Rich grow richer, common man in dire straits

A fairly rich nation with a disproportionate number of poor people. Would that be the apt term to describe today’s India where the rich are growing richer and the common man is staring at ruin and waiting to slip into the abyss of poverty?

On Monday, a national party claimed that the gap between the ultra-rich and the middle class in the country is widening under the Narendra Modi government which has now been in power for almost ten years.

According to a party leader, the top 1 percent of income tax payers in the country made up for 17 percent of all income in 2013-14 while by 2021-22, the top 1 percent made up for 23 percent of all income indicating a significant rise in the riches of the super rich.

The leader also claimed that the gross income of the lowest 25 percent fell by 11 percent, from Rs 3.8 lakh crore in 2019 to Rs 3.4 lakh crore in 2022 while that of the super rich (top 1 percent) jumped 30 percent from Rs 7.9 lakh crore in 2019 to Rs 10.2 lakh crore in FY22.

Incomes of the rich are rising and that of the poor falling steeply; is this the nation our founding fathers envisaged after a century of struggle against the British colonial rulers who bled the country white?

The Preamble of the Indian Constitution says quite clearly that the people have solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens, justice, social, economic, and political.

There is nothing socialist about the current economy and the pro-rich and pro-corporate policies of the Central government. As for justice, it is still a far dream for many.

Reports claim that as many as 30 crore of the 130 crore population of the country still wallow in poverty. Which means that they are deprived of social services in health and education, something as basic as drinking water, sewerage facilities and even power.

The world ‘justice’ seems to have disappeared from the lexicon of the powerful as ‘concessions and favours’ are doled out to big industrialists in the good books of the government despite howls of protest from the opposition.

Freebies like cheap power and drinking water besides dole outs to various sections which are promised during every poll, do provide some measure of relief but hardly address other basic concerns like jobs, housing, good education and proper health facilities.

Reports say India has close to 27.5 per cent of the population in the age bracket of 15-24 years (i.e. working age population) and these are mostly youngsters straight out of high school or graduation who have just stepped into the job market.

For this age group, finding a job is no easy task. In Bengaluru, the IT capital of the country, parents are getting increasingly worried as IT behemoths have cut down on fresh recruitment from campuses blaming macro-economic factors like the two wars raging in Ukraine and Gaza.

The financial figures of these IT majors are also none too rosy and it remains to be seen how long the sluggishness in the sector will continue posing a huge headache for policy planners.

Falling incomes for a good proportion of the population, joblessness, rising prices of essential commodities made worse by the vagaries of the weather - these are obviously no positive indicators of a healthy economy.

A change in policies to address the basic needs of the lower and middle classes is the only way the government can shift track and address growing concerns over income disparity, joblessness and price rise rather than pandering to the interests of the rich and powerful.