Amit's Blog

Cronyism, Conquest, and the Myth of British Benevolence   The British Empire's dominance in India, often romanticized as a triumph of free markets, rule of law, and civilizing mission, was in reality a masterful orchestration of cronyism, subterfuge, and exploitation spearheaded by the East India Company (EIC). From its inception as a chartered monopoly in 1600 to its dissolution in 1874, the EIC blurred the lines between private profit and public power, collecting taxes from Indians to fund conquests while relying on taxpayer-funded British naval support. The 1858 takeover by the Crown following the 1857 Rebellion institutionalized this system, perpetuating vested interests through the Indian Civil Service, guaranteed investments, and narratives of moral superiority. Comparisons with Dutch and Spanish models highlight Britain's unique hybrid of state-backed corporate impunity. Post-abolition, indentured labor and lascar exploitation reinvented bondage. Anglican churches an...

From Imperial Frontiers to Asymmetric Alliances: Xinjiang's Saga and the Evolving Sino-Russian Geopolitical equation   Xinjiang's assimilation into China traces back to the Qing Dynasty's 1750s conquest of the Dzungar Khanate, formalized amid 19th-century rebellions and Republican-era warlordism, diverging from Mongolia's Soviet-orchestrated independence via Yalta and treaties. Soviet dominance in Xinjiang during the 1930s-1940s yielded to Stalin's strategic pivot toward a unified PRC in 1949. Contemporary Xinjiang anchors China's BRI, energy security, and border defense, amidst a rich ethnic tapestry fueling tensions. Paralleling this, Russia's mid-19th-century annexation of Outer Manchuria via unequal treaties reshaped borders, with the Qing's expansive empire sustained through military, economic, and symbolic mechanisms—often fragile in outlying areas. As of October 2025, Sino-Russian relations exhibit deepened "no-limits" ties amid Ukra...

The Rare Earth Gambit: How the West Lost the Silicon of the Modern World   In the shadows of our gleaming technological paradise lies a dirty, dangerous, and deliberately conceded secret: the West voluntarily surrendered the capacity to build its own future. For decades, the West had been operating on strategic borrowed time, dependent on a single geopolitical rival for the materials that power everything from iPhones to the F-35 fighter jet. Rare earth elements are the silent, non-negotiable ingredients of the 21st century, and the United States and its allies made a conscious choice to outsource their production to China, lulled by the siren song of cheap prices and willful ignorance. This was not an accidental market shift, but a catastrophic failure of strategic foresight, where short-term economic gain was prioritized over long-term national security and industrial sovereignty. We traded our energy independence for a far more perilous technological dependence. Now, as the ...