We're not interested in politics

(A letter I had written to Tarun Tejpal, Ramachandra Guha and Anu Kumar)

I woke up last morning with the news staring at my face that two of India's wealthiest and most influential industrialists think Mr. Narendra Modi is perfect candidate for running the nation.

So, not only you get away with murder, you get a chance to become the prime minister and rewrite the law!!

Finally the cat is out of the bag.

The fear and apprehension of the so called leftists have come to be the reality. In simple English, that reality is - people in Indian business are out there just to make money and they don't care if the hand that feeds them is stained, nay, immersed in blood. And what will be the predictable refrains?

• "It has not been definitively proved that Mr. Modi had any hand in the riots
• "He has won overwhelming mandate of his people; so he is a good leader." (most Gujarati businessmen and bureaucrats say this
• Lastly, "We are not interested in politics." (most will use this reason and indeed they are being truthful)

This last point brings me to the article Tarun had written in Rediff sometime back after 26/11 (http://in.rediff.com/news/2008/dec/17mumterror-death-of-a-salesman-and-other-elite-ironies.htm). I was really happy to see someone in media finally voicing an appropriate criticism of the society at large for its severe apathy or antipathy towards politics and politicians. Digging deeper, I think this apathy is apathy of convenience, especially when it comes to business.

Co-incidentally, I was in a board meeting in Ahmedabad on January 13th, and I could see how proud the local corporate citizens were of Modi, his MoUs and his prospect of becoming the PM. Some of them were indignant in saying that the national leaders of BJP are scared of him and his popularity and will thus not allow him his rightful place.

Personally, I find it extremely lonely and difficult in situations like these, which have become too prevalent these days. Last year in June, I had, written in a mail to Ram, about the severe polarization of the Indian business class, especially in North, which is dominated by specific communities. In my personal discourses with corporate executives (not the family moneybags), including some of my colleagues, I have started realizing that this malady has now infected the educated and prosperous professionals as well. Perhaps it is time that Indian media put this question on their front pages, "Is communalization of Indian business complete now?"