Indian Middle-Class Angry, Calls Ambani Wedding A ‘Vulgar Display Of Wealth’ Amid Economic Disparity

Even if you have been living under a rock, you couldn’t have escaped the news about Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding. India’s uber-rich, the Ambanis, made sure of it. Visuals were everywhere – every celebrity attending the event, celebrities who performed at the event, paparazzi, and news channels shared visuals from the grand affair. If that wasn’t enough, the Ambanis invited a number of social media influencers with decent following to attend the wedding festivities. I mean, they got Justin Beiber, Kim Kardashian and John Cena posting about the wedding.

 

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Anybody with an iota of intelligence would realize that this wasn’t just a wedding. This was a chance for the Ambanis to put themselves on the global map, and they took full advantage of it. They wanted the publicity, they wanted the entire world to notice them and talk about the event. They achieved the task at hand – to make Anant and Radhika’s wedding a global phenomenon.

One unnamed executive at Reliance called the event a “powerful symbol of India’s growing stature on the global stage”. The executive shared a note with the media which read, “The presence of esteemed individuals highlights India’s economic, political, intellectual, and scientific prowess,” reported Al Jazeera.

And that’s true. The wedding festivities charmed the world with their Indian-ness, as even international A-listers donned traditional Indian clothing and participated in the glory of Indian rituals.

 

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One might argue that the Ambanis have the right to spend their money as they wish and that their spending can stimulate the economy through job creation and business for various sectors.

And that is a valid point.

The entire affair, which lasted for weeks, required a significant workforce and gave solid, although temporary, earning opportunities to various professionals – from event planners to caterers to decorators. Local vendors benefited from the wedding festivities profoundly. After all, money that’s spent on weddings circulates through the economy. Such events also have cultural significance as they promote Indian traditions, crafts, and hospitality on a global stage.

 

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A post shared by Shaleena Nathani (@shaleenanathani) 

However, an overwhelming number of people seem to think of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding festivities as a vulgar display of wealth, especially in the current economic climate.

It highlights our country’s gross economic disparities, where on one hand there is the sparkling Antilia, the home of the Ambanis, and on the other hand there is the Dharavi slum. We are a country where many people struggle to make ends meet. As a result, the extravagant wedding is being seen as insensitive, wasteful and tone-deaf.

We are also a country where families take large loans from banks to fund the weddings of their family members. The Ambani wedding, with the kind of publicity it got, perpetuates a culture of excessive spending and materialism. It sets unrealistic expectations for other families, fueling a cycle of debt and financial strain for those trying to replicate such grandeur.

 

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As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. There is an expectation on the Ambanis to prioritize philanthropy and social initiatives over personal indulgence. It is morally questionable to spend such an obscene amount of money and make a public show of it when 3.44 crore Indians are living in extreme poverty, according to a report by The Hindu.

Which is why a lot of anger has been directed against the Ambanis by the common folk. Posts denouncing the Ambanis’ “vulgar display of wealth” are everywhere on social media. Here’s a look at some of them:

The Ambanis have made no effort to conceal the astounding economic disparity in our country. In fact, they were happy to flaunt it.

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