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India's Record of Development and Democracy under BJP: An Epic of Failure,

Sanhati

Article · August 2018

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India’s Record of Development and Democracy under the BJP:

An epic of dismal failure

Raju J Das, Professor, York University, Torontoi

Email: rajudas@yorku.ca

Published in Sanhati: http://sanhati.com/excerpted/18817/

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the 2014 general election partly by promising

development or vikas. On May 25, 2018, Mr. Modi, India’s Prime Minister and the supreme

leader of BJP with a unique ability to connect to certain sections of the public, said this on

Twitter: ‘On this day in 2014, we began our journey of working towards India’s transformation’.

He added: ‘Over the last four years, development had become a vibrant mass movement, with

every citizen feeling involved in India’s growth trajectory. 125 crore Indians are taking India to

great heights’ (italics added).

One should ask, and many are asking: To what extent has development really happened under

the BJP government?; how has India been transformed? Using online content from media and

national and international institutions, this article empirically examines India’s development

under the BJP regime, in terms of its economic and social-political aspects, in what I will call

‘Modinopolitics’ (economics and politics of Mr. Modi and his ‘team’) working?

The paper has 5 sections. In section 1, I discuss the economic development record of the BJP

government. In sections 2 and 3, I show how the ultra-rich are gaining enormously, and how the
 2

poorer segments are, more or less, losing under this government, respectively. In section 4, I

show the government’s record of political development, including democracy and social

harmony. In section 5, I summarize the discussion, and comment on the government’s publicity

campaign and its implications for understanding its failure.

BJP Government’s Record of Economic Development

Economic growth -- increase in

Economic Growth Rate 2014-2017
per capita Gross Domestic 8.5
(annual GDP per capita growth rate)

8
Economic Growth Rate %

Product, or GDP per capita -- is

7.5
one of the indicators of
7
economic development. Other
6.5
things constant, a situation of 6
2014 2015 2016 2017
rising GDP per capita is, better Years

for common
Figure 1: Economic Growth Rate 2014-2017
Data Source https://www.statista.com/statistics/263617/gross-domestic-product-gdp-growth-rate-
people than one where it is in-india

not rising. There is little to suggest that economic growth has been stellar during the 2014-2017

period (even if the calculation of GDP has been mired in controversy) (Figure 1). If anything, the

numbers have declined. This is thanks to not only the regressive GST which has hurt small-scale

producers, but also to demonetization the logic of which has not yet been clear. It should be

noted that the government has kept on changing its own explanation of its policy of demon-

etization from eliminating corruption to terror funding, to formalization of economic transactions

by reducing cash use, etc.), and that the failure of the policy has not been admitted
 3

by the government. Could it be that: this policy was introduced on behalf of, and at the behest of,

a segment of the capitalist class that deals in e-technologies or e-transactions, but was justified in

terms of the benefits for all.

In any case, the lacklustre performance in terms of economic growth is in spite of the fact that

the new government, installed in May 2014, enjoyed three advantages: a recovering global

economy post 2008 crisis, and falling oil prices, due to which the country received a bonanza of

6 lakh crores in revenue; as well, the government has also had an absolute majority in the

parliament. ii

Another important aspect of

Percentage of Growth in Electricity Generation
development is physical 2013-2018
10
infrastructure. The
Electricity Generation

8
% Growth in

government has rightly laid 6

stress on this, and has 4

2
achieved some success.
0
2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018
The number of electrified
Years

villages has increased since

Figure 2: Percentage of Growth in Electricity Generation 2013-2018
2014 (all villages are now Data Source: https://www.thewire.in/government/narendra-modi-government-four-years-
schemes

electrified, which is a major feat),

sS although that does not mean that all or even the majority of

people in a newly electrified village have access to electricity: only 7.3% of the villages newly

electrified under the new government have 100% household connectivity.iii A village may be
 4

connected to the electricity power grid but there may not be power for most of the day, and even

if there is power, all villagers may not be able to afford to buy power. Also note that: the rate of

growth in electricity generation has been coming down (Figure 2).

Similarly, while 36 million LPG connections have been issued over the last two years under the

Ujjwala scheme, this is not reflected in the consumption of cooking fuel. The rate of increase in

consumption of LPG is not rising (Figure 3). This is in part because people cannot afford the gas

on a continuous basis as compared to kerosene and firewood. Millions of families who have an

LPG connection – and an Percentage Growth in LPG (Cooking Gas)

Consumption 2014-2018
extremely high percentage
% Growth in LPG (cooking gas)

11

of poor families who have 10

Consumption

9
been given a connection by
8
the government -- do not
7

have the resources for 6

2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018
iv Years
refills. Note that people

are not given free gas: they Figure 3: Percentage Growth in LPG (Cooking Gas) Consumption 2014-2018
Data Source: https://thewire.in/government/narendra-modi-government-four-years-schemes

have to pay for the stove and the cylinder.

 5

The picture with respect to

Road Infrastructure 2014-2017
the construction of national 11000 36600
10000 36400

Construction (in kms)

36200
highways has been 9000

of Hingways

Rural Roads
36000
8000
35800
generally positive: 4410 7000
35600
6000 35400
kms in 2014-2015 and 5000 35200
4000 35000
almost 10,000 kms in 2017- 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018
Years
2018 (Figure 4). Of course,
Construction (in kms) of highways Rural roads

one should bear in mind

Figure 4: Road Infrastructure 2014-2017
Data source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/in-2016-17-rural-roads-built-on-time-
that while the target was to less-than-half-of-targeted-habitations-reached/story-Vq9wYDQ7mkZMT1iGzUYk6K.html

construct 41 kms a day, the actual achievement has been no more than 23 kms per day. Building

on the good work done by the previous regime, the new government has enhanced rural

connectivity. 120,000 kms of rural roads were built in 2014-17 period, and this is a remarkable

achievement, but it is a false claim made by BJP that this achievement is an all- time high:v One

should also note that the pace of rural road construction has not shown any increasing trend

between 2016 and 2017.

