To start with, under any political system, the social space is unequal in one way or the other. Every society has social categorizations that promote inequality for the benefit of a select few. Consequently, the select few enjoy material and cultural privilege. In the US, race has been such a category. Gender is such a category across modern societies, because of which women suffer discrimination.
With the rise of right-wing populist governments across the world, including in India, starting in 2014, the objective of the government machinery has been to galvanize the traditional cultural fabric of society. While consolidating votes on the plank of preserving and protecting traditional heritage, these governments neglect questions regarding particular identities such as caste and gender.
The attempt is to camouflage the ascriptive identities with a universal narrative of majoritarian ethos. By doing this, the state machinery is neither in a position to recognize the numbers that make up specific caste groups nor is it in a position to redistribute the benefits because of historical injustices.
The 2024 General Election in India has in a way successfully brought back the debate of redistributive politics into the mainstream discourse. If we look at the history of redistributive politics, we will find that land redistribution was the major policy through which redistributive politics was enforced. For example, state governments in Kerala and West Bengal redistributed land among landless.
Modern version of redistribution
In contemporary politics, no one talks about land as such, nor does land become an important issue for electoral battles. There can be three reasons for this: first, there has been a considerable decline in the contribution of agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Second, the youth in rural areas are no more interested in involving themselves in cultivation and suchlike; they are more inclined to jobs in manufacturing and service domains. Third, there are no land grab issues for opposition political parties to politicize because governments have learnt from the land agitations of the past and are meticulous in acquiring land.
The modern version of redistributive politics is concerned with redistribution of income and other forms of material welfare. Caste census will play a decisive role in this respect. Here lies the intrinsic relationship between politics of recognition and redistribution. While a caste census will reveal the demography of oppressed, marginalized communities, it can be effectively complemented with a robust form of redistributive policies.
The share of the weaker sections such as SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities in the national wealth is abysmally low in comparison to that of the upper caste communities. According to a report published in The Business Standard on 14 June 2024, based on a study by the World Inequality Lab, 88.4 per cent of the billionaire wealth in India in 2022 belonged to upper caste communities; 2.6 per cent to the Dalit Scheduled Caste communities; and 9 per cent to OBC communities. There were no Adivasi or Scheduled Tribe billionaires.
The way forward
To put it simply, this is a fight between big and small capital. India’s economic growth has become the exclusive domain of big capital completely backed by the State. The government’s own data clearly shows that India’s growth trajectory is K-shaped, confirming that the richer section of the population is accumulating wealth at a much higher rate than the bottom half of the population.
An example of the government policy that discriminates against small enterprises would be the difference in interest rates on loans. Small businesses are getting loans at an interest rate of 12-14 per cent whereas the large companies are offered loans at a preferential rate of 8-9 per cent. The tax rates also favour big capital compared to small businesses and salaried employees.
The large part of the non-corporate sector needs to be revived to tackle the problem of a demand-deficient economy. Redistributive policies like strong progressive taxation complemented by income redistribution, robust public services, social welfare policies and affirmative action can mitigate the economic inequalities that have been generated by the unequal political economic system. At the basic core of redistributive politics is the principle that these policies target specific groups of people. This has to take a political route and the clarion call by some opposition parties to rein in economic inequality is a step in the right direction.
The opposition parties were unsuccessful in making electoral gains after the 2024 General Election, particularly in Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly Elections. Nonetheless, the discourse of redistribution will be impactful in the long run. The simple reason behind this assumption is its relevance in the everyday life of millions of people.
However, there has to be a larger consensus across the political spectrum and its philosophical force must come from our Constitution itself. Article 38, Clause 2 says, “The State shall, in particular, strive to minimize the inequalities in income, and endeavor to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.”
Any government should prioritize redistribution. In the fiscal year 2023-24, India was the world’s fastest growing economy at 6.8 per cent, with an estimated GDP of almost $4 trillion, ranking fifth worldwide. However, India’s per capita income in the same period was $2,485 which is much lower than the global average ($13,169.6), indicating huge income disparity.
Hence, any exciting economic growth story should have a subplot on who is reaping the benefit. Only such a perspective will enable the government to abide by the directives of the Constitution in letter and in spirit.
