The study’s findings–published by the World Inequality Lab–also found that this wealth inequality in India has shown no signs of reduction in recent years. The richest 10% hold about 65% of the total wealth, and the top 1% about 40%, the report said.

In terms of income inequality, the top 10% of earners receive about 58% of national income, it said. The bottom 50% get only 15%. The income gap between the top 10% and the bottom 50% remained stable between 2014 and 2024, according to the report.

The average annual income in India was about 6,200 euros, or Rs 6.49 lakh approximately, per capita on a purchasing power parity basis. Purchasing power parity is an economic tool that compares the value of different currencies by measuring what the same amount of money can buy in different countries. The average wealth stands at about 28,000 euros on a purchasing power parity basis.

The female labour participation was “very low” at 15.7% and had shown no improvement over the past decade, the report said.

“Overall, inequality in India remains deeply entrenched across income, wealth and gender dimensions, highlighting persistent structural divides within the economy,” it added.

Inequality outlook for India. Source: World Inequality Report 2026

Global trends

Globally, wealth has reached historic highs, but remains, like India, “very unevenly distributed”, the report said. The report noted that the top 0.001%, which is fewer than 60,000 multimillionaires, owns three times more wealth than the entire bottom 50% of humans put together.

Within almost every region of the world, the top 1% alone hold more wealth than the bottom 90% combined, it added. The report added that the global financial system continues to be rigged in favour of the rich countries. Ricardo Gómez-Carrera, the lead author of the report, stated that inequality is “silent until it becomes scandalous”.

“This report gives voice to inequality – and to the billions of people whose opportunities are frustrated by today’s unequal social and economic structures,” Gómez-Carrera added.

The World Inequality Report was launched in 2018. Third edition, published on Wednesday, was released in the context of South Africa’s presidency of the Group of 20 in November, which highlighted two crises: the explosion of global inequalities and the weakening of multilateralism, the analysis said.

The report explores the new dimensions of inequality defining the 21st century, such as climate, gender inequalities, unequal access to human capital, asymmetries in the global financial system and territorial divides that are reshaping democracies.

Figure 2.7 provides a geographic breakdown of global income groups in 1980 and 2025, highlighting how the composition of top earners and other groups has shifted over time. In 1980, the global elite was overwhelmingly concentrated in North America & Oceania and Europe, which together accounted for most of the world’s top income groups. Latin America also had some presence near the top, but China and India were almost entirely confined to the bottom half of the distribution. At that time, China had virtually no presence among the global elite, while India, Asia in general, and Sub-Saharan Africa were heavily concentrated in the very lowest percentiles.

Interpretation. These graphs show the geographical breakdown of global income groups. Between 1980 and 2025, the global income distribution has shifted, with China gaining presence in the middle and upper−middle percentiles, while Europe and North America & Oceania’s dominance in top income groups has declined, but it is still large. In 1980, 1% of the world’s top 1% income group were Chinese residents. By 2025, this figure increased to 5%. This highlights the growing global share of China and the diversification of the global elite.

Sources and series: Chancel et al. (2022) and wir2026.wid.world/methodology.

Figure 2.9 turns to the middle 40%, often considered the backbone of the middle class. Here the contrasts are equally stark. In the most unequal settings, especially in Latin America and parts of Africa, the middle 40% receive as little as 23–35% of income, reflecting a fragile middle class. By contrast, in Europe and parts of North America & Oceania, this group’s share rises to 44–50%, making them central to national income distribution. Asia shows both ends of the spectrum: India’s middle 40% remains in the lower levels, while China’s earns a larger share.

Related:

One percent of Indians own 58% of country’s wealth: Oxfam inequality report

Journalist cannot cover the labour beat without questioning extreme inequality- P Sainath

Tax Justice proposal: what are leading economists proposing on Wealth Redistribution in India

The post In India, Wealth Inequality among highest in the world, top 1% holds 40% wealth: Study appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The area called Jai Bhim Nagar witnessed a brutal demolition undertaken under the supervision of the police and municipal corporation officials. Armed with JCBs, cranes, and other heavy machinery, the officials entered the area without warning and started the demolition of homes.

This operation was conducted in a hasty manner; many residents were unable to save their personal belongings and valuables. Scores of people even reportedly lost their valuable documents in the process as they were not allowed to enter the area.  Many locals have claimed that the demolitions took place due to certain builders, though there is little clarity on the official’s motivations. NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad has asked why private bouncers were present at the demolition.

Furthermore, there have been no resettlement or rehabilitation related arrangements made for the displaced residents. The demolition did not just leave scores of families homeless but also destroyed their personal and essential property leaving them homeless. Indian Express reported that the residents had protested the demolition, and had invoked Dr B R Ambedkar when the police came. The colony reportedly housed over 500-600 ‘jhuggies.’

However, the demolition did not just lead to displaced residents but also saw reports of harrowing violence and arrests. Children and the elderly were especially affected. Several videos circulating on social media have shown police officers beating residents, including children and the elderly. As per reports, about 66 and 75 people have been arrested and detained in Byculla and Taloja jails.

A Government Resolution (GR) issued by the state explicitly mentions that no ‘jhuggi; or house, regardless of whether it is on government or private land, can be demolished between June 1 and September 30 due to the monsoon season.  Despite this clear order, the recent demolition in Jai Bhim Nagar has taken place, leaving many homeless at a time when Mumbai’s weather will also be at its most difficult for displaced people.

The police have justified these arrests by alleging that the people were involved in stone-pelting incidents. However, residents allege that the violence was provoked by goons hired by a builder who had vested interests in the demolition.

Meanwhile, civic officials have stated that the structures were erected illegally and conveyed that the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) had directed the removal of these structures. According to them, notices were served to the slum-dwellers on June 1.

On June 9th, a peaceful protest was taken out by civil society organisations, activists, and citizens of the Jai Bhim Nagar Powai Rescue Committee at Jai Bhim Nagar to protest what they say are illegal demolitions carried out by the BMC.

They raised three crucial demands which include the demand for resettlement for all residents or the return of land rebuilding their homes. Secondly, they have also asked that compensation be given to the people for the damages caused by the police during the demolition, and lastly, they have asked that all charges against those detained and arrested be withdrawn.

Sabrang India reported, narratives from the ground, saying that they also demand strict action against the MCGM and police officers responsible for the demolition which is violation of the state government’s GR. “We call for an investigation into the role of a builder in inciting violence and hiring private bouncers to act on behalf of the state. If our demands are not met, we will continue our ongoing struggle.”

Related:

 6 victims of demolition get compensation of Rs. 30 lakhs from Assam government

BJP MLA Nitesh Rane leads Hindutva Rally in Govandi, demands demolition of “illegal Masjids and Madrasa”

Govandi slum demolition: Temporary halt after protests outside BMC office by residents, those rendered homeless to rebuild their homes at the same site

The post Mumbai: Hundreds of people displaced after demolitions in Jai Bhim Nagar appeared first on SabrangIndia.

They were settled here on the land of a few big landowners and due to their isolation and illiteracy, they were easily neglected by the authorities (except at election time, they say) and could not assert their rights either. Hence even now hardly any child here goes to school and most of the welfare programs do not reach them.

They are entirely landless people with no farmland owned by any of them and no land leased either. In fact they do not have their land rights properly recorded even in the context of their meager housing and they could face the threat of eviction. This is despite the government promise of housing land for all rural families.

