Voters queue up to cast their ballots at a polling station in India’s general election, in Mumbai. AFP

The vast majority of Indians lead lower to middle-income lives. Their best aspirations are low costs of living and secure jobs. Just before the elections, the government announced that about 67 per cent of the nation’s population will receive free food-grains, at five kilogrammes per head per month, for the next five years.

Though India is the fifth largest economy globally, the per capita income is low, at around $2,400 pa.

Hence, millions of Indians yet subsist below the poverty line. So, the beneficiaries of the free foodgrains are grateful. They are not engaged in a debate about democracy. They just want three meals a day. Then, in the middle of the elections, the Congress party has promised to double the free foodgrains, for the next five years.

However, providing food, shelter, education and jobs to the people of any country is the fundamental and sacred duty of any elected democratic government. It should not be an election promise or charity, in exchange for votes. However, it is so, in a developing country like India.

Rajendra Aneja,

Mumbai, India