Development is more than about an increase in income/wealth (artha). It is more than about an

increased availability of bijli, sadak and pani, although all these are necessary. Development is a

multi-dimensional process. A better indicator of development is the Human Development Index,

which takes into account income as well as education and health conditions. On the human

development front, India has not made any progress under the BJP government (Figure 5).
 6

Human Development Index 2014-2016

0.626 135

0.624 130
0.622
125
0.62
120
Score

Rank
0.618
115
0.616
110
0.614

0.612 105

0.61 100
2014 2015 2016

Score Rank

Figure 5: Human Development Index 2014-2016

Data Source: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/IND.pdf

The BJP government has emphasized the importance of development in the form of: sabka saath

and sabka vikas, or in other words, inclusive development. Inclusive development is a laudable

goal. But does the government promote this? Luckily, there is a new development index that

seeks to capture this interesting idea. Designed by the World Economic Forum as an alternative

to GDP, the Inclusive Development Index (IDI) reflects more closely the criteria by which

people evaluate their countries’ economic progress. The IDI index is based on: growth and

development (GDP per capita; labour productivity; life expectancy and employment); inclusion

(median household income; income and wealth inequality, and poverty rate); and

intergenerational equity and sustainability (public debt level; carbon intensity of GDP, etc.).vi

India’s IDI score was 3.38 in 2017 and slipped to 3.09 in 2018 (Norway, the top country, has a

score of 6.08) (Figure 6). Among the developing economies, India’s IDI rank was 60 in 2017 and

it slipped to 62 in 2018.
 7

Another alternative indicator of development is the Happiness Index, which is based on the

values for six of the key variables that have been found to support well-being: income, healthy

life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust, and generosity.vii Out of a total possible score of

10, India’s score has been shrinking (Figure 7). Its rank (1 = best) is also going down among the

community of nations: its rank was 122 in 2017, and it slipped 11 places to 133 in 2018 (not

shown in the graph). viii

Inclusive Development Index Happiness Index 2014-2017

2017-2018 4.9
3.45 4.8
3.4
4.7
3.35
3.3 4.6
3.25 4.5
Score

3.2
Score

4.4
3.15
3.1 4.3
3.05 4.2
3
2.95 4.1
2.9 4
2017 2018 2014 2015 2016 2017
Years Years

Figure 6: Inclusive Development Index 2017-2018 Figure 7: Happiness Index 2014-2017

Data Source: No data for 2014; the score for 2013 is used for 2014
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Forum_IncGrwth_2018 Data Source: https://yourstory.com/2015/04/india-117-
.pdf happiness-rank/
https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/India/happiness/

The Winners under the BJP regime: achhe din (= good times) for the ultra-rich

The government is generally doing a good job for the business class, which played a critical role

in installing it, including through secretive election funding and the dissemination of pro-BJP

ideas through a compliant and communalizing media controlled by this class. The Ease of Doing

Business Index, which indicates improvement in the business environment in terms of whether

regulations for business activities, including labour-related regulations, are simpler (read: mainly
 8

pro-business) and whether their property rights are well protected: India’s rank has increased

from 142 in 2015 to 130 in 2017 and 100 in 2018 (Figure 8). The fact that the business class is

benefitting from the government is also indicated by the fact that India’s stock markets have

been doing rather well during its tenure. More than any other section of the population, it is the

business class which is experiencing achhe din.

Ease of Doing Business Index 2014-2018

90

100

110
Rank

120

130

140

150
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Years

Figure 8: Ease of Doing Business Index 2014-2018

Data Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ease_of_doing_business_index

In the context of increasing ease of doing business, one should consider the fact that the ultra-

nationalist government has been selling off the wealth of the nation itself (e.g. public sector

enterprises) to the business class, with an increased zeal, relative to the previous government

(Figure 9). It is also privatizing or keen to privatize the nation’s natural resources (e.g. forests).
 9

Sell-Out of Public Sector Enterprises (Disinvestments)

2014-2018
120,000.00

100,000.00

80,000.00
Rs. Crore

60,000.00

40,000.00

20,000.00

0.00
2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018
Years

Figure 9: Disinvestment (RS. Crore) 2014-2018

Data Source: http://dipam.gov.in/disinvestment-till-now/2502

It is also giving away the nation’s financial resources in the form of loans from public-sector

banks to the private sector.ix The loans issued from nationalized banks are becoming non-

performing assets (NPAs) (Figure 10). The BJP government, like the previous one, continues to

write-off loans (i.e. financial resources of the public) that the big business owes to public-sector

banks (Figure 11), and the number of write-offs has increased by almost 2 times between 2014

and 2016. While this is done quietly, any talk of loan waivers to farmers in distress becomes a

big noisy issue and is seen as a threat to India’s global credit-worthiness by the rating agencies

and others. ‘The chief economic advisor [says] that writing off bad loans of the corporate sector

makes economic sense, because ‘this is how capitalism works’’. x

 10

Public Sector Banks' Gross NPAs in Loan Write-Offs (Rs Crore)

Rs. Crore 2014-2017 2014-2017
800,000 80,000

700,000 75,000

70,000
600,000
Rs. Crore

65,000

Rs Crore
500,000
60,000
400,000
55,000
300,000 50,000

200,000 45,000
Jan-14 Jan-15 Jan-16 Jan-17 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017
Years Years

Figure 10: Public Sector Banks’ Gross NPAs in Rs. Crore
2014-2017
Data Source: https://www.firstpost.com/business/bank-npa-
trend-in-7-charts-bad-loans-at-state-run-banks-may-be-
peaking-select-private-peers-see-rise-4218813.html
Figure 11: Loan Write-Offs (Rs. Crore) 2014-2017
Data Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/business/banking-
and-finance/psu-banks-write-off-rs-55356-crore-in-six-months-
bad-debt-4966594/

And the story of the transfer of nation’s resources to the ultra-rich – the story of the loot assisted

by the nationalist government -- does not end there. The government’s watch on capitalists is so

relaxing that thousands of bank frauds are allowed to happen (at the rate of one fraud every 2

hours in the last 5 years since 2013), costing the nation billions of rupees (Figures 12-13). Bank

frauds, more or less, mean that the ultra-rich, who are mainly of the business class, including

those who are politically well-connected and who can even mingle with the leaders of the nation

at home and abroad, are allowed to milk the nation’s banks, at the expense of the public.

