Inequality, Injustice and India’s Forgotten People
Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International,
Page 1-11
DOI:
10.9734/jgeesi/2019/v21i330128
Abstract
It is the Boston Consulting Group’s 15th annual report called ‘Winning the Growth Game: Global Wealth 2015’ that has been extensively reported by the media persons in India. This report came just one year after the Global Wealth Databook 2014 from Credit Suisse wherein the picture of global inequality is presented in a more accurate and comprehensive manner. It is undisputed that over time there has been a significant decline in poverty in India. However, the same is not true about inequality. Has inequality declined with the same rate as the decline in poverty in India? As per the official data collected on all parameters of development in India the tribals are straggling way behind in terms of income, health, education, nutrition, infrastructure and governance. Tribals in India have been the receivers of injustices throughout the process of development. To exemplify, among 65 to 70 million people displaced during the development process in India 40 per cent are tribals. In India, more than 90 per cent of total coal and above 50 per cent of minerals and dams are located in the tribal regions, yet these areas have remained the least developed. In paradox to economic theory, many developed districts in India include pockets of intense backwardness. The paper argues that in India the tribals have remained excluded from the list of beneficiaries in the development process. The paper also discusses the process of marginalization of tribal in the developmental process and towards the end gives some recommendations.
Keywords:
- Forest
- poverty
- tribal
- development
- displacement
- marginalization
- exclusion
How to Cite
Rai, J., & Soni, S. (2019). Inequality, Injustice and India’s Forgotten People. Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International, 21(3), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.9734/jgeesi/2019/v21i330128
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Rai J, Soni S. Approaches to environ-mental decision making through human-environment relationship perspectives. Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International. 2019;18(4):1-13.
Available:https://doi.org/10.9734/JGEESI/2018/46256
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Available:https://doi.org/10.9734/jgeesi/2019/v19i130077
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Available:https://doi.org/10.9734/jgeesi/2019/v20i130099
Rai J. Displacement versus co-existence in human-wildlife conflict zones: An overview. Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International. 2019c;19(4): 1-16.
Available:https://doi.org/10.9734/jgeesi/2019/v19i430093
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Saha D, Sundriyal RC. Utilization of Non-Timber Forest Products in Humid Tropics: Implications for Management and Liveli-hood. Forest Policy and Economics. 2012; 14:28–40
Bhattacharya P. Does NTFP certification assure sustainable harvesting and better benefit sharing? Community Forestry, Orissa, India; 2008.
Bhattrai NK, Chraucher J. Viability of local commercialization of non-timber forest products as a strategy for promoting biodiversity conservation. Environment and Biodiversity: In the context of South Asia. 1996;346-353.
Bista S, Edward WL. Collection and marketing of non-timber forest products in the far western hills of Nepal. Environ-mental Conservation. 2006;33(3):244- 255.
Campbell JY. Putting people’s products first: multiple-use management for non-wood forest products in India; 1988.
Campbell JY, Tewari DD. Increased development of non-timber forest products in India: Some issues and concerns. Unasylva-No.187- Forest Conservation and Utilization; 1995.
Angelson A, Wunder S. Exploring the forest-poverty link: Key concepts, Issues, and Research Implications. Centre for International Forestry Research Occasional Paper 40; 2003.
IPCC. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovern-mental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 2007;976.
ICFRE (Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education). Forestry Statistics of India 1987-2001. Dehradun: ICFRE. 2001;234.
Roy MM, Singh KA. The fodder situation in rural India: future outlook. International Forestry Review. 2008;10(2): 217–234.
Bahuguna VK. Forests in the economy of the rural poor: An estimation of the dependency level. Ambio. 2000;29(3):126-129.
Bharath Kumar LB, Patil BL, Basavaraja H, Mundinamani SM, Mahajanashetty SB, Megeri SN. Participation Behaviour of Indigenous People in Non-Timber Forest Products Extraction in Western Ghats Forests. Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Science. 2011;24(2):170–172.
Planning Commission’s working group on Forests and Natural Resource Manage-ment, 2011: Report of the sub-group II on NTFP and their sustainable management in the 12th 5 year plan.
World Resource Institute Report; 2011.
World Bank; 2012.
Available:http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/05/17/india-agriculture-issues-priorities
Pandit RC. Development-vs-Displacement of Tribal People in India, Problems and Prospects. Abhijeet Publication, Delhi-94; 2009.
[ISBN: 978-93-80031-08-8]
Nilsen, Gunvald Alf. Politics from below, Essays on Subalternity and Resistance in India. AAKAR BOOKS; 2017.
[ISBN: 978-93-5002-506-2]
Cernea MM. Impoverishment risks, risk management, and reconstruction: A model of population displacement and resettle-ment; 2015.
Available:https://commdev.org/wp content/uploads/2015/06/Impoverishment-Risks-Risk-Management-and Reconstruction.pdf
Kujur JM. Development-induced displace-ment in Chhattisgarh: A case study from a tribal perspective. Social Action. 2008;58.
Thakkar Himanshu. Cultural survival quareterly magazine. Displacement and development: Construction of the Sardar Dam; 1999.
