Hartosh Singh Bal - Modi’s India Inc fan club: Why Murthy’s support shouldn’t matter
Naryana Murthy of Infosys is the latest in the list of 'icons' from India Inc who have found virtue in Narendra Modi. The roads in Gujarat, as well as the 24-hour power supply has enthused him enough to say that the courts have not indicted Modi "or passed any stricture or judgement. The best we can do is to expect a sense of contrition from the individual and move on. We should say...we are all human beings, let us give an individual an opportunity to show contrition and move on’’.
A few months ago, another 'icon' of India Inc Ratan Tata, praised Modi (not for the first time) and said, "I think in Gujarat he has proven his leadership and he has moved Gujarat into a position of prominence.’’ It would not be lost on either Murthy or Tata that these comments count as endorsements in the run up to the general elections. Whatever the motives of such industrialists, the question that matters so much more is why do we pay them so much attention? Should supervising a lot of people who write code for a living give weight to any assessment of Narendra Modi, or for that matter building cars that just don’t live up to expectations?
There is something strange at play here. In the same interview where he praised Modi, Tata also noted, "We have lost the confidence of the world. We have been slow to recognize that in the government." But why and how did that happen? In the long list of scams that have done damage to the government’s reputation and slowed decision making, 2G and Coalgate are at the top. It would defy all available evidence to imagine that some rather noteworthy sections of India Inc were not willing participants in the events that led to the scams. For many in India Inc to stand aside and criticize the Manmohan government while looking expectantly to Modi, is to forego their own culpability as co-conspirators in the violations of law that have done so much damage to this government.
The reasons for India Inc’s undue fondness for Narendra Modi are not entirely altruistic. There was a time few industrialists did speak out honestly about how they felt about Modi, only for industry as a whole to succumb rather easily and apologise for the 'hurt' Modi may have felt at their words. At a CII meet in Delhi in February 2003 to discuss investments in Gujarat, Rahul Bajaj and Jamshyd Godrej expressed concern about the law and order situation in the state. The reaction was fierce. Industrialists in Gujarat threatened they would leave the CII and set up an alternate forum. Within a month Tarun Das of the CII was headed to Gujarat to meet Modi. A CII release issued after the meeting stated, "Tarun Das has said to the CM that the CII was very sorry for the hurt that the CM had felt and expressed regret for this."
This was the last time you heard an industrialist be forthright about Modi. We have to remember that in this country industrialists are weathervanes, reflecting their sense of who is likely to be headed to power in the country. Their ability to stand up for what they really believe in is rather limited. In January this year, India Today reported, "Impressed by Dhunseri Petrochem and Tea chairman C.K. Dhanuka’s ability to play the violin on an earlier occasion, (Mamata) Banerjee cajoled him to sing at the opening of the “Bengal Leads” summit organised in this industrial cum port town of East Midnapore district. “Mr. Dhanuka please come up and sing us a song. Violin, violin,” she kept repeating as the seemingly embarrassed industrialist walked towards the stage. Banerjee then asked music company Saregama’s Sanjiv Goenka (chairman of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group) to accompany Dhanuka. Dhanuka began singing the evergreen hindi song Ae Mere Pyare Watan and later Rabindranath Tagore’s masterpiece Jodi tor daak sune keu na ase tobe ekla cholo re (If no one responds to your call, then go your own way alone) as Goenka, Banerjee and others present on the dais hummed along.’’
In the interest of full disclosure I must mention that Sanjiv Goenka is the proprietor of the magazine I worked for till recently – Open. At the time I could not express my views of the incident but I didn’t need to, because writing for Reuters, Robert MacMillan summed it up rather well, "This might seem crass. It might even seem degrading, being made to dance like a monkey on a leash in front of a crowd. On the other hand, people tend to put up with lots of indignities to get rich. Surely there are worse ways to do it than learning how to sing and play a musical instrument.’’
As far as I am concerned, as an act of crassness praising Modi certainly exceeds singing for Mamata, which is why I think there are still some questions Narayana Murthy should address:
* Mr Murthy, unless it has escaped your attention, it has been over a decade since the killings in Gujarat took place with Modi as chief minister of the state. Have you heard a word of contrition?
* Unless compassion for a puppy crushed under a car wheel counts as contrition for the violence, do you think any such gesture now that he is in the running for the post of PM would actually be genuine?
