‘Bowling alone’ while they starve together

Sony PellisseryInstitute 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

1983 1993 20030.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

Rural

Urban

HDI of Indian States (2004)Kerala: 135.17Punjab: 113.7

Tamil Nadu: 111.1Haryana: 107.8

Karnataka: 101.2Gujarat: 101.48

All India: 100

Rajasthan: 89.8Andhra Pradesh: 88.14

Orissa: 85.5Madhyapradesh: 83.4

Uttar Pradesh: 82.2Bihar: 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

1981 1991 2001 2011

104 105.8 107.8 109.2

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.