Myths around state-sponsored shala praveshotsav explode in Gujarat’s backward Little Rann of Kutch
Bal mitra in a makeshift school
The state-sponsored child enrollment drive, shala praveshotsav, stressed on enrolling children from the backward sections in Gujarat. A counterview.org analysis, based on interview with few social workers, suggests how it would have no lasting impact on educating kids belonging to the backward rural areas surrounding the Little Rann of Kutch
Even as the din around the three-day state-sponsored shala praveshotsav, which has claimed cent per cent enrolment at the primary level in Gujarat, is starting to fade, questions are being raised on how to retain those who have been enrolled. A case in point is enrollment of children during the festival in the rural areas that surround the Little Rann of Kutch. The praveshotsav took place in all the 108 villages that border the Little Rann. Helped by community based organizations and voluntary agencies, nearly all village children were, indeed, “enrolled”. But, apparently, this appears to the end of the roadmap for these small kids. Already, the view is getting strong that most of these children “would not be able to continue schooling”, as the agariya season begins. Around 14,000 saltpan workers, along with their families, including kids, would move deep into the Little Rann of Kutch to produce salt in September, and this would bring about a grinding halt to the children’s education, too. Read more…
Beyond shala praveshotsav: Gujarat’s lag in enrolling children at primary, secondary and higher secondary levels remains high
Beyond wide claims of cent per cent success in child enrollment drive, National Sample Survey (NSS) figures, released in March 2013, suggest Gujarat’s lag in education remains intact. A counterview.org analysis:
Another three-day Gujarat government-sponsored Shala Praveshotsav, a “festival” involving the entire state officialdom, starting with the Gujarat chief minister, meant to enroll children at the primary level, has come to an end. An official release at the end of the festival claimed, “The state-wide enrollment drive gained great momentum under the leadership of chief minister Narendra Modi, who himself graced the mahotsav in Mendarada block of Chiroda, Samadhiyala and Rajesar primary school at Junagadh district.” Read more…
More arguments in favour of on-site slum upgradation: Solution of land tenure issue should prove the key
Even as the Gujarat government is planning to come up with a new slum policy 2013, with “rehabilitation” of the slum-dwellers with the help of private developers as the key thrust, available literature suggests that any effort to uproot slum dwellers would mean further heightening their already vulnerable status. Counterview.org team analyses:
Recently, in a paper, “Low Carbon Green Growth Roadmap for Asia and the Pacific”, providing a roadmap for citywide slum upgradation, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) said that “the poor and the vulnerable in cities and towns can aspire to have security, shelter, basic infrastructure and services with citywide slum upgrading”, adding, “Up to 35 per cent of Asia-Pacific urban residents in slums with proper urban planning can have adequate shelter and basic services through proper urban planning.” Read more…
New draft slum policy only talks of rehabilitating urban poor, lacks focus on in situ slum upgradation
1990s: Rajendra Joshi during slum upgradation process in Ahmedabad
The draft new slum policy 2013, called “Gujarat Sum Rehabilitation and Redevelopment Policy”, overlooks the issue of slum upgradation altogether, despite the fact that it was found to be working successfully in Ahmedabad in 1990s. The government has not cared to float the draft policy for public debate, which has further constrained any meaningful dialogue on it. A counterview.org report:
The Gujarat government is mulling over the new Slum Policy 2013, and its draft, which has been prepared, has mooted changes from the earlier policy of 2010 in order to make it attractive for the urban poor, who were promised 50 lakh houses in the BJP manifesto during the December 2012 elections. And, in order to provide teeth to do it, it has decided to “manage” slums by making the Gujarat chief minister as head a new authority, Gujarat Affordable Housing and Slum Rehabilitation Authority (GAHSRA), which will have all the powers to “decide and/ or guide matters related to land use, town planning, master planning process and any issue related to slum rehabilitation”. Read more…
Studies reveal widescale discrimination in the delivery of healthcare services to Dalits in Gujarat, Rajasthan
Two recent studies have found that Dalits are at receiving end in the delivery of health services in Gujarat and Rajasthan. An analysis by counterview.org team:
Is discrimination of Dalits in the delivery of basic services an international human rights issue which needs a much deeper exposure than has been the case so far? The question is significant, because, despite lobbying at various levels on the part of the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) during recent years, the Government of India has strongly refused to acknowledge caste discrimination as an international human rights issue, which should be dealt with in the UN. Whether it is water, sanitation or health, the discrimination continues, and government sops have failed to do anything to subdue its impact. A recent www.counterview.org report (click HERE to see it) highlighted how discrimination in the provision of water in the Indian state of Gujarat has meant untold hardships to Dalit women, who cannot access water from the common source in Ahmedabad’s rural areas. Read more…
Social and economic inequalities rise in Gujarat, which is being projected as neo-liberal heaven for India
A well-known international organisation, Save the Children, has quoted official data to suggest how the neoliberal growth model, for which a section of economists project Gujarat as the idea, has failed to bring down social and economic inequalities in India. Some relevant details from its new report:
A new report, “Reducing Inequality: Learning Lessons for Post-2015 Agenda – India Case Study”, by top international organization, Save the Children, with presence in more than 120 countries and 15 Indian states, has blamed the neoliberal growth model, for which Gujarat is being projected as the best example of success, for the current woes of widening gap between the rich and the poor in India. The report says, “There is evidence to suggest that the poorer sections of India were actually further marginalized under the neoliberal economic regime introduced in India in the early 1990s.” Read more…
There is wide prevalence of stigmatization of Dalits in access to water in rural areas, says survey report
A recent survey, jointly carried out by Navsarjan Trust and Pani Hak Rakshak Samiti, has found that the areas around Ahmedabad which the Gujarat government wants to project as the future model of development — by developing a special investment region and an automobile hub — are also stigmatized by untouchability practices. A report by counterview.org team:
A survey of five talukas of Ahmedabad district – Dholka, Dhandhuka, Sanand, Bavla and Viramgam – has once again proved, if any proof was needed, about how untouchability is coming in the way of the rural Dalits’ failure to access water in the immediate neighbourhood at a time when drought-prone situation prevails in parts of Gujarat. The survey, carried out by Navsarjan Trust, Ahmedabad-based human rights organization, says that the situation is particularly acute as scarcity has been declared in 10 of Gujarat’s district. While 939 villages have been declared scarcity hit, another 2,979 have been declared semi-scarcity hit. “Dalit women have to particularly suffer, as they have to walk long distances in order to get water. They are unable to access water at the source nearby because of the continued prevalence of untouchability”, says a report prepared on the basis of the survey. Read more…
Discussion Documents
The Centre for Social Justice, Ahmedabad, recently forwarded a discussion document to the Planning Commission on conflict-induced internally displaced persons (IDPs) with a special focus on women and children, arguing in favour of a comprehensive policy in order to ensure that the society's most vulnerable section is treated as equal citizens. This section will offer keep posting documents such as this from time to time. Click HERE and email your views on the documents posted to counterview.org@gmail.com
