Hurriedly released Government of India report suggests Gujarat's HDI rose higher than most states

By A Representative
Has the Gujarat government’s “neo-liberal” economic persuasion, which presupposes that economic growth leads to automatic development of the social sector, including income, education and health, begun to work? It would seem to, if one of the latest reports, hurriedly released by the UPA government alongside the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, is any indication. An updated version of the India Human Development Report 2011, released on March 11, 2014, suggests that Gujarat’s human development index (HDI) sharply rose by 26.77 per cent, between 2007-08 and 2011-12, which is one of the best in India!
While despite this rise of 26.77 per cent, Gujarat’s HDI ranking remains the same as it was earlier (ninth), the sharp rise in the HDI from 0.508 in 2007-08 to 0.644 in 2011-12 on a scale of one should suggest that there was some improvement somewhere.
However, whatever data were released by the Planning Commission’s Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR) while updating the report, does not suggest where exactly this improvement has taken place, and how. If the India HDI report 2011, released three years ago, relied on 2007-08 data for ranking each state, the updated version of the report has used 2011-12 data.

HDI improvement: 2007-08 to 2011-12 (%)

The updated HDI report shows that only three states – Delhi (27.5 per cent), Haryana (31.5 per cent), and Uttar Pradesh (32.79 per cent) – performed better than Gujarat in improving the index between 2007-08 and 2011-12. All-India improvement in the HDI was 20.8 per cent, more than six per cent lower than Gujarat’s.
Interestingly, whatever papers that were released by the IAMR, while giving indices for three separate years – 1999-2000, 2007-08 and 2011-12 – give no explanation as to why this has happened. They merely compare 1999-2000 with 2011-12, during which Gujarat’s HDI rose by 44 per cent compared to 46 per cent all-India.
Scanning through the papers, it would seem that Gujarat has performed the best in improving its income index, but not as good in education and health indices. Comparing 1999-2000 with 2011-12, the data suggest, Gujarat’s improvement in income index was 84 per cent, as against all-India’s 68 per cent.
But in health index Gujarat’s improvement was 25 per cent, just about equal to the national average, 24 per cent, and in education index Gujarat improvement was merely 43 per cent as against all-India’s 62 per cent.

HDI improvement: 1999-2000 to 2007-08 (%)

The papers, strangely, hide the exact details of indices for each of the three for the three years in question.
Significantly, Gujarat failed to do as well as other states in HDI between 1999-2000 and 2007-08, which became the main reason why its overall HDI improvement up to 2011-12 (44 per cent) remained lower than the national average (46 per cent). There is no explanation as to why there was considerable improvement between 1999-2000 and 2007-08, on one hand, and between 2007-08 and 2011-12, on the other.

Between 1999-2000 and 2007-08, Gujarat’s HDI improved by 13.39 per cent, as against the national average of 20.85 per cent. This was lower than most states, including Kerala 16.51 per cent, Maharashtra 13.99 per cent, Tamil Nadu 18.92 per cent, North East (except Assam) 21.54 per cent, Karnataka 20.38 per cent, Uttarakhand 44.95 per cent, West Bengal 17.16 per cent, Jammu & Kashmir 14.19 per cent, Andhra Pradesh 29.01 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 21.38 per cent, Assam 31.38 per cent, Jharkhand 40.77 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 32.36 per cent, Bihar 25.7 per cent, Odisha 31.81 per cent, and Chhattisgarh 30.22 per cent.

Comments

Dalit woman student’s death sparks allegations of institutional neglect in Himachal college

By A Representative A Dalit rights organisation has alleged severe caste- and gender-based institutional violence leading to the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman student at Government Degree College, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and has demanded arrests, resignations, and an independent inquiry into the case.

From colonial mercantilism to Hindutva: New book on the making of power in Gujarat

By Rajiv Shah Professor Ghanshyam Shah ’s latest book, “ Caste-Class Hegemony and State Power: A Study of Gujarat Politics ”, published by Routledge , is penned by one of Gujarat ’s most respected chroniclers, drawing on decades of fieldwork in the state. It seeks to dissect how caste and class factors overlap to perpetuate the hegemony of upper strata in an ostensibly democratic polity. The book probes the dominance of two main political parties in Gujarat—the Indian National Congress and the BJP—arguing that both have sustained capitalist growth while reinforcing Brahmanic hierarchies.

Domestic vote-bank politics 'behind official solidarity' with Bangladeshi Hindus

By Sandeep Pandey, Faisal Khan The Indian government has registered a protest with Bangladesh over the mob lynching of two Hindus—Deepu Chandra Das in Mymensingh and Amrit Mandal in Rajbari. In its communication, the government cited a report by the Association of Hindus, Buddhists and Christian Unity Council, which claims that more than 2,900 incidents of killings, arson, and land encroachments targeting minorities have taken place since the interim government assumed power in Bangladesh.

NYT: RSS 'infiltrates' institutions, 'drives' religious divide under Modi's leadership

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive New York Times investigation published on December 26, 2025, chronicles the rise of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — characterized as a far-right Hindu nationalist organization — from a shadowy group founded in 1925 to the world's largest right-wing force, marking its centenary in 2025 with unprecedented influence and mainstream acceptance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who joined the RSS as a young boy and later became a full-time campaigner before being deputized to its political wing in the 1980s, delivered his strongest public tribute to the group in his August 2025 Independence Day address. Speaking from the Red Fort , he called the RSS a "giant river" with dozens of streams touching every aspect of Indian life, praising its "service, dedication, organization, and unmatched discipline." The report describes how the RSS has deeply infiltrated India's institutions — government, courts, police, media, and academia — ...

From protest to proof: Why civil society must rethink environmental resistance

By Shankar Sharma* As concerned environmentalists and informed citizens, many of us share deep unease about the way environmental governance in our country is being managed—or mismanaged. Our complaints range across sectors and regions, and most of them are legitimate. Yet a hard question confronts us: are complaints, by themselves, effective? Experience suggests they are not.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

2025 was not just a bad year—it was a moral failure, it normalised crisis

By Atanu Roy* The clock has struck midnight. 2025 has passed, and 2026 has arrived. Firecrackers were already bursting in celebration. If this is merely a ritual, like Deepavali, there is little to comment on. Otherwise, I find 2025 to have been a dismal year, weighed down by relentless odds—perhaps the worst year I have personally witnessed.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Search This Blog