Human Poverty in India

Discussion Paper Series -18

Human Poverty and Socially Disadvantaged
Groups in India

Sukhadeo Thorat*
Assisted by
M. Mahamallik and S. Venkatesan

January 2007

*Sukhadeo Thorat, Director, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies and Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
S. Venkatesan & M. Mahamallik, Associate Fellow, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, New Delhi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper is sponsored by the Human Development Resource Centre/United Nations
Development Programme, India Office, New Delhi. We thank HDRC/UNDP for sponsoring
this study. We are particularly thankful to Dr. Seeta Prabhu in UNDP and Dr. Rohini Nayyar in
Planning Commission, Delhi for their initiative to bring the issues of socially disadvantaged
groups into the human development domain. We are also thankful to Prof. P.M. Kulkarni for
helping us to solve some of the methodological issues.
Our colleagues at IIDS, Vijay Kumar Baraik, Ms. Samapti Guha, Dr Ananth S Panth and
Chittranjan Senapati helped in various ways in the preparation of this paper. We are thankful to
them for their contribution in developing the data set and estimation of variables.
We are also grateful to Ms. Meenkashi Kathel (HDRC, UNDP) and colleagues at IIDS,
Mr. Prashant Negi and Mr. Aryama for their careful editing of the paper and Pramod Dabral and
Narendra Kumar for handling the word processing and formatting of the paper tirelessly.

CONTENTS

I INTRODUCTION 1
Human Development and Group Inequality 1
India’s Human Development Report and Socially Disadvantaged Groups 2
The Purpose and Approach 4

II CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, METHODOLOGY AND 6
DATABASE
Human Development Index and Human Poverty Index 6
Database 7

III CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 8
Concept of Social Exclusion 8
Concept of Caste and Ethnicity-based Exclusion and Discrimination 9
Forms of Exclusion and Discrimination 10
Government Policy against Discrimination and for Social and 12
Economic Empowerment:
Administrative Set-up for Implementation and Monitoring 14
Financial Mechanism - Special Component Plan and Tribal Sub-plan 15

IV STATUS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND 17
HUMAN POVERTY
Status of Human Development: Social Groups - 2000 17
Changes in Level of HDI by Social Groups 20
Status of Human Poverty - 2000 22
Changes in Level of HPI by Social Groups - 1990-2000 25
Changes in Disparity 1990-2000 26
Individual Dimensions of HDI: Level, Disparity and Changes 27
Nutritional Status - Under-nutrition and Malnutrition 34
Access to Public Health Services 34

Caste and Gender - Dalit and Adivasi Women’s Deprivations 35
Summary 37

V FACTORS GOVERNING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND 39
HUMAN POVERTY
Factors Associated with Relatively High Human Development: 39

Factors Associated with Low Human Development among Disadvantaged Groups 40

VI CASTE/UNTOUCHABILITY-BASED DISCRIMINATION 44
Dicrimination in Public and Private Spheres – Macro Level Evidence 44
Micro Level Evidence – Primary Studies 45
Economic Discrimination 46
Government Programmes and Discrimination 48
Access to Justice 49

VII MAIN FINDINGS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS 51
Main Findings 51
Policy Implications 53

END NOTES 56

LIST OF TABLES 57

TECHNICAL NOTE 89

APPENDIX 97

BIBLIOGRAPHY 98

REFERENCES 101

LIST OF TABLES
1.1. Human Development Index - Levels and Disparity, 1980–2000 (All-India) 57
1.2. Human Poverty Index - Level, Disparity and Changes, 1990–2000, (All-India) 58
1.3.(a) HDI and HPI Individual Indicators- Levels and Changes, 1990–2000 59
1.3.(b) Trends in Disparities in Individual Indicators, 1990–2000 60
2.1.(a) Human Development Index among Social Groups - Level and Disparity (State-wise) 61
2.1.(b) Change in Level and Disparity in HDI, 1980–2000 (State-wise) 62
3.1.(a) Human Poverty Index among Social Groups - Level and Disparity, 63
1990–2000 (State-wise)
3.1.(b) Change in Level and Disparity in HPI, 1990–2000 (State-wise) 64
4.1.(a) Infant Mortality Rate among Social Groups - Level and Disparity, 1980–2000 65
(State-wise)
4.1.(b) Change in Level and Disparity in IMR, 1980–2000 (State-wise) 66
5.1.(a) Literacy Rate among Social Groups – Level & Disparity, 1981–2001 (State-wise) 67
5.1.(b) Change in Level and Disparity in Literacy Rate, 1981–2001 (State-wise) 68
6.1.(a) Monthly Per Capita Expenditure among Social Groups - Levels
and Disparity (State-wise) 69
6.1.(b) Change in Level and Disparity in Monthly Per Capita Expenditure,
1983–1999/00 (State-wise) 70
7.1.(a) Poverty among Social Groups - Levels and Disparity, 1983–1999/2000 (State-wise) 71
7.1.(b) Change in Level and Disparity in Poverty -1983-1999/00 (State-wise) 72
8.1(a) Percent of Under - nourished Children among Social Groups (State-wise) 73
8.1.(b) Change in Level and Disparity in Under-nourished
Children - 1992/93 & 1998/99 (State-wise) 74
9.1.(a) Percent of Households without Access to Health Care among Social Groups –
1992/93 & 1998/99 (State-wise) 75
9.1.(b) Change in Level and Disparity in Access to Health Care 1992/93 to 1998/99 (State-wise) 76
10. Factors Governing HDI -1999/2000: Situation in Low and High HDI States 77
11. Situation with Respect to Factors Affecting Human Development - All India 1999/2000 79
12.(a) Factors Affecting HDI - Low HDI States, 1999/2000: Average of
Three Low HDI States 81

12.(b) Factors Affecting HDI - High HDI States, 1999/2000: Average of
Three High HDI States 83
13.(a) Incidence of Crime against Scheduled Castes in India, 1999–2001 85
13.(b) State-wise Incidence of Crime against Scheduled Castes in India, 2001 86
13.(c) State-wise Incidence of Crime against Scheduled Tribes in India,
1999–2001 87
13.(d) State-wise Incidence of Civil Rights Violations, Atrocities and Other Crimes 88
against Scheduled Tribes in India, 2001

