Standard and poor? SCs, STs in Kerala, Tamil Nadu better off than others

May 6, 2012
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New Delhi, May 6: New census data on asset ownership among different social groups has shown that a far higher proportion of scheduled castes and higher still of scheduled tribes do not own basic consumer durables like a phone or bicycle as compared to "others".

Three states however buck this trend; across caste groupings in Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the rate of ownership of basic consumer durables is high. In fact, the asset ownership rate for scheduled castes in these three states is better than that of OBCs and upper castes in all other states.

Newly released census 2011 data shows that while 17.8% of households across India do not own a phone, computer, TV, radio, bicycle or any vehicle, this proportion is 22.6% for scheduled castes, 37.3% for scheduled tribes and 14% for "others".

While more than half of "others" own a television, less than a quarter of scheduled tribes own a TV. Less than 2% of SC families own a TV, phone, computer and some mode of transportation, the usual signifiers of a "middle class" Indian family.

This new data fits in with the argument that economist and Indian Council of Social Science Research chairman Sukhadeo Thorat has been making. Thorat is critical of the view that economic liberalization has narrowed the gap between scheduled castes and others.

Yes, poverty is declining, but the rate of decline of poverty is much lower for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes than for upper castes. There has undoubtedly been growth, but SCs and STs are not getting to participate equally in it," Thorat says.

There is considerable regional variation in the new census data.

Scheduled tribes are worst off in Madhya Pradesh, followed by in Rajasthan, Tripura and Maharashtra, where over 40% of STs do not own any basic consumer durable. Dalits are worst off in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Orissa, where a third do not own any such asset. Unlike with the SCs, asset ownership for STs is worse than other social groups in all states.

While poverty among STs is fairly widespread across all states with a significant ST population, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Punjab are the only states where the proportion of SCs who do not own basic assets is around 10% or lower, lowest of all in Tamil Nadu. Asset ownership among SCs in these three states is higher than that among "others" in all other states.

While part of the explanation for Tamil Nadu's status as the best state for dalit asset ownership might be that the previous state government ran a scheme giving free television sets to poor households, this is not the only explanation, as ownership of other consumer durables like phones and computers is also among the highest in TN. In comparison, in Bihar, where the state government ran a scheme to give all school-going girls a free cycle, less than half of all households own a bicycle.

Research by Institute of Applied Manpower Research director-general Santosh Mehrotra has shown that the human development indicators of SCs and OBCs in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are better than those of upper castes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Moreover, all four states have a similar proportion of 'backward castes' in their population: so the key determinant of each of these states' human development situation is not its caste composition, but its politics and governance, Mehrotra says.

"A combination of social mobilization and good governance has lifted all boats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu," Mehrotra said. Social mobilization alone is not enough, Mehrotra adds, or the last twenty years in Uttar Pradesh would have led to tangible outcomes like improvement in health and nutrition, and not just intangibles like dignity and a sense of empowerment, as important as they are.

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News Network
October 27,2024

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav stated on Sunday, October 27, that his party is prepared to contest the Maharashtra Assembly elections independently if the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) does not include them in the alliance. 

Yadav assured that the SP would only contest in constituencies where it has a strong organizational presence and would ensure its participation does not affect the MVA’s overall prospects.

Several I.N.D.I.A. alliance members have expressed dissatisfaction with the Congress over seat-sharing arrangements in upcoming state polls. 

Both the CPI(ML)L and the RJD voiced frustration after being offered only 3-4 seats each for the Jharkhand elections by the Congress.

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October 21,2024

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Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Monday warned passengers not to fly on Air India flights from November 1 to 19. He asserted that an attack could take place on an Air India flight during the specified dates, which coincide with the "40th anniversary of the Sikh genocide".

The founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), who holds dual citizenship in Canada and the US, had issued a similar threat around the same time last year.

Pannun's fresh threat comes amid several airlines in India receiving multiple threat calls about potential bombings, all of which turned out to be hoaxes. It also occurred at a time when India and Canada are engaged in a murky diplomatic row following Canada's allegations of India targeting Khalistani elements in the country, including the murder of another terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In November 2023, Pannun released a video claiming that Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport would be renamed and would remain closed on November 19, warning people against flying on Air India that day. The National Investigation Agency charged him with criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, and various offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

In December last year, Pannun threatened to attack the Parliament on or before December 13, following reports of an alleged foiled plot to kill him. December 13 marks the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Parliament in 2001.

He also threatened to kill Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of State Police Gaurav Yadav on Republic Day this year. He also urged gangsters to unite and launch an attack on Mann on January 26.

Pannun has been designated a terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs since July 2020 on charges of sedition and secessionism, as he leads SFJ, a group advocating for a separate sovereign Sikh state. A year prior to this, India banned SFJ as an "unlawful association" for engaging in "anti-national and subversive" activities.

In another development, on October 17, the United States charged a former officer of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Pannun, a charge New Delhi has rejected as baseless allegations.

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