Modi mania and yagna gone rogue

In Hindu mythology, chasing Lakhsmi is looked down upon, as the ideal approach is to make oneself attractive for Lakhsmi. Yagna is another desirable attribute of entrepreneurship that satisfies the hunger of a stakeholder or customer. Achievement of targets and profit are not so important as the satisfaction of people. Public weal therefore trumps private greed with ‘Yajaman’ or the altruistic entrepreneur as the centerpiece of the business and management. What is actually transpiring in the present day India is exactly the opposite of the yagna ritual.

Lakhsmi is being chased hard by a covetous politician who has forged an unholy alliance with the bug business to bankroll his politics. RSS’s muscle, corporate carpet baggers’ money and the BJP’s political machinations have started imposing an elected autocracy on India. The zero tolerance to political dissent and pluralism has converted India into a state that seeks to stamp out all vestiges of social and religious diversity. The disputed regions like ‘Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’ are being subjected to a demographic terrorism through gerrymandering of electoral constituencies and settlement of non-Kashmiris in the disputed state.

Jammu and Kashmir is being subjected to a ‘Pax Brahmana’ through erasure of the political and cultural identity of its proud denizens. A slew of legislations after the revocation of Article 370, that had granted a semblance of autonomy to the disputed region, has resulted in liberal issuance of ‘domicile certificates’ at ridiculously fast frequency of 400,000 certificates a month. The fate of Muslim Bengali refugees in Assam has also been sealed through the discriminatory Citizen Amendment Act that denies citizenship to Muslim migrants. The plight of Northeastern India consisting of the seven states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland is worth highlighting where a dozen guerilla groups are waging wars for national liberation.

The Naxalbari uprising that started in 1967 by Maoists is still active in states like Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the shape of famous red corridor ablaze with violence. Indian Punjab is also in the grip of a reign of terror due to Khalistan insurgency, the latest manifestation of which is the revolt by a Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is waging a war for independence of Indian Punjab from the platform of an organisation ‘Waris Punjab De’. There is a complete internet ban in Punjab till 23rd March and 207 activists of ‘Waris Punjab De’ have been incarcerated so far. Punjab was also wracked with violence by the farmers’ protests due to repressive and iniquitous anti-farmer policies of Modi government which wanted to impose undue taxation on poor farmers at behest of its allies i.e. corporate mercantilist elite.

The link between corporate sharks and the BJP government has been exposed lately through the revelations of international financial actors like George Soros. He stated that Modi and Gautam Adani, a big Indian tycoon, were partners in crime and the business frauds by Adani at international level would reflect badly at Indian political leadership. The revelations exposed how since 2014, when Modi ascended to power, the corporate tycoons were sedulously incentivised to get richer in return for political donations to BJP. The crony capitalism has led to corruption, electoral frauds and the suppression of opposition in India besides contributing to wealth inequality. The Indian ranking at 7th position on ‘Crony Capitalism Index 2021’ attests to this reality. The ‘World Freedom Index 2022’ marks India’s status as unfree and unfair where the freedom of doing business and investment is constantly deteriorating.

In an Oxfam report titled ‘Survival of the Richest in India’, serious income disparities between the rich and poor have been exposed. The number of Indian billionaires has risen to 166 from 102 in 2020 who own 40.5% of India’s total wealth. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the wealth of billionaires has increased by 121%. The wealth of India’s 100 richest people has risen to $660 billion whereas as per ‘Fortune India Report’, 813.5 million need to be pulled out of poverty. The undue favours to the business elite have been castigated by prestigious publications like The Economist and The Wall Street Journal have warned foreign investors to review their investments in India after the Gautam Adani affair.

Gautam Adani’s listed companies lost more than a $100 billion due to revelations of corporate fraud, dropping him to number 17 in Forbe’s list of top businessmen. Adani’s fall indicates serious breach of corporate governance and probity in India highlighting the unfair advantages given to businessmen with strong political links. According to Charlie Robertson, the chief economist with Renaissance Capital, “India has been the relative safe haven market, and the Adani accusations are a cold shower for domestic and foreign investors.” The Adani affair has impacted Indian state-owned companies like Life Insurance Company and State Bank of India also due to their investments with the tainted group.

Indian opposition has demanded probe by Joint Parliamentary Committee or the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court of India has announced to formulate SMEs committee to investigate the Adani scam. Despite the heavy losses the solid backing of BJP government is expected to shore up the sagging fortunes of the Adani group. The saffronisation of Indian judiciary also leaves little hope for a just Supreme Court verdict penalising the corporate sharks for their fiduciary heist. Hindenburg Report that pointed out the financial malpractices, market manipulation and monetary misconducts in January 2023 is a must read for all who wish to understand the depth and range of corporate thefts in India.

Baba Ramdev, the Indian reincarnation of American Billy Graham, who recommends beheading of Muslims who do not chant Hindu nationalist songs, is the ideological guru of Modi. Mohan Bhagwat and Gautam Adani are the ideological and economic musclemen of Modi and the trinity of Ramdev, Bhagwat and Adani define India of today as being a classic case of a yagna gone rogue.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2023.

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