It is not the Opposition, nor independent media voices, but the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh&rsquo;s own chief, Mohan Bhagwat, who has sounded a damning alarm: *healthcare and education in India have slipped beyond the reach of the common citizen.* His words cut through political posturing and lay bare a reality the government can no longer afford to ignore.
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Bhagwat&rsquo;s assertion is unambiguous. Once considered a sacred public service, health and education have been aggressively commercialised. Hospitals and schools&mdash;previously accessible to ordinary families&mdash;now operate as profit-driven enterprises. &ldquo;Good health and education are extremely important,&rdquo; Bhagwat reminds us, &ldquo;but both are neither affordable nor accessible.&rdquo; When a minister openly calls Indian education a &ldquo;trillion-dollar business,&rdquo; it reveals the depth of our moral decline: a sector meant to uplift the masses is instead bleeding them dry.
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India&rsquo;s fiscal commitment to these essential services is pitiful. Health expenditure languishes at just 3.9% of GDP, compared to China&rsquo;s 5.4%, South Africa&rsquo;s 8.3%, and Brazil&rsquo;s 9.9%. In education, the figure is equally dismal at 3.9%&mdash;far behind Cuba&rsquo;s 12%, Brazil&rsquo;s 6.2%, and the 5%-plus consistently maintained by the US and UK.
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This is not merely a budgetary oversight; it is a betrayal of the nation&rsquo;s social contract. The elected representatives in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and state assemblies must urgently revisit privatisation policies in these two sectors. If India aspires to be a fit, educated, and globally competitive nation, it must invest heavily in its people rather than outsourcing their future to private profiteers.
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Bhagwat&rsquo;s intervention should serve as a wake-up call for a government that prides itself on nationalist rhetoric. True nationalism lies not in slogans, but in ensuring that no Indian child is denied an education and no Indian life is lost for want of affordable healthcare. The Centre must take heed, abandon blind adherence to imperial-capitalist economics in social policy, and return to a model that places public welfare above corporate gain. Anything less would be wilful neglect of India&rsquo;s most basic obligations.
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Mohan Bhagwat’s warning exposes India’s neglect of public health and education funding

RSS Chief Slams Costly Health, Education

Mohan Bhagwat’s warning exposes India’s neglect of public health and education funding

August 11, 2025 | 15:54 IST