Demanding Rights Creating Opportunities - Oxfam India Strategy 2010 2015
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Demanding Rights
Creating Opportunities
Oxfam India Strategy 2010 - 2015
Oxfam India: 2nd Floor, 1 Community Centre, New Friends Colony, New Delhi 110 065, India
Tel: +91 (0) 11 4653 8000, Fax: +91 (0) 11 4653 8099, Email: delhi@oxfamindia.org, Website: www.oxfamindia.org
Contents
Executive Summary 03 iv. Social Discrimination
v. Communalism and Peace Building
Introduction to Oxfam India 07
vi. Engagement with the Private Sector
What is Oxfam India
New Directions
Vision, Mission and Values
i. Urban Poverty
What We Do
ii. India and the World
Strategy Formulation Process
How We Work
III Monitoring, Evaluation and 37
Learning
I External Context Analysis 13
A tale of two Indias
IV Partnership Policy and Ways of 39
Poverty and Inequality in India Working
Drivers of Poverty and Inequality in India
Drivers of Change V Fund-raising and Marketing 43
Strategy
India In the World
Key Conclusions
VI Next Steps and the 47
Way Forward
II Oxfam India's Strategy 27
The way forward – From Poverty to Power TABLE 1 14
State-wise Rural Poverty Incidence across Socio-
Oxfam India Strategy Goals Religious Categories in 2004-05
(2010-2015)
TABLE 2 17
Focus on Lagging States and Lagging Groups Natural Disasters Impacts in India (1990 – 2008)
Thematic Priorities
FIGURE 1 10
How Oxfam India Works
i. Economic Justice FIGURE 2 37
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)
ii. Essential Service Framework
iii. Gender Justice ANNEXURE I 48
Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) across Select
iv. Humanitarian Response and States in India
Disaster Risk Reduction
ANNEXURE II 48
Cross-Cutting Perspectives Infant Mortality Rates (IMR) across Select States
in India
i. Gender
ANNEXURE III 48
ii. Youth and Active Citizenship Drop-out Rates of Students in Classes I – X for
2005-2006
Design and Content: THOT, www.thot.in iii. HIV and AIDS
Photo Courtesy: Ranjan Rahi, Anubhav Das, Dhiraj Kumar, Pratham, Sam Spickett, Vinay, Manisha Sharma,
Nidhi Bhardwaj, Oxfam India
India Strategy 2010 - 2015 01
Executive Summary
Oxfam India is a newly created Indian non- 1.25 $ a day, 456 million people or approximately
governmental organization integrating the 60-year- 42% of the people in India are poor. It is also worth
old India operations of 6 separate International noting that every third poor in the world is an
Oxfam affiliates working in the country. It came into Indian; every third illiterate in the world is an Indian
being on September 1, 2008 with an Indian staff too and approximately half of its children are
and an Indian board. malnourished. India also ranks deplorably high in
maternal deaths (in many states higher than sub-
It is a member of Oxfam International, which is a Saharan Africa).
global confederation of 14 Oxfams (Australia,
Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, At the heart of Oxfam India's new strategy is the
Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, shared concern regarding the gap between the two
Netherlands, Quebec, Spain, and the US). Two Indias - the developed and the underdeveloped -
new Oxfams are currently forming including India and the lack of an inclusive development path that
and Japan. India is currently on.
The Oxfams are rights-based organizations that Based on our analysis, there are particularly large
fight poverty and injustice by linking grassroots gaps in the economic and social indicators
programming (through partner NGOs) to local, between four groups of people that we will focus
national and global advocacy and policy-making. on closing.
All of Oxfam's work is framed by our commitment
to five broad rights-based aims: the right to a Women and Men;
sustainable livelihood, the right to basic social Dalits and non Dalits;
services, the right to life and security, the right to Tribals and non-Tribals; and
be heard and the right to equality: gender and Muslims and non-Muslims.
diversity.
Oxfam India's vision is to create a more equal, just,
and sustainable world. The overarching vision of Oxfam India is a newly
Oxfam India is “Right to Life with Dignity for All”. created Indian non-
Oxfam India will fulfill its vision by empowering the
poor and marginalized to demand their rights, governmental organization
engaging the non poor to become active and
supportive citizens, advocating for an effective and
integrating the 60-year-old
accountable state and making markets work for India operations of 6
poor and marginalized people.
separate International
While India has already become the third largest Oxfam affiliates working in
economy1 (in terms of purchasing power parity)
after USA and China as per the World Bank and the country. It came into
has seen consistent growth rates between 6%-9%
for the last five years, second only to China, even
being on September 1,
today, according to World Bank parameters of 2008 with an Indian staff
1
and an Indian board.
World Development Report, World Bank 2009
India Strategy 2010 - 2015 03
Among all the poverty indicators, it is the Dalits, India will focus two-thirds of its resources here and New Outlook operations in the existing cities. In the next five
Tribals and Muslims who are found to be worse off use one-third of its resources to respond to specific years, we are also going to test various new
than the others. While there has been a growing issues in the rest of India. In view of the increasing Oxfam India is seeking to gradually transform itself techniques of fund-raising, like Internet and web,
assertion among the Dalits led by its middle class number of urban pockets of acute poverty, it will from essentially being a grant administering and direct mailing, trail walker, special events, tele-
intellectuals and politicians, a similar pattern is yet include an urban component in its programs and monitoring agency to an active member of Indian facing and direct response television, which were
to emerge among the Tribals and the Muslims. address urban-specific issues. civil society and a rights based advocacy not used by us till now.
