India After Independence: 1947-2000 (83 page)

Similarly, from 1950 to 1996, production of milk has increased four times, from 17 million tons to 68.3 million tons, of eggs more than fifteen times, from 1,832 million to 28,400 million, and fish more than seven times, from 752 thousand tons to 5388 thousand tons.

We have already pointed out earlier, that per capita income, a crucial
aspect of standard of living, has increased by 250 per cent from 1950 to 1995. From 1975 to 1995, it has grown at the rate of 2.8 per cent per year, which compares favourably with the rates of increase in per capita income in advanced countries at a comparative stage of development: Britain (1.34 per cent from 1855 to 1967), France (1.7 per cent from 1861 to 1966), Germany (1.83 per cent from 1850 to 1967), and the USA (1.75 per cent from 1834 to 1967).

Still, the incidence of poverty and especially endemic undernourishment, particularly among children, is very much there, though not stark hunger or utter destitution, except among the very old and the handicapped. A dent in poverty has been made, though it is not deep enough.

The problem of poverty has been further compounded by the existence of glaring inequality, social and economic. While the poor have not become poorer and have derived some benefit from economic growth, the gap between them and the rich has grown before our very eyes. The fruits of this growth and the resulting significant rise in national income have been disproportionately gathered by a few belonging to the upper and to a certain extent middle layers of society. Maldistribution of income, opportunities and power has been, moreover, built into the very social and class structure of the country. With the onset of liberalization of the economy and economic development on the basis of ‘the animal spirits of the capitalists’, inequality is likely to grow unless counter-steps are taken, even if economic development is somewhat hurt.

Even apart from the problem of poverty, the quality of life of the masses in India is another major area of neglect as their physical and social needs have not been met even at a minimally desired level. Some progress has been made in this respect but it has been tardy and inadequate. India has been quite weak in the all-round transformation of human condition. Its record is quite dismal when compared even with that of the other developing countries. In the latest index of human development, another name for the measurable parts of the quality of life, compiled by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1999, India occupies the 132nd position among the 174 nations covered.

Quality of life encompasses certain immeasurable components, such as love, human relationships, appreciation of arts, music, literature. But progress or lack of it in some of its other components can be measured. We will first take up three of these pertaining to health and education-life expectancy at birth, infant mortality rate (MR) and literacy—which are most commonly used in discussions on the subject.

A comparison of the post-independence record in these fields with that of the colonial period shows that India’s performance has been quite creditable during the last three decades. This, despite the fact that health and education are two areas which have received low priority from
successive central and state governments in India. However, a very brief comparison of the statistical progress made by some other countries such as China and Sri Lanka, reveals how far we are lagging behind in regard to these important areas and what we still have to achieve.

An Indian’s life expectancy at birth which was 32 years in 1950 rose to 45.6 years in 1970 and to 63 years in 1998—very creditable indeed. But it was already 69.8 and 73.1 years in 1997 in China and Sri Lanka respectively. The rise in life expectancy in India was basically the result of the steep fall in death rate per thousand from 27.4 in 1940 to 14.9 in 1970 and 8.9 in 1997.

Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births which was 227 in 1941 had fallen to 130 in 1970 and to 71 in 1997. However, it was much lower for China (38) and Sri Lanka (17) in 1997. Another sad fact observed is that too many women still die in India during childbirth. The current maternity mortality rate per hundred thousand live births in India is as high as 507 compared to 95 in China and 140 in Sri Lanka. One reason for this is that 60 per cent of all child births in rural India are still attended to only by untrained persons.

Perhaps India’s biggest failure is the continuation of high illiteracy among its people. In 1950, nearly 82 per cent Indians were illiterate; this figure was still as high as 38 per cent in 1997. The comparative figures for China and Sri Lanka were as low as 17.1 and 9.3 per cent respectively. Moreover, the gender gap in case of literacy was astonishingly high in India, nearly twice as many women being illiterate as men.

As has been shown in earlier chapters, India’s record in higher and technical education is far better. Also, there has been rapid expansion of school education in the last decade with increase in the percentage of school-age children going to school and over 88 per cent villages being provided with primary schools. The flip side is the deterioration in the quality of education both in the case of schools and institutions of higher education in recent years. With rare exceptions the system of public education has become virtually dysfunctional with the ‘cooperation’ of all concerned—the government, political parties, educational administrators, teachers, parents and students. The standard of rural schools has fallen so low that quite often a child, who has spent five years in school, is not able to read or write at all and is, at the most, able to write only his name, if even that.

