BONHOMIE OF CONVENIENCE

By Syeda Dhanak Fatima Hashmi | December 2019

The growing bonhomie between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which is the mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and corporate bigwigs is of a remarkable nature. The nexus between the RSS and the leadingcorporate VIPs is known as ‘Corporate-Hindutva alliance’. This goodwill was made evident when the Modi government had recently given the corporate sector a big relief by reducing corporate tax rates from 30 percent to 25 percent, a relief that would cost the government over Rs.1.45 lakh crore. By strategizing the relief programme, the BJP left the Opposition wondering. The Congress is now unable to make up its mind whether to stick to the old discourse, or to follow, however grudgingly, the new discourse of Hindutva hyper-nationalism which is destroying the economy of India indirectly.

During the recent Lok Sabha elections when the BJP lost ground and a peasant movement started due to poor reforms, threatening power in continuation is also witnessed. But the Pulwama incident and the fake Balakot air strike, strengthened the hyper-nationalist discourse again by giving it a renewed wave of nationalism. As a result, the same protestors who had marched against the government just days before the elections, voted for its continuance. Moreover, the scrapping of Articles 370 and 35A, which amounts to a forcible annexation of Jammu and Kashmir, also encouraged Hindutva hyper-nationalism. Therefore, whatever opposition one would have normally expected to this generous transfer of public funds to corporate pockets, is drowned out in the din of hyper-nationalism celebrating the “triumph” in Kashmir.

However, before going into details and estimates of the corporate individuals, it must be noted that the total wealth of the top 100 richest Indian corporate heads increased by up to 31 percent between 2014 and 2019. The release of the richest people’s list is usually considered a sign of triumph in the corporate world. It is seen as an indication that India is moving fast economically as people are getting wealthier but it is also noteworthy that such lists are only for a 100 people in a country of 1.3 billion people. Reportedly, 6 percent of the country’s GDP comprised the wealth of just these 100 business tycoons in 2019, which shows an unequal distribution of wealth. Just a small group of people have accumulated a lot of wealth while the vast bulk of India’s population has only a very small fraction. Such lists also reveal another side of the picture - that these corporate honchos have flourished more under BJP’s rule from 2014 to 2019 and have close affiliations with Modi in person.

The income inequality crisis that has been brought about by neo-liberal capitalism collectively all over the world, has shifted incomes from the working class towards the corporate-financial oligarchy. With the demand-contracting effects of the shift and the decline of dependent factors, Narendra Modi’s demonetisation and GST policy is only compounding the problem. What is making it worse isthe BJP government’s solution to the prevailing crisis, which further shifts incomes from the working people to the corporates. But if the government manages to play the Hindutva hyper-nationalist card proficiently, it can succeed in diverting attention from its economic woes.

Talking about the curious case of individual growth among corporates, it is noted that the wealth of Mukesh Ambani has doubled, with an increase of 118 percent during the BJP’s rule, that takes him to the top of the chart of the richest persons in India. Furthermore, the rise of Gautam Adani has been impressive as he leaped from the 11th place in 2014 to becoming the second richest person in 2019. His association with Modi goes back to when the latter was chief minister of Gujrat. Keeping in view Adani’s closeness with Modi, his wealth has increased by 121 percent, i.e. Rs.50.4 thousand crore in 2014 to a breath-taking Rs.1.1 lakh crore in 2019. Both Ambani and Adani have showed their support to Modi and he has even appeared in a full-page advertisement for the launch of Jio, the Reliance telecom service, which has the largest subscriber base in India - a prominence earned during the BJP rule.

Economists are of the view that this kind of tax concession will have an adverse effect on the Indian economy hence on employment and output. Moreover, as it is understood that the government is reluctant to alienate itself from globalised finance, it will have to squeeze resources from the working people to tackle its fiscal deficit. As a result, any income-shift from the working people to the corporates, keeping other variables constant, reduces consumption demand in the economy.

Keeping the doctrine of nationalism aside, Modi’s policies have only managed to produce underwhelming growth, encouraged little investment and created loss of jobs. Moreover, the BJP government has also committed serious sins of commission, the top among these being “demonetization’’or the abrupt overthrow of high-denomination currency notes in an attempt to cleanse the economy of untaxed cash, known as “black money.” By some estimates, India’s reserve bank calculated that demonetization entirely failed in its goal. The move cut India’s GDP by two percent and cost 1.5 million jobs while more than 99 percent of invalidated currency found its way into banks. India’s GDP growth has slumped to such an extent over the last five quarters that domestic and international agencieshave significantly slashed their economic forecasts.

It is rightly said that there is no free lunch. Corporate India doesn’t bow to anybody unless they offer some benefit. It is a heavily loaded question that why the BJP (RSS) and Corporate India are supporting each other? It is quite evident that whosoever is the political head of the country, he has to keep big business houses in good humour because it is these people who make investments, help growth and create employment. It is now evident that this should not be at the cost of bringing agony to the working classes. The corporate bigwigs are able to manipulate governments and draw unreasonable benefits. This increasing closeness of corporate honchos to the RSS is their way of extending support to the BJP government and have access to as much as ripe fruit as they can under Modi’s watch.