Let us be clear about one thing, this wasn’t just a wedding, it was a powerful political statement. It appears to me that Mukesh Ambani was making two statements here through the glitz, hype and greenbacks. One, that no one should be in any doubt about his political clout and preeminence. Incidentally, this also vindicates what Rahul Gandhi has been saying all along about who the real powers behind the throne are. And Mr. Ambani’s confidence is certainly justified. Barring the South and the Left, every politician of any note, including those from the INDIA block and even the Congress itself, were in obsequious attendance, as were the Shankarcharyas who had boycotted the Ram temple inauguration, an indication that the Ambani empire holds sway over both the temporal and the spiritual. The prime minister was there too, making contrite amends for accusing his host of sending tempo loads of black money to the Congress during Lok Sabha elections.
https://thewire.in/society/the-fine-print-of-the-ambani-wedding
The second statement by Asia’s richest man is that he doesn’t give a tinker’s curse for public opinion or his fellow Indians, the other 99%, who have funded his riches, consumed his products and have made him what he is. He had demonstrated as much earlier, when he built his 27-storey mansion. at a cost of Rs 3000 crores, overlooking the slums of these very Indians. And why should he bother, anyway? He controls most of the media, with anchors and editors obligingly read from the script prepared by him.
Many years ago, when I was a probationer on district training in Mandi, I used to go to the district club almost every evening for a drink or a game of bridge. My deputy commissioner, the late C.D. Parsheera, was the president of the club but never visited it. One day I asked him the reason for this. I still remember his words, which have guided me throughout my career: “Avay, our job demands that we say no more often than we say yes. And remember this: it’s very difficult to say ‘no’ to a person with whom you have had a drink the previous evening.”
Do you now see the fine print of this wedding?
by Avay Shukla
21/07/2024
