Karthik Agarwal, had commented in my last post on How ISB was established at Hyderabad that there were factual errors in my story and I could call him if I wish to know the right version. I spoke to him this week. He was previously working for ISB, taking care of Marketing and Branding for the SAARC region. I want to first thank him for taking the time to talk to me. Here is his version of the story. He has also added a disclaimer that this is the version he heard and the only people who can confirm the facts are the four people who actually visited these states and met the CMs; Rajat Gupta, Rahul Bajaj, Adi Godrej and Anil Ambani.
The founders had initially short listed three cities for the college, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Hyderabad did not figure in the list at all. Mumbai was their first choice. They met Bal Thackeray who was willing to give them a 25acre plot in Navi Mumbai. But he insisted on a 25% reservation for people from Maharashtra. It was not for people living in Maharashtra but for people of Maratha origin. He wanted the reservation both for the students and the staff.
This was a big no-no for the founders. So they went to Bangalore where the then CM. S.M.Krishna made them wait for three hours and then spoke to them for 15 minutes before handing them over to his secretary. They were shown a land on a map which had no access from any major road.
They visited Chennai to meet the CM, J.Jayalalitha. She showed them a land near an industrial area which did not appeal to them. If you know Jayalalitha, it won’t be hard to guess the other things that would have been discussed.
Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu came to know that things were not working out with Bal Thackeray and requested the founders to consider Hyderabad. He invited them to visit the city. Anil Ambani then convinced the others to take a detour to Hyderabad, not with the intention of setting up the college there but only to appease Naidu. When the landed, they were met at the tarmac by the Chief Secretary and the Minister for Education. They asked them if they wished to first see the land or meet the CM. Now, this was very different from the experience with other CMs. They first went to the site (in a Mercedes Van). In was a 250 acre plot and there some 20 odd officials were waiting for them with maps and details about the development plan for the area (the roads that were going to be laid and the power lines that were to be built).
Then they went to Naidu’s house and they were taken straight to his private quarters without any wait. He welcomed them with a smile and asked them if they were happy with the land. If they were satisfied, he had a draft agreement which they could sign right away. He took out a blank paper and gave it to them. All they had to do was lay down the terms and conditions and he would sign. He then gave them a small presentation about the state, its culture and heritage, industry and people.
The rest is history. It’s truly amazing, the things that can be achieved if the right political will is in place. It may also interest you to note, that the biggest campus of Infosys is not at Bangalore or Mysore but at Hyderabad.
[...] 5th Sep: Here is Karthik’s version of the [...]
Great story Archana. Even though the facts are different, the essence of the story is still the same. Now if only we could clone Naidu and install in all the states. No harm in dreaming, right?
Yes Sukumar, no harm in dreaming
With Jaya’s and Lalus abound, it is likely to remain a dream for a long, long time 
Oh this version is really good!! I do miss Chandrababu Naidu as the CM of AP.
I am from AP and I too miss Mr Babu as CM. One thing Mr Babu did is positioned AP rightfully in the map. AP was always a supplementary state as far as South India is concerned. Though there were vast resources, this state is underutilized, Mr. Babu changed that (and he had not much choice I guess being not so popular leader). Nowadays AP became a gambling den with institutionalized bribery, speculation and violence. I wish some sane leader gets elected.
Thanks Saraswathi.
Yes Vamsi. VSR is quickly undoing all the good work done by Naidu. Good to meet you here. Thank you.
Wow!!! What a story!!!
Archana, glad to know you have taken up your organizational story telling to a different level altogether! Now the organization seems to be India rather than just being limited Cognizant
Thank you, Prem. Good to meet you here after a long time
It’s interesting story archana. CM like Jaya,Mk only look what benefit they or their family will get.
Thanks Sai. Its a suprise, meeting you here. I am assuming you are Sairam of my team.
Archana,
Karthik got it mostly correct.
Correction is, Bal Thakrey was not the CM of Maharastra.
In my openion, by loosing ISB, neither, Mumbai nor B’lore nor Chennai lost anything.
AP got the college for two reasons. They got 25 acres or so land for Rs 25 lakhs (1 lakh/acre) and almost free power. A give away to Ambanis’ and Bajajs’. They could very well afford.
By giving somany sops, AP dint get anything. Direct or Indirect.
Maharastra got the thing right. If Bajajs’ and Ambani’s were setting up a college and they are going to collect Rs 10 lakh/year on fees, it is anyone’s guess that who are going to study there. It will not be useful to the people or pupil of the state.
