Why ‘Nano’ failed

Bad Economics, Bad Politics
Debasish Paul

The Popular concept 'Small is Beautiful' did not really work for 'Nano' car project. Instead it exploded like a cluster bomb. There is no doubt that the Left Front rule of state government for thirty four years in West Bengal–1977 to 2011, a record breaking tenure of continuous rule by a single united front ended in smoke burnt by the fire of its own making. It is a surprise move by a party which swears of Proletariat was hell bent upon a private car project pitted against peasantry who patronised left front constituent parties since inception. Failure of small car project 'Nano' is accused to Tata equally blamed with the Left front government which literally lost ground as a consequence in all elections that followed. From Panchayet to Municipal corporation, from Parliament to Assembly, like Dinosaur that ruled the earth for centuries, the left front vanished in the blue. Bad Economics turned into bad politics.

At the same time, on other side, it was unfortunate that the think tank of TATA, the great elite Tata Administrative Service(TAS) had not exercised due diligence in NANO project, costing enormous loss to money and goodwill of Tata House. Tata has long been known as model industrial house as one living legend not only as big industrialist but also as model employer i.e. pro-people capitalist house. As against slums which dotted around the industries in great Britain which takes the credit of first Industrial Revolution, Tata provided hygienic living conditions for its employees. Tata introduced Provident Fund in India as well as Housing complex for employees. In the locality it operates, it has generated a huge positive externality in the most backward region of India.

But eternal truth remains in its place. Ambitions galore. Like China and USSR, a nouveu rich class emerged in West Bengal who utilized political clout to make windfall gain in all avenues of making quick money like Real Estate business, BPL norms manipulations, Ration Shop goods diverted to market, Mafiaraj in Coal Belt, misappropriation of funds allocated for rural development channeled through Panchayets which are local self-governments with huge funds at their disposal. These turned honeycomb in order to make misappropriation of public fund. Criminali-saion of politics reached to its ultimate height. So devolution of power to people preached by father of the nation Gandhiji resulted in wider opportunity of fraudulent activity in full circle. Politics has become an avenue to get reach quick from top to bottom. In annual interstate report, comparative Human Development Index of West Bengal, position of the state reached at rock bottom.

Back to Tata house, a comprehensive SWOT analysis and other appropriate tools of new project analysis was most demanding for such a high profile project.

Product positioning for any goods or services is most critical analysis especially for the launching of a novel product as such this. It was a historical blunder for the house of Tata quite long pursuing transport vehicle manufacturing business. Maybe carefully undisclosed agreement of Tata with the then ruling government contains answers to many vital issues as regards this fateful project both for the motor industry and the long ruling left Front government.

So one must look at the total perspective factors while private four wheeler as a consumer durable is an aspirational good. It is directly related to the historical emergence of middle class constituted of not only the privileged salaried middle class belonging to government service and corporate sector but also neo-opportunist left Front backed/blessed enterprising business community of the state. Here are entry level buyers as Nano car promised to offer a four wheeler at Rs one lakh only.

Why in patronizing buyers and sellers, the ruling government lost its centre of gravity and collapsed getting alienated from both rural and urban people en masse. Why fertile lands yielding three crops yearly were forcibly taken over when West Bengal which was most industrialized state at the time of independence of India but now a graveyard of closed industries resulting in available lots of industrial lands lying idle in the heartland of industries in and around capital city of the state.

While these huge amount of idle lands ideally located for reindustriali-zation afresh abound with accelerated deindustrialization since left over by predecessors the reason for which was in his book 'Agony of West Bengal' comprehensively by reputed journalist Ranjit Roy published in early seventies.

He pointed finger of discriminatory attitude of central government in post- independence period which accounted for conspiratorial deindustrialization of Eastern India with supporting facts and figures upto early seventies. But he would have been stunned by development of underdevelopment made by the government ruling West Bengal for more than three decades at a stretch who endorsed the views of Ranjit Roy before coming to power in 1977.

The concerned state government formed as Left Front led by a regimented party abusing power in many cases stood by mischievous industrialists who deprived their employees from earning bread, misappropriated employees' subscription to Provident Fund in connivance with concerned authority not deposited to Provident Fund accounts. These viable industries despite many odds as stated above, are most conveniently located nearby Kolkata in core industrial belt enjoying all kinds of infrastructural amenities in terms of wide metalloid roads, means of transport and communication with proximity to river port, airport and railway terminal. But their greed to make windfall gain in Real Estate business by pulling down the shutters of industries made sick by their 'deliberate mismanagement' as revealed in a survey conducted by IIM Calcutta in a research project sponsored by Reserve Bank of India. The owners of industries are becoming birds of prey to unscrupulous use of industrial land at their disposal in order to enter the lucrative business of promoting over-priced high rise luxury apartments at three hundred percent or even more profit. ICWAI found this grim fact as instituted by 'The Statesman' newspaper for revelation of odd behaviour of industrialists to expose inflicted sickness of Bengal industries.

It is commoditization of shelter otherwise a basic need of man alike all animals. Paradigm change in use of land occurred. Promoters just acquired land by 'Power of Attorney' agreement with land owners bartering free readymade flats and fleeced customers, the would be dwellers, by advance payment at stage by stage of construction and thus gained super profit by no need of any investment of entrepreneurial fund.

