While India celebrates reforms that promote the ease of doing business, men continue to live under suspicion in their homes. This article explores the liberty gap that denies men trust, empathy, and emotional freedom in family life.

Ease of Doing Business vs. Ease of Being a Man

India takes pride in climbing the Ease of Doing Business rankings. Simplified regulations, single-window approvals, and digital governance reflect a belief that trust empowers people. When citizens are free from unnecessary control, the economy flourishes.

Yet this principle of liberty halts at the home’s threshold. Men are trusted in boardrooms but doubted in bedrooms.

In family disputes, the same government that trusts businessmen with billions doesn’t trust men with fairness. A single allegation can shatter reputations and lives. The presumption of guilt shadows men even before the first hearing begins.

The Pressure to Be Politically Correct

Modern men live under constant watch. Every word, reaction, or pause is examined through a gendered lens.

• Express anger → “toxic.”
• Stay silent → “indifferent.”
• Assert a boundary → “controlling.”
• Defend themselves → “insensitive.”

“Men must always be politically correct—not because they’re wrong, but because society expects them to be wrong.”, Kumar S Ratan

Meanwhile, women’s expressions of emotion are hailed as empowerment. Men’s expressions are viewed as aggression. This double standard suffocates authenticity and destroys genuine communication in relationships.

The Liberty Gap

India liberated its markets, not its men.
There are reforms for start-ups but none for fathers, husbands, or sons.

A businessman who fails is called “innovative.”
A husband who fails to please is called “abusive.”

Family courts and social norms have tilted so far that men must prove their innocence to earn basic respect. Fathers struggle for visitation; husbands fight stigma more than cases. The system meant for protection has turned punitive for one gender.

The Human Cost

This constant vigilance breaks men silently.
They suppress emotions, withdraw socially, and internalize guilt.
Mental-health issues among men—depression, anxiety, suicide—are rarely treated as a national concern, even though they stem from emotional injustice and societal neglect.

Time for Social Reform

India needs not only economic freedom but emotional freedom for men.

Just as we measure the Ease of Doing Business, let us measure the Ease of Being a Man.
Let it reflect:

• Fairness in laws
• Respect for men’s human rights and fathers’ rights
• Recognition of men’s mental health
• Equal empathy in family courts

Because a nation that ignores the well-being of its men cannot build healthy families—and without strong families, no economy can sustain growth.

Closing Thought

Ease of doing business strengthened India’s economy.
Now, we must strengthen its families by creating an Ease of Being a Man Reform.

A man trusted in the boardroom should not be broken in the courtroom.
He should not have to be politically correct to be respected— only human to be understood.