India Uncut
This blog has moved to its own domain. Please visit IndiaUncut.com for the all-new India
Uncut and bookmark it. The new site has much more content and some new sections, and you can read about them here and here. You can subscribe to full RSS feeds of all the sections from here.
This blogspot site will no longer be updated, except in case of emergencies, if the main site suffers a prolonged outage. Thanks - Amit.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
No more gundas
There are some things that make every supporter of the private sector in India cringe. One of them is the practice of the bigger MNC banks in India to send thugs to people's houses for collecting overdue payments. You can blame it on the environment they operate in or put the onus on the authorities to enforce the law, but the bottomline is that it is just plain wrong, and gives the private sector a bad name.
Well, now, I find out via MadMan's LinksMatic, something is finally being done about it. A consumer forum in Chennai has asked Standard Chartered Bank to pay Rs 20 lakh to a couple for harrassing them by sending gundas to their house. The Hindu Business Line reports that the commission, while passing its judgement, remarked:
Or maybe the RBI should just send gundas to the houses of the heads of the offending banks. Or even hijras (eunuchs). I can imagine this scene:
Or they could just put bloggers on the case.
Well, now, I find out via MadMan's LinksMatic, something is finally being done about it. A consumer forum in Chennai has asked Standard Chartered Bank to pay Rs 20 lakh to a couple for harrassing them by sending gundas to their house. The Hindu Business Line reports that the commission, while passing its judgement, remarked:
[I]t is high time the Reserve Bank of India [RBI] takes strong note of it and come down severely upon such banks. We would even suggest that they do not hesitate to cancel the licence of such bank.
Or maybe the RBI should just send gundas to the houses of the heads of the offending banks. Or even hijras (eunuchs). I can imagine this scene:
[Two eunuchs outside a top private banker's house ring the bell. He opens the door.]
Banker: Yes, what do you want?
Hijra 1: [clapping palms together] Arre, dekh, kitna chikna hai yeh ladka. ["See how smooth the boy is".]
Hijra 2: We heard you send gundas to people. Eh, chikkan, we want gunda also! [This last bit said flirtatiously and followed by a suggestive hip-thrust.]
Banker: Er, what nonsense is this? Please go away or I'll give you a credit card and charge you exorbitant rates of interest. I'll take your mobile numbers and make sure call centers call you all day offering credit cards and loans. Don't underestimate a bank's ability to make life hell for people, ok? I don't need gundas for that.
Hijra 1: [Winking] But we do.
[They walk in and take the banker in their arms. Cut to a shot of credit cards kissing.]
Or they could just put bloggers on the case.
