Book Review: The Undeserving Boss by Hasina Saiyeda

 

The Undeserving Boss by Hasina Saiyeda
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I had such high hopes from this novel. The blurb speaks of a "a scam so profoundly integrated into the company’s system that if neglected, could bring her father’s reputed business down to its knees" and promises "riveting corporate drama". The cover is interesting too!

I was expecting a scam of epic proportions. Something more outrageous than accounting frauds at Enron, Satyam (and Wirecard more recently).

I was outraged but not at the purported scamsters. I was outraged that the novel has no 'riveting corporate drama' whatsoever. Forget about a boardroom showdown, the novel does not even mention the words board of directors or shareholders because the so called 'company' in the novel is some sort of proprietary concern with not more than 5-6 employees. Also the scam, is just a case of theft. I seriously wonder if the person writing the blurb has actually read this novel or indeed any corporate thriller at all.

While this was bad enough. I wish I could report that atleast the plot and writing is interesting. It is a story of Ella, the narrator who takes over her dad's business, uncovers rampant theft and resolves the mystery of who the thief is while also falling in love in the process. It has been written as if the author wanted to write an amateurish detective novel. The narrator's sidekick does indeed refer to himself as Watson a number of times as they try to solve the mystery of the scam / theft. There is also some family drama in the narrator's life which the book could have done without.

The writing does not involve any sort of detailing and is almost comically vague, imprecise or just wrong at times, like when the narrator guessing a password and opening a hidden excel file is described as 'hacking'! Similarly all descriptions of how business is conducted at the company seem like they were written by a school going kid who has the most rudimentary understanding of how businesses are run. It wasn't even remotely comparable to how any other business thriller (or any other book for that matter) which I have read.

Did I mention that the resolution of the mystery only happens largely by chance and only in the last 10-15 pages of the novel? While the plot continued to disappoint, I hoped that a book set in Calcutta would atleast take me on a ride through the city describing its sights, smells and unique approach to life which is unlike any other Indian city. However, no such luck either. The characters drink cutting chai, have naan and chicken, and there is simply no reason why the book is specifically set in Calcutta. Lastly, the book has been poorly edited and has sentences like - The tea arrived. It was smocking hot. I felt the smoke coming out of hot terracotta mugs. - I really hope that the author gets a good editor for her future novels.

The only saving grace is that some (not all) of the interactions between the narrator and her best friend seem relatable and I guess cliché enjoying romantics may find cute, the dialogues between her and her love interest.

All in all, please avoid this book at all costs.

Click here to view my other reviews on Goodreads.

Book Review: India's War by Srinath Raghavan

India's War: The Making of Modern South Asia 1939-1945 by Srinath Raghavan

AN AMAZING READ! I have always been fascinated with the second world war history but always felt that many documentaries and books, the Indian Army, the largest volunteer force did not get its due. So I was really looking forward to this book and it did not disappoint at all.

Of the military aspects, it was very interesting to read about the East African campaign and how the experiences in Eritrea affected the troops and the commanders who later went on to fight in other theatres. Another interesting aspect I did not know about previously was how much back and forth happened in terms of the planning for the operations in Burma and the American-Chinese angle to those preparations.

To my mind however, what makes this book a must read is not the account of the campaigns but the detailed account of the political context and happenings in the political sphere including attitudes of various leaders and their reaction. It was interesting to read about the 'empire of the raj' i.e. the British Indian government's views of its strategic interests around the world as well as the tussule between New Delhi and London on issues of financing the war including the sterling balances. The book also opened my eyes to the outsized influence which American public opinion and Roosevelt had on Churchill and the India office during the war years. Lastly, ofcourse the chapters about the war economy and those which elaborate on the thinking of the Indian nationalist leaders at each of the stages i.e. declaration of the war, Cripps mission and the post war cabinet mission as well as Indian representation at Bretton Woods and UN, are also interesting.

All in all, make sure that you read it if you have slightest interest in the history of the Indian Army and the political developments during the war years in South Asia. 

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

View all my reviews on good reads.

Transactions in India - truly SIMPLE!

Earlier this year, this tweet from 'Simple' the new age bank, popular amongst millenials in the United States caught my eye.

How many checks would a checkbook check if a checkbook could check checks? Well, 25 checks to be exact. What does this mean? It means paper checks are officially here!! Get yours for $5 right in the app or online. pic.twitter.com/EsdPkyU4Gc

— Simple (@simple) May 7, 2019

I had a good laugh. US$5 sounded like a ridiculously excessive charge for 25 cheques. Every single bank account I have ever had in India, yes even the one I had as a student with miniscule minimum balance requirement, gave me 25 cheques every quarter for no extra charge at all. Though I must admit that I have only ever used cheques to cancel them and hand them over to financial institutions, schools or employers as a means to share my bank account details. I have not yet exhausted the initial set of 25 cheques I got from my bank for my newest bank account that I opened in 2016.