SECTION I

Introduction

Human Development and Group tive criteria relating to three essential ele-
Inequality ments of human life - longevity, knowledge,
Preparation of Human Development Re- and decent living standard - and estimated
ports has brought about a significant shift through Human Development Index (HDI)
in the notion of human development in- and Human Deprivation/Poverty Index
sofar as the emphasis is now placed on (HPI).
“outcomes of development”, not only in
In the course of this development how- The conceptual
terms of expansion of income, but also
ever, the notion of human development issues which have
achievement (or translation of increased
itself has been further widened in terms occupied the efforts
income) in terms of the quality of people’s
of its dimensions. Among others, the con- of researchers in
well-being. This perspective recognises
ceptual issues which have occupied the widening the
that though higher per capita income is a
pre-requisite for human development, a efforts of researchers in widening the di- dimensions of the
rise in income alone may not necessarily mensions of the concept of human de- concept of human
guarantee what people need most for their velopment are those which relate to the development are
development. Therefore, the focus is cen- distributional aspects, particularly the in- those which relate
tered on generation of more income, but equalities in human development across to the distributional
simultaneously, on improvement in the groups, and its causes. It is recognised aspects, particularly
quality of people’s lives. that the measure of human development the inequalities in
failed to capture the distributional dimen- human
Articulating the shift in perspective,
sions in human development. They are development across
Mahbub-Ul-Haq observed, “For long, the
recurrent question was how much was a averages that conceal wide disparities in groups, and its
nation producing? Increasingly, the ques- the overall population. Therefore efforts causes
tion now being asked is, how are its people were made to make the analysis of hu-
faring? Income is only one of the options- man development more distribution-
and an extremely important one - but it is sensitive (Sagar and Najam, 1998 and
not the sum-total of human life. Health, UNDP, 1990).
education, physical environment and free-
Incorporation of the distributive aspects
dom may be just as important” (Mahbub-
first necessitated disaggregating the HDI
Ul-Haq 1995). From this perspective, the
and HPI by various groups, such as class,
emphasis is on expansion of the capaci-
ties of people - the capability to lead a ethnicity, religion, caste, and other dis-
healthy and creative life, to be well nour- advantaged groups and second, it also ne-
ished, to be secure, to be well informed cessitated the analysis of causal factors
and educated, to be freer and to be equal. associated with lower level of human de-
With this shift, human development be- velopment among certain disadvantaged
gan to be measured in terms of new evalua- groups.
1

Since, among other factors, the depriva- equal human rights and human develop-
tion of marginalised groups like women, ment and emphasised the role of equal
ethnic, social, religious and other minori- opportunity and choices as one of the pil-
ties generally occurs through the process lars of human development. Exclusion and
of exclusion and discrimination, the ef- discrimination restrict and deny human
forts are directed towards understanding rights implying denial of freedom and equal
the societal inter-relations and the institu- opportunity to disadvantaged groups. It is
tions of exclusion, the forms of exclusion, recognised that the human deprivation of
discrimination, and their consequences on disadvantaged groups works through the
the deprivation of these groups. societal process of exclusion, involving dif-
ferential treatment and unequal access,
Limited instances of disaggregating indi-
which hinder human development. There-
cators of human development by social fore, freedom from discrimination becomes
groups are to be found in the HDRs of a necessary pre-condition for human de-
some countries. In India, it is also true for velopment. The HDR 2004 extended the
Human national and State Human Development focus to cultural liberty, and asserted its
deprivation of Reports. The countries which have dis- centrality in advancing the capabilities of
disadvantaged aggregated the individual indicators of people. In the context of minorities in
groups works HDI by groups include Malaysia, multi-ethnic States and indigenous people,
through the Gabon, Nepal, USA, Canada, Guate- it recognised two forms of cultural exclu-
societal process of mala and India. In the Malaysia HDR for sion, namely,
exclusion, instance, the HDI has been worked out
involving separately for the Chinese, Indian and (a) Living mode exclusion, which denies
differential Malay ethnic groups. Similar exercises recognition and accommodation of life
treatment and have been initiated in the United States style that a group would choose to have;
and
unequal access, involving African Americans, Native
which hinder Americans, and American whites (Halis (b) Participation exclusion, involving de-
human Akder, 1994). In Nepal too, the HDI has nial of social, political and economic
development been worked out for the low caste and opportunities for development to groups
the high caste groups. which are discriminated against.
The attempts made in developing concept Living mode exclusion often overlaps and
and methodology to assess the impact of intertwines with social, economic and po-
social exclusion on human deprivation are, litical exclusion through discrimination
however, limited in number. The efforts to and disadvantages in access to resources,
develop the indicators of exclusion and to employment, housing, schooling and po-
capture them in indices are even fewer. The litical representation.
HDRs of 2000 (Human Rights and Human
Development) and 2004 (Cultural Liberty in India’s Human Development
Today’s Diverse World) made some headway Report and Socially
with respect to dimensions of exclusion as Disadvantaged Groups
well as indicators of exclusion.
Following the HDRs, the Indian govern-
At the conceptual level, the HDR 2000 ment also initiated the preparation of the
brought to the fore the close link between National Human Development Reports

2 HUMAN POVERTY AND SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED GROUPS IN INDIA

(hereafter referred to as NHDRs), and simi- using poverty ratio, land ownership, and
lar reports for individual States. The first health indicators. For instance, the SHDRs
NHDR was prepared in 2001 and so far, of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu,
17 States have released their Human De- Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim,
velopment Reports. Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam and
Punjab give attainment rates for literacy
Given the iniquitous and hierarchal char-
for SCs, STs, and non-SC/STs (the
acter of Indian society, and exclusion linked
Himachal Pradesh SHDR also reported
deprivation of a large section of excluded
enrolment ratio by social groups).
groups and groups which are discrimi-
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu also provided
nated against,viz. the Scheduled Castes
poverty level by social groups. The SHDRs
(SCs), the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and the
of Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim and West Ben-
Other Backward Castes (OBCs), which
gal also disaggregate land ownership and
constitute almost half of India’s popula-
share of land and beneficiaries of land re-
tion, and for whom there are specific Con-
form by social groups. Some States like
stitutional provisions, legal safeguards and
Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal also give
reservation policies, the national and
work participation rate, unemployment The national and
State Human Development Reports
rate, sex ratio, and urbanisation rate by so- State human
(SHDRs) dealt with dimensions of hu- cial groups. The Punjab SHDR provides development
man development in relation to these dis- disaggregated results by social groups for reports dealt with
advantaged groups. So far such exercises literacy rate, employment pattern includ- dimensions of
are, however, confined to disaggregating ing employment under reservation, and human
the individual indicators of human devel- child mortality rates. development in
opment and human poverty in a selec-
Data provided in the SHDRs relating to relation to these
tive manner, without estimating the com-
the SCs and STs is selective and limited in disadvantaged
posite index of human development or
the choice of indicators. Nevertheless it groups
human poverty of the social groups.
clearly shows that any simple disaggrega-
The indicators used to disaggregate data by tion by social groups, for example educa-
social groups vary from State to State. The tion (literacy rate, enrolment ratio), health
NHDR 2001 disaggregated the consumption (child mortality), access to resources (land
expenditure, access to toilet facilities, safe ownership, employment rate), and
drinking water, electricity and literacy level urbanisation, reveals that the SCs and the
at all India level and observed that the at- STs lag very far behind the other sections
tainment levels for the SCs and the STs of Indian society.
seemed to be lower than the Others
The central and State governments have
(non-SC/STs) (NHDR 2001 p. 11).
adopted a group focus approach in the de-
Similar methods of assessing the attain- velopment policy (in terms of recognition of
ment levels of social groups by employing their specific problems, provision of legal
selective indicators have been followed by safeguards, reservation and various other
a number of SHDRs as well. Most of affirmative action policies), with the stipu-
them employ indicators of literacy, and lated objective of reducing the gaps in hu-
only a few States supplement literacy by man development and human poverty be-

