On January 22, we all saw a magnum opus political and quasi-religious event play out – the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the central character in the highly orchestrated spectacle. The RSS, the BJP, and the ‘praja’ receded into the background, as Modi was the sole focus. The messaging was clear – if this was the start of ‘Ram Rajya’ in this age, then Modi was being likened to ‘Ram’, India’s new ‘absolute ruler’.
On ‘godi’ media news channels, on social media and in major newspapers – at prime time, in tweets, threads and editorials by right-wing ideologues and Union ministers – the inauguration got spun from being just another biggish ribbon-cutting event to being touted as ‘the moment’ when India experienced a ‘civilisational reawakening’ and when it exited its ‘colonial mindset’ culturally.
A dangerous concentration of political and quasi-religious power
It was a show of unprecedented concentration of political power in the hands of one person in democratic India. And along with that came the choreographed assertion that Modi was now also the ‘high priest’ of Hindu religion and culture. That the Ram Mandir inauguration went ahead despite objections of the Shankracharyas, shows that Modi was confident of taking them on, and replacing them in public perception as the new ‘defender of the faith’.
And so, it appears that politics and religion, two major sources of power in any nation, more so in India, are now alarmingly concentrated in one person. Possibly more than ever before in modern India. Others, with whom such power has normally shared in a robust democracy – fellow party leaders, ideological fountainheads, opposition politicians, tall state leaders, other pillars of democracy – the judiciary, media, enforcement agencies, election commission, and even religious heads across the country – are all possibly at their weakest in recent decades.
Now, hold this thought.
Fast forward a few weeks to another three-day mega jamboree, the pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant from March 1 to 3. Anant’s daddy, India’s and Asia’s richest man, ninth richest in the world, Mukesh Ambani, splurged millions, as the world gawked. A reported USD 7 million fee for Rihanna to perform at the event, the arrival of 130 flights into Jamnagar for the event, which even got ‘international airport’ status for a few days. On social media, every tiny video clip related to the event went viral, exposing our insatiable appetite for a glimpse into the lives of the super-rich and famous.
Mukesh Bhai – An economic superpower and flaunting it
But this event was not just about the Ambanis rubbing their wealth in our faces. If it was just that, it would not be remarkable, because for India’s rich and flashy, it is normal.
More significantly, this was a demonstration of the power and clout that comes with this wealth. Mukesh Ambani punched above his weight in the list of the richest, and made sure that #4, Mark Zuckerberg, and #7, Bill Gates made it to the event. (Aside – the net worth of Mark, Bill and Mukesh, equals the GDP of Hungary!) Gates and Zuckerberg don’t need to be paid to be there, right? So what brought them there?
Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani. Photo: Screengrab via YouTube video
It is the economic ‘power’ that Mukesh Ambani now wields – the size of Reliance Industries, the prospect of doing business with the Ambani behemoth, awareness of the clout that Mukesh bhai wields in the corridors of power in Delhi and Mumbai and other significant political and business capitals of India. It reveals that Microsoft and Facebook recognise that doing business with India also means doing business with Reliance. After decades of enjoying MFB (‘Most Favoured Business’) status, Reliance is now a ‘country-size’ economic entity operating within India.
And so, Mukesh Ambani today enjoys unprecedented economic power in India. While a few other business houses aspire to match him, Ambani is clearly the trailblazer, certainly the one most aware of his accumulated power, also prepared to flaunt it, possibly along with the readiness to wield it.
The omnipresent Ambani ‘soft power’
Add to this, the Ambanis’ focus in recent years on building their ‘soft power’, in terms of muscle, clout, and visibility. Nita Ambani has been the face of their stakes in cricket and football. The promotional campaigns of the Mumbai Indians IPL franchise, and ISL, feature her prominently. Her presence at IPL auctions is a constant, as well as her presence at most IPL matches. Jio Cinema now also has the rights to cover all cricket played in India, which translates into many more crores of eyeballs for Reliance to romance.
Do remember that Reliance got directly into media ownership with the buyout of Network18 in 2014. And just a day ahead of the Jamnagar jamboree, Reliance announced its merger with Disney’s India assets to create a USD 8 billion media entity, the largest in India. And the chairperson of this new entity is, of course, Nita Ambani.
From the country’s top cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, who has been an uncomplaining Mumbai Indians mascot for 16 years, to every major film star that you can name, who make it to every Ambani bash, ready to break into dance if required, there is probably no popular cultural Indian icon who would, or could, turn down an Ambani invite. Jamnagar saw that raw Ambani clout hammered home yet again. A video clip shows Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan dancing on stage together at the pre-wedding. Certainly rare, if not never before. And that was the point being made – watch this, and understand that we, the Ambanis, can make this happen.
So what is this? It is a never before concentration of economic power, and soft cultural power, in the hands of one person, Mukesh Ambani. In a country where ‘cronyism’ is rife, where corruption at every level is a well-documented reality, such economic power is monopolised, to a substantial extent, at the cost of the aspirations of several other entrepreneurs. Which makes it unhealthy, and simply wrong and undemocratic.
If you add massive soft power to it, from entertainment to sports to news media, it becomes easier to control perceptions, and to keep the Ambani reputation squeaky clean at all times.
Now again, hold this thought as well.
An ‘entitled’ political opposition is no opposition
Let’s finally also look at the reality of ‘entitlement’ in India. It is true that many of India’s elite and upper-crust believe they are ‘entitled’ to all that they have. But ‘entitlement’ is playing out most damagingly among those who should be challenging the political power of Modi, who should be espousing an idea of India that can counter this clearly ‘un-democratic’ concentration of political, economic, religious and cultural power into the hands of a very few individuals.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
But who are these politicians? Look at all of India’s dynasty driven opposition political parties – Congress, DMK, NCP, SP, RJD, BRS, Shiv Sena – to name the prominent ones. Or even parties run by leaders who cannot be challenged, such as TMC, BJD, or even the moribund BSP. The leaders and ‘political families’ running these parties are showing no readiness to walk away from their ‘entitlements’. They are showing no readiness to transform their parties into transparent, merit-based organisations. And so, it is clear that they are in no moral position to critique Modi’s self-centered brand of politics or Ambani’s unabashed demonstrations of money power.
So, where does that leave us?
Just before 2024 elections, people’s power is Struggling
Despite being a democracy, we now have a situation where a vast, disproportionate amount of political power is concentrated in one man. Many among us have even accepted him as the sole ‘keeper’ and ‘defender’ of the Hindu faith, making him all-powerful. And at what cost has this happened? At the cost of people’s power.
Despite being a democracy, in which equal opportunity is a core value, we have watched incredible economic power pour into the hands of one individual, with a few more of the ‘super-rich’ aspiring to join this very exclusive power club. At what cost? Again, at the cost of people’s power.
Despite being a democracy, our ‘entitled’ political class, from across the political spectrum, is inherently incapable of resisting this onslaught of authoritarianism or espousing the cause of a more economically equitable India. And so, they cannot stop, let alone reverse this process of India’s rapidly depleting people’s power.
As we move towards the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, we must at least understand what’s in play, what’s at stake, and what may well be in store.