Available:https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/displacement-and-development-construction-sardar-dam
Ekka A, Asif M. Development-induced displacement and Rehabilitation in Jharkhand, 1951 to 1995: A database on its extent and nature. New Delhi: Indian Social Institute; 2000.
Somayaji Sakarama, Talwar Smriti. Development-induced Displacement, Rahabilitation and Resettlement in India, Current issues and challenges. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group; 2011.
[ISBN: 978-0-415-60080-4]
The Report of World Commission, 2000. Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision Making, The Report of World Commission on Dams. 2000;17.
Sharma RN. Displacement for Special economic zones (SEZs) and real estate business. in Modi, R. (ed.), Beyond relocation: the imperative of sustainable resettlement. Delhi: SAGE; 2009.
CSE. Centre for Science and Environment. New Delhi; 2011.
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The Hindu, 21st April 2016: Made in India, by small enterprises.
Available:https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/made-in-india-by-small-enterprises/article6446662.ece
Gopalakrishna BV. Regional disparities in human development: An empirical analysis; 2015.
Radhika P. Kumar, Priyanjali Prabhakarn Jain K. George, Saritha, G. Parambath. Mapping Regional Disparities in Human Development- The case of earstwhile Andhra Pradesh. Procedia Technology. Elsvier. Science Direct. 2016;24:1843-1850.
Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protcy.2016.05.233
Available:https://www.thehindu.com/data/indias-staggering-wealth-gap-in-five-charts/article10935670.ece
The Hindu. Tribal Alienation in an unequal India. By Mihir Shah; 2016.
Available:https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/mihir-shah-writes-on-tribal-alienation-and-need-for-inclusive-growth/article7383721.ece
Bakshi Sanchita, Arunish Chawla, Mihir Shah. Regional disparities in India: A moving frontier. Economic & Political Weekly. 2015;L(1).
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Geneva; 2018.
Roy Satyaki. Regional disparities in growth and human development in India. New Delhi, 2012. MPRA Paper. MPRA Paper No. 43841; 2013.
Available:https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/43481/
Chowdhury Samik. Regional disparity in India- A Study of Three Decades using a Comparable Database,” Paper Prepared for the IARIW 33rd General Conference. Rotterdam, The Netherlands; 2014.
Available:http://www.iariw.org/papers/2014/Chowdhury2Paper.pdf
Nair KRG. Economic reforms and regional disparities in economic and social development in India,” New Delhi, 2004: Report of a Research Project funded by the SER Division of the Planning Commission of the Government of India.
Available:http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/sereport/ser/stdy_errd.pdf
Duraiappah A. Poverty and environmental degradation: A literature review and analysis. CREED Working Paper Series No.8, London, International Institute for Environment and Development. 1996;70.
Duraiappah A. Poverty and environmental degradation: A review and analysis, of the nexus. World Development. 1998;26(12): 2169-79.
Rai J, Soni S. Approaches to environ-mental decision making through human-environment relationship perspectives. Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International. 2019;18(4):1-13.
Available:https://doi.org/10.9734/JGEESI/2018/46256
Rai J. Understanding Poverty- environment relationship from sustainable development perspectives. Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science Inter-national. 2019a;19(1):1- 19.
Available:https://doi.org/10.9734/jgeesi/2019/v19i130077
Rai J. Why are narratives that place the blame for deforestation on the rural poor so pervasive and so persistent? Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International. 2019b;20(1):1- 15.
Available:https://doi.org/10.9734/jgeesi/2019/v20i130099
Rai J. Displacement versus co-existence in human-wildlife conflict zones: An overview. Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International. 2019c;19(4): 1-16.
Available:https://doi.org/10.9734/jgeesi/2019/v19i430093
Rai J, Soni S. Development versus displacement: Displacement induced marginalisation and conflict with rights of the tribals. Int. J. of Social Science and Economic Research. 2018;3(12):6922-6935.
World Bank. India: Alleviating Poverty through Forest Development. Washington, DC: Operations Evaluation Department, World Bank; 2000.
World Bank. Unlocking opportunities for forest-dependent people in India. Main report Vol 1, Agriculture and Rural Development Sector Unit, South Asia Region. World Bank; 2006.
Surayya. Contribution of forests, microfinance, and NTFPs marketing and policy intervention for reducing poverty: W.R.T. India; 2005.
DFID (Department for International Development). Breaking the barriers: Women and the elimination of world poverty. Social Development Division Publication; 1999.
Falconer J. Developing research frames for non-timber forest products: Experience from Ghana. Pages 143 - 160 in M. Ruiz Pérez, and J. E. M. Arnold, eds., Current Issues in Non-timber Forest Products Research. Centre for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia; 1996.
Ros-Tonen MAF. NTFP research in the Tropenbos programme. In seminar proceedings: NTFP research in the Tropenbos programme: Results and perspectives; 1999.
India State Forest Report (ISFR); 2011.
Ministry of Environment and Forests. Report of the National Forest Commission. New Delhi: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India; 1999.
Ministry of Environment and Forests. Report of the National Forest Commission. New Delhi: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. 2006;421.
