The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
Sometimes major events completely disconnected may be data points for the plans of the different powers around the world. The challenge is to discern what purpose they serve? More critically, what are we moving towards?
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
Jewels worth crores were found in the Reserve Bank of India vault by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) of the Tamil Nadu Police in December 1996. Even the RBI’s official vaults had become Jayalalitha’s storage space for the loot that she had accumulated. A woman who has been known as the first Tamil actress to wear a sleeveless blouse and sing under a waterfall – a rare hot performance for movies in that region in those times. That lady – Jayalalitha – who plundered her own people to live a life of decadent wealth is now dead. And thankfully so, keeping in mind the future of one of most important states in India.
Jayalalitha in 1969 Hindi movie, Izzat, where she starred with Dharmendra
After her 5 year tenure from 1991-996, a case was filed by Dr. Subramanian Swamy against Jayalalitha for corruption and disproportionate accumulation of assets now known as “Disproportionate Assets case against Jayalalitha“. In those 5 years, this woman had accumulated:
farm houses and bungalows in Chennai
agricultural land in Tamil Nadu
a farm house in Hyderabad
a tea estate in the Nilgiris
fleet of luxury cars (which included Bentleys, Audis, Range Rovers – check out the video below)
valuable jewelry, industrial sheds, cash deposits and investments in banks
When a team of investigators raided her Poes garden home they found the following:
800 kg (1,800 lb) silver
28 kg (62 lb) gold
750 pairs of shoes
10,500 sarees
91 watches
Here is a look at her collection of cars:
Building Amma Brand via Freebies paid by Taxpayer
Such was the ego-trip of this woman that she used the taxpayer money to create subsidized and free services to people all in order to build her brand. No matter was being built by whichever company, it was carrying the brand – Amma!
From Amma Unavagam (canteen) to Amma Salt to Amma water, laptops, mobiles, fans and grinders and many other things – almost everything was sold by this woman’s sycophants in her name to profit politically and economically.
If there is a playbook on how to build your brand for free amongst those whom you loot, then Jayalalitha had perfected that!
With this level of loot that went on in her name and by her to live a life that was decidedly very different from one that was shown in public, why should one mourn the loss of such a life anyways?
For those who wonder what she was doing before she looted the people of Tamil Nadu, here is a video from her movie Izzat with Dharmendra and some of her pictures from those days as an actress.
The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
This visit of India left me with many questions. Many observations and inputs from different people and sections. Food for thought that I have tried to contemplate on and make sense of. Sharing all that with you.
When you analyze the last 60 years of the economic miracles of Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia versus the continued impoverished Indian economy, you get very interesting lessons. Can Indians have the wherewithal in them to do in one generation so that the coming generations may rise?
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