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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 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 have and we don't?
Indians elect their leaders.=========
...The writer is an Islamabad-based freelance columnist.
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