From: "James A. Donald" <jamesd@echeque.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 14:37:20 +0800
To: Arun Mehta <cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: India, Productivity, and Tropical Climes
Message-ID: <199608140439.VAA28846@dns2.noc.best.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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At 11:31 PM 8/13/96 +0600, Arun Mehta wrote:
> As regards IBM, its agreement with the government of India, under
> which it was allowed to operate in the country, stipulated that
> it would produce here, and transfer some technology. Instead, as
> the government found, all it did was sell time on second-hand
> computers (1401's as I recall, and this was mid  to late '70s).
> IBM was asked to either dilute, or live up to its original
> agreement, which it wasn't prepared to do, so it left.

Every single foreign computer company left during roughly the same 
period, as did almost all foreign companies and anybody who had a choice.

The reasons generally given by those who left, for this mass exodus, 
which eventually sent the government into insolvency, is that Indian 
]officials were arrogant, rude, dishonest, corrupt, continually broke 
contracts and agreements, and attempted to exercise direct power over 
everyone and everything.

If indian government officials have a different version, I would not
regard that version as coming "from the horses mouth"
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