Health care, especially in rural areas, is another area of human development that has been grossly neglected in the last fifty years. For example, during the last decade, 19 per cent of Indians had no access to safe water, 25 per cent to health services, 71 per cent to sanitation. 53 per cent of Indian children under five are underweight, though this ratio has been declining in the last few years. The bright spot in this respect is the great success of the programmes for the immunization of children against polio, smallpox, tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.

As in the case of education, in the field of public health too, the
quality of services provided is quite poor in most states, especially of the Hindi belt.

The housing situation shows improvement in rural areas of India where the number of
pucca
houses has increased dramatically, but it has been deteriorating in urban areas, with millions being homeless and living on pavements or in
jhuggis
(shanties), unprotected from sun, rain or cold and with hardly any provision for water, electricity or sanitation. Even otherwise, Indian cities have been declining in regard to many aspects of the quality of life—sanitation, housing, transport, electric supply, schooling.

Also there is very low consumption, especially in rural areas, of goods which make life easier and more joyful: scooters and motorcycles, radios, electric fans, room-coolers, telephones, televisions, electric or gas or even coal
chullahs,
refrigerators, washing machines, though their use is way above that at the time of independence.

On the other hand, the number of towns and villages electrified has expanded rapidly since 1950. In the nineties, nearly 43 per cent of the rural and almost all the urban households, except the jhuggis, have acquired electric connections. Electricity generation has gone up from 5.1 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in 1950 to 434 billion KWh in 1996. Indians, both rural and urban, have also acquired greater access to media and entertainment: newspapers, magazines, films, music and television.

The prevalence of large-scale under- and unemployment in India also has a highly adverse impact on the quality of life and not only at the level of physical existence. Economic development has failed to create enough jobs in industry and services to make a serious impact on the unemployment of the landless and the rural and urban educated, thus introducing serious psychological, social and economic disequilibrium in their lives.

We may make a few other observations. Both in terms of development and poverty and the quality of life, there exists a great deal of disparity between different states and among their sub-regions which has to be rectified. An improvement in the quality of life or in the indices of human development would invariably require the state to play a more active role in the social sector than before.

Agricultural labourers and marginal and small peasants, with no or small patches of land and increasingly unable to get employment, are the most deprived section of Indian society in all aspects of the quality of life and standard of living. They suffer more than others from poverty and disease and lack of education, housing, health facilities, protected water supply, sanitation, electricity, and cultural and entertainment facilities. They are also likely to be the greatest victims of caste discrimination and caste oppression. They are also least organized, in class organizations and least involved in political processes.

No doubt we still have ‘promises to keep and miles to go . . .’ We still face the challenges of poverty, disease, illiteracy, inequality, social
backwardness, and gender and caste discrimination and oppression. But there is no ground for pessimism or resignation, for frustration or lack of pride. Many of our current problems are the outcome of the tremendous changes we have undergone and not because of regression or stagnation. Despite many maladies and shortfalls, India has impressive achievements to its credit in the economic and, political arena. It has made significant progress towards social justice. As a result of economic development and transformation of the agricultural and industrial production base of society during the last half century, India has now the resources to further its social agenda. The earlier debate whether a poor society could pursue social justice is no longer relevant. There is no longer any need to counterpose increase in production and productivity to the removal of poverty and better distribution of wealth and opportunities. Nehru’s dilemma as to how to combine development with equity has also disappeared, for we can now achieve this. It would, therefore, not be wrong to expect and to predict that in the next decade or so India is likely to make immense progress, to almost take a leap forward, in transforming the lives of the mass of the people and give them a decent standard of living.

The major reason for our optimism lies in our belief that a vibrant democracy can find a solution for these problems. Women, the rural poor and the oppressed castes have increasingly come to believe that a better, more humane life is possible. They have woken up to the political power that inheres in them. India’s democratic political system, despite many weaknesses, provides them the framework in which to exercise that power. The power of the people in a democracy is the ‘liberating deluge’ that can, and we are sure will, sweep away the accumulated dirt of the ages. This is, of course, all the more reason for the preservation and deepening of democracy in India.

