Ambani nuptials spotlight India’s multibillion-dollar wedding industry

Special Ambani nuptials spotlight India’s multibillion-dollar wedding industry
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Updated 12 July 2024
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Ambani nuptials spotlight India’s multibillion-dollar wedding industry

Ambani nuptials spotlight India’s multibillion-dollar wedding industry
  • Groom is the youngest son of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani
  • Lavish pre-wedding celebrations around the world started in March

NEW DELHI: After four months of lavish events spotlighting India’s multibillion-dollar wedding industry, the nuptials of the son of Asia’s richest man reached their final stage on Friday, with global A-listers and elites arriving in Mumbai for the most extravagant of billionaire celebrations.

The celebrations that built up to the wedding of Mukesh Ambani’s youngest son, 29-year-old Anant Ambani, to Radhika Merchant, daughter of a pharmaceutical tycoon, saw the family and hundreds of its guests serenaded by the likes of Andrea Bocelli, Rihanna, and Justin Bieber, sailing up the coast of Italy on a luxury cruise, watching a 5,500-drone light show in Cannes, and participating in a jungle-themed safari party in India’s Gujarat.

The groom’s father, chairman of Reliance Industries — the largest private sector corporation in India — is the world’s 10th richest man.

The display of his wealth through the wedding has set a new benchmark for the sector worth some $130 billion, according to last month’s report by the global investment banking firm Jefferies.

The Indian wedding industry is the country’s second-largest, after food and grocery.

“The Indian wedding industry is one of the largest and most lucrative markets globally. India hosts around 10 million weddings each year, with varying scales and budgets,” Simran S. Kohli, wedding planner and founder of Love Me Knot Weddings, told Arab News.

“The Ambani wedding is a prime example of just how extravagant and grand one can be.




Drummers perform as staff members of Antilia, the house of Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, dance on the day of Anant Ambani's wedding in Mumbai, India, on July 12, 2024. (REUTERS)

With the swathes of business billionaires, world leaders and top Bollywood and Hollywood stars attending, and the amount of international media attention focused on all the nuptial events, it is also an example of how the legendary allure and grandeur of Indian weddings never fades.

“How everyone looks forward to being a part of Indian weddings, the involvement of international celebrities, performers, and guests reflects the global influence and reach of the Indian wedding industry now,” Kohli said.

“Indian weddings can push the boundaries of creativity and extravagance.”




A decorated Rolls-Royce car carrying groom Anant Ambani leaves Antilia, the house of Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, on the day of his wedding in Mumbai, India, on July 12, 2024. (REUTERS)

With dignitaries and celebrities from all over the world flocking to Mumbai to attend the four-day ceremony, parts of the city have been sealed.

“Mumbai is closed for almost three days now where the wedding is happening. There are VIP restrictions,” said Suneer Jain, director of Oh Vow Weddings.




Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie Blair pose for pictures on the red carpet on the day of the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Mumbai, India, on July 12, 2024. (REUTERS)

“Ambani’s wedding reminds you of the grand Mughal weddings where thousands of horses and elephants used to participate. Now, the elephants have been replaced by artists. The Ambanis have set a different standard in weddings by inviting lots of international artists to come and perform.”

While the celebration has been reported to cost $600 million, from the artist lineup alone, Jain estimated it could be much more.




Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan (L) with his wife Gauri Khan pose for photos as they arrive to attend the wedding ceremony of billionaire tycoon and Chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani's son Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Mumbai on July 12, 2024. (AFP)

“This wedding is a showoff and it’s showing to the people how important they are and how well connected they are, how powerful they are. It’s a demonstration of wealth,” he said.

“The spending in Ambani’s wedding would be much more than what we can think about. Engaging an international artist is not only about the fee, it’s also about their comfort, their hospitality, doing everything for their team. It involves huge costs in many other aspects also.”




FIFA President Gianni Infantino (L) poses with his wife Leena Al Ashqar for photos as they arrive to attend the wedding ceremony of billionaire tycoon and Chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani's son Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Mumbai on July 12, 2024. (AFP)

It has raised the bar so high that it will not be easy for the next celebrity weddings to cross it and organize nuptials on an even bigger scale.

It is a matter of Indian family prestige to do so.

