The official claim of the bjp-led NDA coalition government at the Centre is that the 7 percent-plus annual GDP growth of the Indian economy is the highest worldwide. This claim is confirmed by the prestigious London-based weekly, The Economist, although it’s not clear whether this confirmation is based on its own independent assessment, or the official claim of mandarins of Delhi’s North Block. The element of doubt surrounding this claim is prompted by the grassroots reality that almost every third day is a public holiday in the work-averse sovereign, socialist, and secular Republic of India fashioned by its soft state establishment. According to the website https://www.officeholidays.com/countries/india/index.php, in 2018 the Central and state governments have notified over 100 public holidays including a Sir Chhotu Ram Jayanti in Haryana (January 22), Vir Kunvar Singh Jayanti in Bihar (April 23) and Sant Guru Kabir Jayanti in several states (June 28). Against this, national and regional holidays in the US aggregate 15, 21 in Japan and 20 in China. Moreover in India, national and regional holidays are also declared when celebrities — including movie stars — move to the great beyond. And to this list add several strikes, bandhs and morchas countrywide which cripple public transport, terrorise citizens and shut down business and commerce. Ergo the shadow of doubt: how can an economy in which people don’t work half the year, record fantastic annual rates of GDP growth? The answer is buried in the obfuscated statistic that the percentage of population employed in India’s organised sector, i.e, government, companies and firms which observe the rules and regulations of the ILO (International Labour Organisation), which prescribes humane working conditions and social protection for workers and employees worldwide, constitute a mere 10 percent of the country’s 527 million labour force. The vast majority of the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises, self-employed vendors and retail shops don’t observe these holidays, and indeed can’t afford to, as they are heavily dependent on daily incomes and wages to keep body and soul together. In the circumstances, the country’s populist Central and state governments which declare public holidays on flimsiest excuses, as also socio-economic reform champions who disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of citizens to draw public attention to their great causes, need to introspect. On November 19, the Congress-Janata Dal (S) government of Karnataka constituted a sub-committee to examine ways and means to slash the number of public holidays in the state to improve government efficiency and reduce public inconvenience. The Centre and other state governments should follow suit.
