Click to play videoThe Prime Minister, on Tuesday, exhorted the leaders of industry to not forget that they lived in a country of the poor. While delivering the inaugural address at the CII National Conference, Manmohan Singh requested them to do their bit in controlling price-rise by focussing on long-term growth instead of quick gains, cut input costs, pass tax cuts to the consumer, enhance outputs and above all, ensure sobriety in corporate lifestyles.
Manmohan Singh’s appeal implies that the rich are behaving poorly in India and has brought to fore the question – is it time for India’s rich to shed their extravagant ways?
Debating the point on CNN-IBN’s show Face the Nation were Counselage Managing Partner, Suhel Seth; social activist Medha Patkar; and Congress MP from Bangalore, Dr Tejasvini.
Reality check
Manmohan Singh’s address to the CII meet saw him voicing – for the second time – his reservations about corporate lifestyles of industrywallahs.
Last year’s address to the CII had seen the Prime Minister suggesting that conspicuous expenditure be cut. On Tuesday, he again urged industry to inject a strong note of sobriety into corporate lifestyles as their extravagance was adding to costs and inflationary pressures. By reminding the wealthy industry leaders that they lived in a country of the poor, the PM appeared to imply that corporate India was cut off from the rest of India.
Suhel Seth did not think that corporate India was completely cut off but he pointed out that we cannot embrace inclusiveness.
“You can’t have rich-lists and not have give-lists,” he said. “Day before yesterday, the Sunday Times published a rich-list and in that rich-list, there were many Indians, but in the give-list there was not one Indian. The only Indian who figured on the give-list was at rank #34.”
Seth added that there were many corporations giving back to society and named the Tatas as a prime example, who have been doing it for years.
He revealed that CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility – was a term that was most abused by Indian corporations and implied that by-and-large, corporate sectors are really not stake-holders in India’s true growth as a nation.
“We’ve had eminent people like Michael Porter and C K Prahlad talking about giving back to society is indeed good business. But everyone uses Corporate Social Responsibility as a balance-sheet item; they use it to tell people how good and how helpful they are. In real terms, not much is being done,” Seth pointed out.
“Corporate India cannot be brazen about its wealth; Corporate India must respect its commitment, it must respect its role in society,” he asserted.
Politicians and corporations together skew the growth of a nation
The savings rate of our nation is 32 per cent and the investment rate is 35 per cent, clearly showing that industry and corporations are contributing to investment and generating wealth and creating jobs. It, hence, may not be fair to blame industry all the time.
Activist Medha Patkar, however, blamed the entire system.
“The whole system is going topsy-turvy. There is vulgar extravagance which comes from unjustifiable income levels, and this unjustifiable income is really a result of a total policy mix,” she stated. “It is the policy which includes the SEZ Act and the tax concessions. It is the policy of giving higher wages in all sectors but agriculture and natural resource-based economy – there is so much of disparity between organised sector and unorganised sector!”
She pointed out that industries do not build and produce by themselves but that is done by the poor, the “so-called unorganised, unprotected sectors” and was indignant that 96 per cent of the working class toils for the benefit of the remaining fraction.
Speaking for the working classes, Patkar demanded to know why they should earn just to give back in the form of corporate social responsibility.
“It is the Government’s political and economic responsibility not to allow one sector and a handful of millionaires-billionaires-corporates to earn so much profit so that they can purchase foreign multi-nationals or gain 40 lakhs per minute,” she asserted.
“This whole thing needs to be questioned. All the elite – political and economic – need to be blamed,” Patkar declared.
Meanwhile, politicians, too, have lavish lifestyles. They live in huge homes and they also waste taxpayers’ money. It is, again, not fair for the political class to blame the corporate sectors when, in fact, the price-rise has been a failure of governance.
Dr Tejasvini concurred and roundly blamed both parties.
“Why are there two Indias – one Haves and one Have-nots?” she asked. “I think politicians should be role models to others because we are representing the Have-Nots.”
She agreed that the political class is guilty by leading a lavish lifestyle.
“Fifty per cent of our politicians are not truthful to their own selves. I want to see them as really representing India. Why is there – even after 60 years – poverty, inequality and no opportunity for the downtrodden? I agree with my PM’s view,” she stated.
Her sentiments were amplified by Suhel Seth, who roundly declared, “Politicians in India are crooks, most of them are crooks, period. They are either morally corrupt or monetarily corrupt.”
Tripping on guilt
The fact that there is a guilt-tripping of the rich, that they have to apologise and feel bad about being rich is a regressive step hearkening to Nehruvian socialism. It disregards the fact that liberalisation has taken place. The logical thing would be to let the generation of moneymaking now run its logical course.
Agreeing with Medha Patkar to a limited extent, Seth said that it is incorrect to believe that everyone ought to be poor because we are a poor country.
“I feel everyone must become richer; everyone must be able to afford a quality of life that is decent, dignified and deserving,” he stated.
He added that corporate India is clearly not doing enough although it is in its power to do so.
“It was in Manu Smrithi 3,000 years ago, in the Upanishads, where the concept of daan was talked about. You talked about giving back to society, not because it gave you tax exemption, not because Chidambaram would beam on you. You gave back because you thought that that’s how you would raise the levels of people who co-existed with you,” Seth pointed out.
Corporations: India’s bugbear?
Growth is above eight per cent, there are high savings, there is a huge success in tax-collection, and all this is contributing towards long-term prosperity in India. The picture appears rosy in all aspects.
Medha Patkar did not think a growth rate of eight per cent of much import when it was not accompanied with justice or growth of employment opportunities.
Stigmatising the situation as “pitiable”, she pointed out that employment opportunities are being systematically annihilated and gave the example of transferring agricultural land – meant for growing grains – for non-agricultural use, such as creating biofuel.
“But I hope the Prime Minister must understand that it is his government policy which transfers agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes,” she stated.
About lavish lifestyles in poor India
Morally, many find it repugnant to witness a decadent lifestyle in a country of poor.
But Suhel Seth did not think the issue is about lifestyle.
“The moral dilemma is not that you are rich enough to lead a good lifestyle, the moral dilemma is: Are you large-hearted enough to share wealth and your prosperity?” he noted.
“I think people have the right – it’s an aspirational right of every human being – to do well, you can’t deny them that,” he said.
Individual social responsibility
It was suggested that as politicians have failed to uphold Gandhian ideals of austerity and self-denial, the onus should be on certain individuals who champion grass-roots causes, such as Medha Patkar.
Suhel Seth unequivocally disagreed.
“It’s not the responsibility of any one of the stakeholders to be a conscience-keeper. Civil society has failed society itself – that is the fundamental issue. We are so overwhelmed with the glitz and hype of our own lifestyles, we fail to realise that if we don’t help the ones we are co-existing with, our own survival will be in danger,” he concluded.
SMS POLL: Is it time for India’s rich to shed their extravagant ways?
YES: 87 per cent
NO: 13 per cent
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