave us? regarding the extrapolation… to not say that such links must not/can not be made ‘today’.
‘today’, implying an india where conflict and tensions (don’t just) suddenly erupt. ‘today’, implying a time in india where phones, mobile and fixed, are in many (but still not most) places. but also, a ‘today’ wherein the government here has the most sophisticated and expensive (SEVEN simultaneous arrangements, operated by different agencies) surveillance programs.
as a political scientist, it’ll be interesting (for me) to see what the latest episodes of violence (vadodara, doda, chattisgarh, delhi, colombo…) lead to.
to veer back to mahajan, what’s strange is how a bunch of ‘young’ (if people in their mid-50’s can be called that 😉 leaders – balayogi, pilot, kumaramangalam, scindhia, mahajan – are (now) not around. almost each one of them was widely acknowledged for how they would shape this country’s future.
strange, when on the other hand, a new breed (it’s very very complex to use that word) is proclaimed “yuva samraat”, and proclaims that they could have become PM at 25. “maairuh!”
Did corruption kill him?
Amardeep writes: I am a secularist, and I am opposed to the BJP’s politics. In 2004 I was elated (for more than one reason) to see Manmohan Singh become PM.
Delicious irony this. A Sikh who regards the Congress party as secular. Perhaps, 1984 has become a distant memory.
Amardeep (#7):
Gujjubhai (#9):
Quizman (#13):
What struck me about Amardeep’s original statement was the invocation of the individual. Normally in parliamentary politics one would refer to the party, and not to the individual, when one talks about an election victory. This would be doubly true when the incoming PM is not the party leader.
It’s also wrong to assume that opposition to one party implies support for the other.
If Amardeep is in fact a Congresswallah, why don’t you wait for him to say so before assuming that he is one? Or at the very least ask him if he is one?
Quizman (13#)
I thought of pointing this out, but this is somewhat touchy topic on mutiny.
Anyway, overall Amardeep has written a decent post. Mahajan was a brilliant orator and motivator. It was compulsion of politics which confined him to back room strategy groups, otherwise he could easily be one of the most influencial leader in middle class India. His spirited arguments in 1998 debate (during vote of confidence motion of 13 day Vajpayee government)were winner.
Regards
MV (14#)
Here is what he wrote,
Now ofcourse you will accuse me of insulting you.
Regards
Yes, Madurai, I’m afraid I do support the one and oppose the other in this case. Though I also think my politics shouldn’t the issue here (perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned it in the original blog post at all — it seems to be a distraction).
But I appreciate the defense; indeed, in this post I was trying to take a non-partisan approach, and consider Pramod Mahajan as an individual. Especially in light of the fact that he did make some positive contributions that everyone benefited from.
Being secular is good, but please don’t ever equate that with Congress, i mean just take the example of the recent bid to increase quotas. They are playing minority or communal politics to garner votes before state elections. Its a given that BJP is communal, in fact i think they like that image of theirs. But, Congress is exactly the same, but they like to keep that low key. No one can forget the Anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Both parties are communal, no one’s clean.
Gaurav
Those assumptions you make about me are tiresome and false – the blood on the hands of Mahajan and the cannibals who slaughtered thousands in the wake of the demolition and Ram Yatra are to be called. I have no political affiliation – but I do call communalist rabble rousing wicked scum who provoke mass murder for what they are, and in the context of the Mahajan that is exactly what he was. No doubt Congress are as craven and disgusting – but not as disgusting as the sneer of those who when their raw nerves are breached engage in a sloppy quid pro quo and score political points over which party has barbecued more minorities. Mahajan had blood on his hands. Thousands of dead and raped.
the blood on the hands of Mahajan and the cannibals who slaughtered thousands in the wake of the demolition and Ram Yatra are to be called. I have no political affiliation – but I do call communalist rabble rousing wicked scum who provoke mass murder for what they are, and in the context of the Mahajan that is exactly what he was
So do you feel happy that Mahajan was killed..??. “communalist rabble rousing wicked scum”..hmm sounds like all those who quote quranic verses against polytheists/idolators from within the mosques.. Do you feel equally happy if those people coming out of the mosques are killed??..
