DNA Edit: Wise words – It is important to heed what Godrej has said

It needs industrial icons and society leaders to sound a warning bell. When they raise an issue, it gets noticed and makes an impact, because they are coming from a non-partisan person. One such individual is noted industrialist Adi Burjorji Godrej. He is a man who always speaks his mind, never mind the consequences. On Saturday, he warned that rising intolerance, hate crimes and moral policing can “seriously damage” the nation’s economic growth prospects. The chairman of the Godrej Group, Adi Godrej, has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion. When politicians make such statements, it can often be taken at face value, made by a frustrated rival to defame the ruling party. But when the head of an established business house like Godrej raises a point, its ramifications are different.  

The industrial honcho from Mumbai made sense when he pointed out to some home truths, which can be ignored at ones’ own peril. Highlighting the mass poverty that still prevails in the country, Godrej said that India can ill afford to relax with the unemployment rate hovering at a four-decade high of 6.1%. While it is easy to rubbish such statements as being motivated, the country would gain from observations as they are coming from a man who has generated wealth and employment for the nation in the last several decades. They are not the rantings of a politician who has been vanquished at the hustings and who now wants to score brownie points against a rival who has proved too good for him. To be fair, however, Godrej, has congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for presenting a “grand vision” to build a new India and double the economy to $5 trillion over the course of his second term in office. The inherent balance in Godrej stands out.