The surge in gold and silver prices has disrupted the social order

February 1, 2026

The prices of gold and silver are setting new records every day. Within a year, gold in India has given a return of 113 percent and silver 323.38 percent. In just one month, by January 29, 2026, the price of silver had increased by 64.91 percent and gold by 31.64 percent. Such a surge in gold and silver prices has never been seen in the last 46 years. Indians have always been obsessed with accumulating gold and silver to secure their financial future. Gold has reached almost 175,000 rupees per ten grams, and silver has reached 379,000 rupees per kilogram.

Although both gold and silver prices showed a 6 percent decline on January 30, there is no expectation of a significant drop in silver prices. However, it is said that once the price of gold rises, it rarely falls significantly. This has disrupted the country’s social order. India has a huge wedding market.

Giving dowry to daughters is a major and harsh reality in Indian marriage traditions. Parents give gold and silver jewelry as dowry to their daughters. But now, with prices skyrocketing, the gold and silver markets appear deserted. Another consequence is that those who had secretly accumulated gold are suddenly becoming incredibly wealthy. The situation is such that the stock market and mutual funds are falling, while gold and silver prices are dominating the markets.

This issue was also raised in Parliament on January 30, and the government was asked to control the prices of these two metals. But what can the government do? We import 85 percent of our gold and silver. Given the nature of Indian demand, gold imports will continue, but now people’s wealth will be measured not by shares and bonds, but by gold bars. Until gold and silver are transformed from inert metals into active ones, the country will not benefit from the skyrocketing prices of gold and silver.