Naidu loves media coverage and does these kinds of things to get exposure and let people living in other states believe that he is the best CM India ever had.
I read that you picked Laloo to point out the bad CM. But Lallo proved to be the best railway minister India ever had. Statistics are out there.
Also, AP was not the back state of South India which got the fortune of having Naidu as CM.
I like the wa Naidu worked in terms of IT. I give the whole credit to him. But that doesnt tell the whole story to lable the best CM India ever had.
I completely disagree, Rakesh. Having a college like ISB in Hyderabad adds so much value to the State. I disagree that his intentions were purely media converage. He was a visionary and a great leader.
Archana, I respectfully disagree. During 9 years of his term, his govt borrowed Rs 54,000 crores equivalent to $11Billion (at Rs 46/$), mostly from world bank.
During his term,
>Not even one govt engg or medical college was set up. Though one medical college construction was started at around 6 th year of his term and didnt complete by the end of 9 th year
>Not even one new university. The last govt university or engg college or medical college was set up in 1979. Population has doubled since then.
>He has set up IIIT, whcih can be considered as university to complement the IT growth.
>The money during his term was spent of a mediocore programs which were temporary. Not on roads or builds or anything. The road to Hi-Tech city from main city is so narrow, about dozen software engineers died in motor bike accidents.
>Some money went to beautification of Hyd. Not sure how that helped.
>During start of his tenure, AP was getting power for 9hr/day. The same situation when he left.
>No new irrigation project or develop the existing ones.
>In all, except IT, nothing was done.
He was a narrow visionary and the real visionary would invest in infrastrure like road, power to get a return.
He helped boost IT. But govt investment wasn’t much. The Hitech city was build by L&T, govt contributed land for a return of 11% share.
So what is your contention Rakesh. YSR is a better CM? Who according to you was the best CM of AP?
Archana., I thought the focus was on what Naidu did or didnt do. YSR or not any perticular CM is/was the best.
Yes Rakesh. Best is always in comparison with others right. There is a difference between best and perfect.
Having said that, I must say, if I have respond to all the facts you have presented with corresponding facts, I need to do some more research on his tenure. I shall work on it and get back to you.
Great post Archana,
I would like to disagree with Rakesh.
“The money during his term was spent of a mediocore programs which were temporary. Not on roads or builds or
anything. The road to Hi-Tech city from main city is so narrow, about dozen software engineers died in motor bike accidents. ”
During Naidu’s tenure only, lot of new roads were laid, road widening was done. I think if we disregard anything else he did, there was one survey which put AP ahead of all other states regarding the quality of roads in AP (not only in cities, but also in villages). You can just confirm the fact about when were hyderabad roads best from the auto drivers of Hyderabad and you would get a unanimous answer – Naidu.
I firmly believe he is a great visionary and leader and I feel bad that he is not in power.
Rakesh, Just think and list a few things which YSR govt has done which we can think as his legacy in AP. I cant think of anything…!
friends, as per me the best
CM is YSR, comparison with chandra babu naidu, YSR get 80% and nadiu get 20% on developing of AP
and comes to only hyderabad CBN gets 90% and YSR gets 10%
i disagree with rakesh when he says no major engineering colleges came up..i studied in one that was started in his time! In fact the major refrain around 2000 was that too many colleges were coming up! today 1.03 lakh IT jobs are created ever year in A.P..according to a paper published by YSR and his team in March 08. I doubt if any of them would have been in A.P. if it werent for CBN. he was the harbinger of change for hyderabad. it is not enough if u have talent and skill..everyone has to percieve that u are! Perception is as important as the trut itself! and that is CBN’s biggest gift to AP. He created hype around andhra pradesh. there was substance too – eseva, onine land regristration facilities, the Fab city project, getting Microsoft to Hyderabad and most importantly, shining the spotlight on growth and development. And am not even talking about bio-technology here! the other CMS had no choice but to follow suit. Around 2000, a lot of print space was devoted to what development activities were taking place in the southern states and who was best. The whole thing led to an upward spiral of growth all over the south.
Every city, every project needs that initial impetus. That first push. I will forever be personally indebted to CBN for giving Hyderabad that push and starting the transformation from a sleepy little town-city to the cosmopolitan metropolis it is today. We can always list out all the things that he didnt do – but he had to start somewhere! And we are all reaping rich dividends now – YSR included. YSR got a ready made platform on which to build his agenda – CBN had none.
