Wooing Voters and Unemployment Woes

Fr. Gaurav Nair Fr. Gaurav Nair
29 Apr 2024

The BJP-led government often highlights India's rapid economic growth since 2014. However, it's important to note that this growth is not solely due to their policies. Ten years ago, India was the tenth-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of $1.9 trillion. Today, despite the pandemic, it is the 5th largest, with a GDP of $3.7 trillion. The Finance Ministry predicts that India will become the third-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of $5 trillion within the next three years and will approach $7 trillion by 2030.

For the obtuse, it must be pointed out that an economy's growth does not ride on only a few factors or even a short period. It is the cumulative result of all policies since decades ago. India had just started liberalising its economy after narrow and untrusting policies immediately following Independence when Modi came to power and implemented reforms that only benefitted a few. To top it all off, he introduced two disasters, demonetisation and GST reforms, which would accelerate the accumulation of power and wealth into his grubby paws. The pandemic and lockdowns he implemented became the icing on the cake. In fact, the BJP's policies have only hurt India and hampered its growth. What we see today is an internally unstable economy puppeteered by a few.

One of the determinants used to project India's growth is its demographics, which are among the youngest in the world. However, specific reports assert that almost half of those voting in a government now are unemployed, of which a staggering 83 per cent are young. In fact, unemployment has increased since the BJP came into power. The government has failed to provide jobs and security for its younger citizens. BJP-supported businesspeople have seen a meteoric rise owing to its wretched policies that have only guaranteed a situation of inequity of power and wealth. Such an economy is, unfortunately, neither sustainable nor progressive. The government should have focussed on balanced and inclusive growth policies for the longer term.

The government has, until now, swept the problems under the rug by providing welfare to those in need and distracting the citizens with imbecilic ideas like the promise of temples and vulgar narratives like those delivered by Modiji in Banswara. But this is not a long-term solution to its crises. Spreading misinformation through suppressing mainstream media and inundating social media through its brainless minions might have sustained it for a time, but it has not immobilised the reality it is trying to conceal.

It is manifest that only some have fallen for its shenanigans or are disillusioned in the face of truth; moreover, its intensity and coverage are currently indeterminable. Though disgruntlement has been growing visibly among the unemployed, especially the youth, it is impossible to conclude that it will upturn the current incumbency. Nevertheless, the current blues will assuredly cause some trepidation as they shake a few pillars holding up the BJP's canopy.

Recent Posts

You may be supremely happy that your Freedom of Religion Bill has received the President's assent and has now come into force in Maharashtra. But there is an irony that you may not have noticed.
apicture A. J. Philip
31 Aug 2026
India's children are discovering the power of protest. Their demands are modest. Safe classrooms, clean water, toilets, teachers and dignity. If governments silence those who expose these failures rat
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
31 Aug 2026
Gonsalves was born on April 5, 1954, in Munnar, nestled in the Western Ghats in Idukki District of Kerala, into a prominent Anglo-Indian family from Pallippuram in Kochi's Vypin. He was the eldest son
apicture Renjith Leen
31 Aug 2026
A "church-free Odisha" must not become a cause for fear or retaliation. Christians must respond with truth, courage and peace, remembering that our strongest witness is faithful service: building brid
apicture Archbishop John Barwa, SVD
31 Aug 2026
Vande Mataram once united Indians against colonialism. Its appropriation today seeks to turn a shared national symbol into a test of Hindu nationalism and patriotism, diverting attention from governan
apicture Oliver D'Souza
31 Aug 2026
Recent cases of infants abandoned in Haryana, Karnataka and Jharkhand expose a legal system built for children who can speak, not infants who cannot. Strict criminal penalties for abandonment push par
apicture Vidyadhar Prabhudesai
31 Aug 2026
The smartphone may be the millstone of our age: a pocket-sized idol that promises connection but breeds distraction. When we surrender ourselves to its endless pull, children learn to imitate us. True
apicture Fr. Anil Prakash D'Souza, OP
31 Aug 2026
Dolly's faith was heard not only in gospel songs but also in her generosity. Through her Imagination Library, she placed millions of books into the hands of children. She did not merely sing about lov
apicture Robert Clements
31 Aug 2026
A democracy must distinguish between an armed insurgent and a questioning citizen. Calling critics, students, academics or activists "Dimaagi Naxals" is unacceptable. Strength lies not in silencing di
apicture Dr Martin Valiyaparambil VC
24 Aug 2026
As I watched, I could not help remembering the interview I did with your father, NKP Salve, for Jain TV in the 1990s. Goswami, I presume, was then still "studying for some time in a Jesuit-run school,
apicture A. J. Philip
24 Aug 2026