Skip to main content

With Droupudi Murmu as President, would India facilitate equity and justice?

By Harasankar Adhikari 

India is a welfare and democratic nation. But people have no equality and justice, even after 75 years of independence. They have only one equal right – the right to vote. It is very much a constitutional matter. In practice, all have no free right to vote because of several political parties’ influences and so-called scientific rigging. In spite of this, all have an equal share in the democratic government. At the same time, people have to struggle for equity and justice. But the government works for the rich to make them richer and the majority of its population is deprived of their democratic demand for survival at their own feet. The government of India is celebrating the "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsab". Are the people of India really "Azad"?
The governments (central and states) have formed so-called several organisations, i.e., National and States Human Rights Commission, Women’s Right Commission, Organisations for SCs/STs/OBCs, etc., with the object of ensuring equal rights and justice. But all is under the control of the ruling political party in the government. These organisations have failed to bridge the gap between rich and poor, higher and lower classes, and so forth. The reasons behind it are hide and seek political politics and the fulfilment of leaders and their parties' greed.
Social services and relief are prioritised measures for the disadvantages of their presence in this country. Unfortunately, these measures are also politicalized in their distribution to the ultimate beneficiaries. That’s why about 38.4% of the population is hungry. Different government and non-government organisations, corporate and individuals are greatly involved in serving the underprivileged. But change among them is invisible. It reminds us that social services and relief work are impressive image-building factors in society. It's a show-off deal, as if we're all for everyone and everyone's for everyone else, because whatever progress the service takers have made is insignificant to the service providers. They rarely consider the dignity of the underprivileged. Is it not an effort to make them dependent? Is it not discrimination against human beings by human beings? Is it their inherited stigma to be born as poor so that they have to die in poverty?
Are social services and relief efforts being used to glorify political parties, corporate, and some individuals? The government states in its long list on August 15th or January 26th every year how much it is concerned about serving the majority (poor). Each and every political party declares its manifesto during the election, which is an assurance of some social service measures or relief works, There is no effort taken for people’s sustainable living.
For example, the government makes no serious effort to create jobs for educated or non-degree holders. No new employment venue has been created. But the government is very strict about privatising the public sectors. Is the younger generation social waste in this nation? They have huge potential at the time of the election? Is job guarantee under MGNEGRA a long-term policy to reduce unemployment and hunger among India's democratic people? Is it not a policy of begging for 100 days of work with lower than minimum wages? It is an irresponsible policy to keep the poor in poverty. It will never be a supplement or complement to "Atmanirvar Bharat.".
Further, the appointment of Mrs. Droupudi Murmu as honourable President of India has glorified the nation. But would it facilitate equity and justice? The deprived community represented by Mrs. Murmu is still in the darkness of development.
We see that, at an individual level, various social services or relief work are undertaken, where old clothes, excess food, and so forth are being gloriously distributed among the poor. Is it a noble work? Why would they face this discrimination? When do they have the same dignity in this nation?
Last of all, infrastructural development, no subsidy, collection of taxes, and other are, we see, for an aristocratic life of the elected representatives. On the other hand, the majority of people may only expect some social service or relief for their vote. Equality, justice, and sustainable self-dependent living are a dream for the common people of India.

Comments

TRENDING

Telangana government urged to stop 'unconstitutional' relocation of Chenchu tribes

By A Representative   The Nallamalla forests are witnessing a renewed surge of indigenous resistance as the Chenchu adivasis , a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), have formally launched the Chenchu Solidarity Forum (CSF) on the eve of World Earth Day to combat what they describe as unlawful and forced relocation from the Amrabad Tiger Reserve . 

Kolkata dialogue flags policy and finance deficit in wetland sustainability

By A Representative   Wetlands were the focus of India–Germany climate talks in Kolkata, where experts from government, business, and civil society stressed both their ecological importance and the urgent need for stronger conservation frameworks. 

Dhandhuka violence: Gujarat minority group seeks judicial action, cites targeted arson

By A Representative   The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat has written to the Director General of Police seeking judicial action in connection with recent violence in Dhandhuka town of Ahmedabad district, alleging targeted attacks on properties belonging to members of the Muslim community following a fatal altercation between two bike riders on April 18.

Cracks in Gujarat model? Surat’s exodus reveals precarity behind prosperity claims

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*   The return of migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, particularly from Gujarat, was inevitable. Gujarat has long been showcased as the epitome of “infrastructure” and the business-friendly Modi model. Yet, when governments become business-friendly, they require the poor to serve them—while keeping them precarious, unable to stabilize, demand fair wages, or assert their rights. The agenda is clear: workers must remain grateful for whatever crumbs the Seth ji offers.  

'Fraudulent': Ex-civil servants urge President to halt Odisha tribal land dispossession

By A Representative   A collective of 81 retired civil servants from the Constitutional Conduct Group has written to the President of India expressing alarm over what they describe as the wrongful dispossession of tribal lands in Odisha’s Rayagada district. The letter, dated April 19, 2026, highlights violent clashes in Kantamal village where police personnel reportedly injured over 70 tribal residents attempting to protect their community rights. 

India 'violating international law obligations' over Israel ties: UN rapporteur

By A Representative   Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, has alleged that India is “violating its obligations under international law” through its continued association with Israel, including defence ties and alleged arms exports during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

​ By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  ​The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Why Tamil Nadu, Periyar, and the Dravidian model aren't just regional phenomena

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The election campaign in Tamil Nadu this season is strikingly different. The alliance led by the DMK is consistently referred to as the “ DMK alliance ,” not the “INDIA alliance.” This distinction is unsurprising given the state’s history: Tamil Nadu remains the only state to decisively reject “national” parties. The AIADMK’s surrender to the BJP after J. Jayalalithaa ’s death represents, in many ways, a betrayal of the politics of Tamil identity—an identity Periyar envisioned as Dravidian, not narrowly Tamil.

Chromatographies of the self: Gender, labour, and resistance in Deepti Kushwah's verse

By Ravi Ranjan*  Any sensitive reader of contemporary Hindi poetry will find it impossible to overlook the eight poems by Deepti Kushwah recently published in Samalochan . This suite—comprising works such as ‘Ekākelī ābha’ (A Solitary Radiance), ‘Praśna mem camaktā huā’ (Glowing in the Question), and ‘Ek ankahī tapis’ (An Unspoken Heat)—constructs a multidimensional collage where colour transcends mere visual experience.