I don't agree, at least in the case of India, there have been other places to put your money for a long time. However all of those require funds that have known

I don't agree, at least in the case of India, there have been other places to put your money for a long time. However all of those require funds that have known sources and on which taxes have been paid. There is a huge amount of funds in India in the "parallel economy" which can not be invested in these funds, the only options are to hold as cash or invest in real property (land/gold). Historically gold has been a good investment in India. See https://www.apnaplan.com/gold-price-in-india-40-years-history/ https://www.apnaplan.com/gold-price-in-india-40-years-histor...