75 years of Independence: An unequal nation

By Amit Banerjee During the last 75 years as an independent democratic country, our nation has had a chequered growth trajectory. Belying the views of sceptics, India has emerged as the world’s fifth largest economy and the third largest contributor to global economic growth. But with the failure of the ‘trickledown effect’ of our much-vaunted […]

By Amit Banerjee

During the last 75 years as an independent democratic country, our nation has had a chequered growth trajectory. Belying the views of sceptics, India has emerged as the world’s fifth largest economy and the third largest contributor to global economic growth.

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But with the failure of the ‘trickledown effect’ of our much-vaunted economic plans and policies, this growth story has spawned rising income inequality, social inequities, environmental degradation, job losses, etc, which, in turn, had deleterious consequences for poverty eradication. Things have come to such a sorry pass that the World Inequality Report 2022  lists India as a “very poor and unequal country”, with the top 1% garnering 22% of the national income and the share of the bottom half of the population plummeting to 13%.

On the eve of the 75th anniversary of our independence, it would be therefore in order to take cognisance of the persisting faultlines for initiating appropriate policy interventions and radical redirection of poverty-alleviation measures to usher in a more egalitarian society.

The top 1% have 22% of the national income and the share of the bottom half of the population has plummeted to 13%

Harsh Reality                 

All the lofty pronouncements about ‘Education for all’ and ‘Health for all’ seem to be shambolic and sheer rhetoric, when compared to the existing ground realities. For instance, the secondary schools in Murarai panchayat in Birbhum district of West Bengal adjoining Jharkhand are bereft of adequate teaching staff and basic infrastructural facilities. As compared to an ideal teacher-student ratio of 1:40, the existing ratio sways between 1:120 and 1:140. For years, there has been no teacher recruitment, although a large number of vacancies are notified and carried over from year to year.

Students from the marginalised sections of society, who cannot afford the costly education of the so-called English medium private schools, which have mushroomed in the neighbourhood, have to make do with the grossly understaffed government schools.  Anindya Sinha, a leading advocate and child rights activist of this panchayat, bemoans the fact that train connectivity has deteriorated between Murarai and Rampurhat, the sub-divisional headquarters, over the last 5 years to such an extent that a 30-km journey takes more than two hours by local train. “And yet, we are talking about Bullet Train! How long will we continue to peddle such dreams?” he asks anguished.

For the last six months, Milan Bepari, a gardener-cum-car cleaner from Tughlakabad village in South Delhi has been running from pillar to post seeking much-needed medicare for his critically ill octogenarian father. He has already incurred debts to the tune of Rs 2.5 lakh for his medical treatment. Every fortnight, he has to ferry his ailing father at the ungodly hours of 2-3 am to AIIMS at Ansari Nagar to consult the attending physician. They have to squat in the open space in front of the premier institution and take their position with the milling crowds of other patients and their relatives, lest they miss their given slot for consultation after daybreak.

 Hollow Lives                  

The lack of an adequate social safety net for the elderly is best exemplified by 79-year-old Alo Sarkar, who ekes out a living by working as a domestic help in the Mukherjee household in a plush residential complex in Kolkata. Herself in poor health and long abandoned by her off-springs, this widow has no other options to make her ends meet. With an uncertain future staring her in the face, she is personally indebted to the State government for the meagre monthly dole of Rs 500 under the much-touted ‘Lakshmi Bhandar Scheme’ for women. But she holds no grudge against anyone.

In spite of tall talks about gender equality, discrimination as regards allocation of work and emoluments for women employees in the workplace is quite visible. Neha, a senior functionary with a leading media group, puts it across quite succinctly: “Although there has been a sea change as regards a larger number of women joining the workforce, wage differentials for similar types of work performed by men and women persist. How many organisations are headed by women CEOs who are really empathetic towards women’s special needs and requirements and whether the existing structure gives enough opportunities for their career progression? Patriarchy continues to rule the roost in our society.”

For the women folk of water-parched Dandichi Bari, a village 90 km from Nashik, their emancipation has remained a hollow dream. Their lives have been attuned to fetching water for 4 critical summer months in earthen pots twice a day, after undertaking an arduous to-and-fro trip of 3 km. Making a perilous descent down a treacherous stony path to a nearly dry stream beside a hillside, scooping the last dregs of water with a small pail for filling up the pitchers and then trudging home with this life-giving treasure poses insurmountable problems. “Nothing much has changed since independence in spite of numerous media reports and audio-video coverage of our plight,” laments Usha (name changed), “with there being no respite from our daily rigour.” The village has earned such a bad name for its water travails that its prospective bridegrooms have a harrowing time finding suitable life partners.

Although many age-old and deeply entrenched social values have undergone a gradual change for the better, the mindset, in general, continues to be highly regressive. In Bihar, Arrah-based Prashant Jha, a new entrant in the clerical cadre in a leading bank has his eyes riveted on joining the supervisory cadre at the earliest simply to fulfil his family’s needs. For, as an officer, he can easily command a hefty dowry in the marital sweepstakes, which will come in handy for betrothing his grown-up sister later. Although he personally disdains any form of unethical pecuniary gains, he has no qualms about taking dowry for this purpose.

(The author is a freelance journalist based in Delhi)