The period from 2013 to March 1, 2018 saw as many as 23,866 cases of fraud, of 1 lakh rupees

or above in each case. A total of 1,00,718 crore rupees was involved in all the cases put together

(Hindu, 2018).
 11

Incidents of Loan Frauds in All Amount of Loan Frauds in All

Banks, including Public Sector Banks, including Public Sector
Banks 2013-2018 Banks (Rupees Crore) 2013-2018
5200 30000
5100
5000 25000
4900
Incidents of Fraud

Frauds (Rs. Crore)

4800 20000
Number of

Amount of
4700
4600 15000
4500
4400 10000
4300
4200 5000
4

8
01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01
-2

-2

-2

-2

-2

-2

-2

-2

-2

-2
13

14

15

16

17

13

14

15

16

17
20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20
Years Years

Figure 12: Incidents of Loan Frauds in all Banks 2013-2018

Figure 13: Amount of Loan Frauds in all Banks, including
*2017-2018’s data on Number of Incidents of Frauds are
Public Sector Banks 2013-2018
between April 2017 and March 2018
Data Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/over-
Data Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/over-
23000-bank-fraud-cases-involving-1-lakh-crore-in-5-years-
23000-bank-fraud-cases-involving-1-lakh-crore-in-5-years-
rbi/article23747175.ece?homepage=true
rbi/article23747175.ece?homepage=true

In early 2015, the total size of bad loans (gross NPA) in the banking sector was around Rs 3.2

lakh crore. This amount jumped to 8.41 lakh crores on December 2017. The total size of bad

loans has now (mid-2018) ballooned to nearly Rs 10 lakh crores, 3 times more than 2015. The

banking sector woes have ‘caused a collapse in availability of credit to industry which then

spiraled into low investment by the private sector and consequently low fixed capital formation’

(Chakravarty, 2018).xi One can also say that when the nationalized banks’ resources dry up in the

fraudulent way that they are, these banks’ ability to serve the ordinary people (both in terms of

amount of lending and the cost of sending) will be compromised.xii

 12

That is not all. Failing to recover tax dues from corporates, the Income Tax (IT) department is

sitting on a pile of Rs. 50,000 crore of tax arrears. The IT Department has now started writing off

thousands of crores of tax arrears by corporate defaulters on the ground that their economic

health is not sound.xiii This is yet another form of corporate loot of the nation.

Whether one considers the write-off of tax arrears or of the loans owed to public sector banks by

the business class or whether one considers the sale by the government of society’s natural

resources (land and forests) to this class, all this is simply a form of a loot: the business world

takes something from society without giving it the equivalent. If Britain looted Rs 91 lakh crores

at current rates over 300 years from India,xiv one can compare very well the amount of loot of

India’s resources by the Indian (and foreign) capitalist class, fully assisted by politicians and

bureaucrats, in the name of development and transformation.

The government is blatantly pro-business. A part of this relation is a package of government’s

welfare for the corporates. The government-assisted loot of society’s resources by the business-

world discussed earlier can be seen as this package. The package also includes the fact that the

government has anti-labour policies (e.g. allowing employers to hire and fire freely; not

increasing minimum wages, using coercive forces to break unions and social resistance, and so

on) by virtue of which corporates are allowed to super-exploit workers by paying them minimal

wages, in order to swell their profits. So, the government’s and BJP’s promise of sabka saath

and sabka vikas is in reality corporates ka saath, corporates ka vikas.

 13

It is indeed not surprising therefore that: the number of dollar billionaires in India was 109 in

2014, and this number has increased to 136 in 2017 (Figure 14). The new regime has made little

difference to the continuing tendency towards the concentration of net wealth. This is further

confirmed by the fact that: in 2014, there were 230 individuals on the Hurun India rich list

compared to 617 in 2017 (with a cut-off of Rupees 1000 crores) (Figure 15).

Number of U.S. Dollar Billionaires Number of People in the Huron

in India 2014-2017 Indian Rich List 2014-2017
140 700

135 600
Number of People in the List

130 500
Dollar Billionaires

125 400
No. of

120 300

115 200

110 100

105 0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2014 2015 2016 2017
Years Years

Figure 14: Number of U.S. Dollar Billionaires in India 2014- Figure 15: Number of People in the Huron Indian Rich List 2014-
2017 2017
Data Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/324237/india- Data Source:
number-of-billionaires/ http://www.hurun.net/EN/Article/Details?num=1F570C35BCA2

Many super-rich individuals have black money abroad; given the strong ties between the

government and the business class (including through secretive electoral funding whose secretive

nature the current government protects), the government’s promise to bring back black money

and to deposit 15 lakhs in every citizen’s account, like many other promises (one of Mr. Modi’s
 14

statements was ‘I have decided if you bless me and give me the opportunity I will bring back all

the black money’) has melted into thin air.

One should note that the business class (or the ultra-rich stratum), and the political class (law-

makers/politicians) very well overlap: the ultra-rich become politicians, and politicians become

the ultra-rich. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR): ‘the average assets

of the 46-member Council of Ministers [which was sworn in 2014] is Rs. 13.47 crore...Of the 44

ministers analysed, 40 (91 percent) are crore patis’. Note that more than 92% of Indians have

assets that are worth Rs. 600,000 or less. ADR further reveals: ‘Four of Modi's ministers have

declared more than Rs. 30 crores worth of assets’. xv

Not surprisingly, the

Share of Wealth Held By Top 1% and 10% in India
share of the nation’s
2012-2016
wealth held by the top 85
Share of Total Wealth in India

80
1% has continued to 75
70
grow under the BJP 65
60
55
government: from 49%
50
45
to 58.4% (Figure 16).
40
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
The richest people are
Top 1% Top 10%
increasing their share of
Figure 16: Share of India’s Wealth Held by Top 1% and 10% 2012-2016
Data Source: https://www.livemint.com/Money/MML9OZRwaACyEhLzUNImnO/The-
the nation’s wealth faster richest-1-of-Indians-now-own-584-of-wealth.html

under the nationalist

government than before.

 15

Wealth is, ultimately, generated on the basis of labour of common people who have to work for

others for a wage/salary and who receive only a small part of what they produce, and on the basis

of the use of nation’s natural resources. Now, in 2017, a whopping 73 percent of the new wealth

generated went to the richest one percent of the nation’s population. In the last 12 months the

wealth of this elite group increased by Rupees 20,913 billion. This amount is equivalent to total

budget of Central Government in 2017-18. Indian billionaires accumulated Rs. 4891 billion in

the last year only.xvi Under Mr. Modi’s rule, the ultra-rich have become richer. In 2013-14, the

last year before Modi took over, corporate profits were Rs 3.95 lakh crore. By 2016-17, with Mr.

Modi’s saath (help), corporates have experienced real vikas: corporate profits had risen by nearly

23% to reach Rs 4.85 lakh crore in 2016-17 (ibid.). It is not just wealth that is being unequally

distributed. Income is being unequally distributed as well: the share of the richest 1% of Indians

in the country’s income has been increasing.

The Losers under the BJP regime: not-so-achhe-din for the majority

The vast majority of people depend on wage-employment for a significant part of their income.

