Editorial: Time to call a halt

Between them, the two Ambani brothers""Mukesh and Anil""make up the world's wealthiest family, having pipped the Walton family (of Wal-Mart fame) to that distinction. They control and own some of the country's largest companies. One of them turned 50 a year ago, the other will do so before long. Is it too much to expect that these two exceptional businessman show the maturity that befits their age and position, put aside their personal animosities, and stop making a public spectacle of themselves and their sibling rivalry? Theirs is not the first case of a business dispute in a family, nor will it be the last. There are plenty of examples of longstanding rivalry manifesting itself in barely concealed tension, if not animosity. In some cases, disputes still fester""as in the Bajaj clan. But rarely if ever have these disputes led to the repeated attempts to get in each other's way, as the Ambani brothers have done""especially when each has his plate full with ambitious projects and plans. This is not a pie that is too small to be cut into two.

The Birlas, for instance, began a slow and complicated unbundling of their many businesses, once group patriarch GD Birla had passed away in 1983. The public knew that the process was on; but despite the complex system of cross-holdings that had to be undone, and the many more players involved in the exercise, there was never a public squabble""though the same cannot be said about the subsequent dispute over the MP Birla estate. The Goenka clan too split three-ways back in the 1980s, and for a time RP and GP Goenka seemed to be pitted against each other in one takeover battle after the next. But both settled down and went their separate ways. The Walchands, Modis, Shrirams and others have also had their disputes and parting of ways, and some of these involved going to court or to the company law board. But even by the messy history of such disputes, the Ambani war is getting into a category of its own.

The issue does not seem to be that there is not enough space for both the Ambanis, or that one is doing well and the other is not, thereby provoking jealousy. Instead, each seems to be fired up by the knowledge of how well the other is doing, and each is therefore trying to do even better. This intense rivalry has had its beneficial spin-offs because both brothers have created enormous stock market wealth after they parted ways. But instead of encouraging healthy competition, this has prompted each to try and put spokes in the other's wheel""as though it is not enough for one to succeed, he must also put down the other. Thus, Mukesh's people will accuse Anil's companies of deliberately getting into areas and projects (like the Mumai trans-harbour sea link) that are meant to slow down Mukesh's plans for special economic zones; now Mukesh has sent a warning shot across Anil's bow when he seems about to close a deal that will catapult him into a new (international) league in the telecom business. The two have already quarrelled over gas allocations from Mukesh's gas fields for Anil's power projects, and Anil also accused Mukesh of trying to scuttle his public issue of Reliance Power. Without getting into the merits of each case, it is possible to wish that the two brothers would put aside their animosity and simply get on with competing to show who is the better businessman. Everyone, including the two Ambanis, will be better off in the bargain.