Mohnish delved into how to fight corruption in India; Why is India poor? Etc.
Mohnish Pabrai’s Q&A Session with Scholars at Dakshana Valley – Dec. 26, 2018
Q4 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
Transcript
We’ve thought about what a few different things and in fact one of the things I would I would say is that basically it would probably dovetail into some of the things that you may have an interest in is. One of the things I had. One of the one of the one of the start up that tried to start it actually after the auction it was in 2013 I think and. It was the startup that was called GandhiGiri.org
Can we put up the first slide. So though the website GandhiGiri was focused on the startup was focused. On trying to fight corruption in India. And it failed. And there are many many things that have done. In terms of business and charity and so on that have failed. Everywhere. Every time things fail. I’m very happy.
Because I learn a few things. So gandingan you actually was interesting because I started in 2013. I already had. Six years of experience six or seven years experience with Dakshina. I already had, you can say probably something like, let’s say more than 25 years of experience in business. So I had a lot of experience and I had I had a few people helping me. All part time but these people were extremely high quality and very capable. They are all still very good friends of mine. But they are each one of them is extremely talented. So all the ingredients you would need for something to succeed were there. We had money. We had good people. We had a good idea. I thought. We had a good name. And we even got the U.R.L. GandhiGiri.org. Nobody had that. And so we are able to get that domain.
How many of you have seen the movie [inaudible] We took the name of the organization from the movie. Do you remember the movie. And Gandhi Giri. In fact I also got another URL [inaudible] And because we were going to fight corruption. And because we were going to fight it in a manner. That would upset a lot of people.
And these people possibly will even try to kill us. OK. So what we did was. When we started the organization all of us had a. Fake name. Like one guy’s name was Mona. Moonchild gandingan either or. I would not tell you who he is. His name was Mona. Another one was circuit. So say Claffey different non-pay. Many are now Khanom they the about whom. I was born poor and gandingan he wrote or so we are all these. Names. I don’t even remember who was who now.
And so there’s a website called I Paid A Bribe. Have you heard of the website?
Go to the website ipaidabribe.org. The idea of the website is that when you encounter a corrupt government official. And that corrupt government officials ask for a bribe. And you pay the bribe. You then go on the website. And give the details. That such and such police officer in such interdistrict. Took such and such bribe for me for this and this is okay.