The situation with respect to unemployment and wages has not been satisfactory at all (Figures

17-18). The situation is grave, if one considers the number of the unemployed along with that of

the under-employed,xvii and those, including millions of women, who have left the labour force

because of their failure to get a job. The unemployment situation is a far cry from the promise

made by the government, of 10 million jobs every year. According to IndiaSpend on an average

2.13 lakh jobs have been created every year in the 2014-2017 period.
 16

Unemployment Rate 2014-2018

5.5

5
Unemployment Rate (%)

4.5

3.5

3
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Years

Figure 17: Unemployment Rate 2014-2018

Data Source: https://tradingeconomics.com/india
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/unemployment-rate-in-india-nearly-31-million-
indians-are-jobless/articleshow/63182015.cms

According to the third Mood of the Nation survey conducted in May 2018 by Lokniti-CSDS-

ABP News, one in every four voters saw lack of jobs as the biggest problem facing the country,

and nearly three in every five voters (57%) said that finding jobs in their area has become more
xviii
difficult during the last 3-4 years; this figure was 49% in January 2018.

The promise of creation of self-employment through schemes such as the Mudra Yojana which

provides small loans to small-business people is simply deceptive: the average amount of loan

has been less than Rupees 50,000; with such a small amount one can never set up an enterprise

that will generate revenue for a family to lead a life beyond poverty. Barely 1% of all mudra

loans are substantial amounts (i.e. at least 5 Rupees). Xix

 17

A person’s economic living standard, if one is a wage-earner, depends, more or less, on the

number hours/days she/he is employed and the wages he/she receive per hour/day. Not only are

employment opportunities scarce (and precarious). Wages (both nominal or real – inflation-

adjusted -- wages) also remain low, and show little sign of improvement under the new

government. Wages for the low-skilled workers have indeed been falling (Figure 18). The

remuneration for wage-workers (and the self-employed) are just not enough for them to lead a

decent life.

Low Skilled Wages/Month 2015-2018

14000
Low Skilled Wages/Momth (Rs)

13000

12000

11000

10000
2015 2016 2017 2018
Years

Figure 18: Low Skilled Wages/Month 2015-2018

Note that dates for the wages refer to wages in January of the years
Data Source: https://tradingeconomics.com/india
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/unemployment-rate-in-india-nearly-31-million-
indians-are-jobless/articleshow/63182015.cms

Almost 7 out of 10 Indians live in villages. The rural people dependent on casual labour are

among the neediest. In part due to the pressure of the Left the previous government had started a

massive rural employment creation programme (MGNREGS). How has the BJP government

treated this programme? The job-creation for the rural poor has been almost stagnant in the last
 18

couple of years after an initial increase, and the investment on this programme has been

inadequate (Figures 19-20).

Stagnation in Person Days of Work Relative Stagnation in the

Generated Under MGNREGS (Rs. Amount of Investment in
Crore) 2014-2018 MGNREGS 2014-2018
240 50000
230
220 45000

210
Rs. Crore

200 40000

Rs. Crore
190
35000
180
170
30000
160
5

8
01

01

01

01

25000
-2

-2

-2

-2
14

15

16

17

2014-2015 2016-2017
20

20

20

20

Years Years

Figure 19: Stagnation in Person Days of Work Generated Under
MGNREGS (Rs. Crore) 2014-2018
Data Source:
https://www.livemint.com/Politics/FjrVGh1J7DVAQGn4tzrQlL
/Record-government-expenditure-on-MGNREGS-underlines-
rural-di.html
Figure 20: Relative Stagnation in the Amount of Investment
in MGNREGS 2014-2018
Data Sources: http://www.business-
standard.com/article/current-affairs/budget-2018-was-modi-
govt-s-funding-boost-to-mgnrega-in-2017-an-eyewash-
118012900238_1.html;
https://www.firstpost.com/business/union-budget-2018-
highest-funding-allocated-to-mgnrega-in-2017-yet-56-wages-
were-delayed-4324809.html;
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/budg
et-2018-jaitley-allocates-rs-55000-crore-mgnrega-
2491319.html

Note that the 48,000 crore allocation in 2017-18 which appears to be higher than the previous

year’s allocation, actually includes pending liabilities from last year, estimated at Rs 10,778

crore. Note also that this allocation ‘is barely 53% of what is required to meet the States’ for

work under MGNREGA’. xx The rural employment program is not generating enough

employment per household (Figure 21).

 19

Average Persondays per Household under MGNREGS

2010-2016
50

Average Persondays per Household 45

40

35

30

25

20

15
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Years

Figure 21: Average Person days per Households under MGNREGS 2010-2016
Data Source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=18117#C7
Note: numbers for 2010, 2011 and 2012 are estimates.

According to a recent RBI reportxxi, rural wage labourers experienced a high wage growth rate

between 2007 and 2013 (partly thanks to the better effectivity of the rural employment program),

but the growth rate in rural wages came down during the 2014-2018 period, in part because the

momentum of the employment program has been dampened. xxii More specifically, between

October 2013 and October 2013, rural wages (in nominal terms) increased by 15%, but the wage

growth between 2014 and 2017 has significantly come down to about a third of this rate xxiii

(Figure 22).
 20

Percentage Growth Rate of Rural Wages (Nominal)

2007-2017
17

Percentage Growth Rate of Rural Wages 15

13

11
(Nominal)

3
2007-2013 Average Oct-15 Oct-16 Oct-17
Years

Figure 22: Percentage Growth Rate of Rural Wages (Nominal) 2007-2017

Data Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/labour-markets-the-puzzle-of-rural-wages-5019670/

Given the highly dissatisfactory situation with respect to employment and wage growth, it is not

surprising that while income and wealth are getting concentrated in the hands of a few (top 1-

10%) under the BJP regime, the bottom half (or indeed a section that is larger than the bottom

half) is not doing that well. Under Mr. Modi, while the rich have become richer, the poor have

become, more or less, poorer, or are not doing much better. For example, in 2017, more than

70% of the new wealth generated went to the richest one percent of the population, as mentioned

above, while the vast majority (670 million Indians comprising the poorest half of the

population) saw just 1% increase in their wealth. While the richest 10% of Indians control 80.7%

of nation’s wealth in 2016, and the richest 1% control 58.4% of nation’s wealth, consider the fact

that the bottom half owns a mere 2.1%.xxiv While the trend of increasing inequality preceded the

Modi regime, the control of the ultra-rich over the nation’s wealth has increased faster after
 21

2014. With the ultra-rich doing as well as they are, there is no sign of the relative position of the

majority improving at all.

The worsening economic situation of the majority is expressed in many ways. When the

unemployment situation is not satisfactory, when wages are not rising fast, it is not surprising

that millions cannot meet their basic needs. According to the Lokniti May 2018 survey, referred

to earlier, the percentage of voters who are not able to fulfil all of their needs and face some or

much difficulty has increased from 53% to 67%, just between Jan 2018 and May 2018.

