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Infosys, the IT services company, has long been venerated as a symbol of a rising India.
The pioneering tech outsourcer was the first Indian company to list on the Nasdaq and became emblematic of the entrepreneurial energies and tech prowess of an aspirational nation seeking global recognition. The original founders, now billionaires, are investing in India’s next generation of dynamic tech companies and mentoring young entrepreneurs aiming to follow their trailblazing path
Given the company’s stature, many took note this month when it was accused of being “anti-national” and deliberately undermining India by Panchajanya, the Hindi-language magazine of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party.
The four-page tirade was ostensibly triggered by Infosys’ upgrade of India’s income tax portal, a $573m overhaul that was supposed to make it easier for Indians to file their income tax returns. Instead it has been riddled with glitches, which Infosys has struggled to fix since its June launch.
Taxpayers, and the government, are rightly frustrated. Nirmala Sitharaman, finance minister, has twice summoned Infosys chief executive Salil Parekh to urge a rapid remediation. The tax department has had to extend this year’s deadline for filing tax returns from the usual July 31 to December 31.
But Panchajanya did not merely attack Infosys for doing a shoddy job. Instead, the magazine — seen as a mouthpiece for the Hindu nationalist movement — accused the tech firm of deliberate conspiracy to undermine the Modi government, and India itself.
“There are allegations that the Infosys management is trying to deliberately trying to destabilise the economy. Could it be that anti-India forces are trying to harm India’s economic interests through Infosys,” the article posited. “Given the history and circumstances of the company, there seems to be an element of truth in the allegations.”
As evidence of the company’s supposedly shady conduct, the magazine then made a not so oblique reference to several independent news and fact checking websites funded by the Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation, a Bangalore-based philanthropic fund set up in 2015 to support public interest journalism. Among donors are several prominent tech titans, including the family of Infosys founder Nandan Nilekani.
“Infosys has been accused of aiding Naxalites, leftists and the ‘tudke tudke’ gang, (that wants to divide the country)” the magazine said, echoing the insults hurled by the BJP’s most combative politicians against government critics.
“Should a company of such dubious character be allowed to participate in a government tendering process?” it asked.
The RSS subsequently distanced itself from the piece, with a spokesman calling it merely the opinion of the individual author. However, Panchajanya’s editor stood by the allegations and invited Infosys to refute them. The company and its founders have so far maintained a stoic silence.
Infosys is not the only Indian blue-chip feeling the heat from the notoriously prickly government.
The normally staid annual conference of the Confederation of Indian Industry was jolted last month when commerce minister Piyush Goyal launched a tirade against corporate India, repeatedly singling out the 153-year-old Tata Group.
Though the video was briefly available on the CII’s YouTube channel, it was later taken down under instructions from the government. Tata has made no public comments on the episode.
Over the past decade private investment in India has been muted, say economists, and the economy was slowing down sharply even before Covid-19 hit. New Delhi is now eager to accelerate growth and is trying hard to portray itself as an attractive place to do business.
Overt bullying and hurling insults of treachery has in recent years enabled the BJP to intimidate its opponents, stifle criticism and mute policy debate. But such tactics may not encourage industries to open their wallets and invest.
Hindu nationalists turn their sights on India’s corporate titans
Hindu nationalists turn their sights on India’s corporate titans