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Shibboleths and scamdemic in corporate India

29 0
15.06.2026

Shibboleths are words, customs or behaviours that distinguish members of a particular group from outsiders. The term originates from a story in the Hebrew Bible, where the Gileadites used the pronunciation of the word shibboleth (meaning 'ear of grain' or 'stream') to identify their enemies, the Ephraimites, who could not pronounce the initial 'sh' sound and said 'sibboleth' instead.

Shibboleths could act as group identity markers, signalling insider status: today in subcultures, professions or online communities, Shibboleths are being associated with digital tribalism.

Since the return of RSS to power in India in 2014, the entire ecosystem has been erected around the concept of Shibboleths. Whether these are the bhakts of RSS's shakhas marauding the countryside or godi media blabbers spewing Islamophobic hate and venom on almost an hourly basis, one finds the use of Shibboleths in almost every walk of life.

Cybercrime Magazine suggests that over $1 trillion is annually lost to online fraud and corporate malpractice, terming it as 'scamdemic'. Some experts suggest that most of the global scamdemic has some direct or indirect link to corporate India. Corporate India has become infamous because of scamdemic; especially the pampered Gujarati businesses who now monopolise the Indian economy and have built a façade of grand empires of Adanis and Ambanis, courtesy of Mr Modi. The latest is Mr Rajesh Mehta of Rajesh Exports.

The journey of Rajesh Exports started from a jeweller's shop which grew into the largest gold refinery in India, and by 2019, the world's largest - especially after acquiring........

© The Express Tribune