Their livelihood base remains highly precarious. Their traditional livelihood was to repair some kitchen implements like silbatta while going from village to village. No one can survive on this alone now but they have not been able to get reasonably paid or assured payment farm work or NREGA work (except for a short recent spell for which wage was awaited at the time of our visit). Due to the insecurity of their housing, they cannot go to far-away places as migrant workers. So the only option is to spend Rs. 50 or so to go to the nearest city of Banda early on morning of any given day. If the person is lucky to get picked up from the place where daily wage workers gather, then after a very hard day’s work he returns at night with an average earning of Rs. 400, if he cannot get work he returns disappointed after losing Rs. 50 on just coming and going.

People live from day to day with hardly anything to fall back upon and as they explained, no work can often mean no food also. During the recent Covid times when even precarious earning opportunities were disrupted entirely, people say that they were actually on the verge of dying from hunger till suddenly help came from an unexpected source.

Vidyadham Samiti is a voluntary organization which has been working on many-sided aspects of justice in Banda district. As Covid related distress increased in several villages of its work, Vidyadham Samiti (VS) started mobilizing as much grain and other food from various sources to rush this to distressed communities. In the course of this work, VS volunteers heard about the acute distress in Rajaram Ka Purva and came here to see things for themselves. As the founder coordinator of VS Raja Bhaiya says, “What we saw was alarming and we decided to give the people here priority attention.” People here told us that the food arranged by VS turned out to be a life-saver for them.

Since then VS was looking for an opportunity to work on a more durable basis for the welfare of the people of this neglected and isolated hamlet, and this became available in the form of a project of the Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR). Although this project has been operational for only about 7 months or so, within this short period so much has happened that has given new hope to the people living here.

When VS started working here, apart from their housing conditions being precarious, the people here did not have job cards, or ration cards, and their names were not recorded for housing schemes or other welfare schemes. Hence there was a basic problem of identity in accessing any benefits of government schemes or even ensuring security of their hamlet.

Now a mobilization process started in the community, culminating in a 5-day protest including a protest fast which was well-covered in the local media. This created the desire ripple to bring the concerned officials to the neglected hamlet for the first time. Job cards were prepared to enable people to seek work in rural employment works under NREGA. The process of preparing ration cards and income certification was started. The names of people here were sent for approval of housing scheme as they should get high priority inclusion in this scheme due to the highly precarious nature of their present housing.

A new village path has been constructed to provide better access to this hamlet and help in ending its isolation. Till children can start going to a proper government school, a school within the hamlet has been started with the hamlet’s only high school student Sagar teaching the children in evening. At the time of our visit, the assembled children were delighted at the prospects of the Independence Day celebration to be held next day along with distribution of sweets, and insisted that we should come again tomorrow.

So much has been happening recently that the villagers are full of hope regarding the possibilities of future. Similar is the situation in about 20 other villages where VS started implementing this short-term project of FGHR which everyone here hopes can continue for a longer period. Apart from taking up the more specific problems of various villages, what is common to the efforts made in these villages has been to set up community education centers in various villages where on the one hand students from remote villages get a better chance to resolve their problems and perform better at schools, and on the other hand children who have dropped out or are at risk of dropping out can get help for re-joining school. As Mobina, an activist of VS says, efforts to make education more interesting as well as simple are made simultaneously. A community education committee seeks to ensure that the village school, its mid-day meal component and other aspects are functioning properly.

At the same time, groups of adolescent girls which on the one help the work of community education center ( a member of a group of adolescent girl group or kishori samooh can be a member of an education center too) and on the other hand the group also helps girls to avoid child marriage or marriage at too early an age, at the same time increasing the prospects of their education, health and overall well-being.

Women’s groups use united action to resist any causes of domestic or sexual violence. Women who have been victims of molestation have been helped to avoid any further harassment and to get justice including actions against culprits and compensatory payment which can exceed one hundred thousand Rs. in a single case.

Similarly any cases of injustice or atrocity against anyone particularly the poorest sections of society, actions to avoid further harassment and to secure justice for them are initiated by VS activists in cooperation with communities. On the 30^th  of every month a public hearing called Chingari Chaupal is organized at the VS office to hear various cases of injustice and to discuss and initiate the remedial actions that can be taken.

How various government welfare schemes can be best used for the welfare of the weakest sections has been one of the most urgent concerns of the VS. Its activists of various previous programs are well-trained in this work. A companion women’s organization called Chingari has been playing an important role in this as well in actions against various injustices. These experienced activists have made an important contribution in the success of the work taken up more recently in Mahuwa and Bisanda blocks contributing to bringing new hope within a short time of about 7 to 8 months.

Bharat Dogra is a journalist

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

The post Protecting Human Rights of the Most Deprived People appeared first on SabrangIndia.

This public interest litigation (PIL) was filed citing 11 such children, four of whom were either severely malnourished (SAM) or acutely malnourished (MAM) and was brought to the attention of the Court. After detailed affidavits and responses, the Court has not just underlined that government schemes to mitigate malnourishment and hunger should be inclusive but sought commitments from the Union of India (Women and Child Welfare Department-WCD) and state government that sincere efforts would be made to reduce these malaises and government schemes would be proactively made available.

The Order was delivered on May 18, 2023 and the matter has been listed on August 1, 2023.

A public interest litigation filed before the court dealt with severe malnutrition of children that emerged in Danagadi Block in the district of Jaipur which brought to notice the non-coverage of PDS and NFSA. In its Order, the court observed that it is a fact that there are still several poor and vulnerable people in the country who do not possess an Aadhaar card or mobile number and these people cannot be excluded from availing the benefits of the welfare schemes which are meant to cater to the needs of the poorest and vulnerable sections of the society.

The court while suspecting the exclusion of some vulnerable people from PDS or NFSA directed the Department of Women and Child Development to ensure that the coverage of these schemes is increased progressively every year which can take place only when there are systems in place that incentivise ‘inclusion’ rather than ‘exclusion’.

Pertinently, the Court sharply observed that human lives and health of persons, especially children should not be measured as cold statistics and percentages alone but by acknowledging that they are actual persons.

To have in Odisha in 2023 nearly 30,000 SAM and 86,000 MAM children is a cause for alarm not just for the State of Odisha but for the Government of India as well. If one were to understand the national percentages of 2.26% SAM and 4.75% MAM on a 1.8 billion population, and translate them into actual numbers, the severity of problem would become evident.

Facts of the Case

One child, Subhalaxmi Tarai, who was suffering from cerebral palsy and secondary malnutrition had died. Records suggest that young Subhalaxmi Tarai had been abandoned by her family. She was found dead on April 20, 2023. According to the affidavit filed by the Collector of the district, thereto, ASHA health activist of the area is supposed to have visited the child on two dates in January and one date in February, 2023. The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakrama (RBSK) team is also said to have visited her.

