Letter: Let go, Infy old guard

With reference to “Infy founder, board rift erupts again” (April 3), it is indeed sad that the great N R Narayana Murthy — and his co-founders — just can’t let go. They have to forget his glorious past and let the chosen ones run the company in the manner they deem fit. They have no right to meddle in the working of the company once they have given up all executive positions. Whether the decision taken by the board, after following due process, is good or bad, Murthy and the other founders must control their emotions and stop airing their views to the media.

The situation is akin to fathering a child, seeing her grow up into a fine young person and then envying her success because she no longer seeks his advice on every single step. Nobody will ever forget the great job done by Murthy and his peers in founding Infosys, making it one of the finest in the world, putting India’s IT capabilities on the global map, adding to shareholder value in an unprecedented manner, and earning admiration from people around the world. Yet they shouldn’t forget that there is a time for everything. Silence on their part vis-à-vis the affairs of Infosys will in no way diminish the respect that they enjoy from a grateful nation. In fact, rising above the mundane will further boost their standing in society and India Inc. Do Murthy and his co-founders not realise that their actions are harming the company in a manner that may be difficult to redeem? Besides shareholders, they could also lose financially and socially. More importantly, the country will lose as such canards are bound to impact other Indian IT companies and hurt their credibility.

Krishan Kalra, Gurgaon

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