India’s have-nots are expressing their displeasure

While Mumbai’s super-rich show off their wealth, a chastened Narendra Modi moves to shore up support among the poor.

Hamish McDonaldCommentator

Jul 25, 2024 – 5.00am

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It was also a monsoon wedding, but unlike the financially stretched paterfamilias in Mira Nair’s movie, Mukesh Ambani didn’t need to borrow from pals for the marriage celebrations of his youngest son that has just culminated in a flooded Mumbai.

With a personal fortune of $US115 billion ($173 billion), putting him among the world’s 10th-richest people, and his Reliance Industries group dominating major sectors of India’s economy, the estimated cost of up to 50 billion rupees ($890 million) has been small change for Ambani.