The finding that “as she was suffering from cerebral palsy, she could neither move nor inform the neighbours of the plight” is a pointer to the fact that here is a “a child in need of attention, who is unable to get it despite the existence of a plethora of schemes both at the level of the Central Government and the State Government which will be referred to hereafter,” observed the Court. (Paras 2, 3)

Another child who also died, Arjun Hembram, whose name, does not find mention’ in the records of the Mobile Health Team (MHT). “This,” observed the High Court, “is a pointer to the fact that there could still be families and children, who are not covered by the schemes. The fact is that these are all children in the age group of 0 to 6 years and belong to tribal community and the poorest sections of the society.” (Para 4)

The Court cautioned one Mr Pandey, Secretary to the Women & Child Development (WCD) ministry in the Union government that

“…Human lives and health of persons, especially children should not be measured as cold statistics and percentages alone but by acknowledging that they are actual persons. To have in Odisha in 2023 nearly 30,000 SAM and 86,000 MAM children is a cause for alarm not just for the State of Odisha but for the Government of India as well. If one were to understand the national percentages of 2.26% SAM and 4.75% MAM on a 1.8 billion population, and translate them into actual numbers, the severity of problem would become evident.”

The Court impressed upon Mr. Pandey that at the level of Government of India, it has to be ensured that the coverage under the schemes is increased progressively year after year and that can only happen if there are systems put in place that incentivise ‘inclusion’ rather than ‘exclusion’. “

For e.g., the failure to possess an Aadhaar Card or a mobile phone or a proper ‘identity’ paper of a particular kind can result in a child or a family being denied the basic support in terms of food and supplements which are so essential for basic survival. The absence of these documents cannot become obstacles to availing the benefits under the schemes.” (Para 7) 

A fact that emerged in course of deliberations before the Odisha High Court during the hearing of the PIL, was that even in a district like Jajpur in Odisha the coverage of the population by public distribution system (PDS) under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) is not ‘universal’. Discussions in the court discussion threw up expressions like ‘allocation’ and ‘vacancies’ pointing to the fact that there might be sections of our society, and this includes the most vulnerable, who may not be covered under the PDS system. Since the distribution of nutritional supplements and rations happens only through the PDS, there is every likelihood that a child or an expectant mother in a family in need of such supplements and rations may not receive them.

This, therefore, points to a larger problem of the coverage attempted to be achieved by the NFSA. This also shows that the absence of pending ‘applications’ for coverage under the PDS in a particular district may not explain how many people there are in actual need of such rations and supplements for their children, who may be either in the SAM or MAM categories. What compounds this issue further is that all the statistics are projected on the basis of 2011 census and not on the actual figures on the ground as of 2023. Therefore, the number of persons ‘excluded’ from the coverage of all the schemes could be much larger than what is projected in these affidavits. This is a matter for reflection both by the Government of India and the State of Odisha when they sit down to address the issue of gaps in the implementation of the schemes. (Para 9)

In its judgement, “the Court impressed upon Mr. Pandey that at the level of the Government of India, it has to be ensured that the coverage under the schemes is increased progressively year after year and that can only happen if there are systems put in place that incentivise ‘inclusion’ rather than ‘exclusion’. For e.g., the failure to possess an Aadhaar Card or a mobile phone or a proper ‘identity’ paper of a particular kind can result in a child or a family being denied the basic support in terms of food and supplements which are so essential for basic survival. The absence of these documents cannot become obstacles to availing the benefits under the schemes. (Para 10)

The Collector, Jajpur had stated in court on affidavit that no person in Jajpur district in Odisha has been denied any ration only because such person does not possess an Aadhaar card or a mobile phone. The Secretary, WCD Department, Odisha confirmed that this was the position elsewhere in Odisha too. The Court is of the considered view that given the unfortunate happenings in the Danagadi Block in Jajpur district spoken of in the petition, this needs to be made abundantly clear at both the State level as well as the National level since this welfare schemes are meant to cater to the needs of the most vulnerable and poor sections of our society who cannot be excluded on any ground including the lack of an Aadhaar Card or a mobile phone. The fact is that there are still several poor and vulnerable individuals, in the State of Odisha and in the country, who may not possess either. (Para 11)

Responding to the Collector, Jajpur’s stand that families of Scheduled Tribes are “not willing to have their children treated at the public health facilities and it requires great persuasion and sometimes even coercion to get them to have their children, who are obviously in the SAM and MAM categories, treated at the CHCs or DHHs. This points to the fact that more active efforts would have to be made by the Tribal Welfare Department to spread awareness of the existence of the schemes and to convince the tribal populations that they are intended to positively benefit them and their children. (Para 15)

Commitments have been given by both Commissioner-cum-Secretary, WCD Department and the Collector, Jajpur have stated that concerted efforts will be made to ensure that there is a progressive reduction in the numbers of children falling in the SAM and MAM category in the immediate short term i.e. in the next two months and those efforts will be kept up to ensure that there is no child in the SAM category in the near future in Odisha. (Para 16).

Other districts of Odisha also suffer from chronic malnutrition. While this PIL has highlighted the alarming situation concerning SAM and MAM children in the Danagadi and Sukinda Blocks in Jajpur district in Odisha, figures made available by the GOI’s WCD Department it appears that in Keonjhar district there are 2,820 children in the SAM category that require immediate attention.

The High Court through this Order therefore extended the scope of the present petition to include Keonjhar district as well and the Collector and the CDMO, Keonjhar have been directed to undertake visits to the Blocks in Keonjhar district in the next one month to ascertain for themselves the factual position regarding children in the SAM and MAM categories, but not stop at that. Just like the Collector, Jajpur has been able to identify the broader category of ‘vulnerable’ children and has undertaken to also identify the category of ‘vulnerable women’. Thereafter joint reports have to be submitted before the Court says the judgement also flagging the issue of ‘universal’ coverage under the PDS.

The High Court has also highlighted the fact that other departments like the apart from the  WCD Department are involved and SME Department, the Health and Family Welfare Department and the Tribal Welfare Department too should work together on the issue including also with Food and Civil Supplies, hold a review meeting within one month of the order, draw in participation of the Odisha Child Rights Commission too. (Para 17)

Case Title: Mantu Das v. Union of India & Ors.

Related

Aadhaar number mandatory to get govt benefits, subsidies: UIDAI

What does the UIDAI’s flip-flop on Aadhaar mean?

SC directs Aadhaar cards be issued to sex workers without insisting on the residential proof

The post ‘Don’t deny govt welfare schemes if people don’t have Aadhaar cards or mobile nos,’ Orissa HC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

People in some parts of Delhi rushed to take shelter as hailstones rained down when an unexpected storm raged through the city and left a blanket of cold white pebbles. In another part of the same city real stones were pelted at the gate of municipal school now functioning as a Delhi government’s ration distribution centre, by the hungry who were disappointed that they would not get any grain that day.



According to a report in The Indian Express the ‘stone pelting’ was done by people waiting at West Delhi’s Prem Nagar municipal school when they discovered that food grain was not being distributed on Thursday. Most people who collect rations, or cooked food being distributed by the Delhi Government at different schools around the city, land up early and wait in queue for their turn. They only know the timing of the food distribution and do not have a way of getting an update in the schedule if any. And that is what supposedly happened at this school. There was a change in schedule, which according to the  school’s principal, Mahavir Gupta had been pasted on the wall. However, the hungry do not always have the inclination or energy to look out for updates. They just come, and wait in the blazing sun, or dust storm, or rain, and hope to get enough food to survive another day under the current circumstances.

“Ration distribution was not to be done today as Thursday was reserved for paperwork. We had posted a note at the gate. For the past three days,” the principal has been quoted as saying. He also told the IE that ration supplies were not available, but even the  fresh stock that came on Wednesday evening will be distributed Friday onwards. Those waiting in line however, were too agitated by then and after arguments pelted stones. The school authorities called the Police to control the situation.

