Over the past four decades, India's state apparatus has slowly been sold off to private capital. Consequently, economic anxiety defines the daily experience of ordinary citizens - the collective frustration of which the BJP strategically redirects towards Muslims. A national-level hero's journey of resurgence must, it turns out, have a villain.

India's 1991 neoliberal economic reforms under Finance Minister Manmohan Singh entailed three primary initiatives: deregulation, privatisation, and trade liberalisation. The first involved slashing oversight on corporations: licensing requirements to set up industries were eliminated, production quotas were substantially eased, and firms were allowed to diversify and expand without needing government approvals. The second entailed divesting from state owned enterprises. Major entities - including BALCO, Hindustan Zinc, IPCL, VSNL (now Tata Communications Limited) and many more - were sold to private parties over the subsequent decade. The third involved discontinuing 'artificial' import restrictions and state-led export promotion initiatives in an effort to integrate into global 'free' markets. More broadly, corporate taxes were slashed, interest rates deregulated, and restrictions on foreign direct investment lifted. Collectively, these measures led to improvements in surface level economic indicators. GDP growth, a better managed fiscal account, and the strengthening of trade relations were all observed. On the other hand, however, inequalities surged.

With fewer checks on corporations, collective bargaining via trade unions and farmer associations weakened - and workers were left to fend for themselves in a dog-eat-dog modality. Government funds were systematically........

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