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Bloggers run riot over Murthy row
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Bangalore: Three days back, President APJ Abdul Kalam named him as a possible successor. But now, Infosys chief NR Narayana Murthy is in the midst of a raging debate over his recent comment on the National Anthem.
"Being a citizen of India, it was not right to say that," says a Bangalorean. "The question of Indianness is there. We have to respect the National Flag and the Anthem."
"Being the chief mentor of Infosys, he was looking at the world without borders," goes another opinion. While the common men seem to be divided in their opinion, the debate continues to rage over the issue.
It all started with an Infosys programme at its Mysore campus in which the President Kalam was the chief guest. On the occasion, the Infosys authorities played an instrumental version of the National Anthem instead of it being sung.
When asked to explain the reason behind the decision, Murthy gave his own reasons, unaware that his comment could lead to a huge debate in the public domain. "We have a lot of foreigners. We didn't want them to be embarrassed, when they are silent and others are singing. So this was fine," he said.
The decision may have been well-meant, but it certainly hasn't gone down well with some sections. Many people are using blogs to protest against him.
Churumuri, Mysore's popular blog, says that in the grand tradition of call centres, the pre-recorded version of the National Anthem sounded like a cheap cellphone ring tone. Blogbharati says, this was another reason why Murthy should not become the President of India.
But there are other bloggers who feel Murthy is being targeted unnecessarily. "Murthy did not sing the anthem since it may put his international employees in an awkward position. This is not being disrespectful. On the contrary, it's very respectful and sensitive decision," says one blogger.
Everybody loves a good controversy. Especially if it's about a major public figure. And, considering this case deals with the sensitive issue of nationalism, for the aam janata, it's reason enough to fight back.
Probably, it's because of this that Narayana Murthy's image has fallen from that of an Indian idol to that an anti-national in just one day.
The debate has even reached the Karnataka Assembly. Cutting across party lines, the politicians have condemned Murthy's comments.
"Now he's realised and apologised. That's secondary. Being such a highly qualified man, he should not have said this in the first place," Karantaka Congress President, Mallikarjuna Kharge, says.
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