In my post in January 2021, following the farmer protests at the Red fort, I had penned this piece where I postulated that anyone and everyone who has ever tried to "win" over the Lal Quilla has suffered subsequent defeat and obliteration. I illustrated my point based on the fate of: Shahjahan - the builder of the fort Nader Shah - the Persian emperor who's dynasty was wiped out after his win over the Lal quilla The Maratha's who lost at hands of the Durranis after the fort fell into their protection The British who lost power in India after they chose the fort as the venue of INA trials My conclusion is that anyone who touches the fort has suffered a bad fate subsequently - and I believe the curse continued with the Farm protests . After the hoisting of Nishan Sahib at the Red fort in mark of solidarity, the entire Farmer agitation movement just fell apart over the period of a few months. The tractor rally to the fort was the last of the large gatherings which c...
In 2016, amid global calls to revive domestic manufacturing, I had argued that government pushes - from Make in India to Make America Great Again - would not spark an employment-led industrial revolution, but rather catalyze automation-led manufacturing transformations. Nine years later, India’s own manufacturing trajectory confirms this prediction with surgical clarity. Despite record-breaking capital inflows, thriving exports, and the China+1 strategy playing to India’s advantage, job creation in manufacturing has been lackluster. The gap between factory output and factory employment is no longer just a trend - it is now a defining feature of India’s industrial rise. The False Promise of Mass Job Creation At the core of India’s manufacturing push lies the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, launched with grand ambitions of creating 6 million direct jobs and adding US$500 billion in output by FY27. Yet, by June 2024, only 584,000 direct jobs had materialized—jus...