The great divide

After the epidemic, we will again cater to the interests of the privileged class and keep the underprivileged quiet with handouts

The Covid epidemic has widened the great divide that separates the living conditions and prospects of the rich and the poor; the urban and rural dwellers; and the workers in the organised sector and those in the unorganised sector in India.

A useful starting point for understanding the nature of this great divide between the privileged and the underprivileged is the change in the distribution of income which has been quite drastic since 1990. According to the World Inequality Database, the share of the top 10 per cent of the income earners, which was an average of 36 per cent in