The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC)
released by the government reaffirms the underlying fact again that, in spite
of the political speak, it is a winding road ahead. It is an underlying fact
that runs across the strata of the social
fabric of the country.
Sample this - of the total 17.91 crore
rural households, 5.37 crore have landless owners. They derive their
livelihood from 'manual labour'. So, some 30% of our rural households need
immediate attention for a sustained livelihood.
What aggravates the scenario is the prevalent
illiteracy in these households.
According to the tables of SECC, 4.21 crore
(23.5%) of the households have no literate adults above 25 years, i.e., a male
in a stable earning age. And being illiterate means these households are devoid of the most stable
earning tool when land is not there, i.e., education.
So, 30% of them, in rural India, they don't
have the primary needs to earn livelihood, i.e., land and education.
The need to support them should be on the
primary agenda of any socially-engaging political dispensation - especially in a populous country like India.
The class, that cuts across different states of India, needs genuine support from our policy-makers, going beyond the political rhetoric.
And these two figures are just the beginning.
SECC, that is not final yet, with data from
some districts are yet to be uploaded, gives us many worrying indicators that
once again reaffirm the scale of human challenge in the world's largest
democracy.
Especially, when we have a legacy of
controversy on deciding poverty line - especially when we have, so far, failed
to count our poor the way society needs - and not the way economists and statisticians
propose.
Especially, when we have rural poverty line
of Rs. 972 a month - especially when the Rangarajan Panel report says those
earning above Rs. 1407 in urban areas are not poor.
©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/