“It is a lifetime event. We earn for only two things in life: for getting our own home and for weddings,” Jain told Arab News.

“When people see Ambani’s wedding, (it is assumed that) the next super wedding would be at a much higher scale … It gives you a clear picture that no one wants to do a normal wedding, but everyone wants to do a grand wedding.”




Actors Sidharth Malhotra and his wife Kiara Advani pose for pictures on the red carpet on the day of the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Mumbai, India, July 12, 2024. (AFP)

Everyone also wants to attend weddings in India, as they are an intrinsic part of its culture and play a major role in boosting other sectors such as entertainment, fashion, design, and travel.

“There is a person who is creating entertainment, there is a person who is doing labor work, there is a person who is doing floral work, there is a person who is working for fabric treatment. There is a person who is working on the structure, there is a transporter, manager, designer, sound engineer, artist. A lot of people get jobs out of it,” said Rajat Tyagi, director of Weddings Flowers Decor India.

An Indian wedding is never a cheap affair. A “good decent function” organized by Tyagi’s company at a local venue starts at about $45,000.

“As Indians, a society, we are bright, we are vivid, we are diverse, and we are vocal. We are not bland … If we have a taste, why not flaunt it,” he said.

“Even if you go to a village, the poorest of the poorest women are wearing makeup … It’s like we are made this way, our upbringing is that way. We love to show off.”

The display pulled off by the Ambani family was for Tyagi not only a record-breaking event, but also proof of India’s growth.

“At the end of the day, Mukesh Ambani is also an Indian entrepreneur, so India is not just a country of snake charmers. Now it has people who have the potential to bring such international artists and spend so much,” he said.

“It shows the potential of the Indian wedding industry. It shows the potential of Indians globally.”


Indian-administered Kashmir legislature passes resolution asking Delhi to restore partial autonomy

Indian-administered Kashmir legislature passes resolution asking Delhi to restore partial autonomy
Updated 6 sec ago
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Indian-administered Kashmir legislature passes resolution asking Delhi to restore partial autonomy

Indian-administered Kashmir legislature passes resolution asking Delhi to restore partial autonomy
  • PM Modi’s administration scrapped Delhi-controlled Kashmir’s autonomy in August 2019
  • Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which has 29 members in 90-seat assembly, rejected resolution

SRINAGAR: Indian-administered Kashmir ‘s regional legislature passed a resolution on Wednesday demanding the federal government restore the disputed region’s semi-autonomy that was scrapped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration in 2019.
The assembly passed the nonbinding resolution by a majority vote to noisy scenes in the house.
“This assembly calls upon the Government of India to initiate dialogue with elected representatives of people of Jammu and Kashmir for restoration of special status,” the resolution read.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which has 29 members in the 90-seat assembly, rejected the resolution. It requires the approval of Lt. Gov. Manoj Sinha, New Delhi’s appointed top administrator in Kashmir.
The National Conference party, which sponsored the resolution, came to power last month in the region’s first vote in a decade and the first since Modi’s Hindu nationalist government scrapped its semi-autonomy.
The federal government also downgraded and divided the former state into two centrally governed union territories, Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir.
The move — which largely resonated in India and among Modi supporters — was mostly opposed in Kashmir, including by the National Conference, as an assault on its identity and autonomy.
Many fear it would pave the way for demographic changes in the region, which has since been on edge with civil liberties were curbed and media freedoms restricted.
The region continues to remain a “union territory” — directly controlled by the federal government with India’s Parliament as its main legislator.
India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. The nuclear-armed rivals have fought two of their three wars over the territory since they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored “terrorism.” Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
Modi and his powerful home minister, Amit Shah, have repeatedly stated that the region’s statehood will be restored after the election, without specifying a timeline. However, they vowed to block any move aimed at undoing the 2019 changes.


