The founder of Infosys has apologised amid a furore over the playing of the national anthem during a presidential visit to a company.
BANGALORE: The founder of software maker Infosys Technologies Ltd. has apologised amid a furore over the playing of the national anthem during a presidential visit to a company facility.
NR Narayana Murthy apologised after an instrumental version of the anthem, Jana Gana Mana, was played rather than following the tradition of having on-stage singers lead the audience.
Murthy told reporters that version was chosen for Sunday's visit by President APJ Abdul Kalam so that foreigners in the audience didn't feel uncomfortable mouthing the words.
The remarks provoked calls for Murthy's arrest in the assembly of the southern state of Karnataka where the Infosys facility is based.
"He should be externed from the state," local daily Vijay Times quoted lawmaker Vatal Nagaraj as saying.
"He has insulted the national anthem in the presence of the president."
The 60-year-old Murthy, chief mentor of Infosys, issued a damage-control statement late Tuesday.
"If the media statement has hurt anybody's sentiments, I deeply apologize. We wished to share the pride of being an Indian in the gracious presence of our president. We are informed this is as per protocol."
A company spokesman added Wednesday that the instrumental version was played so the whole audience, given its 'multi-cultural' nature, could hum along during the visit to the Infosys campus in Mysore, near Bangalore.
Foreign software code writers work at the Indian facilities of Infosys, which derives a lion's share of its revenue from sales abroad.
Murthy's frequent criticism of the political establishment for doing little to fix the deficient infrastructure in Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley, and other parts of Karnataka has won him few friends in the corridors of power.
The Infosys founder is an icon in India's booming software industry, consistently ranked by surveys among the country's most admired business leaders.
He set up the company in 1981 with six other software professionals who pooled savings of 10,000 rupees ($225) borrowed from their wives.
Infosys today has 69,000 employees worldwide and annual revenue in excess of two billion dollars.
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