1
. Selig S. Harrison,
India—The Most Dangerous Decades,
Madras, 1960, p.338.

2
. Quoted in Norman D. Palmer, ‘India’s Fourth General Election,’
Asian Survey,
Vol.7, No. 5, May 1967, p.277.

3
. W.H. Morris-Jones,
Politics Mainly Indian,
Bombay, 1978, pp.131-2.

4
.
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi,
New Delhi, 1958-84, (hereafter referred to as Gandhi,
CW
)
,
Vol.88, p.2.

5
. Nehru,
Letters to Chief Ministers,
1947-64, 5 Volumes, New Delhi, (hereafter referred to as
LCM
)
,
Vol.4, p.124.

6
.
Ibid.,
p.188.

7
. S. Gopal,
Jawaharlal Nehru—A Biography,
3 Volumes, Vol.2, London, 1975, p.317.

8
. Verrier Elwin,
The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin,
Bombay, 1964, p.327.

9
. G.K. Gokhale,
Speeches,
Madras, 1916, p.1113.

1
.
Kesari,
16 June 1908, quoted in Ashis Kumar Dhuliya, ‘Aspects of Tilak’s Strategy and His Struggle for Civil Liberties,’ M.Phil, dissertation, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 1984, p.269.

2
.
Gandhi, CW,
Vol.22, p.142, and Vol.69, p.356 respectively.

3
.
Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru,
general editor, S. Gopal, 15 volumes, New Delhi, 1972-1982, Gandhi,
CW,
Vol.76, Vol.7, p.414, (hereafter referred to as Nehru,
SW
)
.

4
.
National Planning Committee Report,
(NPC) edited by K.T. Shah, Bombay, 1949. p.47.

5
. Pattabhi Sitaramayya,
The History of the Indian National Congress (1885-1935),
no place, 1935, p.782.

6
.
NPC,
p.40.

7
. Pattabhi Sitaramayya,
The History of the Indian National Congress (1885-1935),
p.779.

8
. Gandhi,
CW,
Vol.76, p.367

9
. Pattabhi Sitaramayya,
The History of the Indian National Congress (1885-1935),
p.780.

10
. Gandhi,
SW,
Vol.76.

11
. Gandhi,
The Way to Communal Harmony,
compiled and edited by U.R. Rao, Ahmedabad, 1963, p.398.

12
. Gandhi,
CW,
Vol.68, p.138.

13
. Nehru,
SW,
Vol.7, p.173.

1
. Mahatma Gandhi, in an article titled ‘Independence’ published in
Young India,
5 January 1922, in
Gandhi, CW,
Vol.22, pp.140-2.

2
. Editor’s Note to ‘The Constitution of India Bill, 1925,’ in B. Shiva Rao, ed.,
The Framing of India’s Constitution: Select Documents,
Vol.1. New Delhi, 1966, p.5.

3
. Text of Congress-League Scheme, in
Ibid.,
p.26.

4
. Text of Resolution, in
Ibid.,
p.31.

5
. Text of authentic summary of the Bill issued by the National Convention in 1925, in
Ibid.,
p.44.

6
. Text of Indian Leaders’ Memorandum to the Government of Britain on the Commonwealth of India Bill, in
Ibid.,
p.50
.

7
. Text of Resolution, in
Ibid.,
p.35.

8
. Indian Quarterly Register, 1925, Vol.1, p.344, cited in B. Shiva Rao, ed.,
The Framing of India’s Constitution: A Study,
New Delhi, 1968, p.12.

9
. Cited in Editor’s Introduction to the Nehru Report, in B. Shiva Rao, ed.,
The Framing of India’s Constitution: Select Documents,
Vol.1, p.58.

10
. For the text of the Nehru Report and the quotes in this para, see
Ibid.,
pp.59-75.

11
. Text of Resolution, in
Ibid.,
p.77

12
. All quotes in this paragraph are from Nehru’s Presidential Address to the National Convention of Congress Legislators, March 1937, in
Ibid.,
pp.86-91.

13
. Text of Resolution
Ibid.,
p.93.

14
. Text of Speech, in
Ibid.,
p.101.

15
. The article, written on 19 November at Allahabad, was published in the
Harijan
weekly of 25 November, 1939. See Gandhi,
CW,
Vol.70, pp.362-65.

