Mol-tol. Bargaining, haggling, valuation, concession, in the Rekhta dictionary.
Mol-bhaav. To bargain, to make a bargain. Rekhta’s Hindi definition adds the talk that settles a deal and the fixing of a price.
Except with the Lowest Bidder
In 1998 India’s Central Vigilance Commission banned post-tender negotiations in government purchasing “except with L.1.ie., the lowest tenderer.”
In March 2007 it narrowed the rule: “there should be no post-tender negotiations with L-1, except in certain exceptional situations.” The exceptions include proprietary items, items from limited sources and suspected cartels. The reasons must be recorded.
Bell Recalled
On July 31, 2011, during the Test between England and India at Trent Bridge, Ian Bell was run out on the last ball before tea. He had left his crease, and “wandered up the pitch to congratulate his team-mate and head off for tea,” Wisden reported. Under the Laws of cricket, he was out.
During the interval England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, and coach, Andy Flower, visited India’s dressing room. India’s captain, M.S. Dhoni, withdrew the appeal. “When play restarted after tea, a few minutes late, it was Bell who jogged down the steps.” The ICC later gave Dhoni its Spirit of Cricket award.
The Oath Before the Fire
In the Valmiki Ramayana, the monkey king Sugriva sees Rama and Lakshmana in the forest and is afraid. He tells his ministers that his brother Vali “must have dispatched them.” His minister Hanuman reports to him about the two brothers.
Hanuman then brings them to Sugriva. Rama and Sugriva “take the oath of friendship before an altar of fire.” Only after this does Sugriva tell Rama that he saw Sita carried off through the sky. He shows him the ornaments she dropped, wrapped in her upper cloth.
Truth Alone Triumphs
Satyameva jayate. Truth alone triumphs. The phrase opens verse 3.1.6 of the Mundaka Upanishad. It is the national motto of India, inscribed in Devanagari below the Lion Capital of Ashoka in the State Emblem.
Truthful Like Harishchandra
As a schoolboy, Mohandas Gandhi saw a play about King Harishchandra. In his autobiography he wrote: “This play – Harishchandra – captured my heart.” He added: “‘Why should not all be truthful like Harishchandra?’ was the question I asked myself day and night.”
Confirm It in Writing
Rule 3 of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, states: “The direction of the official superior shall ordinarily be in writing. Oral direction to subordinates shall be avoided, as far as possible. Where the issue of oral direction becomes unavoidable, the official superior shall confirm it in writing immediately thereafter.”
The next clause adds that a government servant who has received an oral direction “shall seek confirmation of the same in writing as early as possible.”
Hawala
Hawala is an old system of moving money between places, often across borders. A broker takes cash in one city, and a partner broker pays it out in another. No money travels between them at the time. They settle their accounts later, between themselves.
The system “operates on a system of trust, reputation, and personal connections,” as a legal analysis puts it. In India, hawala transfers contravene the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999.
The Name Is the Collateral
The Palanpuri Jains, a historic business community, are prominent in the diamond trade of Antwerp, with networks reaching Mumbai and Surat. Their trade, an article in The Conversation explains, “operates on credit, relies on trust.” It adds: “The diamond industry cannot enforce written contracts.”
The community’s own social controls do that work instead. “In the diamond trade, your name has traditionally been your collateral,” one Indian essay notes.
Angadia
An angadia is a courier who carries cash, jewelry and documents from one city to another for merchants. The system began in Gujarat and has worked for centuries. It is legal in India.
The trade rests on a network of trusted individuals, mostly from Gujarati, Marwari and Malabari communities. The couriers charge only a small fee.