Shining India: Myth or Reality?

Basit Ali

Since 2014, when the BJP first came into power in India, the slogan Shining India has been coined to glorify the might of the world’s so-called largest democracy and its thriving financial power. After almost a decade of power in India, the BJP has failed to add anything substantial to the common Indian man other than such misleading platitudes. There is nothing positive that the BJP has delivered to Indian society during the last decade of its rule. Religious hatred, the violent ideology of Hindutva, rampant crimes against women, and class-based discrimination are a few noticeable things that the BJP has ushered with it.

Among all these evils, corruption in India has also surged under the BJP government. This corruption is not only financially harming investors and locals in India but also contributing to strengthening the class-driven socio-political order in the so-called world’s largest democracy. Consequently, India’s financial and political power is being consolidated by a few individuals. At the same time, the rest of the billion-plus people of India and many investors worldwide are being deceived through media management and misinformation. This explains the necessity of the Shining India slogan, i.e. to conceal the deep-rooted nexus between crimes, politics and corruption. According to media reports, out of sitting 385 MP of the BJP, 139 are involved in criminal cases, whereas 14 MPs have assets of more than 100 crores, reflecting the pol-criminal-corruption nexus in India.

BJP’s control over media and suppression of freedom of speech in a class-based society has concealed the deep-rooted cancer. Many high-profile cases are not allowed to be investigated and reported. For example, the Rafale jet saga where PM Modi was directly accused of taking heavy kickbacks from French military aviation giant Dassault Aviation to conclude the deal. Indian opposition levelled serious allegations of irregularities, non-transparency and corruption about this deal. One central allegation related to the Rafale fighter jet deal was that the government bypassed standard procurement procedures and awarded the contract to a French company at an inflated price.

In 2022, India’s corruption perception worsened, dropping to 85th place from 78th in 2012 on Transparency International’s index. There has been a 47% increase in corruption-related investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2022 compared to 2012. The BJP’s extended rule has concentrated power, allowing collusion with criminals, as has been highlighted by the Indian Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) as well. Notable cases like the investigation of the Jet Airways Bank Fraud, the arrest of Delhi’s Ex Deputy CM for accepting bribes related to liquor licenses, and the Adani Group’s alleged involvement in stock market manipulation highlight the severity of the issue.

The case of the Adani group is critical in the context of the nexus between politics and corruption in India. It is a well-known fact that Adani is a close aide of BJP and PM Modi. Adani Group misled genuine investors about the financial health of Adani Group’s flagship firm, “Adani Enterprises”, and 6 other companies owned by the Adani group through a complex web of foreign-based shell companies. Share prices in the the stock market for Adani Enterprises were inflated artificially through this web of shell companies, which not only allowed the company’s founders to get profits from insider trade but also misled global investors about the company’s actual financial performance. Interestingly, no formal charges or investigations have been initiated against the group yet, making the entire episode even more suspicious.

The alleged Modi-Adani Corruption Nexus has garnered attention, revealing the Adani Group’s suspected fraud and involvement in tax evasion. Reports suggest government protection of the Adani Group. This explains why investigations by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) began so late and moving at a snail’s pace. The current phase of investigation by SEBI was only initiated when the Indian Supreme Court ordered the regulator to investigate. No Indian government department has ever ordered these investigations. Interestingly, SEBI investigated the Adani group once in 2007 for stock market manipulation. A chilling outcome of those investigations was that the bans on certain Adani group entities were magically converted into fines. On the other hand, there have been reports about the US Department of Justice investigating the Adani group’s irregularities and fraud.

All these events point towards a non-transparent environment that is detrimental to FDI and the aspirations of the hardworking Indian diaspora. While BJP/RSS essentially controls local media, some external reports underscore the implications of such an environment. For example, Oxfam’s 2023 report indicates that 40% of India’s wealth was controlled by just 1% of the population from 2012 to 2021. According to the latest findings, India ranks 10th on the Crony Capitalism Index, with the wealth of close-knit businesses amounting to 8% of the nation’s GDP. All these facts show that India is inching towards becoming one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It presents a financial landscape where economic growth is hampered, trust in the system eroded, and international businesses are discouraged from investing in India.

The writer is a Research Associate at IPRI.