US$ 4.77 Billion for a chair.

History is full of tragedies. Not so long ago the deadliest war in terms of casualties was World War II. 60 Million people perished unnecessarily because of the arrogance and stupidity of European leaders.

Almost 5.7 Million, that is approx 78% of the 7.8 Million Jews living in German dominated Europe were killed in what came to be called the 'Holocaust'. Most of them innocent civilians. They were the citizens of the very countries whose governments ordered them to be looted and killed. Their only crime was that they belonged to the Jewish faith.

Before World War II the laws in most European countries prohibited Jews from owning land /property. Yet the Jews were by and large wealthier than their fellow citizens. Most of their wealth was in assets that could be easily liquidated.

When the atrocities against Jews gained prominence, many Jews fled with whatever wealth they could save to Switzerland which bordered Germany, Italy and France. Many people stayed behind in their countries mainly in Poland and Germany but sent their money and wealth for safekeeping with Banks in Switzerland. After all the Swiss had announced that they would remain neutral in any war.

The Jews believed that, they had safeguarded the future for their children and families.

Unfortunately the anti-Semitism wave killed most of the Jews. Even their bodies were scavenged for things like gold from the teeth, which was melted down and sent to Switzerland to finance the war effort.

It was estimated that in the years just before the war US$ 700 Million at that time (worth about US$ 8 Billion today) of savings and money was kept with the Swiss Bankers for safekeeping by Jews.

After the war survivors and many families of Holocaust victims, sought information on the dormant accounts of their parents and deceased family members.
The Swiss refused to cooperate. Citing time held procedures and guidelines the Swiss bankers simply refused to address the special circumstances of the situation. They demanded death certificates etc and created numerous other obstacles so that descendants were unable to get the wealth saved by their elders for them.

Soon after the war the WJC (World Jewish Council)was formed. It sought amongst many other things the restitution from the Swiss for the families of the victims of the holocaust.
Nothing really happened for a long time until the WJC got a new President, Mr. Edgar Bronfman.

Edgar Bronfman the North American liquor baron and owners of Seagram group who made gigantic profits during the US prohibition years amassed a fortune worth of US$ 9.5 Billion by the late Nineteen eighties. Bronfman was a shrewd, and resourceful man. He was a seasoned fighter and politically extremely well connected.

To recover the wealth of the Jews who had banked with the Swiss, Bronfman sought a meeting with the Swiss bankers. He pursued the bankers for a long time. Finally the bankers agreed to grant Bronfman an audience. In Sept 1995 Bronfman flew to Switzerland to meet the Swiss bankers . The meeting was a disaster.

It is believed that this is what transpired;
The Swiss had heard of Bronfman's aggressive nature and decided to show him his place. Bronfman was initially kept waiting and then eventually ushered into an office where no chair was made available for Bronfman. As an insult he was made to stand during the brief meeting.

Bronfman was undeterred, he delivered his message and ultimatum standing up. 'The Swiss were only custodians and not owners of the money parked with them. They must return the money of the Jews who were Holocaust victims to the families, descendants and inheritors". The enraged Bronfman struggled to keep his temper under control.

Smarting over the high handed, and disgraceful conduct of the Swiss, Bronfman now made this issue a crusade. He used his influence with the United States political machinery, the administration and lobbied both Republican and Democrat leaders.

Soon thereafter the American government machinery swung into action. The Americans launched a multi pronged investigation to look into Switzerland's war time dealings with Nazi Germany.

The Swiss government eager to avoid an avalanche of skeletons tumbling out of its cupboards, advised the Swiss bankers to cooperate with the Americans and show some token of good faith.

Fearing punitive action by the US government on Swiss banking and other interests in the United States, the Swiss bankers agreed to attend hearings in Washington.

The Swiss bankers did not know what hit them. Skillful manoeuvring by Bronfman and his colleagues within and outside the US government coupled with the inept attitude and ham handed approach of the Swiss bankers (who hardly ever speak) cost them dearly.

The hearings based on the testimony of thousands of Holocaust survivors and descendants of victims clearly portrayed Swiss bankers as heartless, arrogant, and guilty of denying the victims their due rights.

____________________________________

It is easy to get carried away by the trappings of power and position that they ride roughshod over others. This high handed approach can frequently come back to haunt the perpetrator of the slight.

Eventually after facing a global embarrassment the Swiss bankers and the government had to shell out US$ 4.77 Billion for a restitution fund. An amount significantly higher and multi fold more than what the WJC originally sought.