* And considering that he has not displayed any contrition, shouldn’t he, by your own reckoning, be stopped from moving on?
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/modis-india-inc-fan-club-why-murthys-support-shouldnt-matter-1291027.html
See also:
Bharat Bhushan - Project Modi Inc.
A few months ago, another 'icon' of India Inc Ratan Tata, praised Modi (not for the first time) and said, "I think in Gujarat he has proven his leadership and he has moved Gujarat into a position of prominence.’’ It would not be lost on either Murthy or Tata that these comments count as endorsements in the run up to the general elections. Whatever the motives of such industrialists, the question that matters so much more is why do we pay them so much attention? Should supervising a lot of people who write code for a living give weight to any assessment of Narendra Modi, or for that matter building cars that just don’t live up to expectations?
There is something strange at play here. In the same interview where he praised Modi, Tata also noted, "We have lost the confidence of the world. We have been slow to recognize that in the government." But why and how did that happen? In the long list of scams that have done damage to the government’s reputation and slowed decision making, 2G and Coalgate are at the top. It would defy all available evidence to imagine that some rather noteworthy sections of India Inc were not willing participants in the events that led to the scams. For many in India Inc to stand aside and criticize the Manmohan government while looking expectantly to Modi, is to forego their own culpability as co-conspirators in the violations of law that have done so much damage to this government.
The reasons for India Inc’s undue fondness for Narendra Modi are not entirely altruistic. There was a time few industrialists did speak out honestly about how they felt about Modi, only for industry as a whole to succumb rather easily and apologise for the 'hurt' Modi may have felt at their words. At a CII meet in Delhi in February 2003 to discuss investments in Gujarat, Rahul Bajaj and Jamshyd Godrej expressed concern about the law and order situation in the state. The reaction was fierce. Industrialists in Gujarat threatened they would leave the CII and set up an alternate forum. Within a month Tarun Das of the CII was headed to Gujarat to meet Modi. A CII release issued after the meeting stated, "Tarun Das has said to the CM that the CII was very sorry for the hurt that the CM had felt and expressed regret for this."
This was the last time you heard an industrialist be forthright about Modi. We have to remember that in this country industrialists are weathervanes, reflecting their sense of who is likely to be headed to power in the country. Their ability to stand up for what they really believe in is rather limited. In January this year, India Today reported, "Impressed by Dhunseri Petrochem and Tea chairman C.K. Dhanuka’s ability to play the violin on an earlier occasion, (Mamata) Banerjee cajoled him to sing at the opening of the “Bengal Leads” summit organised in this industrial cum port town of East Midnapore district. “Mr. Dhanuka please come up and sing us a song. Violin, violin,” she kept repeating as the seemingly embarrassed industrialist walked towards the stage. Banerjee then asked music company Saregama’s Sanjiv Goenka (chairman of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group) to accompany Dhanuka. Dhanuka began singing the evergreen hindi song Ae Mere Pyare Watan and later Rabindranath Tagore’s masterpiece Jodi tor daak sune keu na ase tobe ekla cholo re (If no one responds to your call, then go your own way alone) as Goenka, Banerjee and others present on the dais hummed along.’’
In the interest of full disclosure I must mention that Sanjiv Goenka is the proprietor of the magazine I worked for till recently – Open. At the time I could not express my views of the incident but I didn’t need to, because writing for Reuters, Robert MacMillan summed it up rather well, "This might seem crass. It might even seem degrading, being made to dance like a monkey on a leash in front of a crowd. On the other hand, people tend to put up with lots of indignities to get rich. Surely there are worse ways to do it than learning how to sing and play a musical instrument.’’
As far as I am concerned, as an act of crassness praising Modi certainly exceeds singing for Mamata, which is why I think there are still some questions Narayana Murthy should address:
* Mr Murthy, unless it has escaped your attention, it has been over a decade since the killings in Gujarat took place with Modi as chief minister of the state. Have you heard a word of contrition?
* Unless compassion for a puppy crushed under a car wheel counts as contrition for the violence, do you think any such gesture now that he is in the running for the post of PM would actually be genuine?
* And considering that he has not displayed any contrition, shouldn’t he, by your own reckoning, be stopped from moving on?
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/modis-india-inc-fan-club-why-murthys-support-shouldnt-matter-1291027.html
See also:
Bharat Bhushan - Project Modi Inc.
