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Gujarat Rising

Recent news and media coverage in the western world has seen a flurry of articles touting many with roots to the western Indian province of Gujarat. 

From an Ambani son owning the world's most priciest real estate; to the Forbes billionaire index showing a businessman (who in a native language equates to 'illiterate') called Adani (not to confuse with Aam Adami or common man) smashing through the wealth ceiling; to a Bollywood promoter in western Florida inviting the desi gliterrati to dance and give awards to each other in the US; to public television interviews about the imminent charisma of the electoral favorite I have not seen Gujarat so much in the news.


This seems orchestrated may be reading too much into it but the nexus of all that attention does seem to be the impending victory for Mr. Modi who is the incumbent Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat and soon to be (forecast) the leader of the world's largest democracy.

While the surge of public opinion in India favoring Modi's rule has some parallel that America showed in ousting a Republican leader to replace with a black President, the reality will be tested when the party and celebrations have concluded.

India by no means is an easy pill to swallow - or I suppose a lame tiger to tame.  By sheer size of population majority of which is illiterate and has no access to drinking water or sanitation is a challenge beyond simple arithmetic.

The new leader in India does not have credentials that America had on the world stage for its new leader that served as a default tailwind to carry them to execute change.  Change we Can was the slogan for Obama much as it possibly is for Modi.  How to bring it about without breaking the bank (who carries change after all) will be an interesting story yet to be told.

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