ABSTRACT
Growing inequality is one of the central issues of our time which requires close examination. Beyond a certain threshold, it adversely affects social well-being, retards the impact of growth on poverty alleviation, and constrains individual’s sense of fulfillment and self-worth. Increasing inequality is a conspicuous issue in India today. Apart from an economic analysis, the Indian case calls for an analysis of political and policy processes that allow certain politically and economically powerful groups to control and manipulate not just economic activities but also democratic processes. This chapter examines in brief the politics and policies affecting inequalities chiefly the impact of elite dominance on inequalities and eventually people’s well-being. It explores how political processes especially elite capture intensifies inequalities with regard to income and wealth, often referred to as vertical inequalities. While we need to consider inequality in its entirety taking into consideration the social and economic dimensions of inequality (vertical and horizontal inequalities), this chapter’s principal concern is an exposition of the political factors driving inequality and the prospects of social welfare in India.
