The Country That Buys Fighter Jets While Its People Struggle

Somewhere in Rajasthan, a family is looking at a cancelled exam notice for the third year in a row. Somewhere in Maharashtra, a farmer is standing in his orchard watching ruined Alphonso mangoes fall from trees that could not handle the extreme heat. And in a government press briefing, an official is announcing that India has agreed to spend ₹3.25 lakh crore on 114 Rafale fighter jets.

These are not three separate news stories. They are one story. And India keeps refusing to see it.

The Heat Is No Longer Just a Season

May 2026 is not a normal heatwave that comes and goes. Banda in Uttar Pradesh and Brahmpuri in Vidarbha recorded 47.6 degrees Celsius. Power supply is failing because demand is hitting new records, not just during the day but at night as well. The Alphonso mango, which is one of India’s most loved fruits and a big part of Maharashtra’s farm income, has been badly damaged this season. Farmers are losing money. Consumers are paying more. The government’s response has been to ask people to stay at home.

This is climate change showing up in real life. Not in a report. Not in a speech. In the price of a mango. In a child unable to sleep through a 44-degree night before an exam that, as it turns out, will be cancelled anyway.

The heat alone should be pushing India into serious discussions about power infrastructure, farming, city planning, and what years of ignoring climate warnings have cost us. Instead, it is sharing the front page with a fuel price hike.

The Petrol Pump Is Taking Money Every Week

Since May 15, petrol has gone up by more than ₹7 per litre. Diesel by more than ₹7.50. Four price increases in under two weeks. The government says global oil prices are high and fuel companies are losing money. What this explanation does not say is that India imports more than 85 percent of its oil, has no strong plan to move away from this dependence, and has chosen to pass every global price rise directly to the common citizen.

A family already spending more money to keep their home cool is now also spending more to fill their vehicle. Prices rising does not make a big announcement. It just quietly makes everything a little smaller — the meal, the savings, the future.

This is the situation of the Indian middle class in May 2026. Pressure from the heat and pressure from the fuel pump at the same time.

Twenty-Two Lakh Students, Three Failed Years

Then there is NEET.

This is the one national exam that decides who gets into medical college in India. Millions of families spend years of time and money preparing for it. This exam has now been affected for three years in a row. 2024. 2025. 2026. Question papers leaked, exams cancelled, cases sent to the CBI, hearings in the Supreme Court. A student from a poor Dalit family in Jhunjhunu died by suicide. Twenty-two lakh other students are waiting once again for a system that has let them down once again.

The Supreme Court has now asked the National Testing Agency to explain what is going wrong. Read that again. India’s highest court is asking a government exam body why it cannot run a clean, fair test three years in a row.

This is not just a management problem. It is a problem of values. The children of Indian families who believe completely that education is the way to a better life are being told, again and again, that the system is broken and nobody is fixing it.

And Then, The Jets

In the middle of all this, the government has confirmed a plan to buy 114 Rafale fighter jets for ₹3.25 lakh crore.

India needs a strong air force. That is not the argument here. Defence spending is necessary for a country surrounded by the neighbours India has. But the question that no official will answer openly is this: what does it tell us about a government’s thinking when it can move fast and with full commitment on a massive arms purchase, while three years of exam failures go unfixed, while fuel prices rise every few days without explanation, while farmers in Vidarbha watch a harvest die from heat that policy ignored for ten years?

Looking powerful on the world stage is not the same as governing well at home. A fighter jet flying over the Republic Day parade does not help a student get a fair chance at a medical seat.

India in 2026 is very good at showing strength to the world. It is much slower at using that strength for the people who live here every day.

That is what connects all three headlines. One country. One problem.

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