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“Duniya me kuch log kahte hain aur kuch karte hain…....hum adani hain, hum kar ke dikhate hain“.
In order to bridge the nearly $100 billion loss caused by the Hindenburg report and to calm questions about the Adani Group’s credibility in the minds of people, the Adani Group released its advertisement with the same tagline, which has been viewed more than 13 million times on YouTube so far.
The Adani Group officially started the export business in 1988. Although the founder of the group had tried his hand in the business ranging from diamonds to plastics before, the export business proved to be a pole star for him, which gave him a good direction to expand and flourish his business. This business, which started with exports, has spread its foot in sectors like coal, gas, hydrogen, electricity, airports, infrastructure, media and cement.
Born on June 24, 1962, in a middle-class Jain family of Gujarat, Gautam Adani has also won the title of the second richest person in the world at one time. However, while talking about this with Rajat Sharma in “Aap Ki Adalat”, he had said that after reaching this stage of business, the rupee does not matter as much to him as it does the national interest.
Gautam Adani is also considered to be rich in ‘risk-taking attitude’. Not only in business, but also in personal life. In 2003, when many industrialists withdrew from the ‘Gujarat Investors Summit’ due to the atmosphere created against Narendra Modi, Adani saved Modi’s day. Whether it was the kidnapping of him for ransom in January 1998 or the incident of terrorists entering the Taj Hotel in November 2008 and killing a man 15 feet away from him, Adani acted patiently without losing courage. Despite being surrounded by terrorists, he was advising people to ‘believe in God’.
In the 1990s, due to the wrong decision of a person working in Adani Exports, he lost 20 crores in sugar trading. Thinking that the Adani boss would scold him, he had already submitted his resignation to Adani. “I know you have learnt a lesson,”, tearing his resignation letter, Adani said ,“This lesson will be useful for the Adani Group in the future.” Similarly, while constructing mundra port, a consultant had suggested making floating break water to prevent sea waves. It cost a total of 7 crores to build it. Within 20 minutes of the start of the project, the waves of the sea collapsed it. Seeing his 70 million diving into the sea, Adani put his hand on the consultant’s shoulders and said, “It was a good effort. We’ll see it again in the future.”
However, this vivacious and calm nature did not save Adani from controversies. He is accused of sharpening political ties, especially with Narendra Modi, to strengthen his business. For instance, from September 2013 to April 2014, when Narendra Modi was declared the BJP’s PM candidate and his chances were strong, the Adani Group’s market cap grew by 85 per cent to Rs 95,925 crore.
Earlier in 2002, Delhi Police had arrested Adani for a day in a cheating case. In 2012, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office filed a charge sheet against him for alleged irregularities in share pricing. However, he was discharged from the case in 2014. There are reports that in 2020, a sessions court in Mumbai has started hearing the case again.
In the midst of all this, the biggest blow to the Adani Group came from the company Hindenburg, which makes profits by dropping the stock of others. It cost the Adani Group nearly $100 billion. How much substance is there in its allegations has not yet been proved. The inquiry committee formed by the Supreme Court has not said anything in its report that a finger can be pointed at the Adani Group. However, it has pointed to some rules amended by SEBI, which have reduced fairness in foreign investment cases.
Those who know Adani believe that after falling victim to some political tactics and select media outlets, Adani’s pace has definitely slowed down, but his morale has not diminished. Bakul Dholakia, former director of IIM-Ahmedabad, had said, “There are many people who take big risks. But there are very few people who face a grave disaster with courage and conviction. Adani is one of those few.”
The future of Adani and his group is currently in the layers of time, but the way Adani has recently started a 1600 MW power plant in Bangladesh and taken over the Rs 23,000 crore Dharavi slum project, it seems that the Adani Group is working hard to make up for the damage caused by Hindenburg.
To change “Hum adani hain, hum kar ke dikhate hain” into reality is Adani’s necessity as well as a challenge today.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.