Higher percentage of Gujarat families live in kuccha houses, more than India average

By Rajiv Shah

The latest Socio Economic and Caste Survey (SECC) 2011, released recently by Government of India, has revealed that, despite claims of Gujarat "model" to remove poverty, things are not so rosy as it may seem for the vulnerable sections of rural population. Not only do a much higher proportion of families in Gujarat live in kuccha houses, more Dalit households are dependent on manual casual labour than most of the 21 major states.

SECC data show that Gujarat’s 44.52 per cent rural families live in kuccha houses, which is worse than all major 21 states with the exception of poor states such as Chhattisgarh, Assam, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The national average of families living in kuccha houses is 43.5 per cent. Though it is supposed to be a caste census, there is, however, no breakup separately for Dalits, Adivasis and "Others" -- the three categories worked out by SECC for providing separate data -- for the type of houses they live in.

Yet, there are spots which show up what's wrong with Gujarat "model". Thus, there are higher proportion of Dalit households in rural Gujarat dependent on manual casual labour than 15 other Indian states. An analysis of 21 major states suggests that more Dalit households than Gujarat are dependent on manual casual labour only in four states – Punjab (77.2 per cent), Bihar (76.21 per cent), Haryana (73.22 per cent), and Kerala 64.92 per cent).

The SECC data further reveal that, when it comes to income, only 6.8 per cent of Dalit households have highest earning persons earning more than Rs 10,000 in Gujarat. This is less than eight out of 21 major states – Jammu & Kashmir (16.61 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (16.35 per cent), Uttarkhand (7.62 per cent), Assam (7.58 per cent), Maharashtra (7.29 per cent), Jharkhand (7.01 per cent), Punjab (6.98 per cent), and Haryana (6.8 per cent).

As for Adivasis in Gujarat, there may be a much lower proportion of Adivasi households compared to the Dalits who are dependent on manual casual labour (35.62 per cent), which is the exact equal to the all-India average. This may be because they may be dependent on collecting forest produce. Even then, this is worse than 11 other states.

Further, there are just 4.33 per cent Adivasi households in Gujarat whose highest earning members' income is more than Rs 10,000. This is against Dalits’ 6.8 per cent, and Others’ 11.39 per cent. The Others category includes all non-Dalits and non-Adivasis and consists of other backward classes, minorities and Hindu upper castes. The all-India average is 4.48 per cent families.

The SECC data further suggest that, in the ownership of assets, the state’s Dalits and Adivasis are worse off than those forming part of the Others category. Thus, in rural Gujarat, there are 29.99 per cent Other households who own a motorized two wheelers – model or motorbike – as against 18.11 per cent Dalits and 14.04 per cent Adivasis.

The SECC data also suggest that 20.19 per cent Other households which have refrigerators, as against Dalits’ 8.39 per cent and Adivasis’ 4.98 per cent. Further, while there are 79.52 per cent Other households which have either mobile or landline phone at their residence, as against 74.32 per cent Dalits and 56.27 per cent Adivasis.

Interesting though it may seem, average households' assets in Gujarat households are to be found be better than most of Indian Indian states. Thus, on an average, 25.83 per cent of Gujarat’s households own two-wheelers, which is higher than all states except Punjab (40.95 per cent), Tamil Nadu (29.91 per cent), Haryana (27.08 per cent), and Telangana (26.95 per cent).

Then, 16.19 per cent Gujarat households have refrigerators, with the national average being 11.4 per cent. And, Gujarat’s 25.8 per cent households do not have either mobile or landline, as against the national average of 27.93 per cent.

Comments

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar* Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Search This Blog