Profitability in Real Estate business has become much higher than that in industrial and agricultural enterprise because both these sectors claim entrepreneurial investment with lower rate of return with uncertainty in order to add insult to injury in traditional fair deals. So industrialists joined the bandwagon through deindustrialization entering the new genre of Promoters far exceeding their gains in connivance with politicians. The then ruling left party members in power used their political clouts not to stand by Proletariat e.g. the workers being deprived of their livelihood employment for wages for closure of industries. Instead they joined hands with industrialists turned promoters to ease out approval of local municipal authorities in order to get apartment plans sanctioned overnight obviously on conspicuous gain sharing basis, terms of which are best known to them.

Social science marks those enterprises as Lumpen Capitalists when merchants become industrialists as against True Capitalists who have grown from small artisan units into large industrialists for better value judgment of no motive such as 'Buy cheap sell dear' typical of the Merchant class. But the present generation of industrialists getting degenerated as Promoters of Real Estate deserve a new term to mark them.

Why Tata Motors could not be given industrial land in core industrial belt which is now crematorium of industries haunted by greed misusing industrial land for Real Estate business pulling down shutters of industries on plea of contrived sickness? As a glaring instance, the legendary Bata Shoe Company is diverting funds for massive construction of Eden City Maheshtala in plots owned by them as industrial land. Are people witnessing reverse movement of industrialization in the country?

For Concerned People there lies a golden opportunity of emerging as industrially developed nation side by side of China, as and when the western advanced countries, the once upon a time super powers are in the grip of second great depression long after the thirties. That tragic period was pictured by Charles Chaplin in his famous films like 'Modern Times' depicting depression suffering America and Europe.

The Left Front government which once handed over land to actual tillers snatching land from Absentee Landlords by 'Operation Barga' subsequently infested by most greedy elements of society with no interest either in Communism or Socialism but only in Opportunism. Once freedom fighter later Leftist Ideologue Sri Binoy Chowdhury earned wrath of Left parties in power for openly spelling out their party and government as organization of contractors. In this booming phase of Consumerism Late Sri Binoy Chowdhury is no longer an icon of new generation of left party enrolled members. Serving the people now sounds ridiculous. Till in power ruling party leaders from ministers down to local committee members amassed huge wealth in thirty four years.

So when they invited Tata Motors to build a manufacturing plant for small car 'Nano', they cannot disturb urban Promoters becoming 'Frankenstein' grabbing all lands in industrial belt sharing the booty with 'Comrades' in what-so-ever terms. Alternative to provide land to new industries as one of Tata, seemed easier was evicting peasants from fertile land, once who were given land in 'Operation Barga' by the same government. It is one of the principal contradictions for a leftist party, once whose strong base was peasantry was antagonised by ruling Left Front in suicidal 'Kalidas Syndrome' when someone cuts the trunk of a tree on which it is staying on.

Is it metamorphosis of a Communist party who once promised by revolution, but getting the taste of honey in Parliamentary Democracy, instead of using it as tactical step to further the cause of revolution, degenerated to be slaves of Capitalism typical of Euro Communism?

Tata Motors would never have to enter village to develop a small car project, had not there was a chameleon Left Front government. Ms Mamata Banerjee appeared to suffering peasantry as prototype of once upon a time Communists who advocated the cause of peasantry. When state power was used by Parliamentary Left in power to annihilate the aggrieved peasantry, when goons were hired to evict peasants by kill, rape and burning them, Ms Banerjee grabbed this as the golden opportunity to penetrate her own private limited party to completely vanish the degenerated Left Front from citadel of power.

Politics is a manifestation of Economics which is well recognized. So as day by day the erstwhile in power Leftist leaders and cadres pursued nothing but personal gains. It was at the cost of a long known by name proletariat party, amassed wealth disproportionate to recognized sources of income. For obvious reasons, they mass annihilated peasantry in order to accommodate Tata Motors in fertile agricultural lands yielding three crops in each year, not disturbing party sponsored promoters grabbing huge lands locked in hundred thousands of intrigued sick industries in urban industrial belts. It was a historical blunder like killing the goose to capture all gold eggs at a time. So for veteran industrialists like Tata who wanted to make manufacturing unit of small fuel efficient car, there was 'Water water everywhere, not any drop to drink' (lines of poem by S T Coleridge).

At the conclusion, one can borrow lyric of the latest chartbuster Bengali song ironically penned, tuned and sung by an Engineer (who runs industry)of distinction Sri Anupam Roy, a versatile genius in technology and music.

It is an urban folk song. In between the lines Sri Roy packed up recent vices converted as virtues in the opportunist segment of society who are well off partly because of political patronage cashed on tactically and strategically, not always in the right order of accumulation of personal gains. It depicts the neo-ethics of today's middle class.

The lyric (thematically translated by this author) is penned addressing the Bengali middle class today : 'Leave me now to enjoy my life, I have amassed good enough wealth, Let there be something yet non-achieved, Otherwise it may spoil life' from Bengali lyric: 'Amakey amar mato thaktey dao, Ami amar mato guchhiey niechhy, Ar kichhu naa paoai thaak, Sob pele nasto jibon'.

Had the Left in power known like this lyricist as where to stop greed of amassing wealth cashing on political power, they would not be swept by feet in all latest elections held from the Local Self Government (Panchayet), Municipality, Corporation, Assembly and Parliament everywhere.

Frontier
Vol. 45, No. 6, Aug 19-25, 2012