The deployment of uniformed policemen at the spot must have diffused the situation quickly, as no other incidents were reported from that area. As expected the Delhi government spokesperson told the reporter that the matter will be examined and that they will “ensure appropriate supplies reach the centre immediately.”

So far, the government has provided ration to around 25 lakh people not holding PDS cards through the e-coupon system in the first round. Around 71 lakh PDS beneficiaries have also been provided their share of allotment. We will begin the second round of disbursal for non-PDS beneficiaries in the next few days.”

This is not a stray incident, things have flared up, though perhaps not to this extent, and arguments have ensued when people waiting for food discover that the supplies are not enough or have been delayed. “We have to wait for hours to get some food. I go stand in line if I do not get any savaari (fares), if I am working then I do not get this food, but I get some money to buy my next meal” said Guru, a rickshaw puller explaining his balancing act. “This food is for everyone, you should come in time and wait in line, and bring your own bartan (container),” said Seema, a housemaid who was on her way to collect cooked meals at a local government school when we met her on Friday.  

Another man, a vegetable vendor who would rather work than wait to get his ration says he does not blame the guards at the school who sometimes have to shout at the people. “Everyone is hungry. Hungry people get angry fast. My sister will wait in line for our share and I will go around the neighbourhood to sell my vegetables before I meet her after a few hours. She can then take the cart and I will wait if our turn has not come,”

Those who don’t have a ration card are using an e-coupon system, for cooked food none of these are needed, said another person waiting in line. None of those still going hungry, or walking hundreds of miles a day with children in tow, know of any politics. None know what stone pelting is. No one knows how stone pelters have been dealt with in areas such as Kashmir. They were not aware of anyone throwing stones or acting violently, but they understood why someone would do that. “The people have no choice. We live here. We have no work, no food. What to do?”

Stone pelting, and verbal protests in such cases are reactions fuelled by desperation. Ironically these are not migrant workers walking back home to other states. These are residents and workers of Delhi who have stayed on, and trusted that the local government will not let them starve.

The IE reported that more such incidents have taken place in centres at Adarsh Nagar, Mangolpuri and Sultanpuri in the past. Their report states that in some places daily coupons issued are disproportionate to the ration stock available.



In far away Madhya Pradesh, another incident of stone pelting was reported by the IE. This incident occurred in a town near the state border, according to reports a few people allegedly threw stones at policemen in frustration. Groups of  migrant workers are crossing MP to get back to their home states of Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh and other parts of India. On Thursday, reported IE,  one such group protested on the highway at Bijasan Ghat in MP’s Barwani district as they thought there were no buses available for them to travel further. Some from this group of protesters grew agitated and allegedly pelted stones at the policemen stationed there. No injuries were reported and the protest was cleared quickly, said news reports.

Here lies the big question. What will it take for the state to understand that the marginalised do not pick up a stone or a stick because they like to create trouble. They are desperate, hungry, helpless and frustrated, and risk their own security when they protest, because they know the state may take notice if its own property is at risk. Unfortunately, the state often responds by sending the police, when they should be sending urgent food supplies. 

Meanwhile, the Steering Committee of the Right to Food campaign released the following statement addressing the plight of hungry migrants.

The post Pelting stones in protest against a failing system is tough on a hungry stomach appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: Hindustan Times

In a statement released today, the Morcha said:
On the central issue of inadequate funds which several MPs raised and NREGA workers and citizens groups have been consistently demanding for years, the minister responded by first simply citing a cumulative budget amount between 2014 and 2019 comparing it to the period between 2008 and 2013. These figures are meaningless because they do not give people a sense of the real decline in MGNREGA allocation in the budget.

The Minister then went to on to say that this government has regularly increased the budget allocation for MGNREGA. This, says the Morcha’s statement, “ is an outright lie” made on the floor of the house. In fact the minister himself presented the figures of Rs. 55,000 crores in 2017-18, followed by Rs. 61,084 crores in 2018-19 and Rs. 60,000 crores in 2019-20. By his own figures, the budget allocation for MGNREGA in this financial year (Rs. 60,000 cores) is less than that of the previous year (Rs. 61,084 cores).

Moreover, with pending liabilities mounting at the end of the every financial cycle (20-35% of budget allocation) and inflation increasing every year, both incontrovertible facts, even a seemingly small decrease in the allocation for the program brings implementation to a grinding halt on the ground. The dismissal of the demand for higher allocation for the program without any acknowledgement of this reality and presenting inaccurate figures demonstrates the intent of this government to continue to choke funds to MGNREGA while misleading the public and elected representatives alike.

Second, the minister announced that 99% of MGNREGA payments are going into workers accounts. While this is true, the payment to bank accounts has nothing to do with the work of this government. The shift from cash to bank accounts dates back to 2010. What the minister refused to address is the issue of delayed payments linked to the non-availability of timely funds which has strangled the program and adversely affected the lives of millions of workers. Also, the minister seems to be ignorant about the fact that the payments are still routinely delayed and the Adhaar based payments through the fragile rural banking systems have further added to the plights of the  workers.

Rightfully acknowledging the role of MGNREGA in providing alternative employment across rural India, the Minister cited official figures of 268 crore person days provided in 2018-19 of which a little over half the share of employment went to women (55%). However, activists and researchers have been pointing out for years that MGNREGA is functioning far below its potential. The Minister however seems unaware of this reality because according to him 52% of households that have worked under the program have been employed for a 100 days. This figure is nothing but fiction. Never in the history of MGNREGA, have more than 10% of households received the full 100 days of guaranteed employment and average days of employment has not gone beyond 51. 
 
After the presentation of these grossly misleading figures, followed a bizarre statement where the Minister said that he is not in favour of the continuation of NREGA because it is a program designed for the poor and this government is committed to eliminating poverty.
 
The Morcha has condemned this statement on two counts.
 
First, MGNREGA is an act of Parliament with constitutional backing and is not subject to the whims and beliefs of individual ministers that come and go.
 
Secondly, the statement reveals an anti-poor bias of this government which seems to be more interested in “eliminating” the poor rather that addressing the complex issues of poverty and inequality that rural India continue to face in 2019. This statement also reveals a complete lack of understanding of the role MGNREGA has played in addressing rural poverty. There is now ample evidence to show that MGNREGA has served as a lifeline for the rural poor with one out of every three households having worked under the program since its inception. Just as one example, according to the NCAER report, at least 25% of the decline in poverty since 2004-05 for participating households can be attributed to MGNREGA.
 
Last year, the average increase in MGNREGA wages across the country were at a measly 2.6%. At a time when large parts of the country are experiencing yet another drought, unemployment is at a historical high and the poor are still recovering from 2016’s demonetisation which crippled the informal economy and led to job-losses for millions across the country, rural wages remain stagnant.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld minimum wages as a fundamental right and equated payment of anything less as “forced labour”. Un-remunerative NREGA wages, coupled with long delays in wage payments – even non-payment of wages in many cases – has turned many rural workers away from the employment guarantee programme.

For 33 states and Union Territories the NREGA wage rate is less than the corresponding minimum wage for agriculture, condemning its employment guarantee act workers to another year of bonded labour.

The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha has strongly condemned this anti-workers decision and demands an increase in the NREGA wage rate to Rs. 600 a day. This follows the Seventh Pay Commission recommendation of Rs. 18,000 as the minimum monthly salary.
 