A country that aspires to be an

Global Hunger Index: India Getting Worse
economic power must meet the 2010-2017
35 110
most basic needs of its poor, and 100
30
90
especially, the need for food. Yet,
Score

Rank
25 80
70
hunger is rampant. The Global 20
60
15 50
Hunger Index (GHI) study 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Years
combines indicators that measure
Score Rank
the extent of undernourishment in
Figure 23: Global Hunger Index 2014-2017
Score out of 100; 100 = worst
the population and the extent of Data Source: http://www.ifpri.org/previous-global-hunger-index-ghi-reports

undernourishment and mortality of children under five. The GHI index ranks countries on a 100-

point scale, with 0 being the best score (no hunger) and 100 being the worst, although neither of

these extremes is reached in practice (Figure 23). The hunger index and scores for India are

getting worse.
 22

Another way in which the worsening situation of the vast majority is expressed is the agrarian

crisis. There is little sign of the agrarian distress being mitigated: over the 2014-2016 period

only, no fewer than 36,362 farm-dependent people have committed suicide (i.e. 2 cases of

suicide every hour). These numbers generally exclude women. Not getting a remunerative price

for their crops is a big problem for farmers everywhere.

The BJP government’s record of political development

People do not live by chawal and daal alone. They need freedom. Mrs. Indira Gandhi probably

did not understand this in the 1970s when she declared emergency. She and her party paid a

price. How has India been doing under the BJP government in terms of political freedom?

Arguably, there is an undeclared emergency, an undeclared war on freedom, in the name of

vikas, patriotism, nationalism, Hindu pride, etc., which complements a war on the living

standards of common people.

Consider the ‘Democracy Index’. This index is based on five categories: electoral process and

pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political

culture. Based on their scores (on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 = best) on a range of indicators

within these categories, each country is given a score. Although there is still a democratic

tradition in India, the degree of the country’s democratic character is shrinking, as seen in

changes in this index (Figure 24). A free press is an important part of democracy. The degree of

press freedom is, more or less, decreasing (Figure 25). This is corroborated by the assault on
 23

journalists who dare to speak the truth and to criticize wrong actions/thinking of the government

and of the (militant-communal) forces.

Democracy Index 2014-2017 Press Freedom Index 2014-2018

8 40
7.9 40.5
7.8
41
7.7
41.5

Score
7.6
Score

7.5 42
7.4 42.5
7.3 43
7.2
43.5
7.1 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
7 Year
2014 2015 2016 2017
Years Score

Figure 24: Democracy Index 2014-2017
Score is out of 10; higher score = greater freedom.
Data Source:
https://www.sudestada.com.uy/Content/Articles/421a313a-
d58f-462e-9b24-2504a37f6b56/Democracy-index-2014.pdf;
https://www.yabiladi.com/img/content/EIU-Democracy-
Index-2015.pdf; http://felipesahagun.es/wp-
content/uploads/2017/01/Democracy-Index-2016.pdf
Figure 25: Press Freedom Index 2014-2018
Score out of 100. A smaller score on the report = greater
freedom of the press as reported by the organisation.
Data Source: https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/In-
world-press-freedom-index-India-ranks-
133rd/articleshow/51941837.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/press-freedom-is-
india-in-decline/articleshow/64009855.cms

The new government has been promising good governance. Connected to this promise is the rule

of law. The graph on rule of law presents WJP (World Justice Project)’s Rule of Law Index.

Based on more than 110,000 household and 3,000 expert surveys, the index measures the rule of

law across eight factors: constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open

Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice,

and Criminal Justice. Scores range from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating the strongest adherence to the

rule of law. Countries are ranked on the basis of scores: higher the rank, the worse the rule of
 24

law. Among the 113 countries ranked in 2017-2018, India’s rank is 62, indicating a bad situation

in terms of rule of law. There is very little improvement in the score for the rule of law.

The new government had promised to eliminate corruption through increasing public awareness,

e-governance, etc. What is the reality? Corruption is reduced when, other things constant,

common people have the freedom to keen an eye on politicians (esp. of the ruling party) and

government officials. A society where the rule of law is not well adhered to and where there is a

threat to freedom of press (Figure 25) and secular civil society organizations, from right-wing

violent mobs and from the state institutions steeped with right-wing ideas, such a society will

tend to have high level of corruption within the government institutions.

The Transparency Corruption Perception Index 2014-2017

40.5 86
Corruption Perception Index
40 84
39.5 82
uses a scale of 0 to 100, 80
39
Score

Rank
78
where 0 is highly corrupt 38.5
76
38 74
and 100 is very clean. 37.5 72
37 70
2014 2015 2016 2017
Years

India's corruption score has Score Rank

Figure 26: Corruption 2014-2017
Data Source: https://www.transparency.org/research/cp
remained unchanged at 40.

In 2015, the score was 38. India is among the “worst offenders” in terms of graft and press

freedom in the Asia Pacific region, according to Transparency International. Since 2015, India’s

world ranking in terms of corruption has been getting worse (Figure 26). India’s corruption level

in the public sector seems to be not getting better, in spite of the government’s promise to

provide clean governance, in spite of its promise of sahi niyat.

 25

As far as everyday corruption is concerned, a survey -- by the Centre for Media Studies -- reports

in 2017 that 43 per cent of households feel that the level of corruption has increased in the

preceding year. This is petty corruption, something that households face in their day-to-day life.

At the top, secretive election funding by corporates (through electoral bonds), a policy that is

promoted by BJP, is a major form of corruption made legal: a company will not give millions to

a ruling party and/or provide material and ideological-social support to its vote-garnering forces

masquerading as cultural organizations, for nothing. A corporate, or a group of corporates, can

buy an entire policy package, and not just this or that specific intervention on behalf of a

company (e.g. buying a piece of government land for less than the market price by paying some

politicians and officers a lot of money), and when an entire policy is bought, that is corruption

but is not seen as that. It is quite likely that the total donations to BJP controlling the current

government are several times the donations to all the other parties put together. One of the best

ways to show that a party is non-corrupt is for it to tell the public who is funding it and how

much, and better, to introduce a policy of state funding of elections. BJP will not do either. In

fact, it has made it impossible that the money that came for the 2014 elections can be

investigated.

A society that does not respect the rights of women and children is a society with which there is

something terribly wrong. In this context, one may want to seriously reflect on the fact that

number of crimes committed against women and children in big cities has been increasing under

the BJP regime (Figure 27).

 26

Similarly, the dalits, who, like the aboriginal people (India’s Adivasis), are a group that need the

most amount of respect from the nation: as workers (and as petty producers) they are most

exploited, and as ordinary citizens, they are most oppressed. Instead of ensuring their dignity,

society is increasingly violent against them, because their views and practices may not conform

to those of the upper-caste elite which supports the government. The number of crimes

committed against dalits in big cities has been rising since 2014 (Figure 28).

