In fact, those who know them closely trace the genesis of the present trouble to almost 1994 when the first of their children was born, raising worries in both Mukesh's and Anil's families about their inheritance.

But so long as patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani was alive, the differences remained subliminal and perhaps were confined to their own family quarters, aired only by their wives, Nita and Tina, "about the futures of their children".

But once Dhirubhai was gone, the inchoative cracks became open fissures that led to the two brothers not talking to each other since almost December 2002, about five months after their father\'s death.

Mukesh, 47, is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries while Anil, 45, holds the vice chairman's office.

A lot of the antagonism between the two brothers were fuelled by cronies and courtiers. But behind the differences, say sources both inside and close to the group, lay the increasing isolation of Anil from key decision-making and financial affairs of Reliance Industries, the flagship company with Rs.800 billion ($17.5 billion) in annual sales.

In fact, aver those close to Anil, had he not been increasingly sidelined by Mukesh and his yen for controlling things, he may not have been "forced" to seek "political solace".

The reference was to Anil's dalliance with the Samajwadi Party and his closeness to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and party general secretary Amar Singh, who encouraged his political debut and sponsored his entry into parliament.

His younger brother's political flirtations have not been liked by Mukesh, whose camp has made it known that the family, and their late father, never wanted any of the sons to enter politics or be identified with any political party or political ideology.

Initially, Mukesh sought to discourage his brother from entering politics - but never spoke directly to him but only through aides.

Anil, in response, let it be known - again through intermediaries - that he needed more "business space", a euphemism for greater say in running the affairs of the company.

But this never happened. Instead, Anil got divested even more from operational and financial matters of the group and was confined largely to running two companies - Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital.

Insiders say they saw the break coming for a long time. They point to the instance when Mukesh went ahead and appointed as taxation expert in his group a man who as an income tax official in the late eighties, had raided the home of actress Tina Munim - who was to later become Tina Ambani - and humiliated her.

Some years later, that same man occupied a cabin in Reliance Industries not far from where Anil sat and which Tina, as Anil's wife, frequently visited.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government is naturally concerned about the murky goings-on in the country's largest business house - several ministers know the brothers intimately - but is seeking to keep a respectable distance without seeming to be taking any sides.

Even Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), has expressed her concern and let it be known that she would like the brothers to patch up - in the interest of the diversified group, which has interests from polyester and petrochemicals to energy to telecom, their shareholders and the country.

Although she has never been happy about Anil's closeness to the Samajwadi Party, she has said her Congress party was completely neutral on the matter.

Where is the dispute headed?

Well-wishers and family retainers fear that the brothers may have reached a point of no return. Self-appointed mediators are ending up doing more harm than good and, in the absence of direct contact between the brothers or their families, end up carrying tales that has widened the family estrangement.

--Indo-Asian News Service