Introduction 3

tween them and other sections of the Indian be developed by professionals to capture their dep-
population. However, SHDRs generally do rivations, so as to goad the state policy to address
not deal with the issue of inter-social group them. A broad attainment index, does not effec-
disparity in human development and human tively address the roots of these very important
poverty in a focused manner, either by using deprivations in the Indian context. The process
a coherent set of indicators of human de- of democracy is at work drawing these people in
velopment (e.g. life expectancy, literacy rate, the mainstream and seeking to address their spe-
enrolment ratio, and some measure of ac- cific concerns. How well this is being done needs
cess to resources), and human poverty (e.g. to be assessed through the development of Sched-
illiteracy, drop-out rate, mortality rate, and uled Caste-/Schedule Tribe development index.
access to safe drinking water, public health (Madhya Pradesh State Development Report
services and electricity), or through estima- 2002, p. 9).
tion of a composite index of human devel-
opment and human poverty by social groups. The Purpose and Approach
This is due to non-availability of data. This paper is written taking into
Also, there is limited discussion on account the limitations as well as positive
There is limited
conceptualising caste- and ethnicity-based insights from earlier academic efforts in the
discussion on
exclusion and discrimination and its linkage global HDR and Indian national and State
conceptualising
with human deprivation of disadvantaged HDRs on the issue of inter-social group in-
caste- and
groups. Similarly, there is no attempt to de- equalities in human development and hu-
ethnicity-based
velop the indicators of exclusion and discrimi- man poverty and exclusion-linked depriva-
exclusion and
nation and the impact variables. In this con- tion of socially disadvantaged groups in
discrimination and
text, the observations of the Madhya Pradesh Indian society. The study attempts to ad-
its linkage with Human Development Report are relevant as dress three interrelated issues.
human deprivation it recognised the need to address this issue.
of disadvantaged First, it tries to conceptualise the nature
groups “There is a need to look inward, within and dimensions of “Exclusion-Linked Dep-
the country to identify groups that fare rivation” of socially disadvantaged groups
poorly in human development as against in Indian society. It elaborates the concept
spatially in terms of how districts fare or and meaning of caste- and ethnicity-based
sector fare. Deprivation in India has an ob- exclusion, and its implications for human
vious face of exclusion, the Schedule development of excluded groups.
Castes due to social exclusion, and the
Second, it maps the status of disadvan-
Schedule Tribes due to geographical and
taged groups of Scheduled Castes, Sched-
cultural exclusion. The Schedule Castes
uled Tribes and non-SC/STs with respect
suffer from deprivation on account of the
to human development and human pov-
residual power of a discriminatory caste
erty and captures the inter-social group
system, which though made illegal, con-
tinues to sway as a social force, whereas the inequalities.
Scheduled Tribes see their predicament as Third, it tries to analyse the economic and
victims of the state, which denies them social factors for high deprivation of so-
property rights to their habitat. A Scheduled Caste cially disadvantaged groups in terms of
and Scheduled Tribe development index needs to lower access to resources, human capital,


social needs and also the lack of freedom human poverty of disadvantaged groups in
to development through restrictions terms of lack of access to resources, em-
(or non-freedom) to civil, social, cultural, ployment, education and social needs, and
political and economic rights, which are
Fourth, it examines the role of caste dis-
closely linked with societal processes and
crimination in economic, civil, social and
institutions of caste and untouchability. It
political spheres, involving denial or se-
provides empirical evidence on the nature
of exclusion and discrimination in multiple lective restrictions on right to develop-
spheres to show how the human development or equal opportunities to socially dis-
ment of disadvantaged groups is closely advantaged groups.
linked with the societal processes of caste- The paper is divided into six sections. Sec-
and ethnicity- based exclusion and tion Two presents the conceptual and meth-
discrimination. odological background of the study and
With this in mind, the paper undertakes a discusses the database, the indicators of
theoretical and empirical analysis to ad- human development and human poverty,
dress four interrelated issues: and the method of measurement. Section
Three deals with the ‘concept of exclusion,
First, drawing from prevailing theoretical
discrimination and government policies
literature, it discusses the concept and
against discrimination’. Section Four pre-
meaning of social exclusion in general, and
sents the comparative status of SC, ST
of caste- untouchability- and ethnicity-
and non-SC/STs with respect to human
based exclusion in particular.
development and human poverty and the
Second, it measures the attainment in hu- individual indicators of well-being. Section
man development and human poverty Five deals with ‘the economic factors as-
among disadvantaged groups by construct- sociated with the lower human develop-
ing the HDI and HPI and also analyzing ment of disadvantaged groups compared
the situation with respect to individual in- to other groups’. The last section presents
dicators of well-being. main findings and policy suggestions to
Third, it analyses the economic factors as- overcome the challenge of caste based ex-
sociated with low human development or high clusion and discrimination.

Introduction 5

SECTION II

Conceptual Framework, Methodology and Database

The main objective of this paper is to as- We also empirically assess the situation of
sess the status of human development and the SCs with respect to caste- and untouch-
human poverty of three social groups, ability-based discrimination in civil, politi-
namely the SCs, the STs, and the cal, and economic spheres to the extent pos-
non-SC/STs relative to each other. Ac- sible, and try to encapsulate, in a descrip-
The SCs were cording to the 2001 Census, SCs and STs tive manner, the consequences on the hu-
historically together account for about one fourth of man deprivation of the SCs.
denied the right India’s population. Among the two most
to ownership of deprived groups, the SCs account for Human Development Index and
agricultural land, about 17 percent (equivalent to 167 mil- Human Poverty Index
or to undertake lion) of the total Indian population, and The individual indicators of attainment
business. Hence, the Adivasis (STs) for about 8 percent and composite indices attempt to capture
government policy (equivalent to about 86 million) of the human development from two perspec-
since total Indian population. tives - achievement and deprivational. The
independence The relative attainment in human develop- achievement perspective captures ad-
has been geared ment and human poverty is measured using vances made by society as a whole and
towards the expanded human development frame- the deprivational perspective assesses the
improving their work in terms of ‘Human Development In- level of deprivation. We present the
access to dex’, ‘Human Poverty Index’ and individual achievement in human development by
agricultural land, indicators of ‘well-being’. It is important to different social groups in terms of index
non-land capital recognise here that the SCs were historically (HDI) using three indicators namely
assets, and denied the right to ownership of agricultural Infant Mortality Rate1, (a substitute vari-
improving levels land, or to undertake business (other than able for life expectancy),
of education few occupations such as scavenging, which
Literacy rate, and
are considered inferior and polluting). Hence,
government policy since independence has Inflation adjusted monthly per capita
been geared towards improving their access consumption expenditure (as substitute
to agricultural land, non-land capital assets, variable for income).
and improving levels of education. In view The HPI measures deprivation in basic
of this, the analysis at the level of individual human development dimensions - health,
indicators will focus on the relative improve- education and income. Deprivation in
ment in these areas as well as employment these three dimensions is captured by
(other than wage labour). the following indicators:

1
Infant Mortality Rate generally captures the deprivational aspect but here the same variable is used to capture the
achievement aspect by using the reciprocal value of IMR.

