In South Asia, 75 years is not a young age to die. And Krishna Kant, India's Vice President had nothing left to live for. Perhaps he had harboured hopes of making it to the top ceremonial post of the largest democracy in the world. But the ruling coalition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) apparently had other plans, and it denied Krishna Kant the opportunity that had often been given to vice presidents in the past. Krishna Kant passed away the week the BJP's nominee, APJ Abdul Kalam, walked into Rashtrapati Bhawan. Embracing death while still in harness is a glory that comes to the chosen few, and he was perhaps lucky that he did not have to spend his last years in anonymity.
Dhirubhai Ambani was the other prominent South Asian who died last month. In a region where wealth is inherited rather than created, Ambani was a kind of pioneer. He exploited the desires of common investors like none before him and, in the process, single-handedly rewrote the rules of the game for managing shareholders' confidence. Ambani's life is often portrayed in the Indian media as a rags-to-riches story of a person destined to be great. Perhaps Lady Luck too played her part in the transformation of a safari-suited salesman into a suiting tycoon. But it would be gross disrespect to the man if we were to attribute all his successes to mere chance. Dhirubhai's ability in convincing common investors that the system could be used if one knew how was perhaps the main propellant that made this man star of India's burgeoning middle-class. Ambani Senior (he has two sons in the trade) was to India's petty traders and salaried class what Laloo Prasad Yadav is to the so-called 'backwards' in Bihar. Charismatic leaders sell dreams and prosper. Be it in politics or business, the basic rule of leadership is the same – you show your vision and sell the idea that it is achievable.
For reasons rooted in South Asian religions and culture, businesspersons in our region do not command the respect that their peers do in the West. Even East Asian societies are far ahead of us in recognising the role of profit-seekers in creating wealth that can be shared around. Sri Lanka gave the democratic world the first ever woman prime minister in human history. Bangladesh is perhaps the only country in the world where both the ruling and opposition parties are led by women. Kerala became the home of the first popularly elected communist government. Man Mohan Adhikary of Nepal was the first communist prime minister in any parliamentary democracy. Sure, this is a Subcontinent of many achievements. But why is it that this region of poverty has failed to present even one noted industrialist, trader or banker as a national personality? One answer may be that, as in most feudal societies dabbling in democracy, politics continues to be the playing field of the landed gentry, lawyers, and the military. The traditional elite maintains a firm grip on the destiny of our societies.
The unsustainability of it all