Manmohanomics (n.)
/mʌnˈmoʊhənəˌnɒmɪks/ :
An ideology of an economic system, named after its founder Manmohan Singh, defined by the ruthless oppression of the working masses, the plundering of natural resources, and the selling out of the nation to imperialists and the finance capital gangs, all in the name of “development”, while still expecting history to somehow be kinder in the end.
On Theory:
The concept of Manmohanomics and its betrayal of India can be understood by tracing its historical roots to its early stages under the banner of LPG (Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization). During this period, three key laws were passed under the dictation of the IMF and the World Bank:
(i) The submission of Indian currency to the dominance of the dollar, through the devaluation of the Indian rupee by 25% and its subsequent continuous decline.
(ii) The introduction of private sector banks, through the Financial Reform Act of 1991, which allowed private banks with a cap of 74% ownership.
(iii) The deregulation of industries.
These are not merely laws; they form a death trap set for India, one shaped by the venomous influence of finance capital. This is characterized by the rapid privatization of sectors and the aggressive promotion of foreign trade, which leads to an increase in cheap exports to imperialist nations. While this boosts the profits of the imperial powers, it leaves dependent nations like India burdened with sky-high inflation rates.
What is crucial here is not just the cheap exports,whether manufactured goods or raw materials, but the systemic exploitation of the working masses and the looting of the country’s natural resources in pursuit of these profits.
On Practice:
(i) Republic of Slaves!
Manmohanomics transforms the entire functioning and resources of the state apparatus into a trajectory of complete obedience and service to imperialists and the comprador capitalist brokers of India. In doing so, the average commoner, both urban workers and rural peasants, is stripped of their dignity and reduced to slavery, bound by the chains of debt and poverty. Their labor is commodified, traded, and profited from by the greedy capitalist elites at the top of the chain. This is clearly reflected in the following data.
Wage to Profit Ratio: The wage to profit ratio, an indicator of economic prosperity distribution, has drastically fallen from 2.73 in the late 1980s to 0.25 in 2012, reflecting a significant 10-fold decline in the rate of exploitation of the industrial working class in the post-reform era.
Informal Workforce: In 2011-12, out of 472 million workers, 92% were informal workers, employed either in the informal sector (83%) or as contingent workers in the formal sector (58% of the total organized sector employment). These workers do not receive legal minimum wages (which are barely enough for subsistence) or other essential facilities like health, education, housing, sanitation, or safe working conditions.
Focus on Organized Sector: The push for labor law reforms mainly targets the organized manufacturing sector, which employs only 3% of the total workforce. The argument is that these workers, benefiting from labor laws, enjoy high wages and job security, which justifies large-scale contractualization and capital intensification in manufacturing. This has led to an increase in capital intensity across industries, even in labor-intensive ones.
Wages vs. Productivity: Despite high productivity, real wages for organized sector workers have grown slower than per capita income. From 1981-82 to 2011-2012, real wages grew at 0.82% per annum, while per capita income grew at 3.6% per annum. Non-wage benefits in the organized sector declined at a rate of 0.18% per annum.
Farmer Suicides: India has seen alarming levels of farmer suicides, with 296,438 farmer suicides since 1995. These suicides are primarily linked to debt, rising input costs, water crises, price volatility, and crop failures due to pests and disease. In 2011, the suicide rate among farmers was 47% higher than the general population.
Rural to Urban Migration: Between 1991 and 2001, over seven million people dependent on farming as their main livelihood left agriculture. The following decade, 2001-2011, saw one of the largest rural-to-urban migrations in India, driven by distress, causing significant disruption in the lives of migrants, uprooting their families and lifestyles.
Impact on Poverty and Morbidity: Despite the hardships faced by migrants, their higher earnings, even amidst urban squalor and distress, are recorded as a reduction in poverty. However, this is contradicted by rising morbidity rates, which have increased over the last two decades, with urban areas seeing significantly higher rates than rural areas.
(ii) Wreckage of Jal-Jangal-Jameen and its Inhabitants !
