Chandra Subhash - The Z factor: my journey as the wrong man at the right time

MY JOURNEY AS THE
WRONG MAN
AT THE
RIGHT TIME

with PRANJAL SHARMA

HarperCollins Publishers India

WE INDIANS TEND to be docile. We prefer to be led and not be leaders. My working life began with this belief. I was content to be a follower. This changed at a very young age when my family faced a financial crisis. Our modest business in the small town of Hisar in Haryana was almost wiped out. I was shocked to see my grandfather and guru, Jagan Nath Goenka, a broken man. He was my idol, my inspiration. I saw him as a man of iron, someone who was infallible, who could do no wrong. He was the patriarch who supported an extended hundred-member family. How could he be so weak and helpless?

I asked myself, would I also be like that? Would I, too, accept the fate that had befallen him and the family?

I was only seventeen and faced a bleak future. But a voice inside me refused to accept the situation. I resolved to fight the circumstances. I would strive to revive my familys fortunes. Since then, I have never taken no for an answer.

I wonder what people close to me think about this attitude. My sons, my colleagues, must wonder why I never accept a no.

Do I worry when they question my stubborn behaviour? Not really. When I make up my mind, I dont give up.

Some people may think I am too old to have this attitude. But I do not feel the age, as I enjoy what I do. I feel responsible towards not only my family but also the society at large. I feel a responsibility towards humanity. I believe in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakamthe whole world is one family. My thinking is far more spiritual now than in my early years.

Many business leaders feel constrained by the investment climate in India, which still has so many regulations and restrictions. They feel the need to curry favour with officials and ministers in Lutyens Delhi.

Some of these business leaders are too timid. Three of the projects that I began were ahead of policy regulations. I started a broadcasting business, a satellite communication project, and an amusement park, much before others. The governments understanding of these businesses was behind the times. I did not have the patience to wait for the government to understand these new sectors. I can say that I broke the law by starting a private television channel when it was not allowed. But I can also say that I forced the government to realize the importance of allowing private sector broadcasting to grow in India.

My thinking still is that if you believe in your idea and your intentions are honourable, you will not be stopped. At worst, people and the system may succeed in merely halting your progress.

My life also taught me self-belief. I have learnt to have faith in myself and my capabilities. When you have the passion and commitment, nature helps you succeed. It provides you a motivation to keep trying. There is no defeat or failure unless you have accepted it.

I launched a motivational talk show on Zee a few months ago. The Dr Subhash Chandra Show was launched as a result of a conversation I had with my father two years ago. He said, I know you are practising the family tradition of Dasaund (or donating at least 10 per cent of your profits) but have you shared your knowledge and experience with others to help them? This set me thinking and I launched this show where I talk to young Indians and try and address their concerns about lifes challenges. I am humbled that many of them say that my words have helped them.

I am troubled by certain developments in India. A few self-centric people are undermining our economy and society. A few greedy people hoard large amounts of wealth at the cost of other citizens. They use illegal means to earn money and exploit the system for their benefit. I am also concerned about the attempts to damage the fabric of our society. Nationalism is being maligned by people. Anyone who raises nationalistic issues is accused of being communal and divisive. I believe Indian society is strong and we will continue to live in harmony. My involvement in the Ekal School movement reflects my faith in India. I remain very optimistic about the strong and bright future of our nation.

EVERYTHING THEY OWNED was packed in cloth bags. Accompanied by their parents, children and wives, the three brothers travelled hundreds of miles, undaunted by the harsh weather of hot and dry Rajasthan. They came looking for a place where they could build a new and better life.

They were my forefathers.

For years they had been searching for a place to settle down. A place that would allow them to set up their business. Their ancestors had moved from Agroha in what is now Haryana to Fatehpur in the erstwhile Shekhavati state of Rajasthan forty generations ago.

After Fatehpur, the three brothers tried to settle in Bhadra in Ganganagar district. Not satisfied with trading options there, they decided to create a settlement just a few kilometres from Hisar, in a small village called Sadalpur. They chose the spot since a railway line passed by it. For people at the time, rivers and railways were lifelines.

At this settlement, in 1926, the three enterprising brothers set up a grain market to service the needs of Hisar and adjoining regions. Soon, this settlement came to be known as Mandi Adampur.

The town itself was little more than a strip of road, defined by rows of buildings on both sides. The main bazaar road was the centre of the town. It was just a 400-metre stretch but all the main shops, commercial establishments and residences were on this road. Business was transacted on the ground floor while families lived on the upper floors. This road was almost parallel to the railway line a few metres away.

As the grain market grew and developed into an important regional economic centre, the railway authorities decided to build a station for traders and farmers. This further helped Mandi Adampur grow into an agro-commerce centre.

The community came together to build basic amenities for themselves. They built a school that was later handed over to the government. The brothers also built an inn or dharamshala for travellers, an open-storage water tank, and a temple with their savings of Rs 20,000. These efforts met most of the needs of the trading community. The tiny settlement began to mature into a small town.

It was in this small town that I was born in 1950. By this time, the family business of trading had grown. The clan had three houses where the families of the three brothers lived.

My education began from age four in the local government school that had been originally built by the community. My early memories of Adampur are of a happy, simple life. Our town did not have electricity. All of us kids played in the dusty fields around our homes. The homes were connected on the first floor so that the ladies of the house could be in touch without having to come down to the market, which was dominated by men.