(1) IMR (as a substitute for ‘prob- Disparity Ratios
ability at birth of not surviving to
0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5
age 40’),
(2) The percentage of adults who are
Value approaching 1 in either direction indicates ‘tending towards equality’
illiterate, and and vice versa. It does not matter whether the disparity is for HDI or HPI,
(3) Economic dimension is captured but it should tend towards 1. For example, the HDI value at all India level
for SC vs. OC was 0.57 in 1980 and increased to 0.77 in 2000, indicating
by constructing a composite vari-
improvement of the situation in terms of tendency towards decrease in
able in terms of head count ratio disparity. Similarly, the disparity ratio of HPI for SC vs. OC reduced from
of poverty, percentage of non-in- 1.41 to 1.22 for West Bengal during 1990 - 2000, indicating a decline in
stitutional deliveries, percentage disparity. This has been defined as
of non-vaccinated children and Disparity Ratio (A, B) = achievement of group A/achievement of group B.
percentage of children under-
weight for age (as a substitute for
un-weighted average of population This ratio measures the attainments of
without sustainable access to an im- group A (say SC/ST) relative to group B
(say non-SC/ST). In the case of HDI, val-
proved water supply and children un- To estimate
ues lower than 1 will show lower achieve-
derweight for age)2. disparities in human
ment for group A and vice versa. But in the
For HDI, the higher the value, the higher case of HPI, values lower than 1 indicate development and
will be the achievement and vice versa, less deprivation of group A and vice versa. human poverty and
whereas for HPI the higher the value, the This is because the indicators of HDI are other related
higher will be the deprivation and the inverse of HPI indicators. variables between
vice versa. SC and non-SC/STs
Database and between
We have also developed a “Social Justice
The starting point for this study has been STs and non-SC/STs ,
Index” in terms of number of cases of
the preparation of an extensive database a “Disparity Ratio”
crime include per lakh population for the
covering several indicators in terms of so- has been used
SCs and STs (See Technical Note). In the
cial groups. The entire data set has been
case of SCs, the cases of crime ‘incidence
compiled for three points of time namely,
of caste discrimination’, ‘caste-related
1980s, 1990s and 2000s, at national and
atrocities and violence’ and ‘other caste-
State levels from various sources, such as
related offences registered under Anti-Dis-
Census of India, the National Sample Sur-
crimination Act and Prevention of Atroci-
vey, National Family Health Surveys, Re-
ties Act; and ‘Atrocities’ in the case of
port on Differential in Mortality in India
scheduled tribes. (Vital Statistics), Reports on Crime in India
To estimate disparities in human develop- and other official surveys as well as some
ment and human poverty and other related independent sources. Human Development
variables between SC and non-SC/STs and Indices are prepared for the 1980s and 2000s
between STs and non- SC/STs, a “Dispar- and Human Poverty Indices are prepared for
ity Ratio” has been used. the 1990s and 2000s.

2
For details see the Technical Note II.

Conceptual Framework, Methodology and Database 7

SECTION III

Conceptual Framework

Concept of Social Exclusion cial institutions, and the degree to which
they are exclusionary and discriminatory.
The central purpose of the study is to
Social exclusion has a considerable impact
analyse the status of socially marginalised
on an individual’s access to equal oppor-
groups of SCs and STs, with respect to
disparities in the attainment of human de- tunity if social interactions occur between
Distinction is
velopment. We discuss the concept of so- groups in a power-subordinate relation-
drawn between the ship. The focus on groups recognises the
situation where cial exclusion in general, and caste and
untouchability-based exclusion and dis- importance of social relations in the
some people are analysis of poverty and inequality
being kept out ( or crimination in particular, since these are
seen as causative factors for the depriva- (Buvinic, 2005)
at least left out),
and where some tion of these groups. Amartya Sen draws attention to various
people are being In social science literature there is general meanings and dimensions of the concept of
included (may agreement on the core features of social social exclusion (Sen, 2000). Dis-
even be forcibly exclusion - its principal indicators and the tinction is drawn between the situation
included) - at way it relates to poverty and inequality. where some people are being kept out (or at
greatly (Mayara Buvinic, 2005). Social exclusion least left out), and where some people are
unfavourable is the denial of equal opportunities im- being included (may even be forcibly
terms and these posed by certain groups on others rebut- included) - at greatly unfavourable terms,
two situations are ting in the inability of an individual to par- and described these two situations as
described as ticipate in the basic political, economic and “unfavourable exclusion” and “unfavourable
“unfavourable social functioning of the society. inclusion.” Unfavourable inclusion”, with
exclusion” and unequal treatment may carry the same ad-
Two defining characteristics of social ex-
”unfovourable verse effects as “unfavourable exclusion”.
clusion are particularly relevant. First, dep-
inclusion” rivation is multidimensional, that is, there Sen also differentiated between “active
is denial of equal opportunity in multiple and passive exclusion”. He defined “ac-
spheres. Second, it is embedded in the soci- tive exclusion” as the deliberate exclusion
etal relations and societal institutions - the of people from opportunity through gov-
processes through which individuals or ernment policy or other means. “Passive
groups are wholly or partially excluded from exclusion”, as defined by Sen, works
full participation in the society in which they through the social process in which there
live (Haan, 1997). are no deliberate attempts to exclude, but
nevertheless, may result in exclusion from
There are the diverse ways in which social
exclusion can cause deprivation and pov- a set of circumstances.
erty. The consequences of exclusion thus Sen further distinguishes the “constitutive
depend crucially on the functioning of so- relevance” of exclusion from that of “instru-

mental importance”. In the former, exclusion Concept of Caste- and Ethnicity-
and deprivation have an intrinsic importance based Exclusion and
of their own. For instance, not being able to Discrimination
relate to others and to take part in the life of In India, exclusion revolves around the so-
the community can directly impoverish a cietal interrelations and institutions that ex-
person’s life, in addition to the further depri- clude, discriminate, isolate and deprive
vation it may generate. This is different from some groups on the basis of their identity
social exclusion of “instrumental impor- like caste and ethnicity (Thorat & Louis,
tance”, in which the exclusion in itself is not 2003). Historically, the caste system has
impoverishing, but can lead to impoverish- regulated the social and eco-nomic life of
ment of human life. the people in India. (Thorat, 2003). The
Mainstream economic literature throws nature of exclusion revolving around the
more light on discrimination that works caste system particularly needs to be un-
through markets and develops the concept derstood and conceptualised. It is this caste-
of market discrimination with some ana- based exclusion which has formed the ba- In the market
lytical clarity. In the market discrimination sis for various anti-discriminatory policies discrimination
framework, exclusion may operate through in India (Thorat, 2004). framework,
restrictions on entry into the market, and/ Theoretical formulations by economists exclusion may
or through “selective inclusion”, but with recognised that in its essential form, caste operate through
unequal treatment in market and non-mar- as a system of social and economic gover- restrictions on
ket transactions (this is close to Sen’s con- nance or organisation (of production and entry into the
cept of unfavourable inclusion). distribution) is governed by certain custom- market, and/or
These developments in social science lit- ary rules and norms, which are unique and through “selective
erature enable us to understand the mean- distinct (Akerlof 1976, Scoville 1991, 1996; inclusion” but with
,
ings and manifestations of the concept of Lal 1988, Ambedkar 1936 and 1987). The unequal treatment
social exclusion, and its applicability to organisational scheme of the caste system in market and
caste- and ethnicity-based exclusion in In- is based on the division of people into so- non-market
dia. Two crucial dimensions involving the cial groups (or castes) in which the civil, transactions
notion of exclusion, are emphasised, cultural and economic rights of each indi-
namely the “societal institutions” (of ex- vidual caste are pre-determined or ascribed
clusion) and their “outcome” (in terms of by birth and made hereditary. The assign-
deprivation). In order to understand the di- ment of civil, cultural and economic rights
mensions of exclusion, it is necessary to is, therefore, unequal and hierarchal. The
understand the societal interrelations and most important feature of the caste system,
institutions which lead to exclusion of cer- however, is that it provides for a regulatory
tain groups and deprivation in multiple mechanism to enforce the social and eco-
spheres - civil, cultural, political and economic organisation through the instruments
nomic. Thus, for a broader understanding of social ostracism (or social and economic
of the concept of exclusion, the insight into penalties), The caste system is reinforced
the societal processes and institutions of further with justification and support from
exclusion is as important as the outcome philosophical elements in the Hindu reli-
in terms of deprivation for certain groups. gion (Lal 1988, Ambedkar 1936 and 1987).