‘Going to be rough’: NATO braces for Trump’s return

‘Going to be rough’: NATO braces for Trump’s return
Updated 5 min 21 sec ago
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‘Going to be rough’: NATO braces for Trump’s return

‘Going to be rough’: NATO braces for Trump’s return
  • NATO chief Mark Rutte — chosen recently in part due to his good relations with Trump — was quick to congratulate the victor and played up the positive impact he could make

BRUSSELS: US allies at NATO scrambled Wednesday to put a brave face on the return of Donald Trump to the White House amid fears the unpredictable Republican could upend European security and pull the plug on Ukraine support.
Trump sealed a dramatic comeback to power after sweeping to victory in the US presidential election against Democrat Kamala Harris.
NATO chief Mark Rutte — chosen recently in part due to his good relations with Trump — was quick to congratulate the victor and played up the positive impact he could make.
“His leadership will again be key to keeping our Alliance strong. I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO,” Rutte said.
But beneath the veneer of calm, there remains deep disquiet about what Trump could do to European security as an aggressive Russia wages war on Ukraine just beyond NATO’s border.
The volatile former reality TV star rattled NATO during the campaign by saying he’d encourage Moscow to “do whatever the hell they want” to members not spending enough on defense.
Senior diplomats at NATO, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues, sought to put a positive spin on his return for a second term, saying it could push Europe to get serious about protecting itself.
“Why be scared by Trump now? It is going to be rough, but at least he will pump some energy into the whole thing,” one diplomat said.
Trump’s first term in power was a rollercoaster for NATO as the bulldozing president lambasted European allies such as Germany for weak defense spending and reportedly even mulled pulling Washington out.
But officials said that not only did the alliance survive — it actually emerged stronger as Trump and his no-holds-barred style pressured Europe to spend more.
“During his first term, our working relationship focused on bolstering transatlantic security and adapting NATO for the future. In a world of growing instability, strong US leadership remains essential,” former NATO head Jens Stoltenberg wrote on X.


Analyst Camille Grand of the European Council on Foreign Relations said there are “two theories” on how a second Trump term could go for NATO.
“One is that it will be like the first time, unpleasant but not catastrophic,” he said.
“Or, we are today in a different world with a Trump entourage who are unwaveringly Trumpist, who share his doubts about alliances, support for Ukraine; and especially during the first mandate there was no war in Europe.”
In a bid to appeal to Trump, NATO leaders have sought to repeatedly credit him with making other allies cough up more on defense.
The urgency on spending in Europe was ramped up by Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and now 23 of the 32 NATO members reach the target of spending two percent of gross domestic produce on defense — up from just three a decade ago.
Now the feeling is that Europe will have to do even more to make sure it can stand on its own.
“I expect a serious push to finally start taking our security and defense in Europe seriously, to invest much more, to finally do it,” said one former senior NATO diplomat.
But the ex-official warned to expect more rhetoric from Trump questioning Washington’s commitment to NATO’s collective defense clause that would “undermine security” and could embolden Russia and China.
For Ukraine, already struggling to hold back the Kremlin’s forces on the battlefield, the picture appears grim.
Trump has cast doubt on continuing US military support for Kyiv and promised to cut a quick deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.
“If Trump starts negotiations with Russia, it will be very transactional, not built on values and principles — and this may lead to a result that would be catastrophic for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe,” the former diplomat said.
Other officials agreed that Ukraine was in a perilous position, but said Trump coming to power could give Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky the cover to make hard compromises.
And if Putin pushes for too much he could find the notoriously whimsical Trump far from pliant — and even willing to back Kyiv harder if the Kremlin doesn’t give ground.
“The Russians always make exaggerated demands,” said the first NATO diplomat.
“If they annoy Trump too much, they will get something in return they weren’t counting for.”


Swiss ‘burqa ban’ to take effect from 2025

Swiss ‘burqa ban’ to take effect from 2025
Updated 24 min 47 sec ago
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Swiss ‘burqa ban’ to take effect from 2025

Swiss ‘burqa ban’ to take effect from 2025
  • Facial coverings will remain permitted for reasons relating to health and safety

ZURICH: A contentious Swiss prohibition on facial coverings in public spaces widely known as the “burqa ban” will take effect on Jan. 1, the government said on Wednesday.
Narrowly passed in a 2021 referendum in neutral Switzerland, and condemned by Muslim associations, the measure was launched by the same group that organized a 2009 ban on new minarets.
The governing Federal Council said in a statement it had fixed the start of the ban, and that anyone who unlawfully flouts it faces a fine of up to 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,144).
The ban does not apply to planes or in diplomatic and consular premises, and faces may also be covered in places of worship and other sacred sites, the government said.
Facial coverings will remain permitted for reasons relating to health and safety, for native customs, or due to weather conditions, it said. They would also be allowed on artistic and entertainment grounds and for advertising, it added.
If such coverings are needed for personal protection in exercising freedom of expression and assembly, they should be permitted provided the responsible authority has already approved them and public order is not compromised, it said.


