When there has been lot of clamour for Indian economic power in the world, the Socio-economic and Caste Census (SECC) has presented before us the grim realities of India. As the SECC has clearly affirmed, the vast majority of India (73.44%) still resides in the rural areas and it is from these areas that any understanding about the socio-economic status of India can be recorded. This is notwithstanding the fact there has emerged another ‘India’ in last two and half decades since the Indian economy underwent reforms and opened itself to the private sector and the global market forces. This India comprises of the expanding middle classes who have come to re-define their life styles with the increase in their purchasing power and the availability of the consumer goods in the market. On top layer, there has also come into existence a class of rich – the millionaires and billionaires who have adopted international standards of life and have come to symbolise the economic progress that India has made since 1991.
In the context of the visibility and influence of these affluent classes, SECC is a reminder of two Indias existing side by side. How the India about which the SECC has presented the data is altogether different from the one that is referred to in the ‘growing’ India model – gets reflected from the data presented by this census. This data shows that three fourths of the households in the rural area live on an income of less than 5000 rupees per month. And more than 90% people fall in an income slab of less than 10000 rupees per month. Is it only 8.29% who have an earning of more than 10000 per month.
The socio-economic wretchedness of the rural India is further reflected from the fact that more than one third people here are illiterate and if one adds those who are literate only upto primary level, it comes to almost half of the rural households. While less than ten percent people are educated upto secondary level, about five percent are educated upto higher secondary level and 3.45% upto the graduate level.
What would be the quality of life of the people in the rural areas where 44.52% households still live in kuccha houses and do not own even the very essential assets like refrigerators (89%)? In terms of source of their livelihood, half of them (51.41%) are either casual or manual labour. For those who cultivate land, their problems are increased by the lack of irrigation and modern mechanised sources of cultivation. As the data shows, only 23% land is irrigated, and only 4.12% people own mechanised three or four wheeler agricultural equipment and less than 10% own irrigation equipments.
How is J&K placed?
Thanks to the land reforms, the rural Jammu and Kashmir is much better placed than many other states in the ownership of land (compared to 44% landownership at the national level – in this state 78% of the rural households have their own land). It is a different matter, however, that, 53% of such land is unirrigated. and only 25% of the rural household have assured irrigation for two crops. (This is much below the national level where where 37% rural households are assured irrigation for two crops. Our neighbouring states – Punjab has 48% of such households and Haryana 51%).
It is also to be noted that despite the fact that one-third of the households in the rural areas are dependent on cultivation, the process of cultivation is quite backward. This is reflected from the fact that only 1.72% rural households here have mechanised three-four wheeler agricultural equipments. (4.12% at the national level and 16.16% and 11.53% for Punjab and Haryana respectively).
However, these issues notwithstanding, the state is placed much better in many areas. For instance, the percentage of people whose economic survival is dependent on casual and manual labour, though quite large, is still below the national level. While for the rest of rural India, for majority of the households (51.14%) the source of living is through casual or manual labour, in case of our state the percentage of such households is 37.28. 30.12% have cultivation as main source of living. Curiously, the percentage of those who earn their livelihood by being domestic servants (4.46%) is relatively higher than the national average of 2.50%.
The state also ranks much higher in the scenario of salaried jobs. As compared to all-India level where only 9.68% of rural households have someone with salaried jobs, in case of J&K, the percentage is as high as 22.37%. Of these the largest number, that is 19.95% are employed in the Government sector. Again this is much higher than the national average. At the all-India level, only 5.02 % rural households have someone with Government jobs.
It is the reflection of these factors that one can see relatively better economic status of the state compared to the national level. While at the all-India level 74.49% rural households fall in the income bracket of less than five thousand rupees per month, the percentage of such households in the state is 67.45. 14.52% rural households have a monthly income between five to ten thousand rupees per month. What is significant, the percentage of those who have a monthly income of more than 10000 rupees is much higher in the state than at the national level. At the national level only 8.29% people fall in this bracket, but in J&K, as many as 18.03% of the households in the rural areas have a monthly income of more than 10000 rupees.
simply stated
Rekha Chowdhary
With such a situation where the state is doing relatively much better in terms of landownership and employment and earning pattern, it is much distressing to see the literacy and educational backwardness. Compared to many other states in India, this state has a very high rate of rural illiteracy (39.52%). If we add those who are literate but educated upto primary level to this number, we will see that it will add to almost half of the population of the state. Which means that half of the households in this state are either illiterate or literate to the level of below primary The only states which are worse than J&K in this case are Rajasthan and Bihar (and Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh almost in similar situation as us)
It is a very sad scenario for this state which had plunged into the movement for mass education much earlier. While one hears of jabri schools being established even during the pre-1947 period, the state went in for acknowledging the right of free education for all and incorporated it in the state constitution as well. With education remaining free upto the level of University, it is tragic that only 3.24% of the rural population has been able to reach upto the level of graduation and 6.09% have been educated up to the higher secondary level (11.58% upto the secondary level and 15.49% upto the middle level).
Also one does not find a very happy scenario regarding the quality of life that people are living in the rural areas of the state. Though the housing situation is slightly better than the national level (where 44.52% people reside in kuccha houses and 55.38% in pucca houses), it is a matter of concern that only 59.63% of the rural households have pucca houses to live. As many as four of the ten households in the rural areas are still the kuccha houses.
While the CESS has not given other statistics, like on the health, one can not draw a complete picture of the quality of life in the rural areas. But the picture as it is available makes it clear that despite the advantages that the state has in various areas, the quality of life of people in the rural areas needs much improvement.
(Feedback welcome at rekchowdhary@gmail.com)
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