And despite positive changes in the policy organization. Its advocacy will be based on the
environment and progressive legislation, Indian Oxfam India has also recognised certain cross- grassroots work that it supports. To understand Brand awareness and communicating with donors
women continue to face discrimination on all fronts, cutting perspectives to its work. Given India's better what is working well and what is not, it is are provenly crucial for connecting with large
including inside and outside their homes. young population, we will try to engage with young committed to set some of the key processes in numbers of people. We would be dedicatedly
people to develop active citizens amongst them. place, and work towards setting up community working on these aspects in the years to come to
Oxfam India aims to be a role model in linking up Oxfam India will also be focusing its efforts on based monitoring systems to track and use the make Oxfam India a household name.
four critical themes and areas of work – Economic building the capacity of its staff, partners and outcomes to enhance programme quality and
Justice, Essential Services, Gender Justice, and communities to understand as well as address ensure rights based approach in programmatic New Road Maps
Humanitarian Response and Disaster Risk discrimination by making people aware of their own interventions.
Reduction – into a comprehensive programme perceptions, prejudices and facilitating an This strategy is meant to provide an overall vision
framework pursuing dignity of life as the understanding of others. It would work towards of what Oxfam India wants to do in the coming
New Relationships
overarching goal. building partner’s capacity to address communal years to be relevant and meaningful to the
conflict and foster peace. Oxfam India will seek to emerging Indian context and to make a difference.
The new Oxfam India partnership policy envisages
Economic Justice build up a program of support to tackle the special In each of the program areas that we will work in,
both funding and non-funding partnerships with a
issues of peace building in Jammu and Kashmir we are now developing a detailed strategy that will
wide range of development actors-grassroots
More women and men will realize their right to and the North-East of India. lay out the context, the opportunities for work, and
NGOs, academic institutions, research think tanks,
secure and sustainable livelihoods. national and global advocacy NGOs, etc. The the outcomes that we will seek to achieve. Once
The other key areas of work for the future would be the programs are defined, partners who can work
proposed patterns of funding relationship include
to influence the role of private sector in poverty together with Oxfam India to deliver those program
Essential Services maintaining the diversity of partner size (micro,
reduction and also explore key aspects of India's goals will be identified and supported. We realize,
small, medium and large) but establishing limits for
growing role at the South Asia regional as well as however, that the roll-out of the strategy ( aligning
People living in poverty, especially women and girls each category; establishing longer term
international level from the perspective of our programs to it) should be carried out in a
will realize their rights to accessible and affordable relationships with partners and to fund each
influencing policies and programs for a poverty free phased manner. It is likely to take 2-3 years so that
health, education and social protection. partner for a maximum 10-12 year cycle (through
region and world. It will also seek to build an active it is not too disruptive for our partners and
two strategy periods); and wherever feasible,
and international platform of civil society groups programs.
provide core funding rather than project-by-project
Gender Justice across northern and southern countries.
funding to partners.
Women from all communities will gain power over
their lives and live free from violence. New Initiatives Oxfam India partnership
Oxfam India aims to be a policy envisages both
Humanitarian Response and Disaster role model in linking up At the moment, Oxfam India is upscaling its fund-
raising operations across various cities, to expand funding and non-funding
Risk Reduction four critical themes and its supporter base and to build active citizenship by
partnerships with a wide
engaging the rich and middle class in India in
All women and men in humanitarian crises will be areas of work – Economic addressing the many development challenges range of development
assured both the protection and the assistance
they require, regardless of who or where they are
Justice, Essential facing our country. Our experiments with running
actors - grassroots NGOs,
in-house fund-raising operations in Bangalore and
or how they are affected, in a manner consistent Services, Gender Justice, New Delhi have paid off and we would be opening academic institutions,
with their human rights.
and Humanitarian six new fund-raising offices, on similar models in
the next six months. These offices would be research think tanks,
Oxfam India is now seeking to focus its programs Response and Disaster located at Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, national and global
in a few key thematic and geographic areas so as
to maximize impact. It will focus its work in seven Risk Reduction – into a Chandigarh and NOIDA besides multiple
advocacy NGOs, etc.
states that have above average poverty rates and comprehensive
have lagged in the post-liberalization period and
would require strategic intervention: Assam, Bihar, programme framework
Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh
and Uttarakhand. Since roughly two-thirds of
pursuing dignity of life as
poverty is concentrated in these states, Oxfam the overarching goal.
04 Executive Sqummary India Strategy 2010 - 2015 05
Introduction
What is Oxfam India
Vision, Mission and Values
Oxfam India is a newly created Indian non-
governmental organization integrating the 60-year- Vision
old India operations of 6 separate International
Oxfam affiliates working in the country. It came into Oxfam India's vision is to create a more equal, just,
being on September 1, 2008 with an Indian staff and sustainable world.
and an Indian board and is a member of Oxfam The overarching vision of Oxfam India is
International, which is a global confederation of 14 “Right to Life with Dignity for All”.
Oxfams (Australia, Belgium, Canada, France,
Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Mission
Mexico, New Zealand, Netherlands, Quebec,
Spain and the US). Two new Oxfams are currently Oxfam India will fulfill its vision by empowering the
forming viz. India and Japan. poor and marginalized to demand their rights,
engaging the non poor to become active and
The Oxfams are rights-based organizations that supportive citizens, advocating for an effective and
fight poverty and injustice by linking grassroots accountable state and making markets work for
programming (through partner NGOs) to local, poor and marginalized people.
national and global advocacy and policy-making.
Oxfam India works in the area of removing poverty Values
and aims to be a role model in linking up four
critical themes and areas of work – Essential Organizational values and competencies define
Services, Gender Justice, Economic Justice and acceptable standards which govern the behavior of
Humanitarian Response and Disaster Risk individuals within the organization. They set
Reduction – into a comprehensive programme common norms of dealing with each other while
framework pursuing dignity of life as the working to achieve the organizational goals and
overarching goal. objectives.
