Posts
Challenges of the
Marginalised
The strategy for inclusive growth should not be just a
conventional strategy for growth to which some elements aimed at inclusion have
been added. On the contrary, it should be a strategy which aims at achieving a
particular type of growth process which will meet the objectives of
inclusiveness and sustainability
It is now
well established that economic growth and prosperity in India has generally
bypassed a large number of marginalised and disadvantaged people such as the
dalits, adivasis, nomadic tribes, women, slum and pavement dwellers, the
disabled and old people, and people living in remote areas, who have remained
voiceless and ignored. The crux of such a hopeless situation for them lies in
their inability to access and retain their rightful entitlements to public goods
and services due to institutionalised structures and processes of exploitation.
Excluded groups are disadvantaged in many ways. They are victims
of prejudice, are ignored, and are often treated as less than human beings by
the village elite and government officials. They live in remote hamlets and are
thus geographically separated from the centres of delivery. Their hamlets are
scattered so that the cost of contacting them is higher. Finally it is their
extreme poverty that prevents them from taking advantage of government schemes,
whether it is free schooling (children are withdrawn because their labour is
needed at home or for work), or immunization (they migrate along with their
parents and therefore not present in the village when the health worker visits).
The 12th Five Year Plan, as expected, gives a high priority on
paper to inclusive growth and reduction of inequality, but the past trends have
not been very encouraging, as inequality seems to be going up, and the much
needed policies and programmes for the disadvantaged are still to be put on
ground.
