Editor’s Note
This opinion piece presents a critical perspective on domestic media coverage in India, contrasting it with international reporting on economic challenges in Gujarat. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of this publication. We present it to foster discussion on media narratives and economic issues.
Unemployment of thousands of workers in Surat has been featured in the Washington Post, while domestic media remains obsessed with Modi!
By Manoj Abhigyan
When the ‘Godi Media’ (pro-government media) is busy competing to label every government policy as historic and every decision as Modi’s masterstroke, the situation on the ground tells a different story. Now that the US has doubled tariffs on Indian diamonds and jewelry, this same media is busy trying to prove that this too is in India’s interest. Channels and newspapers are explaining that this is a sign of India’s growing strength and that it will provide new opportunities for our traders.
Meanwhile, newspapers like the Washington Post are publishing full-page reports stating that Surat, known as the world’s diamond capital, is witnessing the collapse of its diamond industry. Millions of workers have become unemployed, small businesses are on the verge of bankruptcy, and the local economy is plunging into an abyss.
The condition of Surat emerges in this report as a very clear picture. Thousands of laborers, who have been engaged for generations in the work of cutting and polishing diamonds, have suddenly lost their livelihoods. For them, the question is not how strategic India-US relations are, but how the next ration for the household will arrive. The impact of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on India has been immediate. Orders have stopped, factories are shutting down, and workers are being handed forced leave. Owners themselves say that if the American market closes, Surat’s entire industry could collapse.
But India’s ‘Godi Media’ is silent on these issues. It is neither showing the condition of the workers nor hearing the cries of small businessmen. Debates on TV are about how India is now on the path to becoming a superpower. The biggest blow from the trade war between the US and China is falling on cities like Surat. Where 90 percent of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished for the first time, there is now a shadow of recession. The crowds of customers in shops and hotels have diminished, workers are forced to return to their villages, and owners have no option left but to stop production. The crisis here is not just economic but also social. Thousands of families whose lives depended on this industry are suddenly being pushed into economic insecurity and poverty.
The Modi government repeatedly says it will make India the center of global trade. But the question is, when millions of workers are struggling with unemployment and hunger, are such hollow declarations of any use?
