Toadyism or survival tactic?

Recently a photograph of a dozen or so of India's corporate statesmen lining up like schoolkids in a class to meet the new teacher ricocheted around the Internet

There is no apparent reason or occasion to warrant the gushing advertisement of the Confederation of Indian Industry, or CII, expressing unabashed support to the Bharatiya Janata Party government besides the fact that Delhi goes to vote today.

As minister of industries, George Fernandes had once famously asked a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry audience: "What makes men who have such great wealth and power turn into rats?" He was alluding to the business community's endorsement of Indira Gandhi.

This anecdote came from our friend, Delhi-based policy wonk and political commentator, Mohan Guruswamy, who posted on a social networking site about the business community's latest act of perceived brown-nosing of the political establishment. The full-page ad in a national daily he was referring to had the headline "Taking India to Greater Heights" and was accompanied by a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the backdrop of the marbled podium of the United Nations General Assembly. The body copy eulogised his premiership.

"During the licence permit raj, businesses existed and thrived by pandering to those in power. But we are supposed to have a market friendly policy regime since 1991, and industry captains have no reason to behave like rats? But I suppose the genes run deep," were Guruswamy's fighting words.

Recently a photograph of India's corporate statesmen lining up to meet President Barack Obama like schoolkids queued up to meet a new teacher ricocheted around the Internet and gave rise to much comment. Could these really be the 'Masters of The Universe', each a legend in his own time, with vast empires and armies of employees under him, queuing up obediently in this manner? What was passing through their heads - they, in whose presence and on whose words grown men often quake?

In his post, Guruswamy also recalled the famous incident from many decades ago when one of the country's leading captains of industry was asked if he supported the government of the day, to which he had replied a bit too honestly: "Yes, I support this government. In fact I support every and any government." When I asked him about his post, Guruswamy told me, "George [Fernandes] also said that when they were asked to walk, they crawled."

Could it be that the syndrome is a knee-jerk response to an India mired in the quicksand of socialism and the permit raj? Or is it more insidious? Is allegiance not only expected but also demanded of the business community, regardless of reform and dismantling of the old order? Are certain gestures of support a quid pro quo for nods of approval or acts of discretion? And if so, for how long will this go on?

Of course, Guruswamy's post was an equal-opportunity critique across the political spectrum. His example of Fernandes was a reference to the practice of Congress' crony capitalism, whereas his attack on CII's apple-shining was an assessment of today's toadyism.

But it made me wonder if, in all fairness to business leaders, this behaviour was in fact only survival mechanism? Had the community been so whipped into subservience by the whims of unconstitutional and, often, vindictive acts by successive governments that cravenness had become second nature to them?

This is not the first ad eulogising the ruling government of the day; it will certainly not be the last. The Delhi elections will come and go, and there will be other acts of omission and commission that will raise eyebrows about the behaviour of politicians and businessmen.

But one question will remain: When one says, "Jump!", will the other always reply: "How high?"

Malavika Sangghvi is a Mumbai-based writer malavikasmumbai@gmail.com