Ministry of Environment and Forests. Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study II: India Country Report. Working Paper No. APFSOS II/WP/2009/06. Bangkok: FAO. 2009;78.
Ministry of Environment and Forests. Report of the National Forest Commission. New Delhi: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India; 2011.
Ministry of Environment and Forests. Report of the National Forest Commission. New Delhi: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India; 2016.
Ministry of Environment and Forests. Report of the National Forest Commission. New Delhi: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India; 2017.
Saha D, Sundriyal RC. Utilization of Non-Timber Forest Products in Humid Tropics: Implications for Management and Liveli-hood. Forest Policy and Economics. 2012; 14:28–40
Bhattacharya P. Does NTFP certification assure sustainable harvesting and better benefit sharing? Community Forestry, Orissa, India; 2008.
Bhattrai NK, Chraucher J. Viability of local commercialization of non-timber forest products as a strategy for promoting biodiversity conservation. Environment and Biodiversity: In the context of South Asia. 1996;346-353.
Bista S, Edward WL. Collection and marketing of non-timber forest products in the far western hills of Nepal. Environ-mental Conservation. 2006;33(3):244- 255.
Campbell JY. Putting people’s products first: multiple-use management for non-wood forest products in India; 1988.
Campbell JY, Tewari DD. Increased development of non-timber forest products in India: Some issues and concerns. Unasylva-No.187- Forest Conservation and Utilization; 1995.
Angelson A, Wunder S. Exploring the forest-poverty link: Key concepts, Issues, and Research Implications. Centre for International Forestry Research Occasional Paper 40; 2003.
IPCC. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovern-mental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 2007;976.
ICFRE (Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education). Forestry Statistics of India 1987-2001. Dehradun: ICFRE. 2001;234.
Roy MM, Singh KA. The fodder situation in rural India: future outlook. International Forestry Review. 2008;10(2): 217–234.
Bahuguna VK. Forests in the economy of the rural poor: An estimation of the dependency level. Ambio. 2000;29(3):126-129.
Bharath Kumar LB, Patil BL, Basavaraja H, Mundinamani SM, Mahajanashetty SB, Megeri SN. Participation Behaviour of Indigenous People in Non-Timber Forest Products Extraction in Western Ghats Forests. Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Science. 2011;24(2):170–172.
Planning Commission’s working group on Forests and Natural Resource Manage-ment, 2011: Report of the sub-group II on NTFP and their sustainable management in the 12th 5 year plan.
World Resource Institute Report; 2011.
World Bank; 2012.
Available:http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/05/17/india-agriculture-issues-priorities
Pandit RC. Development-vs-Displacement of Tribal People in India, Problems and Prospects. Abhijeet Publication, Delhi-94; 2009.
[ISBN: 978-93-80031-08-8]
Nilsen, Gunvald Alf. Politics from below, Essays on Subalternity and Resistance in India. AAKAR BOOKS; 2017.
[ISBN: 978-93-5002-506-2]
Cernea MM. Impoverishment risks, risk management, and reconstruction: A model of population displacement and resettle-ment; 2015.
Available:https://commdev.org/wp content/uploads/2015/06/Impoverishment-Risks-Risk-Management-and Reconstruction.pdf
Kujur JM. Development-induced displace-ment in Chhattisgarh: A case study from a tribal perspective. Social Action. 2008;58.
Thakkar Himanshu. Cultural survival quareterly magazine. Displacement and development: Construction of the Sardar Dam; 1999.
Available:https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/displacement-and-development-construction-sardar-dam
Ekka A, Asif M. Development-induced displacement and Rehabilitation in Jharkhand, 1951 to 1995: A database on its extent and nature. New Delhi: Indian Social Institute; 2000.
Somayaji Sakarama, Talwar Smriti. Development-induced Displacement, Rahabilitation and Resettlement in India, Current issues and challenges. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group; 2011.
[ISBN: 978-0-415-60080-4]
The Report of World Commission, 2000. Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision Making, The Report of World Commission on Dams. 2000;17.
Sharma RN. Displacement for Special economic zones (SEZs) and real estate business. in Modi, R. (ed.), Beyond relocation: the imperative of sustainable resettlement. Delhi: SAGE; 2009.
CSE. Centre for Science and Environment. New Delhi; 2011.
PUCL. People’s Union for Civil Liberty (PUCL) Bulletin, 16 November. New Delhi; 2005a.
Chaturvedi P, Dalal A. Law of SEZ- national and international perspective, 1st edn. New Delhi: Eastern Law House; 2008.
The Hindu, 21st April 2016: Made in India, by small enterprises.
Available:https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/made-in-india-by-small-enterprises/article6446662.ece
Gopalakrishna BV. Regional disparities in human development: An empirical analysis; 2015.
Radhika P. Kumar, Priyanjali Prabhakarn Jain K. George, Saritha, G. Parambath. Mapping Regional Disparities in Human Development- The case of earstwhile Andhra Pradesh. Procedia Technology. Elsvier. Science Direct. 2016;24:1843-1850.
Available:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protcy.2016.05.233
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