Our politics has become dysfunctional, say business leaders

Much needed changes in politics and business will have to be initiated by citizens. Indeed, citizens with power and influence, such as leaders of businesses, have a disproportionate amount of responsibility. This was a key takeaway from a debate on 'Leader to Leader: In times like these, do business and politics mix?' at the NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2014 in Mumbai on February 13.

The session, moderated by Josey Puliyenthuruthel, Managing Editor, Business Today, threw up a lively discussion.

The participants included Meera H Sanyal, former banker and member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Rajendra Pawar, Chairman & Co-founder, NIIT Group and Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Social Venture Partners India.

The brainstorming session touched upon diverse topics that included India's demographic dividend, the role of information technology in electoral reforms and the economic agenda of the Aam Aadmi Party.

"Politicians see the value of business. Business also sees the value of a close relationship with politics," Sanyal said. Politics is seen as dirty business in India but this perception has to change to prevent a social upheaval, according to Sanyal. As an example, she cited the correlation between the rate of growth of the Indian economy and major outbreaks of violence in the country. There seem to be major incidents of violence every time growth falls below five percent, she added.

The urban, educated professional class has withdrawn from the electoral process, said Venkatesan. "We need to realize how terrifyingly chaotic and dysfunctional our society and politics have become," said Venkatesan." This is a cause of an increasing criminalisation of politics and oligarchs and crony capitalists are taking advantage of the situation, he said. "It is rather obvious that we can't sit it out, there are deep consequences, a deep price you pay for disengagement," he said.

But the government wasn't always dysfunctional like this, according to Pawar. Even in the late nineties, it was prepared to promote new companies and start-ups, provided they reached certain revenue targets, he said. It is important to ensure now that projects such as NASSCOM's '10,000 start-ups' create similar supportive ecosystems, said Venkatesan.

The Aam Aadmi Party is looking at a concrete economic policy with a wide range of stakeholders from diverse economic and political backgrounds, Sanyal said.

But to bring a about change in politics and business, citizens have to take the lead. The panelists were unanimous while fielding questions from the audience - among them observers, professionals and small entrepreneurs - that there has to be active participation from citizens to achieve effective governance.

Venkatesan said that people with power, with influence, or with the means - typically business leaders - are disproportionately responsible.

"You have two kinds of businesses, the oligarchs, and then you have the entrepreneurial businesses, what the NASSCOMs and IT firms are all about," he said. The entrepreneurs pay taxes, follow rules and are increasingly becoming victims of that system, according to him. To prevent this, it is important that the educated, middle class contribute to nation-building, said Venkatesan.

It isn't necessary to enter politics to bring change. It can be done by speaking up in public forums, enabling colleagues to become better citizens, and through funding of NGOs, or other similar organisations, Venkatesan added.

Information technology businesses, which have had a positive impact on the livelihoods of millions over the last decade or so, need to be given a free hand to continue the good work, Pawar said. "IT business has created a certain kind of dispensation, and it has created a certain kind of positive impact," he said. How we power our enterprises, how we fix our education system and what we do about our environmental issues are critical, asserted Sanyal. These cannot be changed without political will, she said.