If History has taught us anything, it is that All empire’s will fall.
History also shows us that in hindsight the demise was obvious, power gets centralized and abused by a few while the masses suffer, till they can suffer no more and the system comes crumbling down once it loses the support of it’s foundation (the Masses).
The world’s oldest democracy is facing it’s biggest challenge yet. How to stop Billionaire’s from controlling government policies that enrich them while depriving millions of others of basic necessities. To follow the path that led the US to this point and to learn if this scenario will play out the same way in other democracies around the world… Read on..
The Two Ambani brothers are among the 5 richest people in India, & in the top 10 around the world, a country of over 1 Billion.
Together the brothers are often monopolies in multiple sectors. From Petrochemicals (Reliance) to Energy distribution (ADAG), Pharmaceuticals (Reliance) to Hospitals (ADAG), SEZ’s (Special Economic Zones- Reliance) to Infrastructure (ADAG).
If one brother does petrochemicals the other does electricity, so literally the entire energy sector’s manufacture, delivery & pricing is controlled by them. This formulae plays out in multiple other related industries.
In any other country the judiciary would already have filed anti-trust & monopoly cases against the Ambani’s. But not in India, where the judiciary tends to do what the government says, and the government tends to be in bed with industrialists. But surely the WTO would have applied pressure in time.
So how did they get away with it? What did they do? They faked a break-up!
Anyone who’s seen Indian Movies knows that one of the most common story plots used is that of warring brothers. So why mess with a time tested formula. Using this as the storyline, the Ambani brothers managed to roll out the Perfect PR Decoy.
They started to war publicly in the media and presented the case, through they’re PR departments, that the differences between the brothers were irreconcilable. Hence each had to go his own way & the company needed to be broken into 2 entities which would be completely independent of each other. The brothers even had a tacit agreement on which industries each brother would rule. Mukesh got all the old established Industries and Anil got a boat load of money (which was quite generous for warring brothers) to start companies in new Industries that Mukesh & Reliance Industries were’t already in.
Doesn’t this sound absurd?
All of Anil’s experience was gained working in those very industries with his father, Ambani Senior. Why would he abandon all his learnings to work in a new industry.
Wouldn’t you think Anil Ambani would want to prove something by beating his brother Mukesh Ambani at his own game, on the same playing field, in the same Industries using his skills to prove that he is the better manager.
But perhaps they really wanted nothing to do with each other and move on for good. Let’s see how the story fares on further inspection.
In order to believe the Ambani’s story one has to believe that the brothers & more importantly their businesses are now 2 different entities and that there is no collusion between them or their companies.
The brothers still live together in the same house. Which Billionaire does that? They were so offended with each other that it was morally acceptable for them to split their beloved father’s businesses but obviously not offended enough to move into separate houses!
Reliance Industries (Mukesh Ambani) & ADAG (Anil Ambani) have been broken up for under 10 years but already they are in business together on Infrastructure, Mining & a few other heavy investment sectors. Who knows how many businesses they will be in by 2020, I fear as many as they can get away with.
There is renewed interest in the debate on multiculturalism & whether it’s truly possible for society to be secular. Many have stated that it is a failure & the recent attacks in France have only charged the debate further.
I though am a firm believer in multiculturalism and its benefits. Opponents to multiculturalism, in my opinion, are merely slow-adapters to change (you have some of those everywhere, many were adverse to the internet!)
The dangerous & disturbing trend is how those who oppose it are resorting to violence. Whether it be far right groups in Europe or marginalized minorities in western & developing countries.
To see how the benefits outweigh the teething problems read on…
The Great wall of china, one of mankinds greatest collective accomplishments is actually longer than initially thought.
Researchers working on the man-made structure which can be seen from space found remnants of a high wall deep in the gobi desert using google earth technology.
The financial desperation of many women (students & single moms) in this recession, is being capitalized on by single “Sugar Daddy” men who are offering financial assistance in return for sexual favors.
Salon After Dark investigates this social phenomenon.
News today is a bit like a cough drop: The medicine (serious news content) has to be concealed within a sugary package (entertainment) in order for it to be consumed.
I’m not the greatest fan of Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert’s new (for 2 yrs now since they got mass) theatrical style, but if a little silly entertainment helps the uninformed get informed then I can deal with it.
Only the upcoming US presidential elections and how well the misinformation is dispelled will show if it was worth it.
There is the obvious kind of caste bias in Indian Politics, and perhaps in most countries in the world, where voters flock towards representatives who are form their own caste (religion).
There is an understanding that there will be tacit support for any representative from within his/her community as the common factor of religion will be glorified and abused during the polls i.e. Caste based voting
This emphasis on voting for a representative based on his/her religion is a corrosive practice which destablizes democracies and does not allow the best person to succeed.
But there is a different and perhaps equally corrosive habit in Indian Politics and it too is based in caste.
The caste system does not only specify one’s religion & social standing; for many years it also specified one’s profession. Families led the same profession for years, Printers son’s were printer’s, teacher’s sons were teacher’s, doctors children were doctor’s and so on.
In a similar vein, there is a tacit understanding and acceptance of politician’s kid’s becoming politicians.
This is a relic of the caste system which no-one wants to address least of all the those who benefit from it.
Does a politician’s son/daughter make a good politician, Does an actor’s son/daughter make a good actor.
What is it with the Indian Psyche that presupposes that the children possess the talents of their parents (were the parents even good at their jobs), and doesn’t this blind our judgement.
Maybe 10% of hollywood actors have actor parents, In India it’s closer to 90%.
Again close to 7-9% of the US congress have connections to an ex-congressmen. In india the figure is closer to 40%.
The numbers are again high in the IPS, IAS, Indian Chartered Accountants, Indian Doctors Association and many other public & private bodies and often the reason for choosing the line of work is that you are guaranteed to be selected because of your parents.
The list is long and runs across all professions and social strata,we all know father-son/daughter teams at work.
In my opinion this is not a criteria that we should be bothered about (parents profession) and least of all make our decisions based on it. The best candidate based on his/her credentials will never get the job and eventually we will be left with a weak and in-bred system.
