Sonu Surrender is not the End

Kobad Ghandy

Much of the ruling classesare gloating over the surrender of Sonu as though it is the end of the revolutionary movement. No doubt the losses have been significant but the root causes for the discontent remain as acute as before. And as long as these are not eradicated the revolutionary movement will arise again and again–even from the depths of despair–like a hydra headed monster grabbing the ruling elites by their necks. And if pushed to the wall they could become even more desperate giving the elites sleepless nights. As long as the resistance is controlled and planned most need not fear–only the top big business houses and the big landed classes and their political and bureaucratic representatives together with their tails need tremble.

Just take a short glimpse at the state of affairs in the country–that too nearly 80 years after independence–this will give an idea as to the cause of the discontent:

Though India brags about having one of the highest growth rates in the world - Growth is expected to reach 6.3 percent in FY25/26 according to the World Bank’s latest report–other real data is depressing: According to the UN’s Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2024: India still has the highest number of people living in poverty–234 million; compared to Pakistan’s 93 million; Ethiopia’s 86 million and Nigeria’s 74 million. Though the figures may not be comparable, (India’s current population is 1,466 million or about 147 crore) just the quantum of those living in sub human conditions is staggering. In the Global Hunger Index India is ranked 105 out of 127 countries. According to the UNDP Global Poverty Index, as of 2024, 1.1 billion worldwide live in extreme poverty (multi-dimensional poverty); with India in the top position.

According to the World Population Review (2025) India has about 2 million homeless people–that is those veritably living off the streets. In addition, about 78 million people in India live in slums and tenements–17% of the world’s slum dwellers reside in India.

The list of impoverishments could go on and on. But that is not the main factor: India is home to some of the richest in the world and the gap is growing with each passing day.

Over 2 lakh people earn more than Rs 1 crore annually; while the average household income is less than Rs 10,000. A total of 350 billionaires had a wealth of Rs 167 lakh crores as of Nov 2024. With Mukesh Ambani at Rs 10 lakh crores and Adani at over Rs 8 lakh crores. And this is only the declared incomes; if one considers the black income, it would be at least three times these figures. (As per estimates of some economists, the black economy of India is estimated to be at 62% of the GDP or Rs 93 lakh crores; this too would be a conservative figure). The bulk of this would go to the top billionaires; magnifying the gap considerably.

In other words, the total wealth of the billionaires would be a minimum of Rs 250 lakh crores–i.e 350 families with a wealth of about 250 lakh crores; or each family with Rs 7,000 crore. Compare this to a per capita income of India at a mere Rs 1 lakh annually or about Rs 8,000 monthly. (And the per capita income is an average which includes that of the top billionaires). The bottom half of the Indian population owns “almost nothing” of the national wealth, claimed a report authored by senior economists including France’s Thomas Piketty. The top 10% earn about 20 times more than the bottom 50%. Further in the same report in Money Control (December 07, 2021) it says: “While the top 1 percent of the population hold 22 percent of total national income, the bottom half’s share has gone down to 13 percent”.

As long as such a situation continues to exist there will be discontent in the country. The martyrdom of his very brother, Kishanji, and hundreds of others, will not go in vain. If the rapacious government and their corporate bosses continue in this vein people are bound to revolt. But if replaced by a people’s government which seizes the ill-gotten wealth of a handful of the big businesses houses and their agents in the governments, bureaucracy and political parties, it could raise lakhs of crores which could be invested in agriculture and small-scale industries setting India on the path of true rapid development instead of wallowing in backwardness for nearly a century.

Just seizing the wealth of India’s 200 billionaires would give it $ 941 billion (Rs 80 lakh crores). And this is only the white (declared) money. If one included the black money the figure would likely be more around Rs 200 lakh crores. And if to this is added the wealth of the imperialists the amount would be mind-boggling (FII investment amounted to $1 trillion while FDI investment in just the last decade was $500 billion).

While these massive investments result is a huge drain of the country’s wealth in the form of interest and other payments, if this vast sum was confiscated, amounting to nearly $ 3 trillion (billionaire wealth+FDI+FII) and re-invested as outlined above i.e in agriculture and SSIs, imagine India’s huge growth potential. In just a few years India would turn from a backward country into a developed one just as China has shown it can be done.

So, the killing of a few revolutionaries like Kishenji,  Basavarju, etc, or pushing some to leave activism, while protecting the ill-gotten wealth (white and Black) of the big corporates, imperialists and ultra-rich (inclusive of politicians, black-marketeers, etc) will only perpetuate India’s continued backwardness. While the bulk will continue to live in poverty a handful of vultures will thrive. Such a situation is unsustainable.

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Frontier
Vol 58, No. 20, Nov 9 - 15, 2025