Conceptual Framework 9

The caste system’s fundamental character- ture of the caste system, the entitlements
istics of fixed civil, cultural and economic to various rights become narrower as one
rights for each caste with restrictions for goes down the hierarchical ladder. Various
change, implies “forced exclusion” of one castes get artfully interlinked and coupled
caste from the rights of another caste, or with each other (in their rights and duties),
from undertaking the occupations of other in a manner such that the rights and privi-
castes. Exclusion and discrimination in leges of the higher castes become the caus-
civil, cultural and particularly in economic ative reasons for the disadvantage and dis-
spheres, (such as occupation and labour ability for the lower castes, particularly the
employment), is therefore, internal to the ‘untouchables’. Castes at the top of the so-
system, and a necessary outcome of its gov- cial order enjoy more rights - at the expense
erning principles. In the market economy of those located at the bottom. Therefore
framework, occupational immobility would the ‘untouchables, located at the bottom
operate through restrictions in various mar- of the caste hierarchy, have far fewer eco-
kets such as land, labour, credit and ser- nomic and social rights. (Thorat, 2002 &
vices necessary for any economic activity. Thorat and Deshpande, 1999)
Due to differential Labour, being an integral part of the pro- Since the civil, cultural and economic rights
ranking and the duction process of any economic activity, (particularly with respect to occupation and
hierarchical would obviously become a part of market property rights) of each caste are ascribed
nature of the caste discrimination. and compulsory, the institution of caste nec-
system, the This theorisation implies that the caste sys- essarily involves forced exclusion of one
entitlements to tem involves the negation of not only caste from the rights of another. The un-
various rights equality and freedom, but also of basic equal and hierarchal assignment of eco-
become narrower human rights, particularly of the low nomic and social rights by ascription obvi-
as one goes down caste ‘untouchables’, impeding personal ously restricts the freedom of occupation
the hierarchical development. The principles of equality and human development.
ladder and freedom are not the governing prin-
Forms of Exclusion and
ciples of the caste system. Unlike many
Discrimination
other societies, the caste system does not
recognise the individual and his/her dis- The practice of caste-based exclusion and
tinctiveness as the centre of the social discrimination thus necessarily involves
purpose. In fact, for the purpose of rights failure of access and entitlements, not
and duties, the unit of Hindu society is only to economic rights, but also to civil,
not the individual. (Even the family is not cultural and political rights. It involves
regarded as a unit in Hindu society, ex- what has been described as “living mode
cept for the purposes of marriage and exclusion” (Minorities at Risk, UNDP HDR
inheritance). The primary unit in Hindu so- 2004). Caste, untouchability and ethnicity-
ciety is caste, and hence, the rights and based exclusion thus reflect the inability of
privileges (or the lack of them) of an indi- individuals and groups like former ‘un-
vidual are on account of him/her being a touchables’, Adivasis and similar groups to
member of a particular caste (Ambedkar, interact freely and productively with oth-
first published in 1987). Also, due to dif- ers and to take part in the full economic,
ferential ranking and the hierarchical na- social and political life of a community


(Bhalla and Lapeyre, 1997). Incomplete citi- groups can get lower prices for the goods
zenship or denial of civil rights (freedom that they sell, and could pay higher prices
of expression, rule of law, right to justice), for the goods that they buy, as compared
political rights (right and means to partici- with the market price or the price paid by
pate in the exercise of political power), and other groups;
socioeconomic rights (economic security
Thirdly, exclusion and discrimination can
and equality of opportunities) are key to im-
occur in terms of access to social needs
poverished lives (Zoninsein, 2001).
supplied by the government or public
In the light of the above, caste- and untouch- institutions, or by private institutions
ability-based exclusion and discrimination can in education, housing and health, in-
be categorised in the economic, civil, cultural cluding common property resources
and political spheres as follows: Exclusion and
(CPR) like water bodies, grazing land,
discrimination
(1)Exclusion and the denial of equal op- and other land of common use; and can occur in terms
portunity in the economic sphere would Fourthly, a group (particularly the ‘un- of access to social
necessarily operate through market and touchables’) may face exclusion and dis- needs supplied
non-market transactions and exchange. crimination from participation in cer- by the
Firstly, exclusion may be practiced in the tain categories of jobs (the sweeper government or
labour market through denial of jobs; in being excluded from jobs inside the public
the capital market through denial of ac- house), because of the notion of pu- institutions, or by
cess to capital; in the agricultural land rity and pollution of occupations, and private
market through denial of sale and pur- engagement in so-called unclean occu- institutions in
chase or leasing of land; in the input pations. education,
market through the denial of sale and housing, and
(2) In the civil and cultural spheres, the
purchase of factor inputs; and in the con- health, including
‘untouchables’ may face discrimination
sumer market through the denial of sale common
and exclusion in the use of public ser-
and purchase of commodities and con- property
vices like roads, temples, water bodies
sumer goods; resources (CPR)
and institutions delivering services like
like water bodies,
Secondly, discrimination can occur through education and health. grazing land, and
what Amartya Sen would describe as “un-
Due to the physical (or residential) seg- other land of
favorable inclusion”, namely through dif-
regation and social exclusion on ac- common use
ferential treatment in terms and condi-
count of the notion of untouchability,
tions of contract, or reflected in discrimi-
nation in the prices charged to and re- they can suffer from a general societal
ceived by groups which are discriminated exclusion.
against. This can be inclusive of the price Since there is a societal mechanism to
of factor inputs, and in the case of con- regulate and enforce the customary
sumer goods, price of factors of produc- norms and rules of the caste system,
tion such as wages for labour, price of land the ‘untouchables’ usually face opposi-
or rent on land, interest on capital, rent on tion in the form of social and economic
residential houses, charges or fees on ser- boycott and violence, which act as a de-
vices such as water and electricity. Such terrent to their right to development.