This made me wonder whether anyone still uses cheques in India and if so for what purpose. My very unscientific Instagram based survey yielded the following results.

Just as I suspected, more than 65% of the respondents reported not using cheques at all in the last six months while of those who do use cheques, more than half use it for rent payments and to share bank account details using cancelled cheques. 

This prompted the question why was a new age bank in the United States offering cheques to its customers? Surely no one in the land of the silicon valley would have any use for cheques - or as they would spell it - checks, right?

Turns out that Simple's move to offer paper cheques was coupled with it discontinuing a service called 'bill pay'. A startup bank not allowing you to pay bills? Something does not appear to be quite right. Ability to pay bills online is a service which even the public sector banks in India offer despite being (in)famous for not-so-great online banking portals. The mystery was unravelled when I found out what innocuous sounding "bill pay" actually was -

We know it may seem like we are taking a step back in time, but when you use online bill pay, you are technically sending a check to the recipient. Paper Checks will put you in control - we will make sure your funds are safely tucked away, and ready to use via Expenses. ^RC

— Simple (@simple) May 19, 2019

I kid you not. When a customer selects "bill pay" online on a bank website or application, the bank (including until recently this new online only bank) writes a physical cheque and sends it by snail mail to billers who then presumably take that physical cheque to their own bank to deposit it.

I could not in a million years have imagined that the utilities and banks in the United States would be using a system so primitive and inefficient. However, it so appears that the entire payment ecosystem in the United States is no match for what we have in India. On Instagram, 104 of my followers reported paying bills by truly online modes (such as UPI, wallets, net banking) as opposed to just 1 who reported paying by bills by cheque.

Be it for payments to merchants or to friends, today I have atleast three digital options in India - UPI, wallets and NEFT - all of which are free to use. Further with UPI (Unified Payments Interface) the transfer is instantaneous and can be initiated quickly not only online but also at any local shop due to the now ubiquitous payment QR codes.

If I am paying a friend, I just input his/her UPI ID on my UPI app (I use GPay but my friend could be using any other), I initiate a transfer, I enter the authorisation password and that is it. Within less than five seconds I get an SMS saying that the money is deducted from my bank account and my friend gets an SMS saying it is deposited into his/her. Though I feel silly typing this out, I just want to emphasise that instant in India really does mean instant.

Compare this with Venmo, which arguably is the most popular payment tool in the United States. While Venmo to Venmo payments are instantaneous, sending money from Venmo back to a bank account takes 1-3 DAYS! You would think that it is a great development then that this August, Venmo has started offering an 'Instant Transfer' option ...

...but "instant" for Venmo means thirty minutes and for that privilege you need to pay Venmo a massive 1% fee which seems absolutely ridiculous to my Indian brain used to truly instantaneous and free transfers.

Infact, with the tremendous competition between UPI service providers like GPay, and PhonePe, the Indian consumer is spoilt for choice with not just free transfers but expectations of cashbacks. While there are many fair criticisms of venture capital funded cashbacks, the basic premise that the user should be rewarded for using a digital payment method rather than an administratively cumbersome cheque or MDR heavy debit card or credit card, is a sound one.

I also hear from my friends living in the United States that merchants or outlets accepting digital payments such as Venmo are nowhere as ubiquitous as in India (or atleast Mumbai) where nearly every shop and restaurant has a QR code allowing UPI users to scan and pay directly from their own bank account to the merchant's bank account.

So it is time now to add 'great payment systems' to the list of awesome things in India that are unheard of in the United States (other items on the list are water in the toilet and requiring a permit to buy a handgun).

---

Parting thoughts 
1. While UPI will never kill the credit card because it does not offer credit, it is entirely likely that UPI may make debit cards obsolete. If this State Bank of India initiative succeeds I think other banks could follow soon.

2. I hope NPCI takes Rahul Matthan's advice and makes UPI international. Not only will it be able to provide truly instant transfers to the Americans, it would have the added advantage of stopping Facebook's Libra in its tracks.

3. The simplest justification for the United States not having sophisticated digital payments systems is that nobody there wants to pay using anything other than physical plastic credit cards / debit cards. But even for cards, the systems used in the United States are incredibly primitive. See this video for a simple explanation.

House of Cards Season 5 Episode 1 No-spoilers Review

Anticipation

Since its debut in 2013, each successive season of House of Cards, has always been very eagerly anticipated by millions of fans. The show has been the most talked about political drama series over the last four years.