The new organisation is a national entity with Oxfam India believes that the values cited below
presence in six cities, with a staff of around 120 in are core to its vision and would seek to promote
place. It is bringing together new and existing them through its work.
programs under implementation through more than
250 partners and allies, and is building a strong I. Commitment
national and international advocacy capacity.
a. To social justice and poverty
b. Demonstrate passion
The Oxfams are rights-based c. Walking that extra mile
organizations that fight poverty d. Flexible and adaptable
and injustice by linking e. Demonstrate openness to learning, innovation,
change and growth
grassroots programming to
local, national and global
advocacy and policy-making.
India Strategy 2010 - 2015 07
choices, resources, essential services, knowledge All of Oxfam's work is framed by our commitment Oxfam India focuses on four change
II. Honesty and integrity and protection. In this sense, poverty is something to five broad rights-based aims: the right to a
more than mere lack of income, health and sustainable livelihood, the right to basic social
goals in these areas:
a. Consistency and predictability education. It is also people's frustration about any services, the right to life and security, the right to Economic Justice, Gender Justice
b. Adhering to organizational values control in deciding the destiny of their lives, their be heard and the right to equality: gender and Essential Services and
c. Being fair, objective and impartial in decision exclusion from decision-making. While the diversity. Humanitarian Response and
making Universal Declaration of Human rights is the
d. Self awareness guiding framework under which Oxfam India Oxfam India focuses on four change goals:
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
functions, it also derives its mandate from the
III. Inclusiveness, secularism, pluralism constitutional rights promised to every citizen of the
country. Economic Justice Essential Services
a. Respect difference and welcome alternative
viewpoints Persistent poverty and inequality is not just a More women and men will realize their right to People living in poverty, especially women and girls
b. Value team work violation of basic human rights of the people but it secure sustainable livelihoods. will realize their rights to accessible and affordable
c. Creating a diverse workforce and creating an also undermines economic growth of a nation by health, education and social protection.
environment to retain that workforce. wasting talents and human resources. It leads to a
d. Treat people equitably skewed society where power and decision-making
e. Gender diversity - religious, ethnicity, caste remains in the hands of the few leading to greater
conflicts and undermining social cohesion in the
IV. Value and respect people's rights end.
a. Active listening Oxfam India seeks to address this through a
b. Engaging with and respecting different points of Rights- Based Approach where people are seen as
view the bearers of civil, political and social and
c. Respecting differences economic rights.2 At the same time, institutions -
d. Giving critical/constructive feedback – in a both state and non-state - are seen as duty
sensitive way bearers to guarantee and provide those rights to
e. Giving support in setting priorities the people. It is also important to underline that
f. Enabling space for being heard without augmenting people's ability to exercise
them, the rights would be meaningless.
V. Delivering high quality results in a manner Gender Justice Humanitarian Response and Disaster Risk
accountable to stakeholders Hence we work to bring change in people's lives by Reduction (DRR)
aiming for wider structural changes that include: Women from all communities will gain power over
a. Clarity on roles and responsibilities and their lives and live free from violence through All women and men in humanitarian crises will be
objectives to achieve – monitoring, evaluating, ?
greater state and institutional accountability; changes in attitudes, ideas and beliefs about assured both the protection and the assistance
learning (responsibility of both sides) gender relations, and through increased levels of they require, regardless of who or where they are
b. Perseverance ?
effective participation of people and civil society women's active engagement and critical leadership or how they are affected, in a manner consistent
c. Aligning team objectives with organizational organizations in decisions affecting their lives in institutions, decision making and change with their human rights. Fewer people will suffer
mission through articulation of their demands and rights processes. deprivation as a result of conflict, calamity and
d. Use time and resources efficiently and getting public and private institutions to climate change. And to reduce risks and building
e. Use other’s skills meet their responsibilities; community resilience to disasters, one of the
f. Taking risks, being realistic with opportunities critical areas of specialization and pillars of Oxfam
(links to innovation, creativity etc.) ?
increased power and influence of poor and India's humanitarian work is disaster risk reduction
g. Delegation programming.
marginalized people over distribution and use
of public resources and assets;
What We Do ?
increased social inclusion of the poor and most
marginalized;
Oxfam India works to address root causes of
absolute poverty and inequality. We see poverty as ?
changes in ideas and beliefs to inform equitable
a problem of power, rather powerlessness, in development strategies.
which people are deprived of opportunities,
2 “Right are long-term guarantees, a set of structural claims or entitlements that enable people, particularly the most vulnerable and excluded,
to make demands on those in power who are known in the jargon as duty bearers.” Duncan Green, From Poverty to Power. How Active
Citizens and Effective States can Change the World, Oxfam International, 2008
08 Introduction India Strategy 2010 - 2015 09
Strategy Formulation Process Monitor, Research, Analyze - delivery of public Where We Work
expenditure/private provision/government policy
Oxfam India has followed a very participatory and using findings to promote informed opinion, Oxfam India presently works in the following states in India –
process for developing its strategy. It started this debate;
process when it was formed in September 2008, Delhi
? Jharkhand
?
and has involved all the key stakeholders including Shifting Attitudes and Beliefs - through popular Uttar Pradesh
? Madhya Pradesh
?
Oxfam India staff, its Board, the other Oxfam campaigning, alliances and mass mobilization; and Rajasthan
? Chattisgarh
?
Gujarat
? Uttarakhand
?
affiliates and its partners in a series of extensive
Mainstream - gender, caste and ethnicity (social Maharashtra
? Andhra Pradesh
?
discussions and consultations to formulate a
inclusion) into all Oxfam India's work. Assam
? Kerala
?
strategy that will give the right focus to our
West Bengal
? Karnataka
?
programs so that we can maximize our impact.