(3) In the political sphere, the ‘untouch- sentially “structural in nature” and com-
ables’ can face discrimination in access prehensive and multiple in coverage, in-
to political rights, and participation in the volving denial of equal opportunities, par-
decision-making process. ticularly to excluded groups like the former
Having clarified the concept of caste-based ‘untouchables’. In the case of Adivasis, ex-
discrimination from which the ‘untouch- clusion is not systemic or structural in na-
ables’ suffer the most, we now consider an- ture and therefore the process of exclusion
is different, although in outcome it is simi-
other form of exclusion from which groups
lar to that of former ‘untouchables’ in many
like Adivasis (STs) suffer. This type of ex-
respects, if not all.
clusion is linked with the ethnic identity of
a group. Anthropologists tend to define Government Policy against
ethnicity as a set of cultural elements shared Discrimination and for Social and
by a community of individuals who organise Economic Empowerment
Historically, the their daily life around them. In rural areas,
The Indian State has recognised the prob-
Adivasis have ethnicity is an attribute commonly associ-
lems of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and
suffered from ated with native communities that have lim-
Scheduled Tribes (STs) arising out of exclu-
isolation, ited contact with other communities (Torero
sion and discrimination and has developed
exclusion and et al, 2004).
policies to overcome their problems. The
underdevelopment
Historically, the Adivasis have suffered government’s approach towards the SC/STs
due to their being
from isolation, exclusion and underdevel- draws primarily from the provision in the
ethnically
opment due to their being ethnically dif- Constitution. The Constitution guarantees
different from the equality before the law (Article 14) (over-
ferent from the mainstream Indian soci-
mainstream turning the customary rules of the caste sys-
ety, and due to them having a distinct
Indian society, tem); makes provision to promote the edu-
culture, language, social organisation and
and due to them cational and economic interests of the
economy (they generally practice hunt-
having a distinct SC/STs and protects them from social
ing, food gathering, shifting cultivation,
culture, language, injutice and all forms of exploitation (Ar-
and inhabit river valleys and forest re-
social ticle 46); and provides for special measures
gions). As a result, they are considerably
organisation and
deprived. In addition the Adivasis can suf- through reservation in government service,
economy and seats in democratic political institutions
fer from what Amartya Sen would call the
(Articles 330 and 335). The Indian Consti-
“constitutive relevance” of exclusion, which
tution has abolished the practice of untouch-
arises due to their inability to relate to oth-
ability and discrimination arising out of un-
ers, to take part in the life of the commu-
touchability (Article 17). It also provides for
nity, and thus, directly impoverishes them.
the establishment of a permanent body to
This overview of the development of the investigate and monitor the social and eco-
concept of the “exclusion” in general, and nomic progress of the SCs and STs on an
that of caste-untouchability and ethnicity- annual basis and the setting up of a moni-
based exclusion and discrimination in par- toring mechanism at the central and the State
ticular, highlights various dimensions of the levels.
concept in terms of its nature, forms, and Generally, the approach and strategy of the
consequences. Caste-and untouchability- government towards the SC/STs has been
based exclusion and discrimination are es- influenced by two main considerations:

(a) First, to provide safeguards against con- The Reservation Policy* falls under mea-
tinuing exclusion and discrimination in sures which intend to ensure fair and equal
civil, cultural, political and economic participation for the SC/STs.
spheres in the society through legal pro-
The measures and safeguards against dis-
tection
crimination in the form of Reservation
(b) Second, to undertake specific measures Policy* are however, confined to State run
to overcome the deprivation due to de- and State supported sectors and the pri-
nial of equal opportunities in the past vate sector - viz., agriculture, private in-
and to improve access and participation dustry and cooperative sector, where the
in social, economic and political spheres bulk of the SC/ST workers (or population)
by developing inclusive policies and are engaged - does not come under the um-
bring them on par with other sections brella of the Reservation Policy. So the
of Indian society to the extent possible. State has used “general programmes” for
Towards this end, the government has economic, educational and social empow-
used a two-fold strategy, namely erment of the SC/STs. The focus has been Government policy
to improve private ownership of fixed capi- does not stop with
(a) Remedial measures and safeguards
tal assets like agricultural land, non-land legal protection
against discrimination in various spheres
capital assets, education and skill devel- against
and
opment, as well as access to social and ba- discrimination but
(b) Developmental and empowering sic services like housing, health, drinking goes beyond,
measures, particularly in the economic water, electricity and others. The strategy developing
sphere. for improving private ownership of capi- measures to give
Remedial measures against discrimination tal assets or building human resource ca- equal
include enactment of the Anti-untouch- pabilities has been undertaken primarily as opportunity and
ability Act of 1955 (renamed Protection part of anti-poverty and other economic fair participation
of Civil Rights Act in 1979) and Sched- and social programmes for the poor, by tar- in the economic
uled Caste/Tribe Prevention of Atrocities geting or fixing specific informal quotas for and political
Act, 1989 under which the practice of un- SC/ST households in the case of divisible spheres
touchability and discrimination in public schemes. These measures in the private eco-
places and community life is treated as an nomic domain are in a way, akin to infor-
offence. The second Act provides legal mal measures for affirmative action.
protection to the SC/STs against violence
The distribution of surplus land from the
and atrocities by the non-SC/STs.
ceiling and government land to landless
Government policy however does not stop households, with supportive schemes of
with legal protection against discrimination supply of credit and inputs at subsided rates
but goes beyond, developing measures to to the SC/ST households in rural areas is
give equal opportunity and fair participa- to increase the ownership of agricultural
tion in the economic and political spheres. land and the productivity of land assets. The

* Reservation Policy: A specific quota is reserved in proportion to the population in government services, public sector
undertakings, insurance and government banking institutions, State run and supported educational institutions,
public housing and other public spheres as well as in various political democratic bodies including the parliament,
State assemblies, and panchayat institutions from district, taluk and down to village levels


schemes to provide financial capital, train- amenities like drinking water, housing, sani-
ing and information to undertake new busi- tation, electricity and roads.
ness or improve existing ones, include mea- Since the settlements of SCs in rural areas
sures to improve ownership of capital and are mostly segregated, the civic amenities
business and to strengthen capacity to un- often fail to reach to them. Special assistance
dertake entrepreneurial activities. The Inte- is given to the State (under the special cen-
grated Rural Development Programme tral assistance to Special Component Plan
(IRDP) is the earliest self-employment for SC and Tribal sub-Plan) to ensure sup-
programme meant to enable identified ru- ply of these amenities.
ral poor families to augment their income
Problems faced by SC and ST women occ-
through acquisition of credit-based produc-
upy a special place in the government
tive assets. For the wage labour households,
programmes. While these women share com-
wage employment is provided under vari-
mon problems of gender discrimination with
ous wage employment schemes.
their high caste counterparts, they also suffer
While SC and ST The social needs include provision of edu- from problems specifically related to their
women share cation, drinking water, housing, electricity, caste and ethnic backgrounds - extremely
common sanitation, etc. Educational development low levels of literacy and education; heavy
problems of constitutes the major programme of the dependence on wage labour; discrimination
gender government (about half of the Central gov- in employment and wages; heavy concen-
discrimination ernment spending on the SC/STs is on edu- tration in unskilled, low paid and some-
with their high cation). Government educational schemes times hazardous manual jobs; violence and
caste include measures to sexual exploitation; and as victims of reli-
counterparts, they (a) Improve educational infrastructure, gious and social superstitions such as in the
also suffer from particularly in areas populated predomi- Devadasi system. Therefore in each of the
programmes, special focus is given to the
problems nantly by SC/STs
specifically SC/ST women. Legislations have been en-
b) Increase admission in educational insti- acted and schemes developed to overcome
related to their
tutions through reservation of seats and their specific problems.
caste and ethnic other measures,
backgrounds About one-third of the total funds of the
(c) Provide financial support at various lev- Central government are allocated for eco-
els of education, including scholar- nomic empowerment, about half to educa-
ships/fellowships (national and interna- tion and the remaining one-fifth to social
tional), services like housing. (Ministry of Social Jus-
(d) Provide remedial coaching to improve tice and Empowerment Annual Report and Min-
quality of education and capabilities, istry of Tribal Affairs Manual)

