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Arms supplies, subversion, skullduggery in South Asia — and a woman (Book Review)

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By Vikas Datta
Title: Open Arms; Author: Vince Cable; Publisher: Corvus/Atlantic Books; Pages: 400; Price: Rs 599

It is often conjectured if the reason for long-standing conflicts and insurgencies, in the developing world, especially South Asia, is not only other powers fishing in troubled waters but also the keenness of arms industries, mostly Western, to not lose two eager customers. How far can this powerful, unaccountable and unscrupulous military-industry complex go to maintain its market?

Quite far in subversion, sabotage and even more drastic measures to achieve its goals of huge profits as veteran British politician Vince Cable recounts in this story that seems ripped from today’s headlines.

And what can British housewife-turned-politician Kate Thompson, beleaguered Indian businessman Deepak Parrikar, a lovelorn union leader Steve Grant and Muslim accountant Shaida Khan do to counter the overwhelming adversary, with its links to high power echelons and violent criminals, ranged against them?

Set against the backdrop of the long-running, toxic rivalry in the South Asian subcontinent, Cable’s tale is set in the near future — in 2019 — where relations between India and Pakistan have again deteriorated alarmingly.

As the tension plays out (shown by a piece of “news” reporting some incident of outrage and threats from both sides beginning each chapter), the situation is further complicated by the less than salubrious influence of US arms firms, venal business magnates and extremist politicians to spin an alarming account of how democracies may actually work and the covert, vested interests that influence global developments.

Adding to the already virulent brew, being prepared across both Britain and India, are a host of rabid fanatics — both Islamist and right-wing communal xenophobes — manipulative politicians at all levels, alienated immigrants, doctrinaire trade unionists, oblivious bureaucrats and a sensationalist and/or partisan press.

Thompson is a rather glamorous housewife, who living in a barely formal marriage to a rich businessman, decides to take a plunge into politics, joining the Tory party. But after being elected MP, she finds herself rising at a rate she could have never imagined to be made a junior minister in the Trade Ministry and sent to India to clinch a lucrative arms deal.

But, her meeting with second-generation Indian businessman Parrikar whose company will be a crucial partner in the contract, is not only professionally successful but personally too. However, it leads to a lot of complications for her both in her life and career.

For Parrikar and his family, especially his rather enterprising father, who came up through a gray process, are in the cross-hairs of political and criminal enemies and their travails will not leave her unscathed.

Meanwhile, back in Britain, the company which was supposed to be the British end of the deal, is facing its own set of problems, with a takeover bid by a shadowy American conglomerate, and opposition to its agreements with India by peace and pro-Pakistan activists (different sections, of course) — and Grant and Shaida must see what it portends. A subplot is radicalism among Muslim youth, particularly Shaida’s brother.

Both these worlds, the fate of our characters (and many other rather unsympathetic ones), and the future of the nations come to a thrilling climax, after a trail of twists and turns through the corridors of political and corporate power in Delhi, and London, the high-rises and slums of Mumbai, and inner-city areas of many northern British cities.

Cable, a sitting Liberal Democrat MP who was Business Secretary in the coalition government from 2010-2015, draws on his own experiences of British politics and administration to provide a good feel of the push and pull that can influence even the functioning of well-entrenched democracies.

And though he has a good experience of India, he slips in a couple of places or so — the rank of a Mumbai police officer who plays a key role, the name of an Indian minister that seems incongruous, among others.

An entrancing read, it however sometimes seems there are too many subplots; some cliff-hangers end with a whimper than a bang, and the ending seems a bit hurried. However, since it is Cable’s first novel — after three non-fiction works — it seems possible we might meet some of these characters again.

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at [email protected])

–IANS
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Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones

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CasinoDays India

International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.

Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.

The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.

Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile

The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.

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The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.

“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.

Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings

Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.

 

CasinoDays India

Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).

Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.

The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.

Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.

Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities

The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.

On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.

Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.

“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.

The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.

 

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