Chhattisgarh's Jobless Millions: Dreams Crushed, Promises Forgotten

The unemployment numbers in Chhattisgarh are shocking: over 1.6 million registered job seekers, yet the government has no data on how many got government jobs in the past 18 months.

In the quiet corners of libraries, in the fading notebooks of hopeful youth, in the eyes of daughters trying to delay marriage just for a few more attempts at a government exam, unemployment in Chhattisgarh is no longer a number, it's a way of life.

Take Satish Nishad from Durg. His mother is no more. His father, retired. Since 2015, Satish has been preparing to become a school teacher. Every day, he walks into a local library, his only classroom now. 

"The 2023 BJP manifesto promised 57,000 teacher posts. Now they've reduced it to 22,464. Not a single teacher has been recruited in two years," he says, his voice calm, but eyes tired from years of waiting.

In Janjgir, Manju Thakre echoes a different struggle. 

"At home, they say it's time to get married. But I want to stand on my own feet first," she says. But how long can she keep defying time, family pressure, and a system that only feeds her false hope?

Their stories are not isolated. They are one in over 16.24 lakh, as per official government data. Chhattisgarh has over 16 lakh registered unemployed youth, the majority of them highly educated, many from poor and middle-income backgrounds.

From January 2024 to June 2025, not a single person has been provided a government job.

Yes, private sector placements through agencies did take place: 6,279 in 2024 and just 883 till mid-2025. But what are these jobs, and how much do they pay? Enough to survive rising inflation? Or just enough to call yourself "employed"? The government offers no details.

Sulochani Kumbhkar, preparing for a teaching job, says: "We're Hindi-medium students. Even private schools ignore us. If not a government job, where do we go?"

In the name of good governance, the state celebrated 'Sushasan Tihar' earlier this year. Ironically, 4,373 unemployed youth formally appealed for jobs during that very festival.

Chhattisgarh's Durg tops the unemployment list with 1.13 lakh jobless youth. Bilaspur follows with 1.05 lakh, and Janjgir-Champa with 1 lakh. That's not just a statistic it's a population larger than many small towns, desperate for dignity and direction.

Congress MLA Sheshraj Harwansh slams the state government: "They claim to care for women, youth, and farmers. But when asked about jobs in the Assembly, they say they have no data. No action. Just slogans."

When Congress MLA Sheshraj Harwansh raised the issue in the Assembly, it was Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma who responded. But when NDTV asked him the same question, the leader of the state simply shrugged it off and said: "Let me find out, ask me later." 

In a state with over 16 lakh unemployed youth, the Deputy Chief Minister doesn't have answers just delays.

Meanwhile, desperation is pushing youth out of the state often into danger. In December 2024, over 40 tribal youth from Dantewada returned from Hyderabad factories with severe illnesses; some even died. They had left in search of work - but came back with broken bodies and heavier burdens.