Oxfam India believes that working with the poor is Bihar
? Tamil Nadu
?
more crucial while working for the poor and its role
is merely that of a facilitator to bring voices of the
How We Work
people to the fore, where they can articulate their
aspirations, be in a position to visualize their own
Oxfam India works primarily through grassroots
future and work towards realizing the same. Only
organizations to bring about sustainable changes
that can bring sustainable long-term changes in
in people's lives through long-term development
their lives as well as in the life of a nation.
programming linked to positive policy changes at
various levels (figure 1). We also work through the
lens of social exclusion and facilitate the right of
the most marginalized to be heard and also
mobilize them to campaign for greater economic Oxfam India works
and social reforms.
primarily through
Oxfam India seeks to: grassroots organizations
Build Capacity of the Poor People at the Grass to bring about sustainable
Roots Level - facilitating relationships, networks,
resources and capabilities to boost voice and
changes in people's lives
opportunities of poor people and bridging the social through long-term
gap;
development
Promote Multi-stakeholder Dialogue - creating a programming linked to
joint platform to facilitate a constructive
conversation among the poor, civil society positive policy changes at
organizations, governments and private bodies various levels.
including media;
Figure 1: How Oxfam India works
Multi-stakeholder partnerships is key to Oxfam India’s way of working
Active Citizens
Research Institutes
State
Universities
People’s
Oxfam India
Movements Media
INGOs
Private Sector
National NGOs
Regional and Global
Policy Making
10 Introduction India Strategy 2010 - 2015 11
External Context Analysis:
A Tale of Two Indias
Poverty and Inequality in India According to a recent report submitted by NC
Saxena Committee set up by the government of
Poverty and Prosperity: A picture of sharp India, the official Below Poverty Line (BPL) should
inequalities be revised from the current 28% to cover 52% of
the population which is in acute need of food
The world has been hailing the twenty-first century security. As per recent estimates, the average
for quite sometime now, as the century of Asian Indian family today is absorbing 115 kg less per
3
dominance, particularly one dominated by China year of food grains than in 1991 . Hence India's
and India. A relatively lesser impact of the recent drive for a super power status is pulled back by its
economic slowdown has further reinforced such huge underbelly. It is also worth noting that every
views. third poor in the world is an Indian; every third
illiterate in the world is an Indian too and
The coining of the term BRICS (Brazil, Russia, approximately half of its children are malnourished.
India, China and South Africa) to represent the India also has a deplorably high number of
new power bloc has boosted this image further. maternal deaths (in many states higher than sub-
4
Saharan Africa). Globally, we know that if India
India has already become the third largest does not meet Millennium Development Goals by
economy (in terms of purchasing power parity) 2015 (which it is now certain to fail on many
5
after USA and China as per the World Bank. It has counts) , the world at large will fail too.
seen consistent growth rates between 6%-9% for
the last five years, second only to China, leading to Even the relative insulation from the recent
significant reduction in poverty levels (from 46% economic recession has led to revised lower
poor in 1986 to 28% in 2008 officially). It now figures of growth projections which will severely
boasts of three Indians making it to the list of ten impact poverty challenges. The growing presence
richest individuals in the world at any given time. It of a large mass of illiterate, unskilled population will
also boasts of a strong middle class (ranging directly impact this projection further.
between 200-300 million according to various
estimates), good enough to sustain its economic
drive. Globally, it is also seen as the savior of the
world due to its reputation as the 'global pharmacy India has already become
of the third world' through its large scale production
of affordable generic drugs.
the third largest economy
(in terms of purchasing
And yet, the other side of the picture will tell us of
an alternate and equally (if not more) powerful
power parity) after USA
story of an India steeped in acute poverty and and China as per the
inequality, which has sharpened during these very
glittering years of growth. Even today, according to World Bank.
World Bank parameters of 1.25 $ a day, 456 million
people or approximately 42% of the people in India
are poor.
3 Utsa Patnaik, Neoliberalism and Rural Poverty in India, Economic and Political Weekly, July 28, 2007, pp. 3132-3150.
4 Look at the annexure I and II for more disaggregated details.
5
For example, it has already failed the target of meeting 2005 target of gender parity inside the classrooms.
India Strategy 2010 - 2015 13
According to 2001 Census, 34% of its population is increased sharply in the last few decades or so. There has been a historical trajectory of under housing tenure, lack of access to basic services, ill
in the age group of 15 to 35 years and by 2020 the development in these regions. These states are health, poor livelihood opportunities (most of them
average age of an Indian would be 29 years, Pockets of Inequality beset not by income poverty alone but also trail on casual workforce without any security to minimum
making India one of the youngest nations but also the scale of illiteracy, poor health indicators, lack of regular wages). Worse, because of very little or no
vulnerable to the growing pressure from this very Northern and Eastern states versus the rest: access to markets, gender disparities and social access to official identification process, they have
population for better economic and social poor regional integration conflicts. Much of the Maoist insurgency in India is no or very little social security cover leading to a
opportunities. concentrated in these states besides much of scenario where urban inequality has grown more
There is now general consensus that there has been religion and caste based conflict. This further sharply than the rural in the past few years.
Large scale internal migrations from the rural to a great imbalance between different regions and exacerbates the cycle of inequality and absolute
urban areas have been a key feature in India for a states in terms of economic prosperity in India. misery. Even in the relatively prosperous regions, One of the key trends in this respect has been that
long time precisely because of the developmental These disparities between regions within a country there are areas recording high levels of of steady informalisation of labour as a result of
model showcasing 'islands of prosperity' amidst a are mainly between the lagging east and northern malnutrition, anaemia and hunger, as for instance both the decline of agriculture and the organized
sea of poverty. This has not only increased parts of the country vis-à-vis the relatively in the remote Tribal belts of Gujarat and public sector as a whole. The total share of the
manifold during the recent years of economic prosperous southern and western parts. These Maharashtra. informal labour sector consisted of more than 85%
th
growth, but has also led to a large scale states are almost uniformly lagging on the three in 1999-2000 itself.6 11 Five Year Plan document
impoverishment of the urban population itself. This basic indicators of economic poverty, basic The other key facet of poverty and inequality in underlines the declining trend in wages especially
is largely a result of crumbling infrastructure, amenities and social indicators. The ratio of per India is among the socially discriminated groups with respect to the agricultural sector while also
inability to meet the employment demands from the capita incomes within India, looking at the richest along the lines of caste, ethnicity, religion and underlining the overall decline in wages of women
migrating population and a growing casualisation and poorest states, was 4.5 to 1 in the late 1990s gender. For example, while Muslim children under in the overall informal sector. This has rendered
of labour without any kind of social and economic and this gap is still rapidly increasing. Per capita five suffering from malnutrition are comparable this population increasingly vulnerable to the
security. GDP in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (which represent (Table 1) to national average (41.8% against the vagaries of the market.