One of the key elements of the last season's finale was an investigative article on possible crimes committed by the president being written by Tom Hammerschmidt and published by ‘The Washington Herald’, the  leading daily newspaper of the House of Cards world. Upto the last season, Frank Underwood had the unparalleled ability to shock us with his unethical ways, thirst for power and seemingly unconventional or unstatesmanlike behaviour. This year however we are in the Trump era. Just five months into the Trump presidency we already have Washington Post articles about his unethical behaviour while his statements and tweets are often far from usual standards expected of world leaders and always very dramatic.

How to be more dramatic than what is being shown on the daily news cycle and whether to draw parallels to the Trump presidency was always going to be a challenge for the House of Cards Season 5. 

The season 5 trailer, released earlier this year did manage to add to the excitement in the run up to the season premiere.

Action

The episode picks off from the previous season finale, making it very clear that ICO (House of Card world's equivalent of ISIS) is going to remain a focus in this one as well. A significant part of the episode is about the search for the ICO terrorist. One of the iconic lines of season 4 finale was Frank saying  “War. Fear. Brutal. Total.”  and in season 5 we have Underwoods implementing their strategy of fear by ruthless manipulation of the events around them to fit their own objectives. 

The other theme which carries over immediately into the second episode is the fall out of Tom Hammerschmidt’s article on Frank’s alleged crimes and Frank’s attempt to keep the story from expanding any further. We are treated to scene of Frank tossing away the copy of the Herald with that article which was featured prominently in the season 5 trailer as well.

Analysis

Much of the fourth season was about an embattled Frank trying to cope with the crises facing his presidency and the election campaign. The manipulative Russian president, his extremely good looking opponent with a picture perfect family, and Claire’s increasingly ambitious demands were all situations Frank was forced into. What feels fresh about the opening episode of season five is that once again we have Frank setting the agenda and doing things his way. This also seems to be the way in which the writers are distinguishing themselves from the Trump administration which is lurching from crisis to crisis. However, the episode does include a sort of a travel ban which seems really familiar.

Having become the vice presidential candidate already, Claire also seems to be aligned with Frank’s objectives in season five and playing a key role in his plans. In that way the episode brings back the memories of the initial seasons especially when Claire and Frank go on to the White House balcony for the final scene of this epsiode.

There is also much to reflect about after watching the episode. Art afterall so often mimics reality. It made me think of the extent to which political leaders closer to home are using fear and nationalism to further their own agenda. Frank Underwood encourages the sort of sentiment which is on the lines of ‘’Either you agree with me or you are an anti-national”, throughout the episode.  Eerily familiar, isn’t it?

Watch the House of Cards Season 5 premiere on Zee Café and let me know what you think about it! #HOConZCafe

Frank Underwood is coming to India with the television premiere of House Of Cards Season 5 on Saturday, 3rd June, 5 PM onwards, only on Zee Café!

This post is a part of Indiblogger.in's Homecoming of Terror activity.

Has the ICJ really stayed Kulbhushan Jadhav's death sentence?

2345 hours 9th May. I had just enjoyed watching Kolkatta Knightriders fail to chase a total of 167 against Kings XI Punjab and keeping Punjab's qualification hopes alive. Pleased that the form of the second placed Knightriders was faltering, I was about to go to bed as a happy Mumbai Indians fan secure in the knowledge that our top spot was not under threat. 

Just as I went through with my bed time ritual of scrolling through my twitter timeline for the last time in the day, I was startled by this tweet of Sushma Swaraj, India's Cabinet Minister for External Affairs, posted just after mid-night:

I have spoken to the mother of #KulbhushanJadhav and told her about the order of President, ICJ under Art 74 Paragraph 4 of Rules of Court.

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 9, 2017

Minutes later, online news websites in India had reported the news -

#KulbhushanJadhav row: International Court of Justice #stays former naval officer's #hanging by #Pakistan https://t.co/Ed6SC7zHxz pic.twitter.com/NU6rCo4dMw

— Firstpost (@firstpost) May 9, 2017

International Court of Justice stays execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan: Report https://t.co/YlFggXIu4p

— scroll.in (@scroll_in) May 9, 2017

While the newspapers and TV newschannels followed up the next morning -

• DNA -  Diplomatic win for India, International Court of Justice stays hanging of Kulbhushan Jadhav
• Indian Express -  International Court of Justice stays Kulbhushan Jadhav hanging
• Zee News - International Court of Justice stays Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav's death sentence awarded by Pakistan

One thing that was consistent in the coverage across the Indian media was that it gave the readers / viewers the impression that the ICJ had issued a 'stay order'.

In contrast, Pakistani media reports mentioned the filing of the petition but no mention was made of any stay order. Dawn went with the headline "India moves International Court of Justice against Jadhav's conviction" while The Express Tribune said "India petitions ICJ for stay in Kulbhushan Jadhav’s death sentence". Daily Pakistan Global even asserted that the Indian claim was false:

Indian media, govt incorrectly claim stay granted by ICJ - No official statement from ICJ yethttps://t.co/QRxKVNrjUS

— DailyPakistan Global (@dailypakistangl) May 9, 2017

In turn ScoopWhoop in India published an article claiming that the Pakistani media was 'in denial of the stay on Jadhav's execution'. 