Mahajan Skeptic(19#)
Oh Boy!
Ponniyan Selvan (20#)
Forget skeptic, he is itching for a flame war. Let us keep it to Mahajan. His death deserves more dignity.
Regards
Of course not – I am not an uncivilized person. That is the remit of those who foment communalist barbarism and hatred.
What a stupid question. Do you feel happy when that happens?
Do you believe communalist rabble rousing wicked scum exist or that they don’t? How did you leap from my stating that to assuming I am a fire breathing Islamic fundamentalist? Says alot about you my friend…
Mahajan was the architect for Advani’s demolition squad and the subsequent blood bath that brought satisfaction to many he was partially culpable for. Why does this casue you grief, to have this pointed out?
I’m not itching for anything my friend – just pointing out what the implications of Mahajan’s politics were to innocently barbecued human beings. This causes pain to some, I understand, but it shouldnt – surely you wouldnt want to defend that blood orgy he helped to set in motion, would you?
Huh? A public figure dies and it is undignified to point out his role in the undignified cycle of violence that resulted directly from his architected rabble rousing? There is nothing undignified in anything I have pointed out, unless it is the indignity of harsh home truths being raised that embarass those who hate having the rancid reality of his role in hate mongering discussed. Never mind, lets talk about cell phones instead.
In your scheme of thing I guess India was a Ram Rajya (oops, that is communal !), I meant paradise under “sickular” Congress until Devil (BJP) came and serpent (LKA) robbed Indians of innocence.
Heavens! Can you get more inane, Gaurav?
Prove, if you can, that Mahajan had nothing to do with the bloodbath that followed Advani’s first yatra. Or try and bend your brain around the fact that one doesn’t need to approve of Congress policies to view the BJP’s Hindutva policies with distatste and disdain.
You have some nerve accusing him of trying to initiate a flame war when you are the one who started the flaming.
It was compulsion of politics which confined him to back room strategy groups, otherwise he could easily be one of the most influencial leader in middle class India.
That is a bit of a stretch, given that the man won only one election to the Lok Sabha.
sloganmurugan, you asked, “did corruption kill him?”
some (extreme?) speculation here…
Gaurav (#16):
Nope, sorry, I stand corrected.
Hint 2: Ever heard of “Hindu Rate Of Growth” ?
This is a joke, right? Given how frequently the Hindutvavadis bleat about the low Hindu rate of growth and the high Muslim rate of growth, who hasn’t heard of the Hindu rate of growth?
RCK,
Unfortunately, the joke is on you. “Hindu rate of growth” is a term coined by analysts who study Indian economy. I do not know exactly who used the term first time in the popular media. The term is used to refer to the slow growth rate of the Indian economy in the pre-Narasimha Rao and pre-BJP era. It has nothing to do with the growth of the population of the Hindus.
Regards,
Amardeep,
Can you (or your coblogger) could do a write up on Sam Pitroda ? Or better yet, may be you could do a write up on good old days of socialism. I doubt those born in US Of A will be familiar with it. Just a suggestion.
Regards
Thanks Anindo. 🙂
And since you helped me learn something new today, here is the rest of what I found out:
The term, coined by Indian economist Raj Krishna is a play on the term secular rate of growth, which is accelerating in nature.
The term also points out that Hindu dominated India’s low growth rate was in contrast to high growth rates in other non-Hindu Asian countries, especially the East Asian Tigers, which were also newly independent. This meaning of the term, popularised by Robert McNamara, was used disparagingly and has connotations that refer to the supposed Hindu outlook of fatalism and contentedness.
