DNA Versus Democracy

Twenty-five thousand years ago, haplogroup R2 characterized by genetic
marker M124 arose in southern Central Asia. Then began a major wave of
human migration whereby members migrated southward to present-day India
and Pakistan (Genographic Project by the National Geographic Society;
http://www..nationalgeographic.com/). Indians and Pakistanis have the
same ancestry and share the same DNA sequence. Here’s what is happening
in India:

The two Ambani brothers can buy 100 percent of every company listed on
the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and would still be left with $30
billion to spare. The four richest Indians can buy up all goods and
services produced over a year by 169 million Pakistanis and still be
left with $60 billion to spare. The four richest Indians are now richer
than the forty richest Chinese.

In November, Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensex flirted with
20,000 points.. As a consequence, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries
became a $100 billion company (the entire KSE is capitalized at $65
billion). Mukesh owns 48 percent of Reliance.

In November, comes Neeta’s birthday. Neeta turned forty-four three
weeks ago. Look what she got from her husband as her birthday present: A
sixty-million dollar jet with a custom fitted master bedroom, bathroom
with mood lighting, a sky bar, entertainment cabins, satellite
television, wireless communication and a separate cabin with game
consoles. Neeta is Mukesh Ambani’s wife, and Mukesh is not India’s
richest but the second richest.

Mukesh is now building his new home, Residence Antillia (after a
mythical, phantom island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean). At a cost of
$1 billion this would be the most expensive home on the face of the
planet. At 173 meters tall Mukesh’s new family residence, for a family
of six, will be the equivalent of a 60-storeyed building. The first six
floors are reserved for parking. The seventh floor is for car servicing
and maintenance. The eighth floor houses a mini-theatre. Then there’s a
health club, a gym and a swimming pool. Two floors are reserved for
Ambani family’s guests. Four floors above the guest floors are family
floors all with a superb view of the Arabian Sea. On top of everything
are three helipads. A staff of 600 is expected to care for the family
and their family home.

In 2004, India became the 3rd most attractive foreign direct
investment destination. Pakistan wasn’t even in the top 25 countries. In
2004, the United Nations, the representative body of 192 sovereign
member states, had requested the Election Commission of India to assist
the UN in the holding of elections in Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah and
Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan. Why the Election Commission of India and
not the Election Commission of Pakistan? After all, Islamabad is closer
to Kabul than is Delhi.

Imagine, 12 percent of all American scientists are of Indian origin;
38 percent of doctors in America are Indian; 36 percent of NASA
scientists are Indians; 34 percent of Microsoft employees are Indians;
and 28 percent of IBM employees are Indians.

For the record: Sabeer Bhatia created and founded Hotmail. Sun
Microsystems was founded by Vinod Khosla. The Intel Pentium processor,
that runs 90 percent of all computers, was fathered by Vinod Dham. Rajiv
Gupta co-invented Hewlett Packard’s E-speak project. Four out of ten
Silicon Valley start-ups are run by Indians. Bollywood produces 800
movies per year and six Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World
titles over the past 10 years.

For the record: Azim Premji, the richest Muslim entrepreneur on the
face of the planet, was born in Bombay and now lives in Bangalore. India
now has more than three dozen billionaires; Pakistan has none (not a
single dollar billionaire) .

The other amazing aspect is the rapid pace at which India is creating
wealth. In 2002, Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh and Anil Ambani’s father, left
his two sons a fortune worth $2.8 billion. In 2007, their combined
wealth stood at $94 billion. On 29 October 2007, as a result of the
stock market rally and the appreciation of the Indian rupee, Mukesh
became the richest person in the world, with net worth climbing to
US$63.2 billion (Bill Gates, the richest American, stands at around $56
billion).

Indians and Pakistanis have the same Y-chromosome haplogroup. We have
the same genetic sequence and the same genetic marker (namely: M124). We
have the same DNA molecule, the same DNA sequence. Our culture, our
traditions and our cuisine are all the same. We watch the same movies
and sing the same songs.. What is it that Indians do and we don’t:
Indians elect their leaders.

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