Freedom from poverty

Turning 75 years of age is old by human standards. Hopefully your face wrinkles with exhilarating experiences, your tresses turn silver with your time in the Sun, the years have been kind, and the knees still work! By 75, a senior citizen is a certified geriatric. But not when it comes to the age of a nation. The platinum year is still considered young for a country that's still learning and unlearning, building and erring. India is a country of ancient wisdom but as a democracy, we are still in our salad days compared to the US and UK.

We awoke to our independence from colonial rule on August 15, 1947, and only from then did real nation-building begin. For at least two centuries, our wealth and resources were plundered, usurped, or traded to feed and fatten other nations. By the time, we had our independence from the shackles of British rule, we were an impoverished nation. According to well-known economist Utsa Patnaik, Britain drained a staggering $45 trillion from India in 173 years!

Today, when Independence Day means discounts and sales, let's not forget the price we paid, both human and monetary because our colonial scars haven't left us. Sure, we occupy the world's attention as one of the biggest markets of consumers on the planet. Now too we make others rich though we get a fairer bargain now. We have, as a nation, grown from strength to strength. From scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations to our ability to compete with the best in the world of art, cinema, and culture — India is a country to reckon with. But no, we haven't shed the ignominy of years of colonial rule. We haven't discarded this humiliation not because we hold a grudge against the colonial powers, who have in recent times apologised for the exigencies they thrust upon our people. The debate surrounding reparations (should the UK make amends by paying India for the loot and destruction) will continue forever. But our primary reason for bearing the colonial cross even after 75 years of independence is because we are yet to free ourselves from poverty.

Yes, our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown and we have prospered but that wealth is still concentrated in the hands of a few. The rich become richer, the middle class get taxed more, and the poor are just lucky to be alive. Between 2006 and 2016, India lifted 271 million people out of the squalor of poverty. This was heartening news till the Covid-19 pandemic pushed them back across the poverty line, perhaps so far back that it may take years for many to get out of it. According to reports, 230 million Indians have slipped back into poverty due to Covid-induced lockdowns and lack of income.

Our unemployment numbers, which were in any case depressing, are even worse now. According to recently released data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) for the week ended July 25, joblessness was on the rise in rural and urban centres. National joblessness upped to 7.14 per cent from the previous week's 5.98 per cent. Alarmingly, rural unemployment is so widespread that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) is ineffective in helping them; there are demands now for 150 days of work instead of the guaranteed 100. Rural unemployment showed a sharp uptick from 5.1 per cent to 6.75 per cent. In urban India, joblessness grew slightly from 7.94 per cent to 8.01 per cent (week-on-week).

As we step into the 75th year of Independence, we have to be cognizant that mass poverty may well be back. Reports suggest that in just a year, the poorest in India with earnings of less than $2 a day, have doubled from 60 million to 134 million. The goal ahead couldn't be clearer; we must create more jobs, employment, and livelihood for the people. Central and state governments along with the private sector need to work on war-footing to create employment. There is simply no other way out of this quagmire of misery. And remember, 75 years after Independence, we don't have the colonial powers to blame for mismanagement and poor governance anymore. Now we can only blame ourselves.

The writer is an author and media entrepreneur. Views expressed are personal