Why such shareholder activism in HDFC?

In the most recent case, FIIs, which are major shareholders of HDFC, the housing finance giant, decided to vote against the appointment of its key promoter Mr. Deepak Parekh, as its director. They raised concerns about his age and his being director of eight other companies, thus questioning his personal commitment and focus, on the management functions of HDFC. What could possibly be the reason of this activism? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.