For the Jews justice was seen to have been done. However for the Swiss it was a huge price for denying a visitor a chair.

A great boss.

My wife and I were watching the grand and surprisingly good inauguration of the Common Wealth Games on the third of October. The crowd was enthusiastic and the mood was jubilant.
Prince Charles of Great Britain was heartily welcomed. Political leaders and various dignitaries received varying degrees of appreciation by way of cheer and applause. The crowd however reserved their greatest cheer with many standing up to applaud when the name of a particular individual was announced.

I recall a story narrated by my friend Tushar Parekh about this great person. This article illuminates one of the numerous reasons why he is considered great and so deserving of the love and respect he always receives.

________________________________________

A Great Boss . . .

There were about 70 scientists working hectically and tirelessly on a very demanding project.

All the scientists were extremely frustrated by the demanding pressure of work and the high standards of their boss. They complained but yet they persevered, for their boss possessed something mystical about him. Loyal to him and excited by the vision he showed them,  they could not even conceive of quitting their jobs.

One day, a scientist came to his boss and told him - "Sir, I have promised to my children to take them to the exhibition going on in town". "I want to leave the office at 5 30 pm."
His boss replied "Sure, if it's important to you, you need to go home at 5.30, it's alright".

The scientist resumed work immediately, eager to complete the next phase of his work at the earliest. As usual he got so involved with his work that he lost all track of time. Just as he was completing the work for the day he glanced at his watch, it read almost 8.30 pm.

He looked forward to getting home and spending time with his lovely children. He was aghast for he suddenly remembered his promise to the children. He searched for his boss, who was almost the last to leave, but could not find him.

Well, he had already informed his boss that he would leave early so he closed everything up and departed for his home.

He felt a great pang of guilt, he had let his children down, gain. He was sure they would be disappointed.With great trepidation he entered his home.

The children were not there, and his wife alone was sitting in the living room reading a magazine. He knew from past experience that any excuse could only boomerang on him and make the situation worse. He braced himself for a severe tongue lashing.

His wife smilingly asked him "Would you like to have coffee or shall I serve dinner if you are hungry?”
The man replied "I would love to have a cup of coffee if you are getting yourself one too" "Where are the children?" he queried
Wife seemed surprised "You don't know ?? Your boss came here at 5.15 pm and took the children to the exhibition."


This is what had really happened ..

At 4.45 pm the boss noticed the scientist deeply engrossed in his work. He knew from his experience that the work could not be competed in time to permit him to leave for home early as planned.

"Such devotion to work by the scientist cannot be a cause of unhappiness for the children", thought the boss. "The children must visit and enjoy the exhibition they longed for and promised by their father."

So he took the children to the exhibition.

Now more than ever there is bad trend of pampering employees. Bribery never works to build good individuals, teams or great organisations. The leader need not be a nanny, but does demonstrate leadership in umpteen ways.

Good leaders knows how to get the best out of their people. A good leader considers the team members and followers subjectively as people not objectively as a mere resources, or things with just a number.

Winning the hearts of people is a necessary element of any collective effort. Winning the minds is an essential requirement, particularly in endeavours requiring intelligence, to deliver the extra zing to produce superior outcomes.

That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work with great success under their boss even though the demands made from them were seemingly impossible.

The boss was none other than Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Former-President of India.

Humility is more effective than aggression

It is a good habit I guess, to reflect on all what we say or do.
This is an excellent way to learn from our actions and thoughts, and thus to better ourselves.

We Punjabi's are naturally hot blooded, therefore for us physical action and violence is normally the first thought and course of action rather than the last..
I have however learnt that this approach often yields bitter fruit and only temporary respite.

Most people face problems in understanding and handling power.
Is being violent or belligerent a sign of power or is it the ability to command resources to achieve desired goals and objectives that can be considered to be a sign of power?

Are brutal and aggressive people without scruples powerful or does the person who wins your heart with kindness, humility and morality more powerful?

When faced with moral and spiritual dilemma, I often turn to Sant Baba Ishwar Singh ji my teacher and spiritual guide.
I asked Baba ji, about use of aggression and violence to seize power and control
How could anyone rule and maintain power without being aggressive?

