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Unkept Promises

There is more of the same down the line if the Hindu extremists continue to remain in power in India.

By Atif Shamim Syed | July 2022


Eight years are enough to gauge the performance of any government. By the end of this period, the impact of policies enacted by the incumbent regime are obvious, and leave little doubt about its overall governance.

For India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP supporters, the completion of his government’s eight-year term on May 31, 2022 marks a very important milestone as it has dispelled much of the anticipation and optimism centered around Modi’s economic prowess.

In 2014, BJP cashed in on Modi’s persona and his success in running the affairs of Gujarat state which was under his control. The fact that Narendra Modi played an important role in Gujarat’s economic development is still contested by scholars who argue that the state was showing a high rate of economic growth in the 90s long before Modi took office. Moreover, despite economic development, the state of human development in Gujarat remained pathetic throughout Modi’s tenure.

The BJP very cleverly downplayed these facts and campaigned on the promise of widespread reforms, economic growth and above all, equitable distribution of wealth. All of this was summarized in the catchy slogan ‘achche din’ or good days. It was a promise that if Narendra Modi was elected as prime minister, it will be the beginning of good days for the entire nation.

After eight years in power, Modi has yet to make good on his promise of ‘achche din’. In fact, for the masses, the reality has been anything but ‘achche din.’ Unemployment is high and inflation rampant. The Common man is burdened with high food prices. Life has become unbearable for low-income households. Meanwhile, BJP’s rhetoric of hollow economic achievements is adding insult to injury. Mr. Modi claims to have achieved 8.7% economic growth which is a joke considering 8% unemployment, around 8% inflation, a rapidly rising current account deficit and depleting reserves. The Indian rupee is in a nosedive against the dollar.

The ‘buray din’ or bad days of the Indian people started with the ill-conceived shock of demonetization in 2016 which failed to achieve any objective. This was followed by the equally spectacular failure of General Sales Tax (GST) implementation in 2017. The GST along with more than a thousand amendments complicated the taxation regime to the point of sheer incomprehension. Experts insist that the very structure of the GST is flawed and needs fundamental reforms. Then came the Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) crisis of 2018. A succession of bank frauds over eight years has eroded public trust in the banking system. The combined effect of these crises has battered the economy and squeezed life out of the common man.


India has a vast unregulated sector that is the bread and butter of more than 90% of the country’s entire workforce. The regulated sector, though financially attractive, is capital intensive. The number of highly paid jobs are few and they are being distributed among the elites. The undocumented sector is made up of self-employed entrepreneurs and small business units. This is a marginalized sector and allows the vast majority of Indians to eke out a living. Unfortunately, these were the people who were most affected by a succession of failed economic experiments. As the economy contracted, demand decreased and squeezed this sector further burdening everyone associated with it.

Survey reports draw a grave picture of income disparities. During the eight years of Modi rule, the low-income earners lost around 60% of their real incomes while the richest actually gained 39%. This could be attributed, at least in part, to the pandemic. However, the wealth disparity report is even worse. It shows that the richest 1% control more than half of the country’s wealth while the poorest 60% have only 4.7%. The Modi government has further widened the disparity gap by allowing concessions to the rich at the expense of the poor.

The poor have faced the entire brunt of Modi’s failed economic policies while the rich have remained immune. Tens of millions of people have fallen below the poverty line with nothing to sustain them but the subsidized ration courtesy Congress Party’s Food Security Act.

One of the main beneficiaries of the government’s policies is the BJP. The party declared assets worth more than 48 billion rupees in 2021. It was also revealed that the BJP spent hundreds of millions of public money on its own publicity campaigns. Exorbitant amounts were wasted on expanding and strengthening state surveillance.

After eight years, BJP has failed to deliver on its promise of ‘achche din’. The party is stoking Hindu nationalism in order to divide the electorate and cover up its own faults. The continuing war in Ukraine would mean persistent global supply chain problems. This will adversely affect the Indian economy which could slide into recession. As a result, the already marginalized poor will slither further down the economic chain and will have no one but the BJP and Narendra Modi to blame for their troubles.

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