Trump wins White House in historic victory

Trump wins White House in historic victory
Updated 49 min 10 sec ago
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Trump wins White House in historic victory

Trump wins White House in historic victory
  • The victory marks an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago
  • He is the first person convicted of a felony to win the White House and the first former president to regain power since 1892

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the US Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.
With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency.
The victory validates his bare-knuckle approach to politics. He attacked his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, in deeply personal – often misogynistic and racist – terms as he pushed an apocalyptic picture of a country overrun by violent migrants. The coarse rhetoric, paired with an image of hypermasculinity, resonated with angry voters – particularly men – in a deeply polarized nation.
As president, he’s vowed to pursue an agenda centered on dramatically reshaping the federal government and pursuing retribution against his perceived enemies. Speaking to his supporters Wednesday morning, Trump claimed he had won “an unprecedented and powerful mandate.”
The results cap a historically tumultuous and competitive election season that included two assassination attempts targeting Trump and a shift to a new Democratic nominee just a month before the party’s convention. Trump will inherit a range of challenges when he assumes office on Jan. 20, including heightened political polarization and global crises that are testing America’s influence abroad.
His win against Harris, the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket, marks the second time he has defeated a female rival in a general election. Harris, the current vice president, rose to the top of the ticket after President Joe Biden exited the race amid alarm about his advanced age. Despite an initial surge of energy around her campaign, she struggled during a compressed timeline to convince disillusioned voters that she represented a break from an unpopular administration.
Trump is the first former president to return to power since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election. He is the first person convicted of a felony to be elected president and, at 78, is the oldest person elected to the office. His vice president, 40-year-old Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will become the highest-ranking member of the millennial generation in the US government.
There will be far fewer checks on Trump when he returns to the White House. He has plans to swiftly enact a sweeping agenda that would transform nearly every aspect of American government. His GOP critics in Congress have largely been defeated or retired. Federal courts are now filled with judges he appointed. The US Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-appointed justices, issued a ruling earlier this year affording presidents broad immunity from prosecution.
Trump’s language and behavior during the campaign sparked growing warnings from Democrats and some Republicans about shocks to democracy that his return to power would bring. He repeatedly praised strongman leaders, warned that he would deploy the military to target political opponents he labeled the “enemy from within,” threatened to take action against news organizations for unfavorable coverage and suggested suspending the Constitution.
Some who served in his first White House, including Vice President Mike Pence and John Kelly, Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, either declined to endorse him or issued dire public warnings about his return to the presidency.
While Harris focused much of her initial message around themes of joy, Trump channeled a powerful sense of anger and resentment among voters.
He seized on frustrations over high prices and fears about crime and migrants who illegally entered the country on Biden’s watch. He also highlighted wars in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to cast Democrats as presiding over – and encouraging – a world in chaos.
It was a formula Trump perfected in 2016, when he cast himself as the only person who could fix the country’s problems, often borrowing language from dictators.
“In 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,” he said in March 2023.
This campaign often veered into the absurd, with Trump amplifying bizarre and disproven rumors that migrants were stealing and eating pet cats and dogs in an Ohio town. At one point, he kicked off a rally with a detailed story about the legendary golfer Arnold Palmer in which he praised his genitalia.
But perhaps the defining moment came in July when a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet grazed Trump’s ear and killed one of his supporters. His face streaked with blood, Trump stood and raised his fist in the air, shouting “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Weeks later, a second assassination attempt was thwarted after a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a gun poking through the greenery while Trump was playing golf.
Trump’s return to the White House seemed unlikely when he left Washington in early 2021 as a diminished figure whose lies about his defeat sparked a violent insurrection at the US Capitol. He was so isolated at the time that few outside of his family bothered to attend the send-off he organized for himself at Andrews Air Force Base, complete with a 21-gun salute.
Democrats who controlled the US House quickly impeached him for his role in the insurrection, making him the only president to be impeached twice. He was acquitted by the US Senate, where many Republicans argued that he no longer posed a threat because he had left office.
But from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump – aided by some elected Republicans – worked to maintain his political relevance. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican who at the time led his party in the US House, visited Trump soon after he left office, essentially validating his continued role in the party.
As the 2022 midterm election approached, Trump used the power of his endorsement to assert himself as the unquestioned leader of the party. His preferred candidates almost always won their primaries, but some went on to defeat in elections that Republicans viewed as within their grasp. Those disappointing results were driven in part by a backlash to the US Supreme Court ruling that revoked a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, a decision that was aided by Trump-appointed justices. The midterm election prompted questions within the GOP about whether Trump should remain the party’s leader.
But if Trump’s future was in doubt, that changed in 2023 when he faced a wave of state and federal indictments for his role in the insurrection, his handling of classified information and election interference. He used the charges to portray himself as the victim of an overreaching government, an argument that resonated with a GOP base that was increasingly skeptical – if not outright hostile – to institutions and established power structures.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who challenged Trump for the Republican nomination, lamented that the indictments “sucked out all the oxygen” from this year’s GOP primary. Trump easily captured his party’s nomination without ever participating in a debate against DeSantis or other GOP candidates.
With Trump dominating the Republican contest, a New York jury found him guilty in May of 34 felony charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. He faces sentencing later this month, though his victory poses serious questions about whether he will ever face punishment.
He has also been found liable in two other New York civil cases: one for inflating his assets and another for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996.
Trump is subject to additional criminal charges in an election-interference case in Georgia that has become bogged down. On the federal level, he’s been indicted for his role in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election and improperly handling classified material. When he becomes president on Jan. 20, Trump could appoint an attorney general who would erase the federal charges.
As he prepares to return to the White House, Trump has vowed to swiftly enact a radical agenda that would transform nearly every aspect of American government. That includes plans to launch the largest deportation effort in the nation’s history, to use the Justice Department to punish his enemies, to dramatically expand the use of tariffs and to again pursue a zero-sum approach to foreign policy that threatens to upend longstanding foreign alliances, including the NATO pact.
When he arrived in Washington 2017, Trump knew little about the levers of federal power. His agenda was stymied by Congress and the courts, as well as senior staff members who took it upon themselves to serve as guardrails.
This time, Trump has said he would surround himself with loyalists who will enact his agenda, no questions asked, and who will arrive with hundreds of draft executive orders, legislative proposals and in-depth policy papers in hand.