16
. For a full report on the discussions, see Gandhi,
CW,
Vol.72, pp.4-7.

17
. For the text of Viceroy Linlithgow’s statement making the ‘August Offer’, see Sir Maurice Gwyer and A. Appadorai, ed.,
Speeches and Documents on The Indian Constitution: 1921-47,
London, 1957, Vol.11, pp.504-5.

18
. Cripps Mission, Draft Declaration, published on 30 March 1942, in
Ibid.,
pp.520-1.

19
. Statement of The Cabinet Mission and the Viceroy, 16 May 1946, in V. P. Menon,
The
Transfer
of Power in India,
Princeton, 1957, Appendix IV, p.471.

20
. Jawaharlal Nehru, in Constituent Assembly Debates (CAD) 11, 3, p.326, cited in Granville Austin,
The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of A Nation,
Oxford, 1966, p.26.

21
. Austin,
The Indian Constitution,
p.13.

22
. Austin,
The Indian Constitution,
p.22.

23
.
Ibid.,
pp.8-9.

24
. Austin,
The Indian Constitution,
p.43.

25
. Constituent Assembly Debates, XI, 9, 835, cited in
Ibid.,
p.46.

26
.
Ibid.,
p.46.

27
. K.M. Panikkar,
Hindu Society at Cross Roads,
Bombay, 3rd edition, 1961, p.96.

28
. Austin,
The Indian Constitution,
p.144.

29
. Subhash C. Kashyap, ‘The Framing of the Constitution and the Process of Institution Building,’ in B.N. Pande, General Editor,
A Centenary History of The Indian National Congress: Vol.IV 1947-1964,
editor, Iqbal Narain, New Delhi, 1990, p.85.

30
. Austin,
The Indian Constitution,
p.50.

31
. W.H.Morris-Jones,
The Government and Politics of India,
New York, 1967, First published in 1964, p.72.

32
. Vallabhbhai Patel’s Speech at the first meeting of the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, 27 February 1947, in B. Shiva Rao, ed.,
The Framing of India’s Constitution: Select Documents,
Vol.II, p.66.

33
. Jawaharlal Nehru, while moving for reference of Constitution (First) Amendment Bill, 1951, to Select Committee, Parliamentary Debates (16 May 1951) Vol.XII, cols.8820-22, cited in Kashyap, ‘Framing of the Constitution,’ in Pande,
A Centenary History,
p.94.

34
. Austin,
The Indian Constitution,
p.50.

35
. Jawaharlal Nehru, cited in Mahajan,
Select Modern Governments,
p.61.

36
. S. Radhakrishnan, cited in
Ibid.

1
. All India Reporter (AIR) 1973 Supreme Court (SC) 1461.

2
. D.D. Basu,
Introduction to The Constitution of India,
p.151.

3
. In the case of Indira Nehru Gandhi vs. Raj Narain, AIR 1975 SC 2299.

4
. D.D. Basu,
Introduction to The Constitution of India,
p.153.

5
. AIR 1980 SC 1789.

6
. D.D.Basu,
Introduction to The Constitution of India,
p.152.

7
. Austin,
The Indian Constitution,
p.186.

8
.
Ibid.,
p.187.

9
. Ambedkar, cited in S.C. Kashyap,
Our Constitution,
New Delhi, 1994, p.44.

10
. Basu,
Introduction to the Constitution of India,
p.62.

11
. Ambedkar, in Constituent Assembly Debates, VII, p.32, cited in M.V. Pylee,
Constitutional Government in India,
New Delhi, 4th edition, 1984, p.265.

12
. Rajendra Prasad, in Constituent Assembly Debates, X, p.956, cited in Pylee,
Constitutional Government in India,
p.265.

13
. Cited in Robert L. Hardgrave and Stanley A. Kochanek,
India: Government and Politics in a Developing Nation,
San Diego, 1993, p.84.

14
. Jawaharlal Nehru in Constituent Assembly Debates, cited in Mahajan,
Select Modern Governments,
Part 1, p.383.

15
. Cited in Mahajan,
Select Modern Governments,
p.327.

16
. Austin,
The Indian Constitution,
p.49.

17
. AIR 1986 SC 180.

1
. Nehru,
Speeches,
5 Volumes, New Delhi, (hereafter referred to as
Speeches
)
,
Vol.1, p.25.

