India has entered into full election mode for 17th general election, from April 11 to May 9, 2019. Nirandra Modi has intensified his efforts to exploit Hindu nationalism sentiments and anti-Pakistan gimmicks to win a second term. He is promoting himself as chokidar (watchman) while trying to con Indians regarding the recent border escalations with Pakistan. Modi is distracting Indian voters by showing Indo-Pak border to divert their attention from his failures on socio-economic fronts, particularly for the poorest and marginalized sections of society.
Although India is the largest economy in South Asia with annual growth of 7 percent , majority of population is unable to benefit from the growth. Inequality between rich and poor has been rising at an unprecedented rate. Modi’s governance failures have made the lives miserable for 67 crores poor people. Two thirds (73%) of wealth generated in Indiais going into the pockets of 01 percent richest people . This is substantiated by the world renowned French economist Professor Thomas Piketty who declared current inequality in India as the highest in the last 96 years .
Instead of focusing on the poor, Modi sided himself with the richest. Former French President Francois Hollande exposed Modi-Ambanicoalition in the alleged corruption for the purchase of Rafale fighter aircraft .Ambanis are the richest family in India that spent $100 million on the wedding of one daughter in a country that has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. Around 8 lac infants died in 2017 due to lack of access to water, sanitation, nutrition and basic health services, as reported by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation .
Such an enormous inequality impacts people in urban and rural areas. India is one of the most depressed countries in the world. According to the World Health Organization
5.6 crores Indians are suffering from depression . Youth are under severe stress as more than 8000 students commit suicide every year .Agriculture contributes 17 percent in Indian economy with smallholder farmers as its backbone. They are losing hopesfor adequate incomes and a respectable life for their families.Consequently 24000 farmers had committed suicides in the first two years of BJP government. Since then Modi government has not released figures of farmers’ suicides .
Modi also failed to deliver on employment generation. Rather than offering jobs,India is currently facing the highest rate of unemployment in the last forty-five years. This has impacted both educated class and labourers. Highly educated youth constitute over 33 percent of unemployed population . And last year more than one crore poor people lost their job sin unorganised rural sector . Those who could save jobs faced drastic reduction in their income. Laborers who used to earn up to 400 Indian rupees now make only 200 per day. Qualities of jobs have gone from bad to worse as the construction workers are now cleaning sewage in streets.
As Modi tries to divert attention from the deteriorating human sufferings, it is widely acknowledged that the Indian adventure on Pakistani border has backfired. The deceptive politics of Nirandra Modi is unmasked by the statesmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan while the proficiencies of Pakistani forces have exposed the inabilities of Indian forces on all fronts be in air, ground or waters
According to United Nations Development Programme, 67 percent of graduate level rural women are unable to find jobs in India. In urban areas the figure of unemployed women graduates reach up to 68.3 percent .
Thomson Reuters Foundation, in 2018, had ranked India as the world’s most dangerous country for women due to backward cultural practices, sexual violence, and trafficking. After Modi came in to power, assaults on women increased up to 85 thousand in 2016 .
Health and education poverty lead to inter-generational inequalities. India is one of the worst examples such inequalities. On the one hand the richest people enjoy the best quality health services whereas the poorest segments continue to suffer from the lack of facilities. Women are the worst hit. Malnutrition is a major problem leading to anaemia. The Global Nutrition Report 2017 revealed that over half of Indian women of reproductive age are suffering from anaemia. The situation is more serious in case of gynaecological care as 83 percent of rural and 79 percent of urban women are deprived of complete reproductive health care . In education, the girls from poor communities are losing out. According to Oxfam report the girls from the bottom 20 percent strata of society get no education at all .
Extremism and intolerance have reached new heights in Modi’s government resulting in greater inequalities on religious and ethnic grounds. According to a survey by New Delhi Television, divisive public speeches by elected leaders increased 500 percent from 2014 to 2018. Ninety percent of those leaders were from BJP of Narendra Modi . Under the BJP government there were more than 400 cases of Hate and Targeted Violence against Muslims .
Human Rights violations increased manifold in Indian Occupied Kashmir. In June 2018, the UN Human Rights Office highlighted in its report that,”Indian security forces used excessive force that led to unlawful killings and a very high number of injuries”. The report says that up to 145 civilians were killed by the security forces from mid-July 2016 to March 2018, with up to 20 other civilians killed by armed groups in the same period. The report further noted that “Impunity for human rights violations and lack of access to justice are key human rights challenges in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms Michelle Bachelet,has criticized the narrow political agenda of Indian government that has made survival difficult for muslims, dalits and other marginalized segments in the country.
As Modi tries to divert attention from the deteriorating human sufferings, it is widely acknowledged that the Indian adventure on Pakistani border has backfired. The deceptive politics of Nirandra Modi is unmasked by the statesmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan while the proficiencies of Pakistani forces have exposed the inabilities of Indian forces on all fronts be in air, ground or waters.
In the above context it is important that leadership in India shifts its focus to resolve the socio-economic issues of poor and marginalized population. Regional peace in South Asia is essential for such endeavours. Pakistani leadership in politics, forces and media has shown commitment and gestures for peace after Indian aggression. It’s the time for India to act.