Interpol says over 2,500 arrests in human trafficking crackdown

Interpol says over 2,500 arrests in human trafficking crackdown
Updated 06 November 2024
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Interpol says over 2,500 arrests in human trafficking crackdown

Interpol says over 2,500 arrests in human trafficking crackdown
  • People rescued included people coerced into begging in Iraq or to serve in private households across the Middle East

LYON: Interpol said Wednesday that a six-day international police operation against human trafficking had led to more than 2,500 arrests and the rescue of over 3,000 potential victims.
The operation, called "Liberterra II", took place between September 29 and October 4 and was the largest-ever operation against human trafficking and people smuggling by the global law enforcement organisation.
People rescued included minors forced to work on farms in Argentina, migrants in nightclubs in North Macedonia, people coerced into begging in Iraq or to serve in private households across the Middle East, Interpol said.
Raids led to the rescue of "3,222 potential victims of human trafficking and identified 17,793 irregular migrants", it said.
In addition to police raids, authorities also reinforced strategic border points, monitored nearly 24,000 flights and deployed officers to known trafficking and smuggling hotspots, said the organisation, which is based in Lyon, France.
Nearly eight million checks were carried out against Interpol's databases, and a total of 2,517 arrests were made during the week, of which 850 were specifically on human trafficking or migrant smuggling charges, according to the organisation's preliminary figures.
"In their relentless pursuit of profit, organised crime groups continue to exploit men, women and children -- often multiple times over," said Interpol secretary general Jurgen Stock.
"The results of this operation highlight the vast scale of the challenge facing law enforcement, underscoring that only coordinated action can counteract these threats," he said.