After independence, the country resolved to establish a socialist economic and social order. To fulfill this resolution, the architect of the Constitution, Bhimrao Ambedkar, placed it in the Preamble of the Constitution. However, economic inequality has rapidly increased and continues to increase in the last three decades. In the initial period after independence, the issue of ending this inequality was taken lightly. The argument given was that development should happen first, after which the just distribution of its benefits would be easily resolved.
This same logic allowed crony capitalism to dismiss inequality and move towards planned development, considering inequality an essential condition for development. The act of displacing local communities from natural resources in the name of development was brushed aside as the "birth pangs of development."
In a capitalist system, production and distribution are driven by private profit rather than social equality, justice, and environmental protection. Continuous growth is its driving force. Development based on the exploitation and destruction of natural resources leads to the displacement of communities that depend on these resources. The issue of land reform was left half-finished. In the name of the Green Revolution, the country's market was opened up for multinational companies' chemical fertilizers, seeds, and tilling-sowing machines. There has been deliberate and significant support for inequality from domestic and foreign capitalist forces.
For development to be sustainable, it must be inclusive. Unless the benefits of development reach all sections, castes, and regions of the country, such development has no significance.
It is a matter of pride for us that India's GDP increased from ₹51 lakh crore in 2003 to ₹312 lakh crore in 2023. But the concern is that in these 20 years, the wealth of the rich has increased 16 times, while that of the poor has increased by only 1.4 percent. That is, the poor remain where they were in terms of progress.
According to a report by the American marketing analysis firm Marcellus Investment Managers, 80 percent of India's wealth is held by just two lakh families. According to "Winner Take All in India's New Economy," 80 percent of the wealth generated from economic growth is going into the accounts of just 20 companies. During the Corona period, when all economies were faltering, the income of the world's billionaires increased from five trillion to thirteen trillion dollars. Between 2014 and 2021, Gautam Adani's capital increased by 432 percent and Mukesh Ambani's by 267 percent. Gautam Adani's capital was ₹1.4 lakh crore in 2020, which increased to ₹2.34 lakh crore in 2021. How did this miracle happen?
We know that when the entire country was locked down, only stock markets were open besides hospitals and pharmacies. Investment firms and offices were operating regularly. This clearly shows that the increase in the wealth of the rich was not due to their production activities; it was the magic of capital speculation. Before the industrial revolution, the capital that governed people's economic lives was primarily merchant capital. After the 18th century, the capital that gained a controlling role was industrial capital. But the globalization that began in 1990 gave birth to a new order in the economic world, known as the invisible power of financial capital or finance capital.
Which has neither a country nor a government. India is a big market for this financial capital. The perception created is that the rich are taxed to provide facilities to the common people. However, according to Oxfam's 2022 report, 64 percent of GST revenue comes from the bottom 50 percent of income earners. Only 4 percent tax was collected from the top 10 percent income earners. That is, 96 percent of GST is being paid by the lower and middle classes. The tax rate on petrol and diesel ranges from 15 to 35 percent in the states, while electronic goods, automobiles, etc., are taxed at a rate of 28 percent. Combining property registration, house tax, water tax, toll tax, etc., the overall average tax on the consumption expenditure of Indians is the highest in the world.
Therefore, the government's revenue has increased by 303 percent in a decade. While according to Rahul Gandhi, the current government has waived ₹16 lakh crore in taxes for corporations. On the other hand, India ranks 143rd in the list of per capita income. The head of the Indian economy is large, and the rest of the body is small and weak, meaning it suffers from malnutrition.
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*Bargi Dam Displaced and Affected Association
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