Although I am a vehement secularist, I feel saddened by his passing away. The reason is simple: the realist in me knows that BJP will come back to power sooner or later (the Congress isn’t really doing much to ensure victory in the next couple of elections). And, if and when the BJP did come to power, the only person I wouldn’t mind as the PM was Pramod Mahajan. Granted, there were shades of gray (or orange?) in his thoughts andactions, but he surely was a street-fighter. And a street-fighter kind of PM would be a blessing in its own way.
so given India’s accelerating growth rate now, i guess mr. mcnamara would say that the hindu rate of growth has lost its negative connotation.:)
WGITA (32#)
Or unbeknownst to all India has converted on mass scale and therefore India is following Christian (or Muslim) rate of growth 😉
Regards
While Mahajan’s death is a huge loss for the BJP (it will only worsen the party’s current identity crisis), I’m afraid his main legacy will be overlooking one of the biggest electoral upsets in Indian history. The BJP’s 2004 coalitions were in disarray, their attempts to look Congress-style secular were just stupid (no matter what the BJP does, Muslims will never vote for it en masse so it’s pointless to try and get their vote), his failure to get the BJP base to the polls, his underestimating Madam-ji, were all shocking missteps for a master strategist. Since their defeat, the BJP has just been floundering, outmaneuvered at every step by the Congress. India has many more years of Madam-ji’s Raj to look forward to.
The current government is ass-backwards. The Congress should be in power in the states and the BJP in power in Delhi. The concentration of BJP talent at the central level is hard to beat (Shourie, Sinha, Singh, Vajpayee, Jaitley, Swaraj). On the other hand, Madam-ji will never allow real political talent to accumulate in Delhi while she keeps the seat warm for her son. As likeable as Manmohan Singh is, he has no political power on domestic issues.
(the Congress isn’t really doing much to ensure victory in the next couple of elections)
Umm…I think the Congress is doing all it can,the only problem being that the Powes That Be are so busy being sycophantic that they can neither see the writing on the wall, nor think of a way out of it. If the election rallies of the party president involve girls dancing to Bollywood songs on the stage { I swear I saw it with my own eyes on the TV today], there are no words to describe the intellectual poverty of the party. I think this even beats the article ‘Take Pride In Dynasty’ on the Congress website.
Fyi for people like me with little or no knowlegde about the history of events..
Since their defeat, the BJP has just been floundering, outmaneuvered at every step by the Congress. India has many more years of Madam-ji’s Raj to look forward to.
Like Chattisgarh and Bihar and Karnataka, you mean.. :-))
I think people just want alternatives every other elections (and that’s a good sign).. It spreads the wealth to all the party workers by terms of government contracts..
I don’t think an average voter gives a damn about communalism / secularism / Ram temple etc/etc…. etc.. Mostly the votes are on the “regional lines”. So whoever gets the right allies win.. BJP was defeated because its allies lost in TN and Andhra..
All politicians are corrupt and dubious. Given. But in that you have good apples and bad ones. The BJP and the NDA has more good apples and the UPA and esp Congress has the bad ones.
Give me a BJP over a Cangressi anyday. No matter how ‘bad’ the BJP is/ can be – it will ALWAYS be better than a monarchist Congress. I detest Congress Sonia worshipping attitude. It is bad for the country.
We need more Promod Mahajan’s and less Rahul Gandhis. We need visionaries not monarchies. Someone said earlier BJP at the centre and Congress in the states. Yes that ok in SOME states. But have you seen what a mess Congress & her allies have done in Bihar, Punjab etc???
No thanks Congress. I’d rather have communal nationalists than pesudo-secularist communal blag artists.
Bihari Babu i am right there with you… I don’t care about monarchies as such, but the thing that bothers me about Congress was the fact that it continued to support a person such as Lalu yadav and let the state Bihar fall in to the dark ages.
Hint 2: Ever heard of “Hindu Rate Of Growth” ?
Don’t you mean Nehruvian-Stalinist rate of growth or the Nehruvian Penalty?
Of course, Raj Krishna was a leftist-communist.