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Jun

Rich India – Poor India: Two Indias in One City

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Shaikh Saleem

New Delhi | Wednesday | 4 June 2025

Under the  BJP rule, India is rapidly transforming not just in terms of rising hatred and anti-Muslim sentiment but also in its economic landscape. The luxury market is booming, and the number of ultra-rich individuals is increasing faster in India than in most other countries. A McKinsey & Company report predicts that by 2028, the number of individuals in India with a net worth of $30 million (around ₹250 crore) or more will rise by 50%. India’s luxury market alone is expected to grow by 15–20% in 2025.

Prestigious global brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Rolls-Royce are opening showrooms in cities like Mumbai and Delhi. Exclusive malls and gated colonies are being built for the ultra-wealthy. Until recently, people traveled to Dubai or Singapore for luxury shopping now, high-end goods are available online, even in smaller Indian cities. There is a growing demand for expensive watches, designer clothes, private jets, and luxury vacations. A new ‘super-rich’ class is emerging startup founders from Flipkart, Zomato, Paytm, etc. who have benefitted from investor support and government policies like “Startup India.” These are paraded as national successes under slogans like “Make in India.” But behind this shiny image lies a bitter truth that millions of ordinary Indians face daily.

While the rich grow richer, the poor and middle class are sinking deeper into hardship. Millions of educated youth cannot find stable, decent-paying jobs. Permanent employment is disappearing. Farmers are buried under debt, and farmer suicides remain alarmingly frequent in several states. Small shopkeepers and local businesses, once the backbone of India’s economy, are now reeling under inflation, corporate competition, and falling consumer demand.

The luxury sector sparkles, yet over 800 million Indians depend on government-subsidized food grains basic staples like rice, wheat, and oil are out of reach without state support. At the same time, the government hands enormous benefits to large corporations tax cuts, loan waivers, land access, and more.

Article at a Glance
Under BJP rule, India is experiencing a stark economic transformation characterized by a booming luxury market and rising anti-Muslim sentiment. A McKinsey report predicts a 50% increase in ultra-rich individuals by 2028, with luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci expanding in major cities. However, this wealth concentration contrasts sharply with the struggles of ordinary Indians, as millions face unemployment, debt, and inadequate access to basic necessities. The Modi government’s policies favor large corporations, leading to crony capitalism and a shrinking welfare state. This growing inequality is evident in urban areas, where affluent neighborhoods thrive while poorer localities suffer from neglect. The mainstream media often overlooks these pressing issues, focusing instead on sensationalism and government praise. As India stands at a crossroads, the challenge remains: will it prioritize equitable development for all or continue to benefit a select few? A genuine discourse on wealth and poverty is urgently needed for a more inclusive future.

This is not accidental but a result of calculated policymaking. Since Modi’s 2014 rise to power, economic policies have increasingly favored a handful of big industrialists. Public sector units are being sold off, labor laws are being weakened, and the welfare state is shrinking. Crony capitalism is becoming the norm a tight alliance between wealth and power that exploits the common citizen.

 

This inequality is plainly visible in India’s major cities. In places like Mumbai and Delhi, the rich and poor live in completely different realities. Affluent neighborhoods are clean and well-maintained, with multiple daily sanitation rounds, higher staff deployment, uninterrupted electricity, and access to clean water. In contrast, poor localities are marked by filth, neglect, power cuts, and basic service shortages. The gap is no longer just economic; it has become social and geographic. Today, inequality in India has reached unprecedented levels in modern history. Billionaires are multiplying, while millions suffer poverty, hunger, and unemployment. A farmer’s suicide in Maharashtra receives little attention, while a business tycoon’s new venture dominates headlines. An unemployed youth in Bihar is invisible to national media, but a Bollywood actor’s new home becomes prime-time news. This isn’t just a financial divide it’s a moral and representational one: whose life matters?

 

Worsening the situation is the role of the mainstream media, often dubbed “Godi Media”. It has all but abandoned issues affecting the common man. Prime-time TV debates are flooded with hate speech, religious polarization, and sycophantic praise of the government. Real concerns like inflation, unemployment, farmers’ woes, and economic inequality are either ignored or mocked. Yes, the rise of India’s luxury economy is real. It showcases India’s potential to compete globally. But that is only one side of the story. The full picture also includes malnourished children, depressed youth, and families crushed under debt. A nation’s progress should not be measured by its billionaire count, but by the well-being of its poorest citizen.

 

Today, India stands at a crossroads. Do we continue down a path that benefits only a handful of industrialists, or do we choose one that offers dignity, opportunity, and equitable development for all? If current policies remain skewed toward the powerful, then Mumbai and Delhi’s luxury malls will one day become symbols of a broken promise “Justice and equality for all.” This inequality is most stark in India’s poorest states. Bihar, with a Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of ₹8.5 lakh crore ($102 billion), has an annual per capita income of just ₹59,000. Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, has a GSDP of ₹23.5 lakh crore ($282 billion), but its per capita income is only ₹80,000 both well below the national average.

These figures expose the severe regional imbalance in India’s development. Until this improves, India’s growth cannot be called inclusive. If only these issues were seriously discussed by “Godi Media,” how much better the national discourse would be. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Let us hope that one day, a genuine debate on wealth and poverty will take centre-stage in this country.

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