We all have heard the saying “by hook or by crook” and know it as “by any means”. There are two or three origin stories of the phrase, but the best one I like is the vow of Oliver Cromwell, an English general in the early 1600s, to take over Waterford in Ireland either by the path of Hook Head, Wexford, which is to the east of the Waterford, or by a nearby village of Crook, west of the Waterford. General Cromwell’s pledge to this day signifies the path of right or wrong, good or bad.
Indian presence globally as CEOs, businessmen and top officials of other countries has only magnified in the past two decades. Let us say they have chosen Cromwell’s hook path. But what we haven’t noticed is that some Indians are also sharing the spotlight with top global defaulters, one with crooked paths.
Generally, overseas Indians are seen as hard-working, harmless head-nodding IT nerds. But in the past decade, we hear more and more Indian names among global defaulters with white-collar crimes. The stereotypical Hollywood Indian roles wouldn’t allow an Indian character to be shown anywhere near a mobster or a lawless citizen movie plot, but I doubt there could be an upcoming movie with Ocean’s Eleven-like plot and an Indian as a lead character.