While there are assertions aplenty from both sides, nobody has really tried to answer the question of whether or not a 'stay order' of the ICJ really exists.

The request for provisional measures 

India has approached the International Court of Justice alleging a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) to which both India and Pakistan are parties. Whenever a national of another State is arrested in the territory of a party to the VCCR, Article 36 of the VCCR requires the State to inform the consulate of the country of that arrested national, allow the consulate to meet and assist the arrested person in the criminal proceedings if he so desires. India is alleging that these provisions were not adhered to in Jadhav's case and that India was denied consular access to Jadhav.

Since Jadhav has already been convicted and sentenced to death, India also requested that the ICJ pass 'provisional measures'. Provisional measures are similar to the concept of 'interim orders' in the Indian legal regime. Previously while deciding the LaGrand case which incidentally was also about VCCR violations, the ICJ has clearly held that the 'provisional measures' are binding.

ICJ's press release summarises India's request for the provisional measures as follows:

"India therefore requests that, “pending final judgment in this case, the Court indicate:

(a) [t]hat the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan take all measures necessary to ensure that Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav is not executed;

(b) [t]hat the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan report to the Court the action it has taken in pursuance of sub-paragraph (a); and

(c) [t]hat the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ensure that no action is taken that might prejudice the rights of the Republic of India or Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav with respect of any decision the Court may render on the merits of the case”.

Urgent communication  

Fearing that Jadhav maybe executed before the ICJ even has an opportunity to pass provisional measures, India requested that the ICJ pass an order on provisional measures without waiting for an oral hearing. However, India making a request does not automatically mean that ICJ would make such an order without hearing Pakistan. The ICJ has instead scheduled a hearing on the request for provisional measures in front of all the judges at 10am (Hague time) on Monday 15 May 2017. ICJ is scheduled to hear from both the countries that day. If after this hearing the provisional measures were passed in India's favour, it may be accurate to say that Pakistan has been ordered to 'stay' Jadhav's hearing.

Pending the hearing, the president of the ICJ (akin to a Chief Justice of an Indian High Court or Supreme Court) has merely sent an 'urgent communication' to the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The ICJ press release regarding this urgent communication does not reproduce the contents of the the urgent communication.

This urgent communication is what Susham Swaraj mentioned in her tweet as the 'order of the President, ICJ under Article 74 Paragraph 4 of the Rules of Court' (sic). Here is how Article 74 of the Rules of the Court reads:

Article 74

1. A request for the indication of provisional measures shall have priority over all other cases.

2. The Court, if it is not sitting when the request is made, shall be convened forthwith for the purpose of proceeding to a decision on the request as a matter of urgency.

3. The Court, or the President if the Court is not sitting, shall fix a date for a hearing which will afford the parties an opportunity of being represented at it.  The Court shall receive and take into account any observations that may be presented to it before the closure of the oral proceedings.

4. Pending the meeting of the Court, the President may call upon the parties to act in such a way as will enable any order the Court may make on the request for provisional measures to have its appropriate effects.

While the words "act in such a way as will enable any order the Court may make on the request for provisional measures to have its appropriate effects" suggest that the President of the ICJ in his communication must have asked the Pakistan government to maintain status quo, the fact that these are preceded by the words "may call upon the parties" suggests that the 'urgent communication' is not in the nature of an order but merely a suggestion or a request as there is no language stating that the communication is binding.

European Journal of International Law blog has pointed out that while  such a communication could be seen to be similar to provisional 'holding requests' of ICSID tribunals which have been held to be binding, the crucial difference is that the ICSID holding requests are passed by the entire tribunal while the ICJ urgent communication is by the President acting alone. 

Thus it seems that the Pakistani media has been accurate about there being no 'stay order' per se in this case while Indian media has gotten carried away.

Precedents

Many congratulatory posts on Twitter by Indians show that the ordinary Indians have high hopes of a favourable outcome for Jadhav from this proceedings. However, if the previous three cases of Paraguay v. United States, LaGrand case (Germany v. United States) and Avena case (Mexico v. United States) are anything to go by, there exists a possibility that Jadhav may be executed regardless of the decision of the ICJ.

Read more about these precedents in my scroll.in piece here - A short history of India vs Pakistan cases at the International Court of Justice  - Despite the headline, that piece does cover other non India-Pakistan VCCR cases as well.

I have also in the past written for scroll.in about all the India-Pakistan international adjudication cases in greater detail here - Five previous India-Pakistan disputes that have been taken to international forums