Related Articles:
1. When Rural Jobs Disappear, Women Are The First To Lose Out
2. 19 Lakh Jobless in Gujarat, not Six Lakh: Gujarati Economist

The post 9-Hr House Debate on Rural Dev, MGNREGA reveals GOI Contempt for Worker, Underprivileged: Forum appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Take the case of Mumbai’s eastern suburbs. Areas such as Govandi, Mahul, Mankhurd, right up to Vashi Naka are reeling under severe water cuts. Mumtaz Sheikh, program manager (Women Empowerment) for Committee of Resource Organisation (CORO) who has been working with underprivileged women in the area says, “A majority of the people living in Rafiq Nagar, Shivaji Nagar and slums near Vashi Naka belong to low income Dalit and Muslim families. In most neighbourhoods, it is virtually impossible to get a legal water connection and there is a water mafiathat operates with impunity taking advantage of hapless families forcing them to shell out nearly Rs 100/- every day.” Wherever, there are a few legal water connections, the drinking water pipelines often pass through nullahs. “So, if there is a leakage, which happens quite often due to corrosion and wear and tear, the drain water gets mixed with the drinking water making it unfit for consumption,” says Shaikh.

Shaikh also highlights the disparity between water supply to wealthier neighbourhoods and economically backward ones saying, “Wealthier neighbourhoods, be they residential complexes and business establishments get water 24 hours, but people in the slums have to struggle with whatever they can get and store in precisely 30 minutes every day!” As fetching water is seen predominantly as a woman’s burden, many girls drop out of school just so they can fetch enough water to keep their families alive. Moreover, it appears that the civic administration has failed to take into account the population growth in the area due to rehabilitation projects. The existing infrastructure is stretched thin.

Low income neighbourhoods in Mumbai’s northern suburbs are also suffering. Sajid Pathan, a resident of Malwani says, “It is true that impoverished neighbourhoods are worse affected than others. Though, residents get water for three hours every day, the problem is two-fold. First, for every three families that have legal water connections with proper meters, there are two families that don’t, and have to depend on water from illegal sources. Secondly, the quality of water supplied by the municipality is filthy! It is dark and unfit for drinking or even washing.” According to Pathan, while people from all communities live in Malwani, a majority are Muslims.

•        Bhatsa Dam (TMC’s own source) supplies 200 MLD
•        Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation supplies 110 MLD
•        Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) supplies 60 MLD
•        Shahad-Temghar Water Supply Authority (STEM) water distribution and infra co Pvt Ltd. Supplies 110 MLD

The post Mumbai water cuts: Do low-income neighbourhoods suffer more? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The same cannot be said of the government when it comes to taking care of the poorest, most vulnerable and the most marginalised.

Across India, over 50 people have died due to starvation-related deaths in the past four years, mostly after their ration cards were cancelled when they were not linked with Aadhar, as per the data released by two Right to Food Activists.

In India, there are approximately 30,000 deaths reported due to malnourishment every year. As per a recent report published by UNICEF, malnutrition is a direct contributor to nearly half of all deaths of children under five years. Malnourishment is just another name for starvation because these children do not get enough food and are too weak.

These deaths are never called starvation deaths. Many people and even the Government refuse to believe in starvation deaths. Nevertheless, the fact remains that 19 crore people sleep on a hungry stomach in India, which explains why India ranks 100th out of the 119 countries in the global hunger Index.

In July 2018, three little girls – sisters ages 2, 4, and 8 died of hunger in India’s capital Delhi. This tragedy should have stirred the government to take concrete steps to provide food security to the poorest of the poor but unfortunately, the politicians were all busy blaming the other parties. Each time a person or a child dies of hunger the government refuses to accept it as hunger death till the post-mortem report reveals that there were no traces of any food in the stomach from a long time. Otherwise, they are passed off as malnutrition deaths.

Two activists, Siraj Datta and Reetika Khera from Bihar and Delhi respectively compiled a list of hunger deaths related to Aadhar both directly and indirectly across India to remember the first death anniversary of  ‘hunger death’ of 11-year-old Santoshi in 2017.

On September 28th 2017, Santoshi Kumari of Jharkhand died due to hunger as there was no food at home. The girl slipped into unconsciousness due to extreme hunger and died in a state of unconsciousness. The truth came to light later that the family had lost their ration card because it was not linked to Aadhar. It is reported that the Government of Jharkhand ‘mass cancelled’ Aadhar-less ration cards. And Santoshi’s family’s ration card was one among those.
 

 

“There are thousands of hunger deaths in India and these are only a handful which we compiled that are related to the exclusion caused due to the compulsory linking of Aadhar card to ration card,” Said Siraj Datta, who is associated with the Right to Food Campaign. “The idea behind this study was to bring out the exclusion caused due to non-linkage to the Aadhar card and to initiate political debates about these deaths. It is sad that these deaths are not being registered.”

Of the 56 hunger deaths compiled by the team from 2015 to 2018, 42 deaths have been reported between 2017 and 18. Most of these victims are from the disadvantaged groups such as Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims and a majority of these deaths are from two states – Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Common reasons include losing one’s ration card or pension for lack of Aadhaar linking, and failure of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication (ABBA), which is compulsory – for practical purposes – in several states.

Another recent death of two siblings belonging to Dalit community, Govinda, aged 5 years and his sister Munni, 2 years on August 31, 2018, and September 1 occurred in Bihar as they could not get their Aadhar card and as a result, they were denied rations from the last 8 months. With the father in jail due to some protest he was involved in, the mother could not find any work under MNREGA.

More recent is the tragic death of 8-year-old Khushi from Hathras in UP. The family had no ration card and used to buy food grains. But when her father became jobless and could not find a job for two months, the family began to eat less and lesser ill they were finally reduced to go hungry. After a week of remaining hungry, Khushi and her sister fell unconscious. Khushi died on the way to hospital while her sister is being treated.

All this in a state where retailers have been accused of siphoning off over 2.2 lakh tonnes of food grains under the 30 crore PDS scam in which Aadhar numbers of genuine beneficiaries of subsidised rations have been replaced with fake ones.

In case of Santoshi, her mother and sister moved to the Supreme Court to highlight the condition of the Dalit families in Jharkhand who have been denied food grains due to non-linkage of Aadhar and ration cards. Even though they sought criminal action against the officials due to whose negligence starvation death/s have occurred, the SC merely issued a formal notice to the Government. And the Government denied these allegations stating the deaths were due to “illness”.

The Supreme Court in its latest verdict in September 2018 upheld the constitutional validity of the Aadhar card and although linking Aadhar card to avail certain benefits have been waived; linking Aadhar to avail welfare schemes is mandatory leaving the people with no choice but to comply.

Requests to push for alternative identity in case of non-linkage of Aadhar card with ration card have not been considered.

Courtesy: Tow Circles
 

The post Dying of hunger in an age of food apps appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: Saurav Roy/ Hindustan Times
 
Jharkhand: In 2017, The Jharkhand government patted their backs with a full-page ad for saving Rs. 225 crores and 86 crores by cancelling ‘Fake’ Aadhaar cards and old age pensions. They ended up depriving the poorest of poor of necessary food which has since resulted in many starvation deaths in the state.
 