Atrocities/Crimes against Atrocities/Crimes against

Women & Children in Scheduled Castes in Metropolitan
Metropolitan Cities 2014-2016 Cities 2014-2016
42,000 19,000 1650

41,500 18,500 1630

No. of Atrocities/Crimes against Women

No. of Atrocities/Crimes against Children

Atrocities/Crimes against Scheduled Castes

1610
41,000 18,000
1590
(Dalits or Untouchables)

40,500 17,500
1570
40,000 17,000
1550
39,500 16,500
1530

39,000 16,000 1510

38,500 15,500 1490

38,000 15,000 1470

2014 2015 2016
Years 1450
2014 2015 2016
Women Children Years

Figure 27: Atrocities/Crimes against Women and Children in Figure 28: Atrocities/Crimes against Scheduled Castes in
Metropolitan Cities 2014-2016 Metropolitan Cities 2014-2016
Data Source: Data Source:
http://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/CII/CII2016/pdfs/NEWPDF http://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/CII/CII2016/pdfs/NEWPD
s/Crime%20in%20India%20- Fs/Crime%20in%20India%20-
%202016%20Complete%20PDF%20291117.pdf (p. xxxiii) %202016%20Complete%20PDF%20291117.pdf (p. xxxiv)
 27

According to NCRB, 40,801 cases of crime against scheduled castes were registered in the

country as a whole in 2016, compared to 38,670 cases in 2015, an increase of 5.5%. Similarly,

6568 atrocities against Adivasis were recorded in 2016, compared to 6276 in 2015, a rise of

4.6%.xxv ‘These two most oppressed sections of society together make up about 25% of India’s

population. The manuvadi and Brahmanical approach of the Sangh Parivar towards these

sections is primarily responsible for their increasing marginalisation in the years against Modi

rule’. (ibid.) It is not surprising therefore to hear one BJP leader say this about dalits: ‘To us they

are like a side dish, a pickle. You need a finger-lick (of the pickle) between mouthfuls to get your

food down. But they can never be the main course. It is ok to interact with them, in party offices.

But our cultures are too different to sit down with them at home’. xxvi

Their haath (hand) is needed as workers and as voters, but their saath (their company) is

shunned because they are perceived to be very low on the caste hierarchy. Uttering the name of

Mr. Ambedkar, who was one of the most progressive and secular persons of modern India, while

having nothing to do with his ideas or practice, is one of the most hypocritical things a party and

its leaders (and their paid-for savvy speech-writers) can do. That sort of strategy might result in

some votes from some disillusioned dalits (and aboriginal people), but it will do nothing to

improve their economic and social conditions. Words do not fill a stomach. Empty words are

worse at doing that job.

There is an on-going increasing attack on the freedom of religious minorities, which is really an

attack on the very democratic set-up of the multi-religion, syncretic nation. The incidents of

communal violence -- including violence by cow-vigilantes who act against those who deal in
 28

and/or eat beef, and for whom cows’ lives are, apparently, valued more than human lives -- have

increased during the tenure of the BJP government (Figures 29-30). Between 2014 and 2017,

there was one communal incident, on an average, every 12 hours. And in these incidents 389

people were killed (between 2014 and 2017) and 6969 were injured (in 3 years from 2015). It

should be noted that: ‘An estimated 700 attacks have taken place on churches, clergy, carol

singers, Christmas and Easter events and missionaries across the country in the past 4 years’. xxvii

Incidences of Communal Violence 2014-2017

850
Communal Violence

800
Incidences of

750

700

650

600
2014 2015 2016 2017
Years

Figure 29: Incidences of Communal Violence 2014-2017

Data Source: https://www.firstpost.com/india/india-witnessed-822-communal-incidents-in-
2017-says-centre-111-killed-2384-injured-in-violence-4338217.html;
https://www.firstpost.com/india/communal-violence-rose-by-28-from-2014-to-2017-but-2008-
remains-year-of-highest-instances-of-religious-violence-4342951.html
 29

Hate Crime: Cow Vigilante Violence 2013-2017

40

35
Number of Incidents 30

25

20

15

10

0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Years

Figure 30: Hate Crime Vigilante Violence 2013-2017

Data Source: http://data.indiaspend.com/

Not surprisingly, India’s record is getting worse in terms of what is called the Social Hostilities

(religious unrest) Index: xxviii In 2014, this was 7.9, which increased to 8.7 in 2015 (10 = worst)

(Figure 31).

Social Hostilities (Religious Unrest) Index 2014-2015

8.8
8.7
8.6
8.5
8.4
Score

8.3
8.2
8.1
8
7.9
7.8
2014 2015
Years

Figure: 31: Social Hostilities (religious unrest) Index 2014-2015

Data source: https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/04/13/on-religious-hostilities-india-ranked-just-slightly-
better-than_a_22037994/
 30

It has become a common electoral practice to engineer a communal riot, polarize votes and win

elections, so several months prior to a major election, communal riots happen. And once a

communal party is in power, further communal attacks happen as the attackers know they will

be, more or less, protected by the government (See Figure 30). Communal riots give the

economically desperate lumpen elements a sense of satisfaction that they are capable of doing

something in life. But they fail to understand that they are merely pawns in the larger communal-

corporate game. Mistakenly called fringe elements, these forces are central to the whole saffron

enterprise: they help the BJP garner electoral support by polarizing votes along religious lines.

So the BJP government cannot but support them.

Engineer attacks on religious minorities

Polarize votes and get Hindu votes

Win elections

Use state power to lunch further attacks on

religious minorities and to attack
democrats, secularists and the Left

Figure 32: Communal Riots During Election Season

Source: Author
 31

If you are a dalit or a religious minority or indeed a woman who wants to live like an ordinary

citizen with all the rights that men enjoy, or if you are someone who is against the regime of

unreason, religious obscurantism, and on-going attacks on secular ideals, and who is courageous

enough to speak the truth, if you are any of these, then your life is one of fear, and not freedom.

This is what the largest democracy of the world has been reduced to, not without the support,

tacit or not, of the so-called democracies of advanced capitalism.

Note that often biases of those running the government and those helping the government against

women and their biases against Muslims, are mutually reinforcing. Atrocities against Muslims

are often conducted through an attack on the body and dignity of Muslim women. xxix

Conclusion

Under the BJP government, the country’s average level of income has been relatively high, even

if it is not increasing (much) in spite of favourable international conditions (e.g. low global oil

price). There has been some improvement in terms of infrastructure since 2014. Yet, overall, the

record of development during the BJP regime is an epic of dismal failure. According to the

Prime Minister (or his erudite speech writer), development has become a vibrant mass movement.

