Red carpet for Reds

Ever wonder why communist parties and Marxist ideology which have long since been consigned to dustbins worldover — Russia and China included — are thriving in India and morphing into the more virulent strain of Naxalism? Because Indias capitalists are making it easier for them by giving the alternative ideology of capitalism a bad name and reputation.Take for instance Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries (aggregate revenue: Rs.223,216 crore in fiscal 2009-2010), and the worlds richest Indian with a net worth calculated by Forbes magazine at $27 billion (Rs.121,500 crore). Instead of learning from the philanthropic impulses of American billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet among others who have pledged half of their wealth ($53 billion and $47 billion respectively), to charitable causes, this benighted worthy is drawing up a guest-list for his housewarming party on October 28 after he moves into Antilla, reportedly the worlds most expensive single-family residence, sited on Mumbais tony Altamount Road. Among the features of this super deluxe 27-storey residence serviced by nine elevators: three helipads, a swimming pool, health club, a fully-equipped grooming salon, ballroom, multiplex-style theatre and 160 car parking slots spread over the first six floors. This oasis of uber luxury in a country in which according to a committee chaired by the late Arjun Sengupta (who passed away in September), 800 million Indians get by on Rs.20 per day and 46 percent of children below age five suffer chronic malnutrition. Unfortunately, Ambani-style conspicuous realty consum-ption is proving contagious in a nation where an estimated 80 million families reside in wretched one-room tenements. Right across the country, demand for luxury homes featuring home theatre lounge, private elevators, Poggenphol kitchens, home office, plunge pools, sundecks and five-star amenities that flaunt affluence priced at Rs.4,300-25,000 per sq.ft is booming, according to a report in the Times of India (October 13). In shining India, the major threat to renascent Indian capitalism isnt as much from communists and Naxals as it is from India Incs nouveaux riche capitalists rolling out the red carpet for the Red revolution. Shameful admission The political turmoil in the southern state of Karnataka (pop. 57 million), where the BJP government which scraped into power two and a half years ago has barely survived two confidence votes in the state legislative assembly through the dubious stratagem of brazenly bribing MLAs (Rs.25-50 crore each) to cross over, and disqualifying dissident party MLAs under the provisions of the Anti Defection Act, 1985, is accelerating the cancer of corruption through the entire administration of this southern state. Almost imperceptibly, this once model state of clean and orderly governance has transformed, according to the best-selling weekly Outlook (October 25), into Indias most corrupt state. Consequently, its extremely rare for any government paper or document to be issued without payment of bribes and/or speed money. I regret to inform EW readers that your correspondent who prided himself on never having paid a bribe while working as a journalist in Bombay (aka Mumbai) for almost three decades before…