The
basic principles of growth and development are the same the world over. Though
we behave in a generally homogeneous manner, yet we are vastly different from
economically developing countries of Africa and Asia, and from the affluent
West.
In a broad sense, development is defined as the
overall well-being of the entire population. Thus, any agenda on development
goes beyond the income of the individual or of the groups of individuals or of
the society, and encompasses healthy living, equity, empowerment,
participation, security, and social cohesion. Thus, the goal of the nation for
development is therefore to increase economic growth and social justice,
improve human resources, empower the poor, and create employment opportunity
for them and consequently to reduce poverty. Thus, a nation thrives and
develops if it simultaneously encompasses all these for the betterment of its
people.
In India, there is low level of income and high
incidence of poverty, which has impacted on all aspects of development of the
human society. Extreme poverty is now heavily concentrated in two particular
regions of the world: South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. They have among the
lowest per capita income among all the regions (Amartya Sen, 2000:99, “Development
as Freedom”). Poverty affects social development directly, as it has strong
positive impact on infant mortality and death rate.
The recent literature on poverty has caused rethinking
of development policies appropriate for poverty alleviation. There is quite a
good number of literature that generally refers to addressing poverty. Poverty
does not come by itself, one needs to understand the causes of poverty. Once
the cause of poverty is understood, the solution for minimizing the poverty can
be found out, if not its complete eradication.
While talking about poverty, it reminds me of one
cartoon by the celebrated cartoonist R. K. Laxman on Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s
ambitious plan on virtually eradicating poverty, that appeared in Laxman Rekha,
a Times of India Publication (edited by Nina Martyris, p. 121, 205). The
lines run as follows against the cartoon on the facing page (120) thus: “Mr
Rajiv Gandhi outlined an ambitious plan of virtually eradicating poverty. He
stated that 75 per cent of the population would be lifted above the poverty
line within five years and that by the end of the century; the figure would be
95 per cent. He also said that from 1980 to 1984, the percentage for people
brought above the poverty line had gone up from 36 to 51.” (This is an extract
from his speech delivered on 5 December 1985).
Based on his speech R. K. Laxman developed a cartoon
thus — An aged haggard faced poor man with an empty thali and a lota
sitting on the ground with folded legs before the pasted statistical chart on
the wall, looking at the poverty line which hangs before him just a little
above his bald head. The drawn poverty line has been held stretched by a man, a
facial carricature of Mr Rajiv Gandhi, partly bending across his working table,
while on the other end on the right side, a bespectacled man stands holding the
other end of the line, giving the impression of a bureaucrat, amidst sheets of
papers (suggesting statistical estimates). The twosome join in hands through
the line while the caricature of Mr Gandhi, the politician, speaks, “LOWER IT. LET THE POOR FELLOW BE A
WEE BIT ABOVE IT!”
Though it is
just a cartoon, but it shows the reality in India.
Identification of poor and estimation of poverty in
India has received considerable attention during the last few decades. The
issue of identification of poor in rural areas is one of the most important
factors for effective implementation of various poverty alleviation programmes.
The basis for estimating poverty in India is the National Sample Survey data on
Household Consumer Expenditure. The Planning Commission of the Government of
India, or its Expert Group, as well as the other social scientists, estimate
the poverty in rural and urban areas in India on the basis of the National
Sample Survey data. There are controversies and diversity of opinions on the
methodology and estimates of poverty released by the Planning Commission of the
Government of India as it does not take into consideration the various facets
of rural population like social groups (caste), type of household (occupation),
possession of land, possession of irrigated land, age and sex of the head of the
household and other members of the household. While the Expert Group for
estimating the State-specific poverty line takes into consideration the various
facets of the rural population.
