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‘Bowling alone’ while they starve together. Sony Pellissery Institute of Rural Management, Anand (India). Indian poverty story. Absolute standard for measuring poverty (using calorie requirement): 27% $1 dollar a day: 24%; $1.25 dollar a day: 42%
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‘Bowling alone’ while they starve together Sony Pellissery Institute of Rural Management, Anand (India)
Indian poverty story • Absolute standard for measuring poverty (using calorie requirement): 27% • $1 dollar a day: 24%; $1.25 dollar a day: 42% • Concentration of poverty in rural areas; but inequality in urban areas. • Regional variation • Social identity variation (lower castes & tribe) • Informal economy • Drivers into poverty: Micro level: sickness (83% of health expenditure out of pocket). Macro level: ‘paradox of plenty’
Gini coefficient (inequality) before and after liberalisation
HDI of Indian States (2004) Kerala: 135.17 Punjab: 113.7 Tamil Nadu: 111.1 Haryana: 107.8 Karnataka: 101.2 Gujarat: 101.48 All India: 100 Rajasthan: 89.8 Andhra Pradesh: 88.14 Orissa: 85.5 Madhyapradesh: 83.4 Uttar Pradesh: 82.2 Bihar: 77.75
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005) • 100 days of job guaranteed (Rs.100 /$2) for a household in exchange for work improving community infrastructure. • Since its inception 45 million rural households have been provided jobs every year (33% of the rural population). • Close to 1% of GDP spent on the programme. • Revolution in rural power structure: Agricultural wage has gone up; and dependent relations (landlord-landless labourer) are being challenged because of the new alternative available.
Struggle for recognition • Family obligations. • Keeping the word in reciprocal relations. • Carrying out rituals and social practices even at the expense of falling into debt.
Identity (caste & gender) • Lower caste (16%) and tribals (7%) + backward castes (32%): subjected to historical injustice. • Most unhygienic (e.g. manual scavenging) work given. • Being born as a woman is shame; giving birth only to girl children is a shame (macro level: female infanticide); Rape as an instrument to control women through shaming. • Positive discrimination: jobs gained by people of these identity shamed calling ‘reserved’.
Sex ratio in 0-6 age group Number of male children per 100 female (source decennial census)
Hierarchical society • Acceptance of one’s status in society results in limited sense of shame while dealing with out-groups. • This intensifies fights (seen as shameless fight by outsiders) for resources within in-group: This creates creamy layer within lower levels of stratification.