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Showing posts from November, 2013

Gujarat population falling under highly vulnerable category shows upward trend

By Rajiv Shah  Vulnerability to climate change in Gujarat remains a worrying policy issue for the state. A new study has found that there has been a sharp rise in the highly vulnerable areas in Gujarat over the last two decades.  A recent research work, which has still not caught public eye, “Analysis of Vulnerability Indices in Various Agro-Climatic Zones of Gujarat”, published in Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics (January-March 2013), should send alarming signals to the state policy makers, seeking to address disaster management issues in Gujarat. Prepared by a Junagarh Agricultural University scholar Deepa B Hiremath in association with a senior faculty, RL Shiyani, the study has found that, over the last two decades, not only has the number of districts under “highly vulnerable” category has gone from three (Panchmahals, Surat and Ahmedabad) to six (Surendrangar, Rajkot, Bharuch, Banaskantha Mehsana and Sabarkantha). Worse, Ahmedabad is now one of the two districts categori

Condition of Muslims in India, Gujarat worse than other communities: Data

By Rajiv Shah  A recent Gujarat government affidavit says that as non-Muslim minorities’ plight was not considered by the Sachar Committee, it is “unconstitutional”. First, this is factually incorrect. And secondly, latest data suggest Muslims in India generally fall in the category of backward sections of population, and other minorities are much better off.  In a recent affidavit to the Supreme Court, the Gujarat government has said that “the Sachar Committee is neither constitutional nor statutory.” Explaining its position, it insisted, the committee “has not taken into consideration other religious communities, i.e. Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Parsis. Therefore, it cannot form the basis of the scheme.” It added, “The committee’s target was to help the Muslims only.” The affidavit was the Gujarat government’s response to the Government of India’s (GoI’s) stand on Gujarat’s refusal to implement the pre-matriculation minority scholarship scheme. Gujarat moved the apex court again

Gujarat’s coastline may become more vulnerable as sea levels rise: ISRO report

By Rajiv Shah  Gujarat’s coast is back in news, but for wrong reasons. A new ISRO report for the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, has found adverse impact on mangroves due to industrial activity along the sea coast. A rise in the sea level may further adversely impact the coastal area, it adds.  A new report by the Space Application Centre (SAC), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Ahmedabad, called “Coastal Zones of India”, has suggested Gujarat – which has the longest coastline in India, of 1,600 km – is becoming increasingly vulnerable because of industrial activity along the coast, on one hand, and rise in the sea level, on the other. Signs of vulnerability can already be visible, with Gujarat becoming one of the four states where there has been “considerable decrease in mangrove vegetations”, other states being Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. On the other hand, the report reveals, “Significant increase in the mangrove area has been noticed for

Majority of Gujarat electorate don’t think voting is their right or duty: EC Survey

By Rajiv Shah  A recent survey, carried out under the auspices of the Election Commission of India’s Gujarat office, has found that, despite a high voter turnout, the electorate are generally indifferent towards the political process. A counterview.org report: The Knowledge, Attitude, Behaviour, Belief and Practices (KABBP) survey, carried out this year by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Gujarat State, has revealed clear voter indifference in the political process, with only 37.42 per cent of the voters saying that “voting is their right and duty”. The survey was carried out in two phases – first in February 2013 and then in June-August 2013 – as part of the Election Commission of India’s (ECI’s) Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiative with the aim to find out how successful have various interventions been “for increased electoral participation in Gujarat”, even as identifying “possible factors and reasons of the (voters’) participat

Unequal growth, regional imbalance adversely affect Gujarat tribal population

By Rajiv Shah  The study of tribes is generally a domain of social anthropologists and sociologists. In a rare attempt, a group of social scientists, many of them economists, mainly Gujarat-based, have come together to publish a book on how economic development has affected tribals in the state.  The new book, “Tribal Development in Western India”, edited by Amita Shah and Jharna Pathak (Routledge, 2014), not only reinforces the existing view that the tribal population of Gujarat, as elsewhere in the country, lags behind its non-tribal counterpart, especially in human development index (HDI), as found reflected in their poor health and educational indices. The book simultaneously suggests that, despite the hype around projects like Van Kalyan Yojna (VKY), announced by the state government to alleviate the Gujarat tribals’ plight during the 11th Five-Year-Plan (2007-12), they remain victims of unequal distribution of basic infrastructural facilities, on one hand, and low wages (leading

Sardar Patel’s worldview was rooted in secular outlook, but supported existing values

By Rajiv Shah  With efforts by politicians of all hues to claim the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the wake of efforts by some in Gujarat to provide him the “highest” iconic stature by building the world’s tallest statue in his name, time appears to have come to find out his worldview. He has gone down in the history as “Iron Man”, mainly for accomplishing the task of integrating 562 princely states at the turn of India’s Independence. Yet, scholars find the task of understanding the Sardar’s outlook as difficult, as, unlike Mahatma Gandhi, scanty material is available in the form of his writings on what he really thought on contentious issues of religion, communal strife and casteism. They have gauged his worldview on the basis of his and his supporters’ actions. At least two studies – one by writer-journalist Urvish Kothari highlighting the Sardar’s views on the communal question, and the other by sociologist Prof Ghanshyam Shah on caste and social order – do suggest where the

Gujarat lags behind 10 major states in providing financial services to its population

By Rajiv Shah  There is a commonplace view that, as far as finance is concerned, Gujarat is at the very top. Believing this to be a factor not to be ignored, in 2007, Gujarat’s policy makers decided on an international finance city in the state — the Gujarat International Finance Tec-city (GIFT). However, a recent study by India’s foremost corporate rating agency, Crisil, suggests that penetration of finance among Gujarat’s population is below average. Called “Crisil Inclusix: An index to measure India’s progress on Financial Inclusion”, the study indicates that financial inclusion, a “key enabler of economic and social development”, is still relatively poor in Gujarat, which ranks No 18th among Indian states, with a rating of 38.6 on a scale of 100 as against the national average of 40.1. The Crisil study says, “In India, where a large section of the population still lives outside the ambit of formal financial services, the need to focus on inclusion is of paramount importance.” Worki

Ignoring untouchability: Gujarat govt-sponsored study's casual approach

Following is the critique , of the Gujarat government-sponsored CEPT University report, “Impact of Caste Discrimination and Distinctions on Equal Opportunities: A Study of Gujarat”, prepared with the intention to underplay instances of untouchability identified in everyday life in Gujarat’s rural society in an NGO survey. Well-known sociologist Prof Ghanshyam Shah [1] argues how the report follows those seeking to legitimize the hierarchical chaturvarna social order and provide credence to harmony or samras in rural society: *** Navsarjan, an NGO working among the Dalits for over two decades, has waged several struggles against the practice of untouchability. Currently it functions in more than 3,084 villages, against discrimination and for the improvement of the economic conditions of Dalits i.e. oppressed. It works towards a more democratic and egalitarian social order. Towards the same mission, Navsarjan has documented its struggles for land rights and justice, against atrocities