Shobhaa De | The messy maamla' with the Hindujas of Geneva

As F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote: “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me”.

Yes, they have more money. Much, much more money, and far fewer moral scruples, it would appear, going by the recent scandal involving four high-profile members of Britain’s richest family -- the Hindujas. Those in the know call this branch of the family “the stingy Hindujas”, who live in Geneva and have an estimated fortune of $47 billion. And, despite their awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping wealth, it is this very family, living in a sprawling villa located in the very snobbish Cologny area of Geneva, that has been in the news for the most terrible of reasons, accused and sentenced for the mistreatment of servants “imported” from India. As Geneva’s famous prosecutor Yves Bertossa pointed out in court, the family of Prakash and Kamal Hinduja (both in their 70s), son Ajay and his wife Namrata, spent over $10,000 a year on their pet dog. The same people treated their domestics worse than dogs. They now face penalties after being found guilty of exploitation and illegal employment. The domestics were getting paid $7 a day, which is less than a tenth of what the law demands in Switzerland. In addition, their passports were confiscated, with their work frequently extended to 18 hours a day, and nights spent on mattresses spread in an airless basement. Robert Assael, the lawyer for the defendants, said after the sentencing: “I am shocked. We are going to fight it to the bitter end.” He also said “Watching movies with kids is not work”. And that the domestics were clothed and fed by the Hindujas, for which they should be grateful.

Why were we in India not shocked? Why were we not outraged? Because treating house help in this rough and awful manner is considered fairly “normal” in many Indian homes. It’s not just the rich in our country who feel like this. Such sentiments are echoed across the board, with regular, middle-class families justifying ill-treatment of domestics, claiming they were bettering their miserable lives, providing a roof over their heads plus two square meals. This is slavery by another name. And we are not ashamed of it. No matter how much wealth the Hindujas may possess, with their vast interests in oil, gas and banking, scratch the surface and they are as desi as the neighbourhood grocer. Their DNA cannot change because they live abroad and have homes across the world. What’s the bet, they count how many onions and potatoes are in their cellar. And scrimp on spending an extra Swiss franc if they can help it. This is the typical Indian mentality, and it hardly matters where our wealthy billionaires live -- they are uniformly mean and small-minded.

Unfortunately for these Hindujas, the domestics decided to expose them and fight back. The stories that emerged were pretty grim and pathetic. Why would such ridiculously rich folks be so petty with the people they have extracted from India to work in an alien, cold and unfriendly environment? As they say, there is a dark and ugly side to Geneva, behind the posturing. Geneva calls itself the “City of Peace”, but there are just so many far from attractive aspects to this antiseptic city of exaggerated order and discipline. Processing wealth pouring in from shady citizens of other countries, with totally contrasting cultures, is a tough job. Someone’s got to do it! The Swiss are only too happy to oblige. The world's dirty money is efficiently laundered here. Are our desi millionaires and billionaires treated as equal citizens? Far from it. Most of them lead isolated lives, sticking to other desis and carrying on like they have never left Indian shores. Nothing changes -- not their food habits, nor their narrow-minded worldview. Only, the clothes they sport in public are European. But wearing designer suit-boot, carrying expensive bags, smelling of pricey fragrances, does not make Raju a gentleman! The shabby asli kanjoos core stays! And that core is far from pretty!

The Hindujas ran into trouble because the domestics squealed. Most rich desi families get away with this, and worse, because their domestics lack the guts to call them out. Those oppressed, ruthlessly exploited folks need the money! Families back in the village depend on what their miserly employers remit directly to their accounts in Indian rupees. Which means that the domestics are helpless, broke and stuck -- as good as imprisoned in these grand villas they fear to leave. They don’t know the foreign language, are stripped of their papers, and have zero money in their pockets. Trapped and desperate, years and years go by, but nobody complains! Their influential employers count on the silence of these poor lambs.

In this case too, experts believe that nothing will happen. The Hindujas will bring in all their tagda legal firepower and keep the family out of jail. In any case, the older Hindujas (Prakash and Kamal) were not present at the hearing, claiming ill-health. And Kamal is undergoing medical treatment. That leaves the others, but they too will manage to stay out of the clink. While Switzerland is not India, at their level, they are capable of doing deals at the highest levels. The Swiss are not as pure as the driven snow in the Alps. There are ways to get around any and every legal hurdle if you have the lolly. The Hindujas aren’t the only villains. There are so many cruel employers right here. In fact, all of us need to review our treatment of those who share our homes and know the most intimate details of our daily lives, including what sort of underwear we prefer.

On quite another note, this week’s Bollywood shaadi (Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal) came with its full share of behind-the-scenes drama -- the bride's TMC politician father Shatrughan Sinha and his wife Poonam did eventually show up for their daughter’s wedding. But where were her brothers -- Luv and Kush? And, please!!! Why was it essential for the bridegroom’s father to assure everyone that Sonakshi was not going to convert to Islam? This is such a deeply personal decision. Nobody has the right to question it. And yet, it was hotly debated as if it were a national issue, with some bigoted elements urging fans to boycott Sonakshi’s films! Tauba!

Yeh Mera India…