In 58 posts with close to 100k words, we shared a lot in 2024! Explore 2024’s biggest geopolitical shifts, cultural battles, and bold insights with Drishtikone’s year in review. See you in 2025! Happy New Year! Be safe!
When you see Russia get into existential war over Ukraine, or Israel bomb Syria or India battle with Pakistan or Bangladesh, it is not because of some whim. It has a historical and geographical context. That is critical to understand for analyzing geopolitics.
Dive into the shadowy world of the Deep State—its hidden structures, powerful networks, and the far-reaching impact on global events and control.
The East India Company received the Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31st December 1600. That was the time when Akbar was the Mughal king (1556–1605). The first battle that the British fought was the Battle of Plassey on 23rd June 1757.
That is roughly 150 years of trade. And patience. Deterioration on part of India.
The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah, lost to the Britsh due to betrayal of Mir Jaffar in the Battle of Plassey. Mir Jaffar was replaced by his son-in-law Mir Qasim by the British, who was replaced back again by Mir Jaffar.
And, that is how the British started expanding in India. No one in the rest of the country bothered or even thought that these guys could be a threat to them.
To think that the British came with a 150 years of corporate strategy to rule India would be foolish. Hardly any company even survives that long.
Just think of it - the East India Company did not rule India because it was part of their strategy. They ruled over India because the Indians allowed them to!
In any competitive situation on this planet, no one will give you something of his on a Silver Platter. As a rational person, nor would you. In most geo-political and corporate battles, the challenge always is that the other wants your Silver Platter without parting with his. You know this. Should know this. So, the challenge in such situations always is - how to keep your Silver Platter while getting his.
The problem with India was that Indians gave India to the British on a Silver Platter without anything in return!
We were so utterly parochially blind and strategically dumb that even Mauritius with a bit of guile could have ruled over us. At least with the British we were saved from that ignominy.
One hopes and wishes we are still not at the level of imbecility that our ancestors from 1600 to 1800 were.
“Flowers spring to blossom where she walks. The careful ways of duty; Our hard, stiff lines of life with her, are flowing curves of beauty.”― John Greenleaf Whittier
Have you seen a person who works hard his whole life while preparing himself to take revenge against those he thinks have wronged him? He works day in and day out meticulously. Sacrifices everything. Even his own family in one way or another. Goes hungry and without clothing or home for years on end. Only because there is a larger objective.
And, then one day when he has everything in place, he comes up with a set of tactics that will be his end game to take revenge.
Except that life is not one year. It goes beyond. Revenge is not a tactic. Or an event. It is a lifelong quest. It is a series of actions.
And, curiously China forgot all that despite having a civilizational mindset. This is a brilliant article which discusses how China threw it all away when it had set the stage for its glory.
The world has experienced a six-month geopolitical vacuum, and China has filled it poorly.
And, that is a case study for India and others who aspire for greatness. China may be a spent power. And while it trips itself it will take down the West with it as well.
Mother Dairy, the Rs 11,000 crore dairy company is transforming. It is now entering the Rs 5,300-crore bread industry. The bread industry has a few entrenched players (Britannia, Amul, Wibs, Modern, Harvest Gold, Bonn Atta) but has been growing.
“We want to change Mother Dairy from a pure dairy company to a diversified food and nutrition company,” Managing Director Sangram Chaudhary (Source)
Mother Dairy has already been selling butter, cheese and jam, along with milk of course. With a target for bread category as Rs 100 crore in the next three years, Mother Dairy is looking at an overall Rs 25,000 crore in revenue by 2025.
Here are some important facts about the Indian Bread industry (Source):
Source: Statista
There has been a BIG fall in the US economy. The Jan-Mar quarter saw a 5% fall, ending a 11 year expansion record. And this quarter the slump is humongous 33%! It is the worst quarterly plunge where several iconic businesses and several small and medium businesses have closed down. Millions are out of work with unemployment surging to 14.7%! (Source)
The previous worst quarterly contraction which was a 10% drop happened during the Eisenhower administration in 1958.
Tourism is down to a standstill due to COVID-19. So different countries and tourist places are coming up with different strategies to remain in touch with people - hoping when things pick up they will head back. Iceland has come up with something really interesting - Let it out. Scream! Scream your frustration out. And, they will let it out at a picturesque spot of your choice in Iceland! This is the website.
So if you feel like it - head over and let it out!
Routine Test but Stable: Congress president Sonia Gandhi was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Thursday for “routine tests and investigations” and her condition is currently stable, the hospital said. Strange that its a “routine check” and she is “stable”! Go figure. (Source)
Shiva Statue back in India: A stone statue that was stolen more than 20 years ago, in 1998 but was returned to Indian high commission in London in 2005 after it emerged that it was smuggled out of India. The statue is four feet tall and depicts Lord Shiva in Chatura Nataraja pose. It is from Ghateshwar temple, Baroli in Rajasthan. Strangely, it took 7 years for it to get back to the Indian high commission but 15 years for it to reach India from the high commission in London! (Source)
German Economy falls: Germany’s economy slumped the most since 1970, with GDP declining 10% in the second quarter (Source)
Islamic bigotry welcome on Twitter: Iran’s supreme leader, in a tweet Wednesday that was not flagged, restricted, or blocked by Twitter, called the United States “Satan” and labeled Israel America’s “chained dog,” drawing fresh attention to questions about the platform’s content policies. (Source)
Post-COVID buildings: In the post-COVID times, the real estate developers constructing luxury buildings are rethinking living spaces, staircases and even ventilation systems. These will ensure that there is minimal contact and yet have all the amenities. (Source)
Feminine divine was prevalent everywhere in the world. Even in Arabia - Quraysh tribes called Al-Lat as the daughter of Allah and worshipped her along with the other two chief goddesses al-‘Uzza and Manat. As per Book of Idols, the Quraysh people in those times would recite the verse as they would circumambulate the Kaaba.
By al-Lat and al-'Uzza,
And Manat, the third idol besides.
Verily they are the gharaniq (means exalted feminine)
Whose intercession is to be sought.
Except for India, no other place on the planet has the feminine Divine anymore. Here is a great discussion on the feminine divine.
Why Were Feminine Temples Destroyed in the World?
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