New Delhi, Oct. 21 -- Geography is back at the heart of the global business strategy after a gap of over eight decades, since 1945, when in a globalised world, borders got blurred and products moved with little friction. The current geopolitical rivalry among major powers is challenging this old order and geography is regaining its importance as predicted by the American geopolitical thinker Nicholas Spykman, who wrote in 1942 that "geography is the most fundamental factor in the foreign policy of states because it is the most permanent". Recent developments in the state of West Bengal substantiate Spykman's observation.
It may be recalled that for over two millennia, a vital trading port in Tamralipta (presently Tamluk in East Medinipur district of West Bengal) remained a major link between East Asia and Eastern India. Chinese scholar Fa-Hien (337-422 CE) sailed back to his country from Tamralipta. Bay of Bengal acted as the gateway to the Indo-Pacific region, including the South China Sea. Again, during the modern era, the British East India Company developed another seaport at Khejuri (a few miles from the historic Tamralipta port) in East Midnapore.
After the partition of Bengal and independence of India, the epicentre of business and trade shifted from Calcutta to Bombay, from the east coast to the west coast of India. Over the years, the West flourished at the cost of the East. But with the rapid rise of China and a few other East Asian countries, the epicentre of the global economy has moved to East Asia. West Bengal regained its political and economic importance to the ruling elites of India. During the last election, where millions of voters across West Bengal were not allowed to vote by the Election Commission of India, the regional party AITMC was made to accept defeat to the national party BJP, which west Indian politicians and business communities primarily control. To the ruling elites and the business communities of Gujarat and Maharashtra, grabbing political power in West Bengal was essential due to its significant geographical location in the emerging geopolitical alignment.
Following the footprints of the British East India Company, the West India-based companies have targeted their grand entry strategy to West Bengal using the coastal route. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) had won the bid in 2022 to develop a '25,000-crore greenfield deep-sea port at Tajpur. After the change in government, the new Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that the Tajpur site was no longer feasible. Following high-level discussions with APSEZ Managing Director Karan Adani, the government has shifted the deep-sea port project approximately 10 kilometres away to a 1,700-acre site in Dadanpatrabar (a former salt factory area), where sufficient land was available to support the necessary rail and highway connections.
Following this announcement, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said that the group would invest '1 trillion (USD 10.43 billion) in West Bengal by 2035, expanding its footprint across sectors ranging from ports, roads, power generation and logistics to hyperscale data centres.
Meanwhile, Reliance Industries also proposed a nuclear power plant in Bengal at a recent meeting with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal, in addition to developing hotels, a modern data centre, and a coal gasification facility. News reports suggest that the proposed power plant can bring in investment worth about '2 lakh crore over a period of six to seven years. Reliance had suggested the plant at Haripur, a coastal village near Contai in East Midnapore, where a Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) plan for a similar 1,000 MW project was buried 15 years ago.
Both Ambani and Adani groups are using 'soft power' to make their footprints in Bengali culture. Mukesh Ambani and the Reliance Foundation announced the restoration of the Kalighat Temple in Kolkata at the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in November 2023. Adani is involved in the iconic Writers' Building and Kumartuli Ghat restoration. On October 10, the Adani Group launched its maiden Durga Puja Preview in Kolkata to facilitate hassle-free Puja viewing.
Within six months of the change in government, the West Indian companies have entered West Bengal with mega projects. They are also using their deep pockets to influence the rich culture and heritage of Bengal. It is argued that the British victory at Plassey created the modern Durga Puja in Bengal. Probably the West Indian companies of Adani and Ambani are also trying to reshape religious and cultural festivals of Bengal. Difficult days are ahead for Bengal, especially for the Marwari business communities who have been living here since the 1650s.
Views expressed are personal. The writer is a professor of Business Administration
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.