25% of the Indian population) is less than half the national 42.5%), Scheduled Caste and Scheduled
Increasing Inequality national average and only a third of that in the seven Tribe Children fare much worse with 47.9% and
richest states. 54.5% respectively. While the relative status of Drivers of Poverty and Inequality in
It is also worth repeating that poverty and these groups is quite adverse across states, it is
India
inequality have many faces in India and different Even in the relatively prosperous also important to note that these groups
indicators would tell us about different pockets of comparatively fare better in the better-off states.
concentration of poverty. Hence, inequality has to
regions, there are areas recording While the growth rate of the Indian economy has
high levels of malnutrition, improved significantly, several key factors have
be defined in terms of regional disparities, The vast rural hinterlands
contributed together to make inequality sharper in
economic, caste and social status, ethnicity and anaemia and hunger, as for the current scenario. This can be attributed to
religion, gender among others. And it has to be The largest concentration of poverty is still to be
argued that while the absolute poverty might be on
instance in the remote Tribal belts found in the rural areas simply because seven out
socio-economic factors propelled through the
a descent (itself a debatable point), inequality has of Gujarat and Maharashtra. of ten Indians live in these parts. Despite
interplay between the market and the government,
a lack of governance accountability on essential
somewhat rapid decrease in official figures of
services, and due to social, caste, class and
poverty in rural areas (from 56.4% in 1973-74 to
religion based discrimination and conflicts, and
Table 1: State-wise Rural Poverty Incidence across Socio Religious Categories in 2004-05 28.3% in 2004-05 as per the 11th Plan document),
also increasing natural disasters now further
it is here that the absolute numbers of rural poor
worsened by climate change.
All Hindus Muslims Other have not decreased (officially 22 crore rural poor
Minorities are BPL). This is also because the number of the
All SCs/STs OBCs Gen
unemployed in rural India have grown at almost
Total 22.7 22.6 34.8 19.5 9 26.9 14.3 double the rate of employment.
One of the key trends in
Kerala 9 9 19 7 4 11 4
this respect has been that
Growing urban face of poverty
Uttar Pradesh 28 28 39 26 10 33 40 of steady informalisation of
Bihar 35 34 56 29 13 38 33
The large-scale migration to urban centres coupled
with the dynamic growth in these centres has led to
labour as a result of both
Assam 18 12 14 16 7 27 20 a scenario where out of about 285 million people the decline of agriculture
Jharkhand 38 38 49 32 17 36 46
living in urban India today, nearly a quarter are
below poverty line. They suffer from insecure
and the organized public
Andhra Pradesh 8 8 16 6 2 7 4 sector as a whole.
Gujarat 14 15 24 14 3 7 6
Orissa 41 40 60 30 16 22 70
Chhattisgarh 33 33 40 27 26 40 11
6
Source: Social, Economic and Educational Status of Muslim Community of India (Justice Rajinder Sachchar Committee Report), GoI Report on Social Security for Un-organised Workers (2006), NCEUS, Gol.
14 External Context Analysis: A Tale of Two Indias India Strategy 2010 - 2015 15
Unequal Development Trajectories and Poor class as well as bureaucracy in terms of both bank credit finds its way to the micro and small Further, a 2007 report by the Inter-governmental
Governance pushing for pro-poor policy reforms as well as enterprises, a sector catering to a large mass of Panel on Climate Change forecasts that the
implementing the existing government schemes. the people. average global temperature in this century could
In the course of the economy undergoing Hence there is a huge gap in terms of intent and rise by 3 degree Celsius against 0.74 degree
liberalisation, the state's role has been getting the actual translation of that intent. While this has a Also, women's condition in this scenario has Celsius during the last century. This obviously has
redefined. While earlier, the government was lot to do with the corruption institutionalised in the become even worse. While more than 84% of implications for a country like India with such a
supposed to deliver all the goods to a 'passive polity at all levels, it is also due to the lack of women are involved in agriculture carrying out large coastline leading to further impoverishment of
recipient' people, the latter phase has been a capacity (especially at the lower levels) to even about 60% of the labour work, only about 10% of the people.
reversal where poor people have been left entirely implement the schemes effectively, one of the them are actual land holders. Similarly, the Tribals
to fend for themselves. But it has also led to a reasons why states return major portions of money and the Dalits fare even worse with more than 60% High Vulnerability to Climate Change
parallel rise of the social movements mobilizing unutilized every year. of the Dalits as landless wage earners in the rural
people to demand their rights leading to areas. With a long, densely populated and low-lying
governments increasingly recognizing the threats Out of a total of 180 countries, India ranked 85th coastline and an economy tied closely to its natural
of sharp inequalities. on the Corruption Perception Index, surveyed by So on the one hand we have a largely over- resource base, India is very vulnerable to the
Transparency International in 2008. Police and dependent and under employed population on impacts of climate change on precipitation
The situation is aggravated due to the unequal Judiciary are rated as the two most corrupt agriculture with a vast mass of landless casual patterns, ecosystems, its agricultural potential,
relationships between the hub and the spokes institutions in the country in the same report. It is labour, on the other we have very little water and marine resources, and incidence of
within a federal structure. A mere 5% of the total not merely due to accidental gaps but due to the infrastructural support available for the diseases. India's choices on how it pursues a high,
outlays go to the local governance bodies. Through very legacy of patronage and power entrenched in diversification of livelihood options in the rural future growth trajectory feeds directly into wider
a long prevailing demand, local decentralization of the governance system. Needless to add, it is the areas. Also, some of the relatively new policies climate change developments.