This is only in written or spoken words, however.

Words are important. Yet, word ≠ world. There is development, but of the ultra-rich and not for

the masses. Development as a mass movement is a beautiful idea. I like it. Development should

become a mass movement. It will become a mass movement when masses, democratically self-

organized, move to take control over their lives. Development will become a mass movement
 32

when the masses (toiling workers and small-scale producers) control how nation’s resources are

used -- i.e. when they are able to decide how nation’s resources, which are, more or less,

products of their own labour interacting with nature, are used to satisfy their needs. Development

does not become a mass movement when the needs of the business class for profit, the needs of

the political elite for accumulating election funding and power, and the needs of the top and

pliant bureaucratic and intellectual layers for their financial and other privileges, are prioritized

over the fulfillment of the needs of the masses.

It is indeed the ultra-rich, along with their political and intellectual backers, that has had an

achhe din. But the economic and political conditions under which the masses, the vast majority

of women and men of different castes and religion, live and work have been quite distressing.

What I will call ‘Modinopolitics’ (Modinomics + Modipolitics) – which is the political economy

of not an individual but of a right-wing and communal movement/party -- is, more or less, a

complete failure. This is a complete failure if we consider the issues that affect the lives of the

masses such as: unemployment and under-employment; low wages; increasing concentration of

wealth and income; agrarian crisis; increasing attack on democracy and secularism and attendant

communalization of society and polity, and so on.

One indirect indicator of the overall failure of the government is the amount of money it spends

on publicity. People are not experiencing development as much as BJP would like them to

believe. So, it is spending millions on publicity on creating illusions. ‘A recent RTI query

revealed that the Modi government had spent Rs.4806 crore on publicity of its achievements in

its four years of rule, from 2014-15 to 2017-18. That’s more than double the amount spent by the
 33

two UPA governments. This barrage of publicity through all media platforms is meant to create

the illusion that the Modi government, which won the 2014 election promising Achhe Din for

Indians, has fulfilled its promises’.xxx This amount of money is people’s money, including,

potentially, from excise duties on petrol and diesel, because of which their prices are so high, and

can be spent on their well-being.

The need for the creation of illusions arises when there is a gap between what the ruling class

and its government actually do for the people on the one hand and the life that people actually

experience on the other. But people’s objective experience in their lives is registered in their

consciousness, sooner or later, even if inadequately. There is a limit to how much and how long

mere propaganda can make people believe in falsehood.

When jobs are not created, when wages are not rising, when the rich are getting richer, when the

farm crisis sees no sign of abating with farmers not getting a fair price for their produce and for

hard work, then all these issues do get registered in people’s mind, and create dis-illusions with

the government. This process happens, however inadequately, unevenly, slowly, and

contradictorily. Some people (31% of voters, and even a smaller percentage of the electorate)

had supported the BJP government, which had made lots of promises a few years ago, but the

level of support of this numerical minority has been declining.

They are not buying the idea of religious hatred and hyper-Hindu-nationalism smacking of

fascistic tendencies, as much as they might have earlier. Many are beginning to understand that

the division between Hindus and non-Hindus in contemporary times or in the past is not at all the
 34

cause of their life’s problems such as low wages, unemployment, and indebtedness. Many are

understanding that India as a nation is not under attack the way the right-wing Hindu-nationalist

forces want people to believe, and that indeed the forces that the nation is under attack from – i.e.

powerful governments, companies and institutions of the imperialist world, and the big business

houses of the country itself super-exploiting and oppressing the toiling masses – are the forces

that the Hindu-nationalist government itself is a big supporter of. This government is hiding its

character in part by calling itself nationalist. In fact, the forces supporting this government, given

their divisive-communal agenda, are a threat to the nation and unity.

A change of consciousness is happening. Since 2014, BJP has been losing one election after

another, and its vote share has been declining. At the recent by-election in Kairana, Uttar

Pradesh, in which BJP lost its seat, such a change of consciousness was captured by the Jinnah

vs Ganna debate being settled in favour Ganna: while a grand coalition of Muslims, Dalits, Jat

farmers and people from OBC background have -- rightly -- highlighted livelihood issues

(including the fact that farmers have not received the dues for their sugarcane or Ganna) vis a vis

the BJP’s divisive politics of religious identity fought around a photograph of Mr. Jinnah at

Aligarh Muslim University. Lies and false promises and raking up historical issues with little

relevance for people’s lives cannot always counter the facts of life.

People should critically reflect on the false promises of the party-in-power and on the dismal

record of its government on development, democracy and governance. This failure is not

coincidental. It is written in the very DNA of this right-wing, pro-business, pro-market,

government which has been implanted on the poisonous soil of putrid communalism. Both the
 35

soil and the plant are bad for the nation and for the world at large. Those in the business world

cannot also be allowed to maintain their ‘silence’. They must be asked by the masses: ‘Do you

support or oppose the communal-fascistic forces?’

Ordinary men and women are seeking to deepen and defend their democratic rights, including

the right to practice any religion, to eat any food, to engage in occupation or to love anyone, and

they are seeking a life of economic security. And in doing this, they must be conscious of what

binds them: what binds them, irrespective of their different religions, is the fact that their

democratic rights (including secularism) and their right to a decent livelihood, are under attack

by this government, while the rich elite in control of big business and their right-wing lackeys

(hangers-on) in academia and media are having achhe din (good times).

BJP and its authoritarian government, and all the reactionary forces on the ground supporting

them, must continue to face the collective and democratic might of the toiling masses and

progressive intellectuals. There is, and there can be, no force that is more powerful than the

united force of the workers and small-scale producers when they are organized and when they

are conscious of what their problems are, who are responsible for their problems, and how to

fight them. If they withdraw their labour from the farms, factories and offices, or if they do not

bring the products of their labour to the market, the system is in big trouble. It is time that the

masses of India (and of South Asia) begin to ask fundamental questions about what kind of

society they are living in, what kind of society they wish to live in, and how to get there.
 36

