Khandekar - BREAKING THE SOCIAL BOYCOTT

J.S. PHULIA FIRST STARTED out by investing Rs 85,000 in a faulty scheme floated by Japan Life. His father, a lineman with Haryana State Electricity Board, had received this sum just before he retired in 2000, and Phulia had borrowed from him to buy Japan Lifes magnetic mattress. These mattresses claimed to cure all illnesses and everyone was out to buy themnot because of their curative properties, but to make a quick buck. This was a multilayered marketing scheme. No one could buy the mattress directly and had to obtain the recommendation of a fellow member to obtain one. The member who gave the recommendation would get a 23 per cent commissionabout Rs 25,000. Congress MP Jaipal Reddy raised the matter in Parliament in 2002, and accused the company of running off with Rs 700 crore from all around the country.

Like thousands of others, Phulia was amongst those who lost their money. He had invested his fathers lifetime savings in the hope of reaping crores. Twelve years later, Phulia says he has no regrets that he was duped because working for that company gave him a dream. What he learned from the whole experience was in no way less than what he would have learnt by acquiring a degree. Phulia says that being a member of Japan Life taught him how to move in society, conduct himself around people and dress for business. He reminisces about the time he had gone to his village Ahar in Haryana, in his team leaders Baleno. The whole village came to see them. The amount of respect they showed the team leader when they found out that he earned Rs 2 lakh a month greatly surprised Phulia. That day he promised himself that one day he would earn such respect too.

And though it came to nothing, the business experience he obtained from Japan Life ignited Phulias ambition and made him aware that he was capable of being a leader. Today, he is managing director of his own company, Signet Freight Express Pvt. Ltd, which ships goods all around the world by air, water or road, and imports materials for Indian companies. At present, its turnover is Rs 7 crore.

Phulia, who has been running his company in Delhi since 2004, came to Gurgaon in 1993 after completing his graduation in Panipat. He stayed with his brother-in-law, who used to work in the company that manufactured Maruti cars and, on his insistence, began searching for jobs listed in the newspaper. After sitting for many interviews, he finally got a job with a customs clearing agent in Connaught Place, New Delhibut the salary was only Rs 2000 a month.

By then, Phulia had decided that he wanted to work in the field of exportimport only. Consequently, his brother-in-law helped him get his next job in the import department of a company that manufactured lights for Maruti cars. Phulia says that this department was jokingly called the Brahmin department in the company, as all four people comprising the team were Brahmins, and the work was also very laid-back. Phulia was the first Dalit to be recruited to this department, and the other four left no stone unturned to unsettle him, so that he would leave the job and walk away. For example, they would send him to the dusty record room to fetch a file early in the morning. Sometimes it would take the whole day to locate the file. And when he would finally hand it over, his boss would tell him that he didnt need that particular file, but another one.

In 1996, one incident almost caused Phulia to lose his job. The general manager (GM) had given him an assignment: to prepare the costing for importing some material. It was a Saturday and the GM had asked for the file to be on his table by Monday morning. Phulia sat in office till 11 p.m., preparing the file; he could not have called the GM that late, so he informed his boss instead and told him that he had completed the assigned work. He requested his boss to give the file to the GM in case he was not able to come to work on Mondayhe had just got married and was going to Panipat to visit his wife over the weekend.

When Phulia returned to office on Tuesday, the GM had left instructions asking Phulia to go back home. Turns out, the GM hadnt received the file Phulia had left for him because his boss hadnt given it to him. The GM refused to hear any of his explanations. Someone advised Phulia that he should not resign, but should quietly slip away for a few days till things cooled down. A few days later, when his brother-in-law asked him why he hadnt been going to work, he recounted the whole incident to him. His brother-in-law then explained the situation to the company and Phulia was finally able to convince the GM of the actual events that had transpired. And fortunately his job was saved.