governance has taken place in the form of 73rd and poor who are hit worst in this scheme of things. pursued by the government like Special Economic
74th Constitutional amendments giving some Hence, to give one example, any policy reform like Zones, mining and natural resources rights being Long-term changes in temperatures and
power to the local Panchayati Raj Institutions defining a category of Below Poverty Line people, contracted out to the large, private companies precipitations have direct implications on
(PRIs) and urban local bodies. This would means opening of huge money making have led to further eviction and subsequent agricultural yields. Moreover, resilience is typically
necessitate support to the local bodies for revenue opportunities while pushing poor people further out increase in vulnerability of the rural poor. low in rural areas as the existing asset base is
generation as well as equitable provision of the of the ambit of any social safety net. weak and services provided by infrastructure and
revenue by the state and central governments for High Exposure to Disasters institutions are often insufficient.
the local bodies. There have been further reforms Neglect of the Agriculture Sector
with quotas for women in these bodies (ranging A total of 241 districts in 21 states (constituting Rainfed farming is the predominant feature of
from 33% - 50%)7. The process is still far from Specifically, almost 65% of the population is roughly half of India) are termed as prone to multi- agriculture in India. Therefore, the pattern of rainfall
complete as the power is yet to be fully devolved to dependent on agriculture, while producing less hazard risks. About 57 % of land is vulnerable to (onset, duration, spatial extent) and the total
the grass roots while in many instances there is than 20% of GDP, pointing to an urgent need for earthquakes, 28 % to drought (2009 has seen 246 precipitation are crucial to determining not only the
intent to bypass even what is prescribed. For livelihood diversification options along with the districts being declared as drought affected) and
example, while the National Rural Employment need to strengthen the small-scale agriculture. 12% to flood. This vulnerability is increasing only
Guarantee Act (NREGA) says that at least 50% of According to some surveys, 40% of the farmers further. Annual floods in Brahmaputra-Ganga flood
the work will be undertaken through the PRIs it has would leave agriculture given an option. One of the plains affect millions of poor leading to forced In India, the direct losses
not been implemented in most of the states. Also clear reasons for the same has been the gradual displacement. Some of India's most poor and
very often, the elected representatives act as mere disinvestment from this sector pursued by unequal states such as Bihar, Orissa, Assam and from natural disasters
stamps for those entrenched in the system. successive governments. It stands at less than 1%
of GDP today as against the projected 4%. Even
Uttar Pradesh are also most disaster-prone states. amount to 2% of its GDP
One of the useful comparators in this respect other infra-structural support has been largely In India, the direct losses from natural disasters and up to 12% of central
would be to compare the lagging states with the missing. For example, barely about 8% of the total amount to 2% of its GDP and up to 12% of central
relatively better ones. It makes a sharp contrast - government revenues.
government revenues.
the better performing states also have better
governance structures and service delivery Out of a total of 180
capacity. A state like Tamilnadu is found to be Table 2: Natural Disasters Impacts in India (1990 – 2008)
performing much better compared to the poorer countries, India ranked
states even in the implementation of schemes like 85th on the Corruption Country Population Death (‘000) People Population Damage in
National Rural Health Mission, Public Distribution
System, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan etc. Perception Index, (‘000) affected (‘000) affected (%) US$ (‘000)
One of the major factors in this respect has also
surveyed by Transparency India 1,071,608 53.4 885,224 82.6 25,743,100
been the lack of political will among the political International in 2008. Since it is total number of people affected over 18 years, % affected can be higher than 100% since it indicates multiple exposure to disasters
Source: Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) and United Nations World Population Prospects
7
A very recent announcement by the government has increased this quota for women to 50% across India.
16 External Context Analysis: A Tale of Two Indias India Strategy 2010 - 2015 17livelihoods of the majority of people in rural areas India spends less than 1% of GDP on health and has worsened over the last couple of decades due from the state and the society while asserting their
but also India's larger growth in terms of GDP. less than 3% on education, much less compared to to certain key shifts in the developmental trajectory rights.
Global warming is already affecting the rainfall other developing countries. This means that almost of India. It tells us that there has been a gradual
patterns in the country. Monsoon rainfall has 80% of the total health cost is borne out of pocket disinvestment from the public services from Gender Inequality
decreased by approximately 5% - 8% since the resulting in 40% of the population borrowing whatever meager resources were available earlier.
1950s and such pattern could contribute to more money to meet the cost of hospitalisation. The Over the years, a kind of 'normalization' took place Despite positive changes in the policy environment
intense, longer and more widespread droughts paradox is that while it is known as the ‘Pharmacy with the perception that the people's basic rights and progressive legislation, Indian women continue
across the region, as indicated by the recent of the Third World’ due to supply of generic drugs, are not rights but actually 'services' to be bought to face discrimination on all fronts, including inside
droughts. There is, however, a greater need for just about 30% of its own population has access to from the open market. Those who could afford and outside their homes. It is now increasingly
research for change in agricultural practices for essential drugs. Similarly, on the education front, could buy better education for their children, better argued and agreed that in most of India, gender
climate change adaptation. low levels of investment have led to huge drop out health care for themselves, safe drinking water and discrimination begins before birth and continues
rates of children reaching up to 40% at the primary so on. The rest, a vast majority of the people, were throughout women's lives.
