About: the world this week, 22 December to 28 December 2024: Wars of the world; Germany’s terror; France’s horror; A former Indian Prime Minister dies; and death of Japanese small car-maker.

Everywhere

The world is reeking with a lot more violence and mayhem, other than the visible wars rolling in Ukraine, the Middle East-Gaza, and to a lesser degree in Sudan, Myanmar, and some other countries. And the War took yet another deadly turn, with the Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen launching rockets into Israel and Israel returning the favour more in kind. This week, Israel went hammer & thongs on neutralising the ‘Houthis threat’, bombarding their strongholds, besides wiping out key infrastructure in Yemen.

Germany’s Terror

Late last week, on 20th December, Germany’s Magdeburg Christmas Market was the scene of a horrendous terror attack. A 50-year-old man, originally from Saudi Arabia and living in Germany for close to two decades ploughed his car through the Market causing two deaths (including a child) and injuring about 80 people. The man, a Doctor, Taleb Abdulmohsen, was promptly arrested by Police.

Abdulmohsen had fled Saudi Arabia carrying the weight of rape accusations and implications in serious crimes. Saudi Arabia had formally requested that he be extradited, but Germany had denied the request citing human rights concerns, despite clear evidence of his criminal activities.

Post-Asylum in Germany Abdulmohsen reinvented himself as a dissident, publicly declaring himself an atheist and ex-Muslim, perhaps aimed at securing full asylum protection in Germany. And began working in a government hospital as a psychiatrist. Shockingly, while holding this position, he was publicly active in criminal activities, including human trafficking-smuggling young girls. Abdulmohsen made explicit threats against Germany, which authorities dismissed as ‘freedom of expression’.

France’s Horror

After a three-month trial, a French Court found Dominique Pelicot, 72, guilty of repeatedly drugging and raping his wife, Gisele Pelicot, for almost a decade, and inviting more than 70 strangers to rape her unconscious body in a case that horrified the world.

All the ’50 strangers (out of the 70) – the co-defendants, who were traced out – were also found guilty of charges brought on them. Gisele Pelicot, 72, the victim had waived her right to anonymity, and became a symbol of female courage and resilience during the trial.

Dominique Pelicot pleaded guilty to the charges, and a panel of five judges sentenced him to the maximum of 20 years in jail. The court found 46 of the other defendants guilty of rape, 2 guilty of attempted rape and 2 guilty of sexual assault, handing down sentences of between 3 and 15 years in jail.

Dominique Pelicot, denied misleading the men, whom he had met online, saying they knew exactly what they were doing. “I am a rapist like the others in this room,” he said during testimony.

The Pelicots’ children, David, Caroline, and Florian, arrived in court to hear the verdict alongside their mother. The siblings have spoken out forcibly against their father, rejecting his pleas for forgiveness.

The strangers come from all walks of life: lorry drivers, soldiers, firefighters, security guards, farm workers, a supermarket worker, a journalist, and the unemployed. The youngest was just 22 when he entered Gisele Pelicot’s bedroom, while the oldest was in his early 70s. Many had children and were in relationships. Most lived within a 50km radius of the Pelicots’ picturesque village of Mazan, which nestles in the vineyards, below Mont Ventoux.

The case only came to light in 2020, when Dominique was caught trying to take photographs up the skirts of women in a supermarket. Police then discovered more than 20,000 photos and videos on his computer drives revealing the horrifying secrets that he had hidden, from his now ex-wife, for a decade.

Dominique Pelicot had worked as an electrician and an estate agent and was married to Gisele for 50 years. He put powerful tranquilisers into his wife’s food and coffee that put her to sleep for hours. Gisele said she was worried she was developing Alzheimer’s or had a brain tumour because of the memory gaps.

She says she hopes the enormous interest in her case will help other women who have suffered sexual abuse, and brushes off praise for her own bravery in letting the world see her pain. “It’s not courage. It is determination to change things,” she said. “This is not just my battle, but that of all rape victims.”

Meanwhile, in India’s Tamil Nadu, the State BJP President, K Annamalai, took to the ancient Indian technique of self-flagellation -whipping himself six times-to highlight the apathy of the Police and State Government in the case of a sexual assault of a student on the campus of the premier Institute of Anna University, in Chennai. The intent seems to be to shock the political system out of its stupor on horrific acts of sexual violence and Police inaction in the State. It was a powerful a message as it was dramatic. He has vowed to walk barefoot until the State Government is ousted – the next elections are due in 2026, unless we are missing something.

