India’s broken ladder
Every 15 August, India celebrates freedom. The flags go up, the tricolour flies from balconies, schoolchildren sing Vande Mataram and political leaders remind us of how far the country has travelled since 1947. And there is much to celebrate. India is a global economic power, a technological force, and increasingly confident about its place in the world. But Independence Day should also be a time to ask an uncomfortable question: who gets to climb the ladder of opportunity?
Because for millions of young Indians, the ladder is broken. The problem is not simply unemployment – but the absence of a pathway from talent and hard work to a better life. Across South Asia, young people are sending a similar message to their governments. Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have all seen youth uprisings, different in nature, but all asking the same question: “Where is our future?”
That is why the idea of a “broken ladder” matters so much for India. Anirudh Krishna, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at Duke University, argues that India has invested heavily in the top of the ladder – institutions such as the IITs and IIMs – while neglecting many of the rungs below. India can produce extraordinary success stories: global CEOs, unicorn founders, scientists, doctors and Olympic champions. But what about the talented child in a rural government school? The graduate who cannot find meaningful work? The young person whose only pathway to economic security is leaving India? Families spend their life savings educating their children because they believe education would provide upward mobility. When that promise fails, frustration is inevitable.
A genuine ladder of opportunity is not about turning every child into an IIT graduate. It means creating systems that discover talent wherever it exists and give people somewhere to go. Prof. Krishna points to Jamaica’s sporting system, Haryana’s wrestling ecosystem and Chennai’s chess network as examples of how local institutions can identify talent and create pathways to success. India needs thousands of such ladders for sport, technology, skilled trades, music, entrepreneurship, science and the creative economy. They cannot all be built from New Delhi. Government has an important role, but communities, schools, universities, businesses and civil society must build them from the ground up. As Krishna argues, these cannot simply become another government scheme where the bureaucrat ticks the boxes and moves on.
There is another crucial ingredient: a soft landing. If only one superstar succeeds while the other 99 return home with nothing, the next generation will decide the climb is not worth the risk. A successful ladder creates opportunities at every rung for coaches, teachers, administrators, commentators, technicians, entrepreneurs and professionals. That is how talent becomes an economy.
India’s great challenge over the next 25 years should not simply be to become a bigger economy; it should be becoming a country where a child’s birthplace does not determine how high they can climb. That would be real independence. The promise of 1947 was not merely that Indians would govern themselves; it was that Indians would have the opportunity to build better lives for themselves and their children.
So this Independence Day, let’s celebrate how far India has come but also acknowledge what remains unfinished and start fixing broken ladders.
Read Also: The dance of democracy, reprised