Bottomline – Chandrababu rocks!!
Thank you Sameera. I second that, CBN rocks.
First of all , a good debate. My thanks to all who have participated in this.After reading all the above posts i feel that all of you have seen Andhrapradesh or the country from one’s own perspective and not with an unbiased view.
Before we rank a person who is at the level of a CM for a state we should go through extensive figures from promising sources, which we neither have time nor resources to do.
However with the knowledge i have if i had to comment about CBN and YSR they both have worked upon their agenda’s for their tenure of time. Lets first take CBN:
AS rightly pointed out by sameera we have to accept CBN as an innovative CM because of the following facts:
He was the only CM in the history of India who have drived the motive of janmabhoomi where in an individual is encouraged to contribute for the upliftment of the society and his place. The formula of 30%-70%, public – government partnership was a big hit and has yeilded tremendous results. I would say he has put in his best efforts to drive the concept of individuals contribution to the socitey in a way no one has done until now .
He changed the way government agencies used to work in the state. During his tenure , the number of suspensions had materialized a sense of responsibility in govt authorities due to which govt. offices were atleast tolerable places for the public.Adding to this is the e-governance which made life easy for public and difficult for the lethargic govt. officials.
The way he has revolutionized IT in AP doesn’t need any explanation as every one is well aware of that.
There are many more to speak , but i would stop here as i believe i have covered the keynotes which showcases his pulse of governance.
Although he was able to drive some good ideas which no one ever tried to do , still he neglected an area which is the prime contributor to India’s GDP i.e agriculture.
As said by other members in the forum most of his investments were qualitative and hence couldn’t show materialistic returns.
Now coming to YSR:
His prime area of focus is agriculture which is still the main contributor to the GDP. He has kicked of several projects and have strived to run them to completion .
The number of agricultural projects he has kicked of during the last 5 years are mindblowing which no one would ever dare to.
He somehow was able to manage his election stunt of “free power” to agriculture without much voice from the opposition. This is one achievement.
The program of distributing land to poor , although we dont know how honestly it is done is also a welcome idea.
He is still at the end of 5 years , and we will have to wait for more time to see the results and outcomes.
To make a conclusion , both of them have tried to focus on their agenda’s. Please remember that this is a democratic country and CM cannot be a monopolist who can do as he thinks. There are a bunch of tough people around him whom he has to manage every day to keep his office running.
However if i had to rate these two CM’s i would give 65/100 to CBN and a 40/100 to YSR. YSR still have time to prove himself and we have wait and see.
By the way some one commented about laloo to be not a good politician , but people , please be not surprised if he is the next PM for India , and note that he would be one of the best PM’s india will get in its life time.
Hi
archana
good stuff
great writings and thoughts
keepit up
Thank you Ram.
hi,
A very good article indeed.
Ppl need to know of not only the shortcomings but also the good things our leaders do.
Thanks once again
Thanks for your kind words Sridhar.
Excellent account on the origins of ISB. Thanks for the post.
Thanks a lot Nag
naidu is intelligent
excellent ………………one ………………………………it is thougt proving for this young genaration
hi archana,
good article, ISB had made a good recoginition of hyderabad, where are u from ?
Thanks Ram. I am from Chennai.
hi archana,
can i have ur email id, i am travelling to india
what is the best way to contact you
YSR don the good job for the people he is a great man to AP
Chandra babu has turned in ‘all free’ babu
>Free Color TV
>Free Rice 20 kg/month
>Free Rs 2000/month
>Free Electicity/Power
Where is the vision?
If babu wins this election, India for every is going to be back word. Here is the reason:
Karunanidhi offered free color tv and other free stuff he won. If babu wins (as polls are predicting he looses), then every one in India knows the success formula. Everyone will have color tvs, but no roads, no power, no schools …
If Babu is a visonary leader, why has he come to such a low tactic to win votes. For your information, YSR is not offering any free sops. He is confident he had done a lot and that will get him votes.
If you are open minded, find out about how Arogya Sri program that is there is in AP for last 3 years. Find out about ‘Indiramma’ houses. Find out how many govt medical seats were there during start of babu term, end of babu term (9years) and similarly start and end of ysr term. Ask how many new dams were built in YS term. You may say, YS is corrupt. There is no other way to critisize YSR, so they say corruption. Because, they cannot oppose all the dams. But they say, corruption
Wake up
Rakes