The death of a young girl Santoshi Kumar in 2017 due to starvation had riled the country. Many did not even think it was possible to die of starvation in a country with stuffed granaries. Even though the news created a stir, the on-ground realities haven’t changed. Access to the Public Distribution System is abysmal and Aadhaar based biometric machines constantly fail, often leading to poor Indians dying of hunger.
 
The Right To Food Campaign has released many fact-finding reports with annexures which delve into the complexities of the failure of the state government in providing the right to life to its residents. It details shocking negligence and corruption to deny basic human rights to the most marginalised.
 
In a table released by the group before they held a protest on July 13, they detailed how 16 people died of starvation in the country since 2017. In states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha, entitlements were denied to people consistently which led to their death by hunger.
 
Details of starvation deaths

*Cases where Aadhaar-related failures clearly contributed to starvation.

 
The process of justice has been slow and the people responsible for this negligence and crime have not been arrested, much less fired.
 
The stories of many victims of Jharkhand are eerily similar.
 
On 23 January 2018, 30-year-old Lukhi Murmu of Dhawadangal village of Hiranpur block in Pakur (Jharkhand) succumbed to prolonged undernutrition and exhaustion. She lived with her 14-year old sister Phulin in extreme poverty. Their meals usually comprised solely of rice and they even had to sleep hungry at times. The sisters’ deprivation worsened over the last four months when they were unable to access their ration from the Public Distribution System (PDS) due to Aadhaar-based biometric authentication failure.
 
Etwariya Devi, a 67-year-old widow, passed away on 25 December. She did not get sufficient food and nutrition over a long period of time. She used to live with her son Ghura Vishwakarma, daughter-in-law Usha Devi and their children. The family routinely faced a shortage of food and nutrition. None of the members of the family ate on the night of 24 December as there was no grain in the house. The family was denied ration from October to December 2017 and she did not get her pension for the months of November and December.
 
Ruplal Marandi, a 62-year old villager of Bhagwanpur in Mohanpur block of Deoghar district in Jharkhand, died of hunger on 23 October 2017 (though the investigating team of the BDO Ashok Kumar and accompanying Doctor have declared it a natural death and denied possibilities of post-mortem.) The deceased was living with his daughter Manodi Marandi and daughter-in-law. According to Manodi, “there was not a single grain to eat at home”, and they did not receive any rice from the rations shop in the past two months (September and October). The ration dealer, Dharmdev Choudhary, refused to give ration because the fingerprint was not working in the biometric machine.
 
A 64-year old widow, Premani Kunwar, died of hunger and exhaustion on 1 December in Danda Block of Garhwa district (Jharkhand). Till September 2017, she received her old age pension in her State Bank of India (SBI) account in Danda branch. Thereafter, without her knowledge, her pension amount was redirected to the SBI bank account of Shanti Devi in Piprakala branch (22 km from Danda). Shanti Devi, who died 25 years ago, was the first wife of Premani Kunwar’s husband late Mutur Mahto. Following the release of the fact-finding report on Premani Kunwar’s death by the Right to Food Campaign, UIDAI conducted an inquiry on 8 December. Its report acknowledges that Premani Kunwar’s old age pension had indeed been credited to Shanti Devi’s account which was linked with Premani Kunwar’s Aadhaar on 10 October 2017. The report also acknowledges that Premani Kunwar did not receive her ration for the month of November 2017, even though the dealer authenticated her biometrics in the POS machine for that month and also made an entry of 35kgs in her ration card. The issue of denial of ration was discussed at length in an earlier press release of the Right to Food Campaign on 7 December 2017.
 
Recently in June, 58-year-old Shanti Devi succumbed to hunger in Jharkhand because her ration card was not processed. All the borrowed rice she and her two daughters-in-law had procured was not enough for the family of five including three children. Her two sons, working in different states, were unable to earn any money that could be sent home for six months. After surviving on a little bit of rice and its starch, she allegedly breathed her last on Sunday after not having eaten for three days.
 
Following the hunger death of Santoshi Kumar in Simdega in September 2017, the Food Ministry issued a notification which states that even in case of failure of biometric authentication or lack of Aadhaar, ration dealers to give PDS rations to eligible households. The Food Ministry and UIDAI keep referring to this notification to claim that no one now denied of their entitlements due to Aadhaar. However, on the ground large-scale exclusion from public services continues due to Aadhaar. It may be recalled that last month a woman of Garhwa also died due to hunger and exhaustion as her household could not access its PDS ration to biometric authentication failures. The repeated denial of food entitlements in Jharkhand’s PDS also exposes the lack of seriousness in the state government towards addressing the issues in the delivery of ration.
 
How the systems deliberately worked against them-
 
1.  Lukhi Murmu constantly denied ration due to biometric failure
 
Lukhi Murmu’s household was issued an Antyodaya ration card under the National Food Security Act. In around June 2017, this ration card was converted into the “Priority” category without the family’s knowledge. This reduced her household’s monthly grain entitlement by 15 kg (the ration card also includes names of two of their other sisters). The household did not receive any PDS foodgrains since October 2017. Lukhi Murmu was too weak to go to the ration shop, which is about a kilometre away from their house. Phulin went to the ration shop a few times, including the day her sister died, but always returned empty handed as she was unable to authenticate herself in the ePOS machine. One of their other sisters also went to the ration shop once, but the dealer did not give her any rice too (only Lukhi Murmu and Phulin’s Aadhaar number is seeded with their ration card, and not the other two sisters’).
 
The Deputy Commissioner’s report argues that Lukhi Murmu could not have died of hunger as she had some land, two cows and paddy in her house at the time of her death. Lukhi Murmu did possess these assets, but that does not preclude her death due to starvation. Government officials argue that the family could have sold its land, cattle or paddy for food. However, the deterioration in Lukhi Murmu’s condition was gradual and there was no way for her family to predict her death.  
 
As per the ration dealer’s testimony to the local administration, no one from Lukhi Murmu’s household came to the PDS shop in the last four months. However, to the Right to Food Campaign fact-finding team, the dealer admitted that Phulin came to collect her household’s rations but was turned away due to biometric authentication failure. Local officials claim to have given instructions to all the dealers in Pakur to also give PDS rations to households that are unable to authenticate themselves through Aadhaar. However, the dealer claimed to have not received any such instruction.
 
2.  Etwariya Devi denied ration due to machine failure and denied pension
 
Etwariya Devi’s family not own any land, except a small piece of land on which their dilapidated kutcha house stands. Ghura Vishwakarma works as an unskilled labourer under contractors in other states. Usha Devi works as an unskilled labourer in local agricultural works. The family routinely faced a shortage of food and nutrition. None of the members of the family ate on the night of 24 December as there was no grain in the house.
 
The family was heavily dependent on 25 kg grains, entitled under the Priority Household card under National Food Security Act. It did not get ration in October, November and December (till the death of Etwariya). In October, Usha Devi’s (who collected the ration every month on behalf of the family) fingerprint did not work in the POS machine. In November, the dealer said that he had not been allotted grain for that month and in December, the dealer said that the POS machine was not working and had to be repaired. In the last three months, the shortage of food was severe for the family.
 
