Frinds,
A number of articles has been appearing in newspapers based on the
world bank report on Bihar. I am sending this for those who may not
have got the time to read the world bank report on Bihar. I wonder if
some of us could come up with a critique of the report, I have not
seen any critical article except one by Girish Mishra in Jansatta. It
would be good if some of us could try a critique of the write-up.
Regards,
Vagish
Bihar Dalits thrice as poor as upper castes
By Imran Khan, Indo-Asian News Service

Patna, Aug 5 (IANS) Dalits are likely to be three times poorer than
upper castes in Bihar, says a World Bank report, underlining that
poverty in the state is still deeply rooted in the centuries-old caste
system.

"In Bihar, despite decades of efforts on the part of successive
governments, the SC/STs (Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes or Dalits)
are likely to be around three times poorer than the upper castes and
appreciably poorer than other backward castes and Muslims," says the
report.

Dalits who are at the bottom of the caste hierarchy constitute around
15 percent of the state's population of 83 million.

"A critical aspect of poverty in Bihar is that of caste or social
identity, whose impact cuts across all dimensions," says the report
titled "Bihar: Towards a Development Strategy".

"SC/ST households, for instance, are not only significantly poorer
than the rest of the population but are also more likely to be
marginal landholders, working as agricultural labour and illiterate,"
the report states.

According to the report, per capita household expenditure and land
ownership of SC/STs was significantly lower than that of the non
SC/STs in both urban and rural areas in 1999-2000, and the gap has
remained virtually unchanged since 1993-94.

"SC/ST households are almost three times more likely to be landless
than others," it said.

The report says a number of factors account for the gap in living
standards between SC/STs and the majority of households. One is Dalits
are less likely to own much land or have much education.

More than 70 percent of household heads from SC/STs were illiterate in
1999-2000, as compared to about half the household heads from other
social groups.

Similarly, job opportunities for them tended to be restricted to
low-paid jobs as around 60 percent of them were engaged in
agricultural labour compared to only 30 percent in the case of other
households.

The World Bank has said the abject poverty in rural Bihar, where
almost 87 percent of the state's population lives, is a result of low
landholding among its people.

In the case of Dalits, primary school enrolment is also lower than for
the rest of the population. The differences become larger for higher
age categories as the initial gap in school entry is exacerbated by
lower school retention rates among SC/STs.

The 2001 census shows Bihar's literacy level as India's lowest, at 48
percent, compared to 65 percent in the rest of the country.

--Indo-Asian News Service