Sold Out: When Public Good Became Private Profit

 

Sold Out: When Public Good Became Private Profit

Once upon a time, when humans were learning to stop clubbing each other for food, someone came up with a brilliant idea: if I give you grain, you give me a chicken. Barter was born. Logical, simple, fair. Then came civilization and with it, leaders. And these leaders, in their divine wisdom, decided that some things like feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and sheltering the cold should happen without debate or delay. Revolutionary, right?

Fast forward to 2025: the enlightened societies of today will happily let you die in a hospital hallway if your credit score doesn't cut. The same world that once prioritized human dignity now sends you an itemized bill for it.

In places like India and many other nations, good luck getting a doctor to even look in your direction unless you’ve first paid the consultation fee cash up front, humanity later. Public hospitals? A joke. Underfunded, understaffed, and proudly dysfunctional. Meanwhile, the same doctors who are too “busy” to treat you at government centers are moonlighting at their private clinics, where surprise! they’re magically available. And the prescription pad? A tool for creative writing exercises, where your illness is just a plot device to inflate the bill.

Let’s not forget the insurance system, hurried into existence without the faintest idea of safeguards. For those who know how to play the game, it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet. For everyone else, it’s a slow financial bleed, one overpriced scan at a time.

Now, let’s talk population. In 1947, when Nehru took charge of a freshly partitioned India with 340 million people, the U.S. had only 144 million. In 2025? India is at a staggering 1.44 billion, while the U.S. is coasting at around 342 million. Yes, the same U.S. that manages to provide better services for a population one-fourth the size. India, on the other hand, has been sprinting on a treadmill, running fast but going nowhere.

Sanjay Gandhi’s forced sterilization campaign? Condemned. But China's one-child policy? Efficient. India, meanwhile, let population growth outpace every reform by fourfold. Try building infrastructure like that.

Enter the super-rich modern-day monarchs who saw an opportunity in the chaos. They stepped in to “fill the gap,” but only if you could pay their premium. And because they already sucked government resources dry, what remained for the rest was barely enough to keep hope alive.

Today, when a political party dares to suggest that maybe just maybe healthcare, education, and food shouldn't be luxuries, the elite clutch their pearls and scream “freebies!” on national media. Suddenly, basic rights are handouts, and compassion is communism. The messaging is clear: if you're poor, be grateful you’re even breathing.

Meanwhile, they handpick leaders like Modi, more programmable than a toaster, and far less poetic than even Kalidas on a bad day. In this circus, PR is policy, and photo ops pass for governance. India's most camera-addicted Prime Minister hasn’t faced a single open press conference in over eleven years. But when real questions come up? He vanishes into a cave faster than your internet in rural UP.

The super-rich have turned elections into a rigged reality show. They’ve perfected the script: tamper with EVMs, erase legitimate opposition votes, plant phantom ballots for the ruling party, flood even dry states with cash and liquor, and then, like clockwork, erase every trace. The finishing move? Wrap the leader in religion. Cast him in the image of Bhagwan, now repurposed as a political shield so sacred, even criminals in saffron are untouchable.

And if someone finds the courage to break ranks with the BJP? The corporate media machine kicks in to erase their status, legacy, and credibility be damned. Take the Vice President of India, who resigned two years before his term was up. Why? Because he couldn’t tolerate the government's betrayal of its promises, especially to farmers. He even praised Rahul Gandhi as a visionary. That alone was enough to brand him a traitor in BJP's eyes.

Meanwhile, the Monsoon Session is underway. And Modi? Doing what he does best, vanishing when accountability comes knocking. He’s dodging questions, ducking blame, and letting serious allegations of election fraud in Bihar hang in the air like smog. In today’s India, evasion isn’t seen as a weakness; it’s a policy.

If Modi and the BJP succeed in stripping legal citizens of their status, India will be set on a path where rights can be erased with a signature. It’s a slippery slope designed to let the super-rich tighten their grip while ordinary citizens lose everything. If those in power fail to act, then once again, humanity loses the fight.

So, no Dhokhe Ki Duniya isn’t just a phrase. It’s a blueprint. And if you’re still wondering how we got here, look at who’s holding the mic and who’s holding the leash.