India is a conservative society. Women are 50% of the vote bank. They actually vote in larger numbers compared to men in many constituencies. They manage households and are very quick to notice price increases etc. The free bus rides and cash handouts are basically a transparent attempt to buy their vote. It is what it is.

I wonder when Marx wrote "religion is opium for the masses" he had India in mind because goddamn it fits perfectly.

It fits perfectly literally everywhere on earth, the main challenge is in claiming that the masses can tolerate not being "intoxicated". For all we know religion is an inevitable characteristic of the human species.

This happened post COVID - to help poor. A few states did that - saw electoral gains. It is not nationwide.

There is also a misconception. It is not in all public transport. In TN state, it is on select buses - slower buses only.

In Kerala, its not for poor. Its for all women. If the women is traveling with a 5 year old boy, she has to pay for the boy though.

I wrote to serve poor. In a way, women are financially marginalised in most of humanity. So nothing wrong about that.

Are the political parties really giving freebies because they want to serve the poor and improve their lives? Or is it a means to come to power so that they can loot us more? And are the political parties that resort to such tactics even capable of improving our economy in the first place, or ruin it further? I don't trust these tactics.

that is a different issue. Even with the free bus services it will benefit many.

If you are asking if the politicians are bad then it is yes.

- Who benefits from the free bus for women scheme? - https://www.cag.org.in/blogs/who-benefits-free-bus-women-sch...

- Free Bus Service Schemes for Women in India: A Gendered Approach to Public Transport and Economic Inclusion - https://www.impriindia.com/insights/policy-update/free-bus-s...

- Freebie or Freedom? Tamil Nadu’s Free Bus Travel Scheme for Women - https://www.impriindia.com/insights/policy-update/free-bus-s...