Smilingly and with his usual softness he asked me a question "Can you name me one incident or issue that was resolved by violence?"
I was embarrassed to say I could not think of even one issue.
"Violence only begets more violence. Sure you must be prepared for self defence. Violence is prevented not initiated", Babaji remarked. "You can beat to death a violent man but it is near impossible to keep on attacking a humble and defenceless person".

"You have to be aggressive for what you want, by persevering and relentlessly pursuing your goals, but not by being aggressive in your behaviour and conduct", he concluded.

I found it hard to swallow this advice, but I had faith in Baba ji.

So began a journey into managing my anger and aggressive behaviour and learning more about one of the most negative of human traits. My introspection and study eventually led me to agree with Baba ji.

To illustrate, I draw your attention to a great man Shri. Mohandas Gandhi popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi ji, the father of the Indian nation.
Gandhi ji taught the world, that, humility is infinitely more powerful than violence and aggression. Here is an illuminating example of this philosophy of real power.

The British exploited India during its rule of nearly three hundred years. Like all exploiters they ruled with an iron hand.
As per Lord Hastings the British Viceroy that by the year 1900 an amount of 1,000,000,0000 Pounds had been earned from India by the British Crown. This amount is valued at 1 Trillion pounds by today's standards. This is greater than India's current GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

It was natural that the majority of Indians yearned to be free from the British yoke. The restless Indians united under the banner of the Indian National Congress party (INC).
Late in the year 1929, the INC agreed to Gandhi ji's advice to start a civil disobedience movement to make India ungovernable by the British and thus force them to leave India.
The INC requested Gandhi ji to lead the movement.

Gandhi ji had observed that Indians had neither the weapons nor the training for an armed conflict. Any attempt by his more violent colleagues would lead to unnecessary deaths and provoke the use of excessive reactive force by the British. The British could easily justify it as self defence.

In any event violence was not an option for Gandhi ji, for he believed in 'A-Hinsa' that is the path of non-violence.

Early in 1930 Gandhi ji wrote an open letter to Lord Irwin (the British Viceroy in India) of his plans to lead a march from his ashram in Mumbai to the coast in Gujarat to collect salt from the sea in defiance of the salt tax imposed by the British on its monopoly of the salt trade.

The British laughed at Gandhi ji and decided to let him do what he wanted. They were sure that it would be a non starter and everyone could sleep easy. In any event it would not look good for the British to attack an old, frail and half naked man with his ragtag band of followers.

This was a fatal mistake of the British. Even members of the Indian National Congress were dismayed at Gandhi ji's seemingly timid form of resistance.
We should not judge such people too harshly, for it is easy for most people, particularly aggressive and violent men, to mock and underestimate the capability and capacity of peace loving people, mistaking non-aggression for weakness.

Gandhi ji called press reporters from all over the world and made a grand event out of the march to Dandi in Gujarat. He converted a civil disobedience program into a spiritual war. He called on the citizens of India , businessmen, civil servants, labourers, villagers and students to join him on the march to protest against injustice.

By the time the crowd arrived at the sea shore they were nearly an electrified hundred thousand strong. The event ignited hope and courage in the marchers and in all Indians.
The marchers gathered salt from the sea. The salt was sold at nominal price and often freely distributed to Indians in the cities.

Eventually the British arrested Gandhi and came down heavily on most Indians. However it was too late for the British, for the fire of freedom was now burning ever so strongly in the hearts of most Indians. This was a turning point in history and started the end of the British Raj.

Using great intelligence and tenacity, Gandhi ji prepared and executed a brilliant strategy. It was a powerful spontaneous mass movement where every Indian irrespective of caste, creed, social status or religion could participate. In addition the movement required very few material resources. It drew on the human spirit for strength and effect.

It is the ruled who grant authority to the rulers by obeying and cooperating with them. Power is bestowed on the ruler by the ruled people who obey rulers. Stop obeying and cooperating and the rulers have no authority .
Gandhi ji chose the right battle with no violence. Touching issues close to the heart of most Indians he demonstrated the vulnerability of the British Raj's incapacity to rule a united and charged people of India. Gandhi ji was thus able to unite Indians in their goal to drive the British out of India.

Sure Gandhi ji had human failings. Not every decision he made was perfect or politically beneficial. He however lived by a noble and high spiritual code delivering spectacular results.

Today the 2nd day of October is Gandhi Jayanti the birth day of the Mahatma.
Gandhi ji, we say we bow to you. Unfortunately most of us find it easier to live by the code of hatred and aggressiveness rather than love and humility.