(e) Provide special hostels for boys and girls. Administrative Set-up for
In all these schemes, there will be a spe- Implementation and Monitoring
cial focus on girls’ education. (Ministry An elaborate administrative machinery has
of Social Justice and Empowerment Report, been developed at the Centre and in the
Delhi, 1996) State/Union Territories for SCs. The
Government has also developed schemes nodal ministries at the Centre are the Min-
to improve the access of SC/STs to civic istry of Social Justice and Empowerment

for SCs and Ministry of Tribal Affairs for The programmes are generally implemented
STs which support and supplement the fi- through a special department at the State,
nancial efforts of other Union Ministries, division and district levels and in many
State governments, Union Territories and cases at the Taluk level. Many States have
NGOs. These ministries are entrusted Commissions for Scheduled Castes and
with the work of policy framing, moni- Scheduled Tribes, as at the Centre.
toring and evaluation of Central govern-
ment programmes, which are mainly Financial Mechanism - Special
implemented through the individual Component Plan and Tribal
States. The ministries work closely with sub-Plan
the Planning Commission (Ministry of Over a period of time, the Central and State
Planning), in formulation and evaluation governments have developed a specific
of Special Component Plan for SCs and
mechanism for allocation of funds for
Tribal sub-Plan for STs. At the Centre, At the Centre, most
schemes of the SC/STs. Till the end of the
most of the ministries have a division or of the ministries
Fourth Plan (1979-80) the only funds avail-
section, which looks after specific have a division or
able for the development of SC/STs were
schemes of the SC/STs. The ministries section, which
under the general head of “Backward Class
also have Research and Training looks after
Sectors”. From the Sixth Plan onwards, a new
programmes which evaluate the efficacy specific schemes
mechanism for allocation of funds from gen-
of the ongoing programmes to improve
eral sectors for development of SC and ST of the SC/STs. The
implementation.
was developed - the Special Component Plan ministries also
The other important independent administra- for Scheduled Castes and Tribal sub-Plan for have Research
tive institutions which supervise, monitor and Scheduled Tribes. The present mechanism or and Training
offer suggestions for effective implementation strategy of financial allocation is programmes
of laws and schemes are the National Com- operationalised through these special plans. which evaluate the
mission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled efficacy of the
Tribes, Commission for Safai Karamcharis and The flow of funds (and hence the benefits)
ongoing
Standing Committee of Parliamentarians on is canalised from the general sectors in the
programmes to
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The plans of State and Central Ministries for
improve
National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the development of SCs and STs both in
implementation
Scheduled Tribes is a statutory body which physical and financial terms. These plans
oversees the development of the SCs and STs aim to identify schemes in the general sec-
and prepares an annual report about their tors of development which would benefit
progress which has been discussed in the Par- SC/STs, quantify funds from all divisible
liament every year since 1950. programmes under each sector (generally
A similar administrative set-up also exists in proportion to the share of the popula-
at the State level, although there are con- tion) and determine specific targets, in
siderable variations across the States. terms of number of families which are to
Most of the States have a separate minis- be benefited from the programmes under
try for SC/STs, whose function is to for- each sector. The practice followed so far
mulate policies, as well as implement, has been to finalise sectoral outlays when
monitor and evaluate the programmes for finalising the annual plan of a particular
SC/STs. State - the share under Special Component


Plan (SCP) and Tribal sub-Plan from each sec- Caste Development Corporations in the States
tor is determined thereafter. The Special Cen- is to mobilise institutional credit for economic
tral Assistance to SCP is to supplement the development schemes of SC entrepreneurs by
States’ efforts for additional thrust for speedy functioning as catalysts, promoters and guar-
development of the SCs by providing addi- antors. These Corporations provide credit to
tional support to SC families to enhance their SC/ST persons for business purposes and en-
productivity and income in order to bring courage the financial institutions, particularly
about occupational diversification. commercial banks, to give credit to SC/STs.
The Central government and most State Under the priority sector guidelines,
governments have also established financial nationalised banks are also required to pro-
institutions, like the Scheduled Caste Fi- vide at least 10 percent of their total advances
nance Corporation, to provide capital for un- to the weaker sections, which include SC/ST
dertaking business and other economic ac- borrowers. The guidelines give high priority
tivities. The main function of the Scheduled to SC/STs in bank advances.


SECTION IV

Status of Human Development and Human Poverty

We assess the progress of the SCs and STs ment on each of the dimensions consid-
in comparison to the rest of the popula- ered. Table 1.1 gives the values of the HDI
tion, in terms of human development and by social groups for the year 2000. (See
human poverty at all India and State levels. also Technical Note I and II)
The assessment of attainment in human de- The Human Development Index (HDI) has
velopment is done by taking a composite been calculated for the years 1980 and 2000
index of human development and human for all major States, excluding the State of
poverty, and by analysing improvement in Jammu and Kashmir and the north-
individual indicators used in the human de- eastern States. The value of HDI estimated The incidence of
velopment framework. We also assess the in this report would vary from the value wage labour and
attainment in ownership of agricultural land, calculated by UNDP for the paper submit- incidence of
employment in general and regular salaried ted to Twelfth Finance Commission (Hu- human rights
man Development Indices in India: Trends violations and
jobs in particular. The incidence of wage
and Analysis), due to difference in the use violence against
labour and incidence of human rights vio-
of indicators4. the SCs and the STs
lations and violence against the SCs and the
STs are also discussed to capture the as- The level o f human development is capture the aspects
pects which have been the focus of gov- analysed at all India as well as State levels, which have been
ernment policies and measures. for the year 2000 only. The exclusion of the the focus of
disadvantaged groups is analysed using the government
Status of Human Development: disparity ratios between SC/ST and non- policies and
Social Groups- 20003 ST/SC across the States. This is followed measures
by an analysis of temporal changes in the
The achievement by different sections of HDI (2000 over 1980) for all India and
the population in various spheres is across States with respect to level and dis-
summarised in terms of HDI. The HDI is a parity.
composite index of three indicators, namely
infant mortality rate (reciprocal value), lit- All Groups
eracy rate (age 7plus), and average monthly The HDI, estimated to be 0.366 for all In-
per capita consumption expenditure (at dia, shows a variation across the States,
1993 base price). The HDI takes values from 0.279 for Bihar to 0.715 for Kerala.
between 0 and 1; higher development for a There are seven States which have HDI
group means a value closer to 1. In this case, values less than the all India average and
it would imply that the entire population nine States which have HDI value higher
of the group has achieved minimal attain- than all-India average.