India: a Former Prime Minister Passes

This week, former Indian Prime Minister (PM) Dr Manmohan Singh– the 13th PM of India- died at the ripe age of 92 due to age related illness. He was PM for two five year terms, between 2004 and 2014.

Though, by default, the Leader of the Lok Sabha-Members of Parliament(MP) directly elected by the people – goes on to become the PM, Dr Manmohan Singh is the only long-serving PM who never got himself elected to the Lok Sabha. He was a Rajya Sabha MP throughout his term, having lost the only time he contested as a Lok Sabha candidate in 1999, from South Delhi. The Constitution allows this, but it’s a ‘tacit understanding’ that a PM gets himself elected from the Lok Sabha – The House of the People. In that sense, he was an unelected Prime Minister.

Though he was PM of India for a decade, it was his stint as Finance Minister under former PM, P V Narashima Rao (PVNR) that gained him unforgettable fame for unshackling India’s Economy-the stifling Licence Raj-and unleashing the animal spirits in the Economy. He transformed into action PVNR’s vision of heralding the bold economic reforms of 1991, which forever transformed India. PVNR had inducted the apolitical Economist that Dr Manmohan Singh was, and gave him the ‘freedom’ to do what it takes to get the country out of the severe economic crisis that India faced. A hesitant Dr Manmohan Singh (what would the Party Chief say?) was encouraged by PVNR to deliver, along with his Commerce Minister, P. Chidambaram. As PM he shouldered the responsibility of the managing the politics ‘of whatever tough decisions his Finance Minister had to make’ to get India’s economy on the move.

Over the next few years, Dr Manmohan Singh carried out several path-breaking structural reforms that liberalised India’s highly regulated economy. And these measures proved successful in averting the crisis of the time – pulling India from the brink of bankruptcy.

But in later years as a ‘compromise’ or ‘accidental’ Prime Minister, he failed to capitalise on the stupendous job he did as Finance Minister, and roll out the next generation economic reforms. Maybe, it was because PVNR wasn’t around to lend the backbone?

Dr Manmohan Singh came to be viewed as a weak, remote-controlled (by the Congress Party Chief) Prime Minister. And a record number of scams were uncovered during his second tenure as PM, though he himself had an unblemished record: he was considered, wise, thoughtful, and scrupulously honest. He attributed his failure to be tougher – especially in acting against scam-tainted Ministers-to what to called ‘compulsions of coalition politics – some compromises have to be made’.

Born in Gah in what is today Pakistan, Dr Manmohan Singh’s family migrated to India during its partition in 1947. After obtaining his doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford he worked for the United Nations. He began his bureaucratic career when he was hired as an advisor in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. During the 1970s and 1980s, Dr Manmohan Singh held several key posts in the Government of India, such as Chief Economic Advisor, Governor of the Reserve Bank, and head of the Planning Commission.

One of the best moments in his tenure as PM, was striking a civil nuclear deal with the United States. Others, such as the important National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Right to Information Act (RTI) were passed by the Parliament in 2005. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was also created soon after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised- He was criticised for not doing enough by going after (‘hot pursuit’) the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attack-one of India’ worst ever. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)was established in February 2009, an agency which went on to implement the Multipurpose National Identity Card -Aadhaar-with the objective of increasing national security and facilitating e-governance.

Dr Manmohan Singh married Gursharan Kaur in 1958. They have three daughters, Upinder Singh, Daman Singh, and Amrit Singh. Upinder Singh is a professor of history at Ashoka University. Daman Singh is a graduate of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and the Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat. Amrit Singh is a Staff Attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union in the United States.

Japan: Death of a Small Car-Maker

Osamu Suzuki, 94, an ingenious ‘penny-pincher’ who led Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation for more than four decades and played a key role in turning India into a flourishing auto market, died of lymphoma, on Christmas Day.

He steered the Company ambitiously, during his time as either chief executive or chairman, out of its primary market of mini-vehicles.The inexpensive, boxy, 660cc cars specific to Japan benefited from generous tax breaks, but demanded a stringent reining-in of costs that proved to be a key part of Suzuki Motor’s DNA.