Similarly, the area affected by floods more than stage and 52% at elementary level despite the left to fend for themselves. A clear hierarchy of
doubled between 1953 and 2003. Some of the official version of more than 90% enrolments. Of services, first rate for those who could afford,
largest Indian cities (Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata) course the most vulnerable sections like Dalits, second rate for those who couldn't has been India ranks 113th in the Global Gender Gap
are on the coast and will be vulnerable to rising Tribals, Muslims and girls are the worst hit in this established. In the words of a scholar, the access rankings10 which are based on indicators of the
sea levels.8 scenario (refer annexure 3). Various reports by UN to basic services in India in a way reflects the gendered gap in outcomes (and not just inputs)
agencies say that out of a total of roughly 1.3 crore existing multi-layered caste system, where each across four key areas:
It is feared that the sub-continent may also face an out-of-school children, more than 80% are girls.9 person is entitled to get the quality of services
increased problem of climate refugees, with people according to his or her caste/economic status. ?
Economic participation and opportunity,
On other fronts like water and sanitation which are
forced to flee their homes because of extreme ?
Educational attainment,
crucially linked to the issue of public health as well, Continued Impact of Social Exclusion
weather events. Climate change will also have a ?
Political empowerment and
even today the sustainable coverage for water is
major impact on public health, with changing ?
Health and survival.
only approx. 50% population and for sanitation only There has been continuing exclusion based on
diseases patterns that will affect first and foremost
about 25% population. caste, ethnicity and religion. Among all the poverty
poor people, with limited access to health services.
indicators, it is the Dalits, Tribals and Muslims who More than 60% women are chronically poor in this
The other crucial aspect is food security but here are found to be worse off than the others. In fact,
Climate change has also a direct impact on the country11 and according to the National Family
too even in the existing scheme, 58% of subsidized according to the government's own reports
glaciers in the Himalayas. The retreat of the ice Health Survey –III (2005-06), almost half the
food grains do not reach the BPL families, 22% following the findings submitted by the Rajinder
mass of the Himalaya-Hindu Kush (the third largest women suffer from anemia and malnutrition. This
reach APL (Above Poverty Line) and 36% is sold in Sachar Committee, Muslims now stand almost at
ice mass in the world, after the polar icecaps) could data also reveals that two out of five married
the black market. the bottom of the ladder. It is for this reason that it
pose a threat to the region itself. women have experienced some form of physical or
needs to be highlighted that together these three sexual violence by their husbands. Moreover, there
A severe lack of governance and effective categories constitute about 40% of India's
While the per capita Green House emissions of have been growing incidences of public forms of
implementation of the existing schemes has led to population and as a socio-economic category
India, is comparatively low, India is already the violence against them especially during times of
further impoverishment of the poor. A sober herein lies the basket of Indian poverty. These are
fourth largest polluter in the world. It is clear in this caste and communal conflicts, and also due to
analysis will tell us that the problem faced on all the groups which are deprived of the 'mainstream'
sense that India might not have created global policing by the religious fundamentalists imposing
these fronts, though part of a long historical legacy, professions both in rural and urban India. Hence
warming but the situation certainly calls for urgent their stricter norms of behavior on women. Hence
steps to be taken. while majority of the Dalits and Tribals are land less 'honor killings' have become as common as female
wage labourers, a majority of Muslims (even in feticide and female infanticide leading to a
Some of the initiatives that can be taken would The access to basic urban centres) are in self-dependent petty
professions, distinctly excluded from the services
continued downslide in the sex ratio. A whole
also be opportunities for private sector to develop gamut of issues like early marriage, early
low-carbon energy based technology, which would services in India in a way sector. Doubtlessly a part of historical legacy, their
prove to be long-term solution to the economic
problems as well.
reflects the existing multi- situation has not really improved during the last
sixty years of development..
layered caste system, More than 60% women are
Failure of the Public Services: A New Caste
where each person is While there has been a growing assertion among chronically poor in this country
System in Place the Dalits led by its middle class intellectuals, and
entitled to get the quality of politicians, a similar pattern is yet to emerge and according to the National
A broad look at some of the essential services in among the Tribals and the Muslims on the scale Family Health Survey - III
India will tell us the severely stressed situation services according to his achieved by the Dalits. While there is a positive
(2005-06), almost half the
under which these sectors are right now. The poor
have been constantly hit disproportionately in
or her caste/economic trend of empowerment in the Indian democratic
process. Marginalised people themselves must women suffer from anemia
accessing these services. status. increasingly begin to ask for accountability, both and malnutrition.
8 10
South Asia Regional Vision Strategy Document, Oxfam GB, N. Delhi, 2009 WEF-Global Gender Gap Report 2008, cited in South Asia Regional Vision and Change Strategy Document, Oxfam GB, 2009
9 11
Refer to Children Out of School Report (UNICEF/ UIS) as well as EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007 (UNESCO). Report of the 11th Plan Working Group on Poverty Alleviation Programme, Planning Commission, 2006
18 External Context Analysis: A Tale of Two Indias India Strategy 2010 - 2015 19conception, pressure on girls to give birth to sons, religious discourse restricting women's life choices, large-scale private companies etc through a almost from the beginning of the independence.
dowry and bride burning are in-house their mobility and decision-making abilities. It is this constant extraction of the natural resources leading The causes for the same need to be examined
manifestations of the entrenched patriarchal set of barriers which has been widely recognized, also to large-scale displacement. It has resulted in more closely looking from the people's perspective.
structure. but is yet to be tackled efficiently with different a sustained armed mobilization among these It has led to these regions always being on the boil
contextual nuances. communities often branded as the Naxalite also because of the border disputes with Pakistan,
While there has been considerable focus on the problem, which now affects more than 160 districts China and Bangladesh in particular.
education of the girl child, the 2007 target of the It is in this context that the question of women's of the country. This conflict is not only a result of
gender parity in the classrooms has already been agency becomes paramount. While the debate has socio-economic marginalization but has further led HIV and AIDS
missed by India. Women continue to face now gone on for long, the ways however to to continuing exploitation of the people, often from
discrimination in accessing health rights despite address a woman's agency both inside and outside both the warring sides. State has largely seen it as In India, the impact of HIV and AIDS is not very
selective targeted schemes like Reproductive Child the family have been hard to come by. This is a law and order issue often taking it as a visible due to the low prevalence rate
Health (RCH) and Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY). despite the fact that their emancipatory role has questioning of its own 'undisputed' claim over the (approximately 0.36% as per NACO AIDS
been widely recognized at least on the twin issues natural resources without really addressing it with a prevalence estimate-2006) and a large population.
