Opinion Real crony capitalism
Having reported on the flaws and foibles of Indian politicians for more than 30 years,I had come to believe that I was now immune and that nothing they did would surprise me.....
Having reported on the flaws and foibles of Indian politicians for more than 30 years,I had come to believe that I was now immune and that nothing they did would surprise me. I was wrong. During the IPL brouhaha,so quickly forgotten,I found myself gasping with amazement as I watched politicians of every hue appear on my TV screen and state that they were against the crony capitalism they detected in the IPL team-buying process.
The irony of their statements escaped both them and the TV anchors so nobody pointed out that cronyism is the fuel that oils the engine of Indian politics. No sooner does an MP enter the hallowed portals of the Lok Sabha than he starts plotting ways to turn his constituency into a private estate to be passed on to some member of his family. No sooner does a political party start to do well than it becomes the personal fiefdom of the leader. And,now we have heirs who seek to inherit whole states. There are heirs ready and waiting in Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh,Punjab and,as became clear last week,Jharkhand. An heir already rules Jammu & Kashmir and at the very top we have Rahul Gandhi who can take charge of India whenever he wants. This is the cronyism part. Now let us talk about some real crony capitalism.
At some point around the end of the eighties,when the Bofors scandal brought Rajiv Gandhis rule to an ignominious end,us political pundit types began to notice a new and puzzling trend. Everyone seemed to suddenly want to be in politics. Very rich businessmen,notorious criminals,famous movie stars,celebrated sportsmen and celebrity bimbos from the social circuit. Since ninety-nine point nine per cent of these neo-politicos had at no moment in their illustrious lives shown the slightest inclination towards public service or even a simple interest in current affairs,us pundits puzzled long and hard over the trend.
It did not take us long to work out that the lure was filthy lucre. Indian politics had become the quickest way to make a fast buck and everyone wanted a piece of the action. Before the term ATM ministries was invented,before senior political leaders squabbled publicly over getting these ATM ministries,us perceptive pundits began to notice the little signs of big money concealed under the khadi kurtas and handloom saris of our politicians. Jewels from Cartier and Bvlgari,watches from Piaget and Patek Phillipe and handbags and shoes that cost more than an MP earns in a year. It takes only a little investigation to discover the grand mansions in which our humble political leaders live and the hugely expensive vehicles that transport them through the dust and heat of rural India. There
are some Indian politicians who now travel only in private aircraft.
Living the high life comes from the small change that a clever politician makes. The real money disappears into various corporate efforts that on the surface can look very legitimate. In almost every political household these days,there is at least one corporate prodigy who would probably not make it in the big bad world of real business but who thrives in the cloistered boundaries of crony capitalism.
Personally,I would have no problems with the ill-gotten gains of our political class if they would at least do the jobs we elect them to do. The problem is that they do not. In China,crony capitalism is the norm since all capitalist activity is controlled by the Communist Party but here is the difference. In 2009,the Chinese government built or renovated 35 airports,4,640 kilometres of highways,5,200 kilometres of new railways and upgraded 264,000 kilometres of power lines. The Indian government,meanwhile,spent most of our money on salaries and subsidies. If you talk to any Chief Minister today he will tell you that as a result of the last Pay Commission he has barely any money left after paying salaries for infrastructure or any other kind of development.
So,half of Indian children go to bed at night without having eaten a nutritious meal,we have the worst infrastructure in the world,tragically hopeless schools and public hospitals and a general sense of malaise. But what we do have is 21st century standards of crony capitalism. The sums we are talking of are so huge that they are beyond calculation and the people involved in this mega loot are the very people who now have charge of investigating the paltry amounts of funny money that may or may not have paid for IPL teams. Meanwhile,the Government saved itself in the Lok Sabha last week with the help of political leaders that its own investigative agencies have charged with high corruption.
Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter@tavleen_singh
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