‘The order is rapidly fadin’: Anand Mahindra quotes Bob Dylan to flag global shake-up as Trump’s tariffs rattle markets

As global markets reel from Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, a storm brews across economies, rewriting the rules of trade. In the eye of this upheaval, Anand Mahindra sounded a stark warning—change isn’t just coming, it’s accelerating. Drawing from Bob Dylan’s iconic lines, the Mahindra Group Chairman hinted at a global reordering already in motion, one that’s “going to change faster than you may imagine.”

Sharing a chart on X (formerly Twitter), Mahindra captioned it with the prophetic lyrics from Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’:

“Take a good look at this chart.  
Because the order is going to change faster than you may imagine.  
‘The line it is drawn  
The curse it is cast  
The slow one now  
Will later be fast  
As the present now  
Will later be past  
The order is rapidly fadin'  
And the first one now  
Will later be last  
For the times they are a-changin’”— Bob Dylan".

The post struck a chord, going viral as users weighed in with their interpretations and hopes.

“I guess India will be 3rd or 2nd in 3 years,” one user projected optimistically.

Another marveled at Singapore’s performance: “I’m just amazed that Singapore, despite being only half the size of Delhi, has achieved so much.”

A more pragmatic take came from a third user: “We need good production/industrial/tooling engineers in vast numbers — in pronto. We need simpler labour laws. We need simpler procedures to start businesses. We need simpler export procedures and benefit claim mechanisms.”

Meanwhile, the broader economic backdrop has turned tense. Economists are warning that Trump’s escalating trade war — peaking with his April 2 declaration of a 10% tariff on all imports — could hurt the US more than its trading partners. 

JP Morgan, responding to the market fallout, upped its recession risk forecast from 40% to 60% by year’s end. And the numbers back the fear: a staggering $6.6 trillion was wiped off the US stock market in just two days following the announcement.