There has been some progressive movement of lower fertility rate and the better chances of the broader developmental vision. However, 118 districts out of around 600 districts
towards political empowerment of women through child survival (especially the girl child) in the have HIV prevalence of more than 1% among
reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions (ranging family13. The other kind of conflict has been identity based mothers attending ante-natal clinics. This reveals
between one-third to half.) However, a similar conflicts around caste and religion. While it has that HIV infection has taken deep root in India and
move in Parliament has failed to fructify so far in Impact of Conflict and Violence been mentioned above that there has been an poses a threat to the development process. As per
spite of repeated efforts by various governments. assertion of Dalits in the last few decades the National AIDS Control organization (NACO)
The role of conflict as a barrier to socio-economic politically, it has also led to a resistance from the estimates, the people living with HIV in India are
Even in terms of economic empowerment, while progress has been long recognized. Conflicts upper castes, sometimes in the most violent and 2.31 million. Of these 88.7% are in the most
women continue to do bulk of the work, yet they impoverish people by pushing the societies out of brutal manner. Caste-based atrocities continue in productive age group (15-49) and 60% of them
often remain deprived of economic remuneration or the development track. Unfortunately, large-scale different parts of the country ranging from Bihar, come from rural India. The growing number of
even a formal acknowledgement of their conflicts have continued to erupt frequently in Maharashtra to Punjab. women at risk is another factor which needs to be
contribution. They remain without any control over various regions of the country. They are results of recognised as the 'feminine' face of the epidemic.
assets and largely form the casual, informal and both the socio-historical legacy of India as a nation A more menacing form of identity-based conflict
hence the most exploited labour force of the state and the kind of development paradigm that has been the one based on religion, mainly Apart from the mounting human costs, the
country. has continued to keep certain sections of the between Hindus and Muslims but also between epidemic threatens to wipe out the economic and
people on the margins. Hindus and Christians, Hindus and Sikhs at development gains of the past decades. A study
International conventions like CEDAW (Convention different historical junctures. While the partition of conducted by United Nations Development
on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination One of the major forms of this conflict has been 1947 did leave a legacy of continued mistrust Programme (UNDP) reveals that HIV will have an
Against Women), Beijing Platform for Action witnessed in the pockets of severe stress i.e. the among these identities, it has taken newer forms overbearing impact over the next decade on
(BPFA) and Millennium Development Goals extreme poor states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, and unprecedented heights in the last few economic growth and livelihood of the people, in
(MDGs) have led to successive policy formulations parts of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and decades. Hence, even as Gujarat is seen as the the absence of remedial policy action. The HIV
at the national level with a focus on state Chhattisgarh. These are the states which are also model of economic development, large-scale epidemic in India is likely to bring down the
accountability to uphold women's rights. Such partially or largely Tribal dominated isolated massacres of Muslims in 2002 and Kandhamal average GDP growth rate during 2001-2003 to
strategies mostly focus on legislative and policy terrains which have not really tasted any fruit of massacre of Tribal Christians in Orissa (a relatively 2015-2016 by one per cent. Another study
reform in the area of women's access to justice development. If at all, it has been a bitter fruit in the poor state) in 2008, are two faces of the same conducted by National Council for Applied
VAW (Violence Against Women), support services, form of continued exploitation by the state, large coin. In both these instances, while a Economic Research for NACO in 2005 argues that
political leadership (quota in local and national and middle level land holders, private contractors, contextualized material politics is at the root of over the 14-year period between 2002-03 and
government), overall budgetary allocations for these massacres, they are also a part of broader 2015-16, “economic growth could decline by 0.86
women related issues, and legislation around national divisions which have continued to wreck percentage points over this period and per capita
'family' laws (marriage, divorce, inheritance etc).
12
The major forms of conflict this nation. gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.55 percentage
points, if the spread of HIV goes unchecked in
The other set of attempts have been to facilitate
has been witnessed in the What is important to note, however, in all these India.”
economic empowerment of women through access pockets of severe stress instances is that in most of the cases once again it
to basic services, economic opportunities and is the most marginalized communities like Dalits,
other allied services. While the state accountability i.e. the extreme poor Tribals and Muslims who have been at the Drivers of Change
and provision of economic opportunities could be
seen as an effective strategy in general,
states of Bihar, Jharkhand, receiving end. It underlines the need for a
comprehensive strategy of development which also All the participants in the development process ,
discrimination against women is a more complex Orissa, parts of Andhra takes into account the social fissures as much as namely the state, civil society, private sector and
phenomenon where a set of other factors too play the economic ones.
their role. For example, family and society at large
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh the media have their role to play in accelerating
change. In this sense, they are the drivers of
play a crucial role very often packaged through a and Chhattisgarh. On a different level, continued conflict in North-east changes both in the short-term and the long-term.
and Kashmir is also part of a historical legacy
12
This analysis is borrowed from Oxfam GB's South Asia Regional Vision and Change Strategy Document, 2009
13
Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom, Oxford University Press, N. Delhi, 2005
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