__________________________________________
i
The author gratefully acknowledges the generous assistance from Ms. Ashley Chen (M.A.) of Toronto.
Ashley has constructed all the figures used here based on the data supplied to her. She is, however, not
responsible for the content nor for any errors in the discussion.
ii
One should note that: even if growth becomes faster in the near future, unless it is combined with
policies to directly benefit the masses, growth itself would mean nothing.
iii
The government deems a village “electrified” if power cables from the grid reach a transformer in each
village and 10% of its households, as well as public places such as schools and health centers, are
connected’. https://www.forbes.com/sites/suparnadutt/2018/05/07/modi-announces-100-village-
electrification-but-31-million-homes-are-still-in-the-dark/#70fd09063bae
iv There were 3.55 crore “inactive” connections in the country in April 2016, and this number had
increased to 3.58 crore by April 2017 and 3.82 crore by January 2018. http://factchecker.in/ujjwala-
yojana-performs-as-per-claim-but-challenges-evident/
v
‘In the period 2008-11, rural road construction was 157,631 kms with 2009-10 being a peak year with
60,117 kms of roads constructed. Year 2008-09 was also higher than 2016-17’ (‘Jawed, S. 2017. ‘Fact
Check: Are rural roads constructed in 2016-17 at an all-time high as claimed by BJP?’;
https://www.altnews.in/fact-check-rural-roads-constructed-2016-17-time-high-claimed-bjp/ )
vi
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Forum_IncGrwth_2018.pdf
vii
http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2018/.
This index captures qualities of at least the first two of the three forms of happiness that Hinduism talks
about (physical or bhautik happiness; psychological or manasik happiness, and spiritual or adhyatmik
happiness).
viii
https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/india-is-133-out-of-156-on-world-happiness-index-behind-
pakistan-341512.html
ix
‘[The Modi government has sold off a staggering Rs.1.96 lakh crore worth of public sector assets till
end of March 2018. The preceding Congress-led UPA government had in its ten years of rule sold off
some Rs.1.08 lakh crore worth of public sector assets, showing that such policies that are integral to the
neo-liberal dogma are followed by all bourgeois parties. But Modi has beaten the Congress by selling off
more in just four years. Such dilution will not only allow foreign companies to grab shares of highly
profitable govt. companies but also lead to job losses. The Modi govt. is also trying to sell off mineral
resources, land, rivers and lakes, forests and even schools, health centres and hospitals, even historical
monuments to private companies. From defence production to oil production, from medicines to school
education – everything may become privately owned if this govt. continues. Never before has any country
seen so much talk of ‘nationalism’ and ‘Motherland’ accompanied by shameless sale of the same
motherland to profiteers, both domestic and foreign. https://newsclick.in/glimpses-four-years-modis-
achche-din
x
https://thewire.in/agriculture/modi-three-years-farmers-agriculture
xi
Chakravarty, P. 2018. ‘4 years of Modi: Rs 6 lack cr is what this govt has squandered’;
https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/opinion/4-years-of-modi-rs-6-lakh-cr-is-what-this-govt-has-
squandered
xii
Besides, such frauds will have a serious impact on the economic health of the banks, and this will be
used as a justification to privatize them, i.e. to hand them over to the business class which is responsible
for the bad economic health in the first place.
xiii
It is a form of loot because the business class is using public resources, including publicly-funded
social and physical infrastructure, and has its income and wealth protected through government’s
apparatuses, all of which costs money, but this class does not pay the full cost of these resources, as the
non-payment of tax arrears partly indicates.
xiv
Shankar, R. 2018. ‘The great bank robbery’.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/2018/apr/07/the-great-bank-robbery-1797532.html
 37

xv
https://www.firstpost.com/politics/bjp-tops-list-of-reelected-mps-in-terms-of-assets-and-criminal-cases-
1557703.html
xvi
https://newsclick.in/glimpses-four-years-modis-achche-din.
xvii
They include: people with higher qualification engaged in low-skilled work, and those who are looking
for full-time jobs and are able to get only part-time employment.
xviii
http://www.lokniti.org/pdf/Lokniti-ABP-News-Mood-of-the-Nation-Survey-Round-3-May-2018.pdf.
xix https://thewire.in/labour/modi-mudra-loan-scheme-job-creation-reality.
xx
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-trying-to-finish-off-rural-employment-
scheme/article18147345.ece
xxi
https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=18117#C7

xxii
During the latter period, the average number of person-days for each household employed under
MGNREGS, as did the number of households getting 100 work days a year.

51.7 lakh families got 100 days of employment in 2012-13 and 46.6 lakh families got 100 days of
employment in 2013-14. But it has drastically come down to 24.9 lakh families in 2014-15 and a dismal
20.45 lakh families in 2015-16.

The Modi government has cut the financial allocation under MGNREGA. While the UPA government
spent Rs 39, 778.27 crore and Rs 38, 552.62 crore on the scheme in 2012-13 and 2013-14, respectively,
the spending went down to Rs 36, 033.81 crore and Rs 34, 226.80 crore in 2014-15 and 2015-16
respectively.

https://www.inc.in/en/in-focus/the-systematic-strangulation-of-mgnrega-under-modi-s-watch

xxiii
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/labour-markets-the-puzzle-of-rural-wages-5019670/
xxiv
https://www.livemint.com/Money/MML9OZRwaACyEhLzUNImnO/The-richest-1-of-Indians-now-
own-584-of-wealth.html
xxv
https://newsclick.in/glimpses-four-years-modis-achche-din
xxvi
https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/opinion/4-years-of-modi-dalits-are-being-stripped-of-their-
dignity
xxvii
https://newsclick.in/glimpses-four-years-modis-achche-din
xxviii The Social Hostilities Index looks at 13 indicators including crimes motivated by religious hatred,
mob violence related to religion, communal violence, religion-related terrorist groups, using force to
prevent religious groups from operating, the harassment of women for ‘violating’ religious dress codes
and violence over conversion or proselytising. https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/04/13/on-religious-
hostilities-india-ranked-just-slightly-better-than_a_22037994/
xxix ‘The BJP and the Hindutva brigade have a very clear view on women. However, this is in no way
homogeneous. Their view on Muslim women is very different from their view of Hindu women.
However, what is common is that they see the role of women in society, to be merely an auxiliary for
men. The following is an attempt to paint a picture of the women through the lens of a Hindu nationalist.

Following the horrific rape and murder of the eight-year-old Gujjar Bakarwal girl at the hands of 8 men,
Hindu Ekta Manch, an RSS/BJP offshoot, staged a rally in protest of the arrest of those accused. This
rally was attended by two BJP MLAs. Given the barbarity of the case and the amount of public attention
it drew, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who otherwise conveniently keeps his mouth shut, expressed
feelings of ‘sympathy’ for the victim and her family, while at the same time, he claimed ‘rape is rape’ and
that it shouldn’t be politicised. Well, how apolitical can it be when the members of the ruling party attend
a rally carried out in favour of the accused? It must be understood that the barbarity of this rape had a
 38

political motive behind it. The Bakarwals are a marginalised Muslim nomadic community. This incident,
as is revealed by the chargesheet, was an attempt at ethnic cleansing – to drive out the Bakarwals from
their village’. https://newsclick.in/women-hindu-nationalists-view-them
xxx
https://newsclick.in/glimpses-four-years-modis-achche-din

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