Osamu Suzuki’s thriftiness was legendary: he would order factory ceilings lowered to save on air-conditioning and fly economy class on airplanes even at an advanced age.

“Forever,” or “until the day I die,” were signature humorous responses with which he parried queries about how long he would stay at the company, on which he retained a tight stranglehold into his 70s and 80s.

In the 1970s, he saved the company from the brink of collapse by convincing Toyota Motor to supply engines that met new emissions regulations, but which Suzuki Motor had yet to develop. More success followed with the 1979 launch of the Alto mini-vehicle, which became a massive hit, boosting the automaker’s bargaining power when it tied up with General Motors in 1981.

Osamu Suzuki then took a big and risky decision to invest a year’s worth of the company’s earnings to build a national car maker for India. His personal interest was motivated by a strong desire “to be number one somewhere in the world”.

The Indian Government had just nationalised Maruti, set up in 1971 as a pet project of Sanjay Gandhi, son of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to produce an affordable, ‘people’s car’, made in India. Maruti needed a foreign partner, but early collaboration with Renault fell through. Team Maruti team knocked on many doors but was snubbed widely by brands including Fiat and Subaru and initially also by Suzuki Motor.

The partnership only came about after a Suzuki Motor Director in India saw a newspaper article about a potential Maruti deal with Japanese small-car rival Daihatsu. On learning that the Maruti team had been turned away he hastily invited the team back to Japan, asking for a second chance. A letter of intent was signed within months. And the rest is history.

The first car, the Maruti 800 hatchback based on the Alto, was launched in 1983, becoming an instant success. Today, Maruti Suzuki majority-held by Suzuki Motor commands roughly 40% of India’s car market.

In class-conscious India, Suzuki also ushered in change, insisting on equality in the workplace, ordering open-plan offices, a single canteen and uniforms for executives and assembly-line workers alike.

Not all endeavours were a success, however, when nearing his 80th birthday, Osamu Suzuki clinched a multi-billion-dollar tie-up with German giant automaker Volkswagen(VW) in December 2009. Touted as a match made in heaven, it soon faltered, with Suzuki Motor accusing its new top shareholder of trying to control it, while VW objected to the Japanese firm’s purchase of diesel engines from Fiat. Suzuki Motor took VW to an international arbitration court in less than two years, eventually succeeding in buying back the stake of 19.9% it had sold to Volkswagen.

Osamu Suzuki, who often cited golf and work as the key to his health, finally passed the baton as CEO to his son Toshihiro in 2016, and stayed on as Chairman for another five years until age 91, keeping an advisory role until the end.

Since 2016, his company has deepened ties with the world’s biggest carmaker Toyota, which acquired a 5% stake in Suzuki Motor in 2019. Maruti Suzuki is set to supply electric cars for Toyota from next year. Said Toyota of him, “He was a father figure who developed Japan’s kei car (mini vehicle) and nurtured it into Japan’s people’s car”.

During Osamu Suzuki’s reign Suzuki Motor was transformed into a global conglomerate successful spreading to 190 countries where it has a significant presence. He had the vision to avoid a direct fight with the other global auto manufacturers who were competing with each other using cutting-edge technology. Instead, he looked out for unexplored markets with small but modern cars which changed the automobile trends in the countries he entered. In India, for example, he introduced small modern cars when the market was dominated by old fashioned, outdated cars, thereby, revolutionising the auto industry.

Osamu Suzuki’s fiscal prudence is one of the reasons behind the rise of Suzuki Motor Corporation to the status of an auto giant by selling small low priced cars, still making a profit.

Born Osamu Matsuda, Osamu started his career as a loan officer in a local bank. His life took a turn when he married Shoko Suzuki, the granddaughter of the patriarch of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Michio Suzuki. As the Suzuki family did not have a male heir, Osamu was married into the family, and following the Japanese custom, Osamu took up the family name of Suzuki, to become Osamu Suzuki. He is the fourth adopted son to run the company. He joined the company in 1958 and worked upwards through the ranks to become President two decades later.

Shoko and Osamu Suzuki have three children and the family lives in Hamamatsu city, in Japan.

More small and big stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Drive with World Inthavaaram.