Etwariya was a pensioner under the Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme. She last received her pension from the local Pragya Kendra in October. Pension amount of Rs. 600 was credited in her account on 7 December. She went to the Kendra on 4 December and a transaction of Rs. 503 was made in her account. According to the CSP Anil Chowdhary, the internet connectivity broke right after she authenticated her fingerprint and the money was not credited to the CSP’s account. As a result, he did not give her the money. Similarly, on 8 December, a transaction of Rs. 600 was made, but she was not given the money as the internet connection again broke. The CSP claims to have received the money in his account on 19 December. When asked why did not give the money to Etwariya before 25 December, he said that she did not visit the Kendra again. The CSP deposited Rs. 1200 back in her account on 26 December.
 
In the morning of 25 December, Etwariya Devi saw the dealer cross in front of their house and she went after him shouting “ruka na dealer babu”, but the dealer did not stop. Another person of the dealer’s household was also crossing and he stopped after hearing Etwariya’s shouts. She asked him to give her the ration (“rationiya da na babu”), but he said that she would get grains the next day. The dealer visited their house on 25 December after Etwariya passed away and gave 30kg of rice to the family. On 27 December, Usha Devi got 30 kg rice after she authenticated her thumbprint in the POS machine, but the transaction was made for 50 kg. The dealer also transacted 5 litre kerosene oil on her card, but she did not get oil. She said the family did not have any kerosene oil when Etwariya died and they had to keep the body in the dark for the whole night of 24 December.
 
People said that the dealer did not distribute ration in August 2017. As per the dealer, he was not allotted any grain for that month. They also said that the dealer did not distribute ration as per the transaction made in the POS machine. In October, he had transacted twice the monthly entitlement of grains and kerosene on most of the cards, but had distributed ration and oil only for a month. Many people complained that they did not get ration in November. Similarly, in December too, the dealer transacted twice the monthly entitlement of grains and kerosene on most of the cards, but distributed only half of it (corroborated by the online transaction list for October and December). The people also said that the dealer did not give the printed receipt to cardholders and cut 400-500 grams from each person’s monthly entitlement.
 
3.   Ruplal Marandi denied ration as machine failed to authenticate fingerprints.
 
Ruplal Marandi lived with his daughter Manodi Marandi and daughter-in-law. According to Manodi, “there was not a single grain to eat at home”, and they did not receive any rice from the rations shop in the past two months (September and October). The ration dealer, Dharmdev Choudhary, refused to give ration because the fingerprint was not working in the biometric machine.

Whatever Manodi and the daughter-in-law earned from daily wages was the only means of living. For the past many days, they did not get any work because of Diwali and the incessant rain, and there was no single rupee at home. For two days the family did not light the hearth because they had nothing to cook. There was some puffed rice (mudhi) at home, which the family was surviving on. Ruplal’s condition deteriorated with hunger and he died.

4.   Premani Kunwar denied ration even after biometric authentication and her pension was redirected

The bare two-room dilapidated kutcha house of Premani Kunwar stands witness to her death amidst abject poverty. In the absence of PDS grain, she had to borrow rice from her neighbours to survive. There is no doubt that Premani lived in a state of semi-starvation. It is now well established that she did not receive her grain entitlement for August and November and her pension for September and October. Premani’s death is a grim reminder of how vulnerable people like her routinely experience uncertainties in accessing their lifelines owing to complex systems like Aadhaar. Premani Kunwar’s son, Uttam Mahto has clearly testified in a video as well as a written statement that his mother died due to starvation. However, as per the report of the Block Development Officer of Danda, Uttam Mahto testified to his mother’s death due to illness. This exposes the local administration’s attempt to cover up the actual cause of Premani Kunwar’s death.

Further, the administration lodged complaints against the local whistle-blowers who drew attention to Premani Kunwar’s death due to starvation. It filed FIRs against Birendra Chowdhary, Pramukh of Danda, Kalicharan Mahto and Sushma Mahto for “causing disruption of a government inquiry and for instilling fear in the government inquiry team”. It is also alleged that they tore government documents in the process which the defendants have denied.

According to a news report published in the Economic Times on 23 December, as per the report of the local police, Premani Kunwar, along with her youngest step-son, Sunil Mahto had “fudged her Aadhaar card” to avail Shanti Devi’s family pension. Shanti Devi’s account was being credited with a monthly family pension amount of Rs. 849 from the Coal Mines Provident Fund. As per the report submitted by the Branch Manager of Piprakala to the Inspector of Garhwa Police Station, Shanti Devi’s account was operated by Premani Kunwar and her family members. It further states that a sum of Rs. 30,000 was withdrawn in the name of Shanti Devi on 6 November 2017. The police arrested Sunil Mahto on 13 December for this withdrawal.

The reports of UIDAI and Economic Times leave many pertinent questions unanswered. As per the UIDAI report, the name in Premani Kunwar’s Aadhaar (UID no XXXXXXXX7606) was changed to “Shanti Devi” on 23 September 2015. This report fails to explain how, despite this change, Premani Kunwar continued to receive her pension in her Aadhaar linked bank account till September 2017. There is also no explanation of how a bank account could be opened in the name of Shanti Devi in 2007, given that she died over two decades ago. The KYC of Shanti Devi’s account was last updated on 7 December, just a day before the UIDAI team’s visit. This draws suspicion on the complicity of bank functionaries, among others, in the fraudulent withdrawal of money from this account. The bank manager of the Piprakala branch of SBI refused to share with the Right to Food Campaign fact-finding team the KYC documents that were used to open Shanti Devi’s account. There is also no explanation from UIDAI on how UID no XXXXXXXX7606 was linked with bank account numbers of Premani Kunwar as well as Shanti Devi.

These issues highlight the vulnerability of the Aadhaar-bank integration system. Recently, a massive scam of opening Aadhaar-linked Airtel payment bank accounts of Airtel network subscribers without their consent was unearthed. In 2016, ICICI Bank opened accounts of around 6000 NREGA workers in Boram block of East Singhbhum district without their consent and linked them to their Aadhaar. Shell accounts have been used to siphon off NREGA wages, as a recent investigation in Mahuadanr Block (Latehar district, Jharkhand) revealed. A Member of Parliament also recently became a victim of fraudulent withdrawal after fraudsters used the OTP sent to the MP’s mobile to authenticate Aadhaar-based online transfer of fund.

No Food Security or accountability in this country-
Improper implementation of the National Food Security Act and frequent failure of the complex Aadhaar-based biometric authentication (ABBA) system in the PDS are depriving many poor families of food rations that are essential for their food security. The facts indicate that all these deaths are hunger and undernutrition deaths, but the Government is denying this and citing other causes. This is a camouflage of the government departments to disown responsibility and avoid accountability.

As in the cases of previous deaths due to starvation in Jharkhand, the government has denied the role of Aadhaar integration with welfare programmes or administrative lapses that led to the denial of entitlements. It has instead been harassing the surviving members of the families suffering from starvation.

Disruptions in the delivery of ration and pension in Jharkhand continue unabated. For those living on the margins, denial of such crucial entitlements leads to the violation of mere right to life.
 
Right to Food Campaign Jharkhand condemned this response and demanded that:

• The State Government must take concrete actions for the enactment of all Supreme Court orders on the right to food.
• The State Government must clarify about the orders which deny ration on account of Aadhar seeding and biometrics, and the government should release a white paper to reveal how many people in the state are denied ration due to these reasons.
• If any unconstitutional order is passed by any Government Officer on these processes, such officers must be held accountable for the same and the Government should take strict against such officers.
• The faulty Aadhar and biometric system in the PDS, which denies food to large numbers of poor and hungry people, must be corrected immediately.
• Immediate dismissal of the ration dealer of Sonpurwa and registering FIR against him for embezzlement of PDS grain and tampering of PDS records.
• Immediate shift to “offline” delivery of PDS entitlements.
• Transfer of all ration shop licenses from private dealers to Gram Panchayats or self-help groups.
•  Introduction of pulses and edible oil in the PDS.