Destruction of Soil and Agriculture
India faces massive soil degradation, with about 1 millimeter of topsoil lost annually, equating to 5,334 million tonnes. Nearly 97.85 million hectares of land have already been degraded, 2.5 times the size of Rajasthan. Nutrient depletion is widespread, with losses of 74 million tons of major nutrients every year. The use of chemical fertilizers, hybrid and GM seeds, and deforestation contribute to desertification and soil erosion. The agricultural inputs industry, primarily controlled by foreign corporations like Monsanto, exacerbates the situation, resulting in long-term environmental harm and diminishing land fertility.
Deforestation and Forest Loss
India’s forest cover is a severe concern, with 63 football fields of forest lost daily between 2014-2017, pushing the official cover down to 21%, far below the necessary 33% for ecological balance. However, the real forest cover is closer to 10-15%. The government has permitted large-scale deforestation, as seen in Karnataka where two-thirds of forests were denotified. Further government policies legitimize development projects in protected areas, accelerating forest loss. This destruction directly impacts weather patterns, leading to rainfall scarcity and flooding, worsening climate conditions and environmental degradation.
Water Crisis and Pollution
India faces a severe water crisis, with 80% of its surface water polluted, including major rivers like the Ganga and Yamuna. Despite efforts like the Namami Ganga project, water pollution remains rampant. Groundwater, which supplies 63% of irrigation and 80% of rural and urban domestic water, is over-exploited, with 65% of India’s irrigation relying on it. Over 1,000 regions are water-stressed, with many major cities expected to run out of groundwater soon. Water scarcity is compounded by a booming bottled water industry, highlighting the government’s failure to address the crisis and improve water access for citizens.
Adivasi/Dalit displacements: Since India’s independence, between 60 and 65 million people have been displaced, largely due to development projects, with around one million displaced annually. Over 40% of the displaced are tribals, and another 40% are Dalits and rural poor, many of whom face repeated displacement, with only 20-25% ever resettled. Violence and armed conflicts further contribute to displacement, with 526,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 2013. The actual number of IDPs is likely higher due to underreporting once official camps are closed. IDPs often lack access to basic resources like clean water, shelter, food, and healthcare.
(iii) Who are the benefactors?
Growing Wealth Inequality
Since 2000, India’s wealth inequality has deepened, with the top 10% holding over 75% of total wealth. The top 1% now controls 53% of the country’s wealth, up from 36.5% in 2000. Between 2000 and 2015, the top 1% claimed 61% of the $2.284 trillion wealth increase in India.
Rapid Growth of Billionaires
India’s billionaire population has grown significantly since the 1990s. In the mid-1990s, there were just 2 billionaires with a combined net worth of $3.2 billion. By 2014, this number increased to 55 billionaires, with a combined net worth of $191.5 billion, reflecting the rapid concentration of wealth.
Surge in Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals (UHNIs)
The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) in India rose by 16% to 1.17 lakh in 2013-14. Their combined wealth grew by 21% to Rs 104 trillion ($1.3 trillion), and is expected to quadruple to Rs 408 trillion ($5 trillion) in the next three years, highlighting increasing wealth concentration.
Illicit Wealth and Its Impact
India’s wealth disparity is further exacerbated by illicit money flows. Between 2003-2012, India lost $439.59 billion (Rs 28 lakh crore) to illegal wealth transfers abroad. This unaccounted wealth, largely controlled by the super-rich, further entrenches the country’s wealth gap and undermines economic equity.
This is Manmohanomics: the theory and practice of stripping the common toiling masses of their right to exist peacefully. While the Manmohanomics model demonstrated extreme loyalty to imperialist forces, it was still deemed insufficient. Thus, it was updated into a newer version—the Modinomics model, an upgraded variant of Manmohanomics, now infused with saffron characteristics. In this nation, various ‘development’ models present themselves, each era touting its own vision as the ‘Amrit Kaal.’ Yet, despite the claims, it remains, in essence, a Republic of slaves!