Cultural characteristics of Bihar
(north Bihar), Uttar Pradesh and north-west of Madhya Prdesh are fairly
similar, being the Hindi speaking belt, where there is high concentration of
Scheduled Castes. While south Bihar (now Jharkhand), and Orissa, and also
south-eastern part of Madhya Pradesh (now Chhattisgarh) has strong
concentration of Scheduled Tribe population. We find a fairly uniform pattern
of culture in this tribal dominated pocket of central India. Only Orissa and
West Bengal is linguistically and culturally distinct from the central Indian
Hindi speaking belt, though tribal cultural characteristics are similar with
the tribes of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Thus, we find that the ‘high poverty
states’ shows two distinct linguistic groups, one Hindi speaking group, and the
other Bengali/Oriya linguistic group. Assam is an exception.
In the present paper, the author would
like to focus his attention to the development process initiated by the
government and non-government organizations which implies economic betterment
of the people as well as social transformation. The author specifically would
like to present the economic inequality of the people of Jharkhand where there
is 26 per cent people are tribals, who are struggling hard to adjust themselves
with the rapidly changing situation brought in by large scale industrialization
and ever increasing urbanization in specific centres interspersed between
forests and agricultural tracts.
The Indian society is in the throes of transition.
When we look around us we find that every aspect of life and organization is
undergoing change. Nowhere is this so prominent, perhaps, as in the patterns of
stratification and differentiation. The traditional pattern of differentiation
rooted in professional family heredity and family behaviour, is being replaced
by a new pattern based on competition and specialization which have thrown open
newer modern occupations and professions. In India, the twin process of
mobility and urbanization are going on simultaneously.
Today the tribals of some
villages in Jharkhand are almost indistinguishable from the upper caste
villages. The Oraons, for example, have forgotten their past tradition
(Sachchidananda, 1970). The Gonds of some areas have become “part-society as a
caste”. The Mundas have begun to lose faith in the power of “Bonga”. The Bhumij
exhibits caste like characteristics. The tribals of Jharkhand differ widely
among themselves in the level of social-economic development. The number of
people living entirely by hunting and food gathering is very small. Many tribal communities have already got
assimilated with the general population in India.
Rural development is
therefore, an absolute and urgent necessity in India now and will continue to
be so in future.
Indian policy makers have been emphasizing
upon the need of rural development ever since the advent of the planning
process in the country. The ultimate objective of rural development was the eradication
of poverty and thus improving the quality of life of the masses. Hence the
focus of planned development was on "growth with equity". However,
despite a modest growth in the economy, rural areas have lagged behind in the
process of development. The economic growth of India has remained concentrated
in a few sectors and only in certain regions of the country. This has created
wide regional disparities and inequalities amongst the different sections of
the society.
In India, we find
this sustainability of the projects is in a very bad shape. On
the basis of experience in developed and developing economies of the world it
has now been realised that the real motive force of socio-economic progress is
the people. So, people's participation in the development programmes is the
need of the hour for sustainable development.
Many non-government organisations and
voluntary organisations after having understood the basic concepts of people's
participation in rural development programmes have come forward to assist the
government and its programmes to serve the predominantly agrarian society in
rural areas of India.
In the tribal belt of Jharkhand there are
more than 200 non-government organisations who are actively engaged in the
development programmes in the different districts of Jharkhand.
Science and Technology for
Rural Development
In India, the entire science and
technology institutions are only caring for the urban people. The chain of
Science and Technology institutions for National Laboratories at one end and
the ITI’s on the other hand cater to only urban industrial needs. Science and
technology for the vast rural areas of India is left to the traditional
craftsmen and to ill trained and ill equipped personnels. Development
administration at the block level is manned by ordinary arts graduates.
India needs a science and technology
policy to match its own special needs, the needs of the rural people, and not
that which is based on the value system of the affluent West. The Western value
system brings social stress and is a source of economic wastage.
India will develop fast if the youths of
the villagers get skilled training, and develop an attitudinal change and
interest in science and technology for rural development, particularly in the
field of agriculture and irrigation for their sustainable development.
By: P. Dash Sharma
(Retired Professor
of Anthropology, Ranchi University, Ranchi)
Mailing address of author:
A-3, 3rd
Floor
11, New
Santoshpur Main Road,
Santoshpur,
Kolkata-700075
(Mob.:
8521427117, Tel.: 033-24160089)
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