The Polyester Prince
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 | |
| Author | Hamish McDonald |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Non-Fiction;Biography |
| Published | 1998 (Allen & Unwin) |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 297 pp |
| ISBN | 1-86448-468-3 978-1864484687 |
| Followed by | Ambani and Sons |
The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani is a biography of the Indian business tycoon and founder of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Dhirubhai Ambani by Hamish McDonald, an Australian journalist and author. This book was published in 1998 in Australia by Allen & Unwin but never published in India.
HarperCollins India, the publisher who owned the rights to the Indian edition, halted all publication attempts after RIL applied for and secured temporary injunctions on the grounds of anticipatory defamation.[1] This injunction was made with the argument that the material of the book contained allegations, unethical and corrupt business dealings with politicians and more that would leave Ambani defenceless for the damage it would cause harm to both his and his companies' reputation. The injunction application was passed by the Delhi High Court.[2] HarperCollins pulped the printed yet unbound pages of the book after receiving further warnings that RIL would apply for further injunctions in all of India's twenty-two high courts and deciding it was not worth the cost to defend the book's publication rights.[3] While the book was never made available to the public due to the injunction and warnings there are pirated photocopied versions available on the streets of Mumbai and New Delhi as well as online stores that now sell for prices above its original price sold in Australia.[4]
McDonald published Ambani & Sons by Roli Books in India 12 years after The Polyester Prince with no legal issues. This sequel contained a sanitised version of the original's content as well as six new chapters pertaining to the events surrounding Ambani's sons and RIL after he died in 2002.[5]
Dhirubhai Ambani and RIL
Dhirubhai Ambani (born 28 December 1932) was the child of school teachers in a small village in Gir Somnath, now known as Gujarat, India.[6] Around the age of 17, Ambani travelled to Aden, Yemen, a former British colony on the Arabian Peninsula, to work at a trading firm called Antonin Besse and Company (Besse & Co.).[7] Due to the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan, many Indian textile companies migrated to Bangladesh hindering the industry as the cotton mills were in Bombay.[8] In 1957, Ambani founded Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) targeting the polyester industry due to the decrease in competitors after the 1947 partition and the Licence Raj.[9] RIL since has expanded to undertake business deals and products consisting of energy, petrochemicals, natural resources and communications.[10] Ambani died from a stroke in July 2002, passing the chairmanship of RIL to his sons Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani.[11]
Hamish McDonald's coverage of Ambani
Hamish McDonald is an Australian journalist and author of many books about Indonesia and India.[12] He lived in India from 1990 to 1996 working as the New Delhi bureau chief of the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) and now works as the Asia-Pacific editor for The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.[13] During his work for FEER, McDonald was invited to the wedding of Anil Ambani and Tina Munim in 1991. The initial relationship between McDonald, RIL and Ambani centred on documenting the company's expansion into international markets. In 1992 McDonald decided that he wanted to write a book on Ambani and the interconnections with business and politics.[14] Ambani and Reliance approved of the idea, with the understanding that for this project to go forward Ambani would have the final say.[15]
The following year, rumours began to circulate that the government was rigged in favour of RIL to obtain oil exploration contracts.[15] McDonald wrote articles about the Panna-Mukta oil fields, damaging his relationship with Ambani who described them as "defamatory" without taking any legal action at the time.[12] As a result, Ambani and RIL distanced themselves from McDonald and cut off networking connections.[14]
Synopsis
The Polyester Prince chronicles Dhirubhai Ambani's life from childhood to founder of RIL following India's independence in 1947, and highlights how India's post-independence industry development was achieved by both fair and foul means.
The first section of the book explores the events of Ambani's young adult life that influenced his understanding of business and developed his skillset that later went on to help him found RIL. This section explores how the mixture of Ambani's working experience as a young adult at trading companies along with post-independence India's changing business landscape lead to Ambani's debut in the wealthy social circles of India and rise in his power.[16]
The latter part of the book centers on Ambani's different business dealings, both successful and criticised as he founds and expands RIL. Throughout the book, McDonald describes the ethical costs associated with Ambani's management of the political environment using his status in wealthy social circles that included politicians, stock market speculators and more to path the way for RIL to become India's largest private-sector conglomerate.[17]