2
.
Ibid.,
pp.25-6

3
. Nehru, Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Second Series, General editor, S. Gopal, New Delhi, 1984, (hereafter referred to as Nehru,
SW,
S.S.), Vol.4, p.530

4
. W.H. Morris-Jones,
The Government and Politics of India,
Wistow (England), 1987 reprint, first published in 1964, p.72.

5
. Nehru,
LCM,
Vol.4, p.366.

6
.
Ibid.,
p.383.

7
. Quoted in V. P. Menon,
Integration of the Indian States,
Madras, 1985 reprint, first published in 1956, p.73.

8
.
Ibid.,
p.91.

9
. Quoted in Norman D. Palmer,
The Indian Political System,
London, 1961, p.88.

10
. V. P. Menon,
op.cit.,
p.94.

11
. Quoted in S. Gopal,
Jawaharlal Nehru—A Biography,
Vol.2, London, 1979, pp.27-8.

12
. Quoted in V. P. Menon,
op.cit.,
p.354.

13
.
Sardar Patel’s Correspondence
(in 10 volumes), edited by Durga Das, Ahmedabad, Vol.7, pp.211-2.

14
.
Ibid.,
p.254.

15
. Nehru,
LCM,
Vol.2, p.508.

16
. Nehru,
SW,
S.S., Vol.4, p.118.

17
.
Nehru on Communalism,
edited by N.L. Gupta, New Delhi, 1965, p.217.

18
. Quoted in S. Gopal,
Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography,
vol.2, p.155.

19
. Quoted in Rajmohan Gandhi,
Patel: A Life,
Ahmedabad, 1990, p.493 and p.497.

20
.
Sardar Patel in Tune with the Millions,
Birth Centenary Vol.3, G.M. Nandurkar, editor, Ahmedabad, 1976, pp.166, 169.

21
. Gandhi,
SW,
Vol.89, p.286.

22
. Nehru,
Speeches,
Vol.1, p.42.

23
. Nehru,
LCM,
Vol.1, p.33.

24
.
Nehru, SW,
S.S., Vol.12, New Delhi, 1991, p.453.

25
. Gyanesh Kudaisya, ‘The Demographic Upheaval of Partition: Refugees and Agricultural Resettlement in India, 1947-67,’
South Asia,
Vol.XVIII, Special Issue, Armidale (Australia), 1995, p.94.

26
. Nehru,
SW,
S.S., Vol.14, Part II, p.95.

27
. R.K. Karanjia,
The Philosophy of Mr Nehru,
London, 1966, pp.159-60.

1
. Nehru,
Speeches,
Vol.3, p.193.

2
. Quoted in S. Gopal,
Jawaharlal Nehru—A Biography,
Vol.3, p.22.

3
. Nehru,
LCM,
Vol.2, p.352.

4
.
Ibid.,
p.598.

5
. Nehru,
SW,
Vol.8, p.831.

6
. Gandhi,
CW.,
Vol.19, pp.314-5.

7
.
Ibid.,
Vol.37, p.22.

8
.
Ibid.,
Vol.85, p.88.

9
. Quoted in S. Mohan Kumaramangalam,
India’s Language Crisis,
Madras, 1965, pp.11-2.

10
. Nehru,
Speeches,
Vol.4, p.60.

11
. Jyotirindra Das Gupta,
Language Conflict and National Development,
Bombay, 1970, p.162.

12
. Quoted in
ibid.,
p.192.

13
. Quoted in
ibid.,
p.232.

14
. Nehru,
Speeches,
Vol.4, pp.54, 55, 60.

15
.
Ibid.,
p.64.

1
. Quoted in S. Mohan Kumaramangalam,
India’s Language Crisis,
Madras, 1965, p.21.

2
. Jawaharlal Nehru,
SW,
S.S., Vol.4, p.530.

3
. S. Gopal,
Jawaharlal Nehru—A Biography,
Vol.2, pp.259-60.

4
. Quoted in Geoffrey Tyson,
Nehru—The Years of Power,
London, 1966, p.149.

5
. W.H. Morris-Jones,
The Government and Politics of India,
London, 1987 edition, p.100.

6
.
Ibid,
p.100.

7
. Rajni Kothari,
Politics in India,
New Delhi, 1986 reprint, pp.114-5.