The Trend of Economic status in India

Kailienlal Zagen *

Since time immemorial the economic condition of the region has changed with time and space. The state of poverty or wealth is not given by nature as Gandhiji stated that there was enough for every one's need in this world but not enough for every one's greed.

Poverty or wealth is made by man in the process of development. There was no poverty in the beginning even though people in such societies had fewer goods. According to Sahlins, poverty is the product of the kind of relationship human beings establish among themselves.

Colonialism introduced growth, wealth, breakthrough in science and technology, and at the same time it gives education, religion, subjugation, misery, disease, famines, etc.

People in the areas of the world such as North America, South America, Africa, etc. lived happily in a certain standard of living till the Europeans landed and started a relationship where the former indigenous populations most of whom were converted into subjugated population and many of them as slaves produced affluence for the populations of the west Europeans countries misery and poverty for themselves.

The worker who produced wealth received that much only for their survival and had little or no right over which they produced. They were made to understand that the customs, practices and religion of their societies were inferior. This is the beginning of unequal ideology between the aborigines and the colonialists.

The tussles between the two sides continued on till the 1950's of Indian Independence. After Independent, India plunge into a policy of planned development through Five year Plans. Slowly and continuously in these plans, program of poverty alleviation goes on experimenting with a variety of strategies.

Contrary to all these efforts, many people in this Country are very poor. In 1969 Galbriath outlined the following factors which were considered to be probable causes of poverty:
1) The People are poor because they prefer it that way.
2) The country is naturally poor.
3) The country is poor because of colonial oppression.
4) Poverty is the consequence of class exploitation.
5) Poverty is caused by insufficient capital.
6) Over population is the cause of poverty.
7) Poverty is caused by incompetent policy.
8) Poverty is caused by ignorance.

He came to conclude that poverty was not caused by a single factor but was a product of the plurality of causes which may vary from country to country depending upon the historical antecedents and culture of the country. He pronounced that the convenient remedies have to be avoided.

He said that it was easy to provide seeds and fertilizers but it was difficult to bring land reforms. It was easier to install a steel plant but to impart elementary education to all was an altogether a different task. His final conclusion was that illiteracy was number one cause of poverty.

Dr. Manmohan Singh announced in the Parliament, later also on TV as part of the election Manifesto of his party, that the proportion of the poor has been brought down to 19 per cent as a result of the policy of liberalization followed by his government.

Mehta writes, "The choice of a dramatic decline of the poverty level to 19 per cent of the population is highly controversial." Real wages for unskilled agricultural workers too declined in 1994-95.

According to Economic Times, real wages of farm workers in 1994-95 fell by 2.5 per cent. Increase in GDP in itself does not automatically reduce poverty as is assumed by the reformer's lobby. The distribution of growth is neither fair nor equitable in India.

This is further shown by the fact that the prices of essential articles of consumption have been rose to a higher rate than prices in general. This hurts the vulnerable sections of the population most cruelly. In the issue of Mainstream, Prasad had demonstrated that the real income of the wretched 245 million workers has been falling by 7.5 per cent. It is obvious that the statement of Manmohan Singh about the number of the people below the poverty line is not acceptable.

There is no attempt to systematically empower and activate the community for equitable and just development. It also required for the community to understand what are their responsibility, power and pitfall in their work.

They are to be properly educated and made to realize what the sources of its problem are, what is sustainable and what is not, and so on. They should emphasize on individual solution as well. This will let the structure and ideology remains the same but allow some individuals to cross the threshold of poverty.