The Narratives – Mohamed Miah

Mohamed Miah | The Narratives

When the rich tighten their grip, the cracks begin to show. History has taught us that corruption does not last forever — it collapses like dominoes, one by one, until the illusion can no longer hold.

South Asia: The Cracks Begin to Show

India once believed it could dominate South Asia with a mix of money, muscle, and manipulation. Modi’s government wrapped itself in saffron nationalism while quietly propping up corrupt elites in neighbouring states. Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh, the Rajapaksas in Sri Lanka, and successive politicians in Nepal all played their part in Delhi’s regional theatre.

But corruption is not eternal. Bangladesh threw Hasina out. Sri Lankans rose against their ruling family. Nepal is slowly drifting away from Indian influence. The dominoes are falling because ordinary people are no longer distracted by slogans when they cannot afford food.

It mirrors older patterns: the fall of the Mughal Empire, when rulers lost touch with the hungry masses; the Ottoman collapse, when internal rot and external greed eroded power; and even the fall of Rome, when bread shortages turned loyalty into rebellion.

The Scapegoat Playbook

When empires crack, scapegoats appear. It is the oldest trick in the book.

In India, “illegal” Bangladeshis are painted as the problem. In Europe, Middle Eastern migrants carry the blame. In the West, Muslims are the permanent enemy. Politicians understand that fear of the outsider is easier to sell than the truth: that their own greed is the real cause of collapse.

The French Revolution taught the same lesson. The aristocracy blamed everyone but themselves until the people stormed Versailles. Hunger does not wait for excuses.

America’s Corruption Circus

Across the Atlantic, Donald Trump built his political brand on draining the swamp. Instead, he filled it with his own creatures. His businesses quietly profited during his presidency, his family cashed in, and his allies gambled with the cryptocurrency bubble like a casino for the rich.

Like Caesar before him, Trump presented himself as the voice of the people while quietly feeding his own empire. Populism gave him a crown, but corruption funded his throne.

Britain’s Shadow Politics

Britain wears the mask of democracy, but the shadows tell a different story. Keir Starmer speaks of integrity while accepting money from figures like Lord Sainsbury and David Sweeney, undeclared until forced into the light. The Conservative Party swims in donor cash, lobbyists, and corporate handshakes. Different colours on the ballot paper, but the same hands pulling the strings.

The echoes of Britain’s old empire still linger. Stately homes, built on colonial plunder, remain symbols of power. The aristocracy never left — they simply merged with new billionaires and tech moguls to maintain control, just as the Roman patricians once absorbed the rising merchant class to extend their dominance.

The Media Empire

If politicians are the actors, the media is the stage. Rupert Murdoch’s empire has influenced elections for decades, shaping public opinion to protect the wealthy. Old dynasties — the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers — have blended with new billionaires, ensuring financial empires remain untouchable.

The Arab Spring showed how fragile media narratives can be when people bypass them. For a brief moment, truth spread faster than propaganda. That is what terrifies today’s elites most — losing control of the story.

Modern Slavery

Slavery never ended; it simply changed form. Chains today are invisible — mortgages, student debt, rising rents, and bills that never end. Productivity is demanded while wages stagnate. The poor sacrifice, the rich indulge. Offshore accounts hold billions while families skip meals.

It is the same exploitation that fuelled colonial plantations, only dressed in modern clothes. Where once the lash enforced obedience, now it is credit scores, penalties, and the constant threat of losing everything.

A World Awakening

But the scapegoat illusion is breaking. Hunger is a truth that cannot be spun. Workers are striking in Europe, farmers are protesting in India, and Latin America is rejecting foreign puppets.

The elites believe their wealth, media machines, and palaces will shield them. Yet history whispers a warning: Rome fell. The French aristocracy lost their heads. The Ottomans crumbled. The Mughals vanished. Every empire that got greedy eventually collapsed.

When the dominoes of corruption fall in our time, the rulers of today will be remembered not as saviours, but as liars, thieves, and slave drivers.

“The question is not if. It is when.”

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© Mohamed Miah | The Narratives

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