JOHN DAYAL
Pope Leo XIV may or may not be able to visit India in 2026. There are forces beyond religion and diplomacy that govern Papal visits to coun tries such as India. His prede cessor, the good Pope Francis, waited till his last illness ex pressing his hope he would be able to visit the country which has a huge population of practis ing Catholics second only to the Philippines in Asia. There was no guarantee that the repeat ed embrace by political leaders would at some stage metamor phose into an official invitation. Pope Leo, an American who has worked most of his life with the poor in south America, and has some potent collaborative pathways to empower the poor in the many countries of the global south, reaches out to our landmass in his mew messaging of compassion. India is rich in natural re sources, and it is even richer in the wonderful fortune it has in its many intangible peoples’ cul tures – its ethnic variety, linguis tic depth and religious plurality, protected and nurtured by its constitutional secularism. Our governments, not just the current one headed by Mr Nar endra Modi, but those by most of his predecessors, had legitimate claims to have worked towards ameliorating the poverty that was bequeathed the nascent nation by colonial masters, the bloodshed of Partition, and nat ural and man-made disasters that led to famines and mass mi gration. But at the end of the day, or at the end of 2025, the bitter fact remained – some 81.35 crore people were eligible for, and availed, free food grains under various government schemes. They were not defined as utterly poor. In fact, Indian embassies in western capitals and academics in local institutions, spent many man-hours and huge sums of money producing data claim ing to show rapid decline in the number of poor. Oft times, it involved tweaking the so called poverty line, based on assumptions of the number of calories a soul need to remain alive, and the money required to buy food totalling those calories. There were other tricks up the collective sleeves of politicians, bureaucrats, industrialists and sometimes a friendly media, us ing smoke and mirrors, so to say, to prove to us that there were very few poor left in India. But no one could deny that many of those approximately 85 crore people, out of some 140 crore, would be on the verge of starvation if government did not give them free food, in addition to guaranteed hours of work in a year on government pay to sup plement their income. It did. Or matter whether the scheme was named after the Father of the Nation, or someone else. This is so because India’s poverty landscape is complex: While extreme poverty has de clined sharply in recent years, multidimensional poverty—en compassing health, nutrition, education, and social security— remains widespread. The major ity of poor belong to historically marginalised groups such as Dalits, Adivasis, religious minor ities, and women, who face lay ered discrimination. Economic growth has dispro portionately benefited the top 1%, while informal workers— comprising nearly 90% of the workforce—lack social protec tion, job stability, and fair wag es. Rural distress from agrarian crises, climate change, and lack of infrastructure worsens vul nerability, pushing millions to ward urban slums where access to welfare is patchy. Government rural employ ment programs, public distri bution system, and financial inclusion schemes help but chal lenges like corruption, exclusion errors, and underfunding limit their transformative potential. Urban poverty and migrant workers remain comparatively neglected. Covid shoed this with startling images, and still to be fully analysed data. Poverty and disempowerment remain pervasive challenges. No government on earth will want to learn moral lessons from contemporary religious leaders. But the recent apostolic exhorta tion by Pope Leo XIV, “Dilexi Te” (“I Have Loved You”), offers a pro found moral framework for coun tries such as ours to rethink its approach to poverty alleviation. The exhortation calls for love rooted in justice, dignity, and solidarity with the poor, urging governments, civil society, and the wealthy to work together in creating policies and programs that honour the humanity of every marginalised person. At the heart of *Dilexi Te* is an understanding that love for the poor is not a mere charitable act but an essential expression of divine love and justice. Pope Leo XIV insists that the poor are not passive recipients of aid but active subjects of dignity and agents of change. This approach urges government to move be yond treating poverty as a prob lem to be managed and toward embracing the poor as partners in shaping their destiny. The exhortation critiques “structures of sin” — systemic inequalities, social exclusion, en vironmental degradation — that perpetuate poverty. It calls for a preferential option for the poor, emphasising systemic reforms that address root causes and promote social inclusion. The spiritual dimension of poverty, recognizing that true wealth lies in human solidarity and commu nity, challenges India’s neoliber al focus on growth alone. To embody Pope Leo’s vision, countries must foster new mod els of cooperation—where gov ernment and wealthier sectors collaborate to build sustainable, just, and inclusive systems. An important first step is to am plify the voices of the poor, recog nising them as partners, not mere beneficiaries. Policy design must reflect lived realities. The Pope wants government to listen to the wisdom of the marginalized. Human dignity is of essence in government’s approach to the poor. There must be sus tainable livelihoods and decent work. MGNREGA’s success shows the impact of guaranteed work; expanding its duration and scope—including urban em ployment schemes modelled on it—can reduce informal sector precariousness. There is need to strengthen affirmative action, in gender eq uity, and beyond statutory res ervations, policies that address barriers to land ownership, credit access, and education. En forcement of anti-discrimination laws is paramount. Our own social economists have emphasised formalising the Informal economy through social security benefits, minimum wag es, and labour rights to protect millions of workers. The private sector, especially large corpora tions, can collaborate by adopting fair labour practices and support ing skill development. There is no need to quibble on names, or to change them. Programmes like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana can be scaled with pri vate sector input to tailor skills to market demands, promoting en trepreneurship and employment. And if there is one combined need in the country, it is in the cry for a health and nutrition safety net. While PDS ensures staples, partnerships with local farmers’ cooperatives and food processing industries can en sure supply chain efficiency and empower rural producers. Our farmers are restive again and government must listen to their demand for sustainable agricultural policies which in clude crop insurance, fair market access, and affordable credit to small farmers that reduces rural vulnerability and food insecurity. Pope Leo challenges the rich not just to give alms but to en gage in partnership for justice. At present CSR initiatives are not really aligned with national poverty alleviation priorities. There is no government pres sure to increase investments in social enterprises that create jobs and provide essential ser vices among poor communities fosters economic inclusion. India’s strong spiritual re source must be out to work in the service of the poor, foster ing a culture of where caring for the poor is a shared moral commitment. (John Dayal is an author, Editor, occasional documenta ry film maker and activist)
