There is something deliciously ironic about Elon Musk accusing Reliance Industries of oligarchic behaviour. One of the world’s richest men has complained that one of India’s richest is blocking Starlink’s entry into the Indian market. The Indian government insists that Starlink is subject to the same regulatory requirements as its competitors, foreign or Indian. Whether Musk’s accusation holds merit remains to be established, but the high profile utterance raises questions that go well beyond satellite broadband. It touches on the character of Indian capitalism, its relationship with the state, and the changing political economy of globalisation.

The temptation to dismiss the episode as a quarrel between billionaires would miss the point.…