“More children under the age of five die in India than anywhere else in the world. A recent estimate puts this figure at over 1.5 million children a year—over 4,500 child deaths a day. A third of these could have been averted if children did not go to bed hungry night after night. These figures suggest that over 3,00,000 children die every year in India because of hunger. And for many children who escape death, the poverty of their parents means that hunger remains an unremitting part of their lives. Hunger does not stunt only the body, it also affects the brain. The result: An entire generation of children born into poverty with stunted intellectual development which traps them in the same poverty their parents lived with. A state of poverty which will ultimately kill them well before their fellow citizens who did not go hungry during childhood,” wrote Vikram Patel, a Pershing Square Professor of Global Health at Harvard Medical School and affiliated with the Public Health Foundation of India and Sangath.
 
“While it is plausible that the middle-aged people in desperate situations in Jharkhand and elsewhere did not die of acute starvation, it is more likely that their premature deaths were written into the scripts of their lives because they starved as children. It does not matter how fast our economy is growing when tens of millions of our children (and their families) go to bed hungry. Stunting due to hunger and its consequences on premature mortality is a major reason for the pathetic position India occupies in the human development league table of the world. It is also holding back the prospects of an entire generation of our children to survive and escape poverty. That it should be so prevalent, 70 years after Independence and with our food granaries stuffed, is nothing short of a national shame. As many other and much poorer countries have shown, eradicating hunger and stunting can be addressed but to do so will need action on an emergency scale. Only then will Indians stop dying of hunger,” he wrote in The Indian Express.
 
This report is a compilation of RTFC’s reports on different starvation cases. It has been edited for relevance.

Read Also : https://sabrangindia.in/article/savitri-devi-one-more-name-added-starvation-death-toll-jharkhand
 

The post Sordid tale of starvation: How govt negligence caused deaths by hunger in Jharkhand appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The newly-constructed Jamia Metro station looks more like a refugee camp with people sleeping outside it and begging for survival
 

This condition is probably nowhere more visible than the newly-built Delhi Metro bridge near Jamia Millia Islamia University. Even though the Metro is supposed to be a sign of the modern times, the area around it looks like a ragged refugee camp with old people lying on plastic mats and worn out quilts, kids playing around, young men and women keeping a vigil in order to grab any food or good which came as charity.

This often leads to dispute as well, especially when one group captures a large portion of the charity and denies sharing it with others. When this reporter was at the site, two guys on motorbikes arrived with about 5 plastic mats to be distributed, but all were taken by a permanent dweller who was a strong man. The migrant beggars fought for an hour in order to get at least 2 mats but in vain.

Religion of beggars can change with a change in location
It’s impossible to know the religion of the migrant beggars by looking at them or talking to them as they are well-versed with the tricks of the trade. Their religion and attire depend on the festival and location they are staying. Visiting them and talking to them gives an insight into the business of begging in North India. A burqa-clad lady with a child on her shoulder ties a cloth on her hand in order to hide a tattoo of her name which reads ‘Geeta Kumari’. A Muslim woman ‘Samina’ applies dark red vermilion on her head to beg near Kalkaji Mandir located near the busy Nehru Place business centre. The men wear Kurta Pyjama and skull caps during Ramadan and apply teekas during the Navratri season.

The residents under the Metro bridge face constant harassment at the hands of Police and other ‘permanent’ dwellers

But tricks can only do so much: the truth is that begging can be life-threatening in these places and living without basic amenities like proper toilets and sleeping area. Apart from this, the women beggars live in constant fear of being molested by permanent dwellers and this, coupled with the fear of being beaten by police and locals, only highlight the grave danger they put themselves in.

One such ‘resident’ of the Metro bridge is Salim, a boy aged 13 years. Salim has been staying under the flyover for the past one month and came to Delhi with his mother (Aasfa) nephew (Zabeer) and cousin (Javed) from Misripur, where his father is also into begging. After initial hesitation, Salim opened up about his plight and explained how they had been living in plastic tents located in an open area belonging to the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department near Jamia Millia University.

He talked about the nights when mosquitoes were trying to enter his nose and ears and how he slept by wrapping his head in his old shirt. He explained how he and his family members were threatened by the other beggars who were permanent inhabitants of the field. One day, the hawkers who put their stalls near the field called the police and Salim and others were beaten and were forced to vacate the area after which they began living under the Metro bridge of Jamia Millia Islamia.

Salim talked to us for about 3 hours and in that period he continuously tried to receive few things from the people arriving on bikes and cars and donating but he was too small to fight with the permanent dwellers. He told us that tonight he had been really unlucky because he wasn’t even able to arrange his food, and he seemed worried about the whereabouts of his mother who had gone for begging in another area since morning.

Dejected and miserable with the situation in which he was living, Salim talked about how he wanted to study and had, in fact, attended school for a few years after which his father asked him to beg instead.

He said here he is often forced by other elder boys to take drugs, but he didn’t like how they behave after taking drugs. Salim seemed highly motivated for education, he said he doesn’t want to live on the road all his life he is scared of the vehicles, which can hit anyone. “I am sick of my dirty clothes and body…I am dirty and filthy and have not taken a shower for the last 5 days. For the toilet, we have go to the same field where we were staying earlier. We have to go as early as possible because after the hawkers come, they threaten us by saying they will call the Police,” he told TwoCircles.net.

The story of Salim is not just his; it is shared by all the young children who face the same situation.

I want to study, says Salim, who came with his family from Misripur, Uttar Pradesh to beg in Delhi

On May 17, 2018, the bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar of the High court of Delhi observed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) filed for decriminalising begging. The bench said: “A person begs only out of sheer necessity and not by choice. “You or we will not beg even if we are offered a crore of rupees. It is out of sheer necessity that someone puts out a hand to beg for food. How is begging an offence in a country where you (government) are not able to provide for food or jobs.” The court was commenting on the PIL filed by Harsh Mandar and Karnika Sawhney, who have sought basic human and fundamental rights for beggars in the capital, apart from decriminalising begging. They have also sought basic amenities such as proper food and medical facilities at all beggars’ homes in the city.

The risk to the lives of the beggars raises an important question: why do these people face so much trouble and why can’t they seek protection from the law enforcement agencies? The answer lies in the fact that there is no central law on begging and destitution and most states have adopted the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 which criminalises begging. The law prescribes a penalty of more than three years in jail in case of first conviction for begging and the person can be ordered to be detained for 10 years in subsequent conviction.

But how can someone be penalised for a crime for which only he is not responsible, the government and we as a society are equally liable? The idea of criminalising a ‘profession’ which is seen as a last resort by almost all those who do it only highlights the way our society sees the poorest. While the Delhi High Court’s verdict is encouraging, there is no doubt that a lot more needs to be done before we, on both personal and political levels, even begin to consider the issue from a humane angle. And the month of Ramadan would not be a bad idea to start doing so.

Courtesy: Two Circles

The post The month of Ramadan and ‘begging’ for survival: A day at the Jamia Metro bridge appeared first on SabrangIndia.