Raise and fall of Ramalinga Raju

Byrraju Ramalingaraju, once acclaimed as the pioneer businessman of India in the world of Information Technology (IT) by the elite sections in his home state of Andhra Pradesh and also across the globe, is now devoid of any supporter to lean on.

“Is Ramalinga Raju the most feared man among some North Americans-even more than Osma Bin Laden?” “If Chandra Babu Naidu (when he was the chief minister) is the chief executive officer of Cyberabad, then crowned prince of Cyberabad is Mr B Ramalinga Raju, chairman of the Hyderabad-based Satyam Computers.”

These are some of the accolades given to Ramalinga Raju at the height of hype the media built during 1995-2008. Son of a farmer from obscure beginnings, Ramalinga Raju rose to such great heights as to rub his shoulders with the chief ministers and Union ministers. He was really the most feared man among the senior officials and ministers because he used to have free access to the chief ministers right from the beginning after he established the IT giant.

Right from the spinning mill in which he tried his hand in body shopping and real estate he had managed, he had evidently not made much progress. He, however, was able to create much fanfare about his IT venture, thanks to the support extended by successive governments.

Born on September 16, 1954 in Bhimavaram, a sleepy town in West Godavari district in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, he came in contact with high profile personalities during his college days in Vijayawada. He later obtained MBA degree from Ohio University. He had even attended a course of Owner/President at Harvard University. 

Ramalinga Raju founded Satyam Computers Services in 1987 after his ventures into other businesses like construction and textiles failed to make much headway. Though Satyam Computer Services was acclaimed by the elite as the fourth largest software exporter in India, the common man was always sceptical about its status.

His downfall began, in fact, in September last year with the news leaking out to the media that the World Bank had imposed an 8-year ban on the Satyam Computer Services. But the media in the State had not only downplayed it but also attacked the foreign media for spreading “malicious campaign” against the pioneering company. But the ban imposed by the World Bank came out with a such force that bruised Ramalinga Raju so badly from which he could not recover. His IT company was blamed for “theft” from the World Bank
 
Then came the crisis following his attempts to acquire Maytas, which is into construction venture, because it remains an obscure company despite Andhra Pradesh Government awarding a major contract to it to build metro rail system. To cap it all, the Maytas is owned by none other than Ramalinga Raju’s son, Teja Raju. 

What still baffles the observers is that Ramalinga Raju, who continues to be a chum of former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, acclaimed to be the CEO of Cyberabad (Hyderabad had come to be known by the name then) managed to establish a rapport with the present Chief Minister, Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, too