It's not every other day India has lots to smile about. Her poverty, corruption, slow process of liberalisation, legacy of license-quota-permit raj, lack of any truly global icon, etc have enough reasons to be an insignificant global player.

But intermittently, the country is in the habit of throwing up stars who rise above these huddles to do India proud. One such being NR Narayan Murthy, the man behind Infosys success saga.

So when he resigns in a huff, the nation sits back and takes note. If his competence is questioned, India shows signs of being irate. Finally, if it happens to be a politician, the nation is ashamed.

That's exactly what happened when in late October NR Narayan Murthy resigned as the chairman of Bangalore International Airport Limited after the former PM HD Deve Gowda questioned his contribution to the project in the last four years.

Deve Gowda had asked Chief Minister Singh to probe land allotment to IT companies – in particular Infosys – and how many jobs they had created. This was too much for Murthy.

On October 20, a livid Murthy dashed off a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh, quitting as BIAL chairman.

Gowda has problems with Infosys chief mentor on two scores. Firstly, he doesn't approve of Murthy for his proximity to the former CM SM Krishna. Secondly, Murthy's avowed claim that India should cut down on its dependence on rural economy and thrust more of urban industries doesn't go down well with Gowda. The Kannadiga farming community, who form the bedrock of Gowda's support base, was miffed at the allocation of agriculture land around Bangalore to IT companies.

The day after Murthy quit, Infosys -- which prides itself on its clean reputation -- issued a point-by-point rebuttal of Gowda's accusations: How much land had been allotted, how much investment had been made, how many jobs had been created.

The nation's head bowed in shame as a former PM chose to act more like a politician and cast aspersions on a man who, in many ways, has taught India the art of conscientious business.