3
In this report HDI is estimated for the period of 1980s and 2000s and HPI for the period of 1990s and 2000s. During the estimation of both HDI
and HPI, variables are taken for the closest year available (if exact year variables are not available) or for the exact year.
4
Please refer to the Technical Note II for details regarding the indicators used by UNDP and indicators used for this report for estimating the HDI as well as HPI.
17

High and Low HDI States
SC ST Non-SC/ST All Groups
H High HDI States Kerala Kerala Kerala Kerala
Himachal Pradesh Assam Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh
Maharashtra Tamil Nadu Maharashtra Maharashtra
Tamil Nadu Gujarat Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu
Gujarat Maharashtra West Bengal Punjab
Assam Karnataka Punjab Haryana
West Bengal India Gujarat West Bengal
Punjab Rajasthan Haryana Gujarat
Haryana West Bengal Karnataka Karnataka
Karnataka Uttar Pradesh India India
India Madhya Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Assam
Low HDI States Madhya Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Andhra Pradesh
Rajasthan Orissa Rajasthan Rajasthan
Orissa Bihar Orissa Madhya Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh Assam Orissa
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh
Bihar Bihar Bihar
L

Scheduled Castes because the performance of Kerala is bet-
The HDI at all India level for SCs is esti- ter with respect to the three components
mated to be 0.303 which is lower than of HDI. The literacy rate for STs in
the HDI for non-SC/ST at 0.393. Val- Kerala is 64.35 percent followed by
ues range from 0.661 for Kerala to 0.195 Assam with 62.52 percent. The MPCE
for Bihar. There are 10 States with HDI of STs in Kerala is also high at Rs. 456
value higher than all India average for compared with Rs. 285 for Assam. The
The variable which SCs and six States with HDI value lower variable which pushes Kerala to the high-
pushes Kerala to than all India average for SCs est position however, is IMR, which is
the highest (See Fig. 1(a)). 21, compared to 59 for Assam
position is IMR, (See Fig. 1(b)).
which is 21, Scheduled Tribes
Non- SC/STs
compared to 59 for The HDI for Scheduled Tribes is estimated
Assam for 13 out of 16 major States. The HDI at The HDI at all India level for non-SC/STs
all India level for STs is estimated to be is estimated to be 0.393, which is higher than
0.270, which is significantly less than HDI the HDI for the SCs, STs and all groups.
for non-SC/ST (0.393). Among the 13 Across States, the HDI value shows a varia-
States, the HDI value is highest in Kerala tion from 0.755 for Kerala to 0.301 for Bihar.
(0.613), followed by Assam (0.361). It Inter-State variations are quite similar to that
is lowest in Bihar (0.201). The gap be- for SC and STs. Nine States have HDI
tween the two top States is quite large value higher than all India average


T

(see Table: High and Low HDI Figure1(a): Human Development Index for SC-
States). However, the State of Kerala Regional Variations, 2000
is way ahead.

Inter - social Group Variations
The regional pattern of HDI by so-
cial groups indicates that there is a
group of States where HDI is
relatively low for all three social
groups (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa
and Madhya Pradesh in that order).
There is also group of States which
shows a high level of human devel-
opment (Kerala, Himachal Pradesh,
Maharashtha and Tamil Nadu, in Figure1(b): Human Development Index for ST-
that order). Given that the same Regional Variations, 2000
States show a low level of human
development for SCs and STs and
the non-SC/STs (namely Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, and Madhya
Pradesh), it is important to exam-
ine the factors for such low levels
of HDI, and also to note factors
specific to social groups, if any.
In this section we look at the dif-
ferences in the levels in
human development across so-
cial groups. Table 1.1 (see Table on Figure 2: Disparity in HDI 1980-2000, All-India
p.57). gives the values of HDI for the
three social groups, and the disparity
ratios between the SCs and the non-
SC/STs, and the STs and the non-SC/
STs for the year 2000 at all India and
State levels. A disparity ratio less than
1 means lower attainment in human
development for the SCs and the STs
compared to the non-SC/STs and
vice-versa.
In 2000, the HDI for the SCs was about
by 23 percent compared to non-SC/STs
0.303, compared to 0.393 for the non-SC/
(Table 1.1 and Fig 2).
STs. The disparity ratio in this case works
out to 0.77, indicating that the human de- In all the States, the HDI values were lower
velopment achievement of the SCs was less for the SCs as compared to non-SC/STs.
Status of Human Development and Human Poverty 19

The disparity level was higher in Bihar in seven States (West Bengal, Orissa,
(0.65), Andhra Pradesh (0.74), Karnataka Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
(0.74), Punjab (0.77) and UP (0.77). At- Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Bihar). In
tainment level of human development was other words, compared to the non-SC/ST,
about 35 percent lower among the SCs as the HDI was lower by a margin of about
compared with non-SC/STs in Bihar, and 44 to 33 percent for STs.
about 26 percent lower in Andhra Pradesh
and Karnataka (Fig 3 and Table 2.1(a)). The Changes in the Level of Human
disparity was relatively less in the States of Development Index by Social
Given the lower Kerala (0.89), Tamil Nadu (0.88),
Groups
base of human Maharashtra (0.87), Gujarat and Himachal In this section, we look at the changes in
development for Pradesh (0.86), as the values of the dispar- human development between 1980 and
the SCs and the ity ratio are closer to 1. These States, with 2000 by social groups. Between 1980 and
STs in the base lower disparity ratios, also happen to be the 2000, the HDI improved in the case of all
year, the annual regions with high human development. the three social groups; however, there are
rate was relatively Lower disparity levels seem to go hand in significant differences in terms of rate of
higher for them as hand with high level of human develop- change. Given the lower base of human
compared with ment among the SCs. In case of the STs, development for the SCs and the STs in the
the non-SC/STs the gap between them and the non-SC/STs base year, the annual rate was relatively
was higher as compared with the SCs. higher for them as compared with the
Comparing HDIs at the national level in non-SC/STs, implying greater improvement
the year 2000, the HDI for the STs was of SC and STs in terms of the human de-
0.270, as compared to 0.393 for the non- velopment indicators as compared to the
SC/STs. The disparity ratio was 0.69, in- non-SC/STs (Fig 3). The annual rates of
dicating 31 percent lower HD human de- growth were 3.55 percent, 3.34 percent, and
velopment among the STs (Fig 2). The dis- 1.80 percent for the SCs, the STs, and non-
parity ratio was less than 1 in all the States SC/STs respectively (Table 1.1).
except Assam, ranging from 0.56 to 0.67 There are also differences in the rate of
change for the individual States between
Figure 3: Human Development Index for Social Groups, each of the social groups (Table 2.1 (b)).
All-India
In the case of the SCs, there are eight States
where the rates of change in HDI values
are found to be higher than the all India
average, varying from 7.15 percent in
Assam to 3.70 percent in Madhya Pradesh.
The States in this group include Assam,
Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal
and Madhya Pradesh. However, in the re-
maining 8 States (Haryana, Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Kerala,


Human Poverty in India

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