Skip to main content

Elections 2019: Why are unfulfilled social needs not being debated fiercely?

By Prof Anil Gupta*
The shower of promises has not cooled the tempers of electoral rhetoric yet, though real rains are still some time away. Several models of poverty alleviation are being discussed, some rely on providing infrastructural support in various ways so that entrepreneurial, risk-taking people among the poor can rise above the poverty line. Millions have indeed come up like this in the last decade.
Others offer minimum income guarantee to each of the poor households whether identified through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) registers or other means. There will be some poor who cannot pursue any viable occupation, will need to survive only through state support. But there will be some who can try to bootstrap if given a fair, easily accessible, corruption free, social entrepreneurial option preferably based on an innovative idea.
Where is the critical debate on lessons learned from various poverty alleviation schemes? When northeastern states can provide up to 80-90 days out of promised 100 days of employment, the average in the country is just around 40-46, less than fifty percent. It is not because of low demand but mainly sticky supply. Further, the work-ethic without which no country can ever progress has never been brought into sharper public debate.
So how do we proceed further?
a) Should we consider employment guarantee works not only to deepen ponds, but also make farm bunds, desilt irrigation channels etc., on priority in every single village where needed so that not a drop of rain water or irrigation water goes waste, water being so critical for human, animal or agricultural purposes and groundwater table declining almost everywhere?
b) The sanitation program will be continued but not in the present mode but only with modified location specific waterless or low water needing toilets (a country which is not able to provide average 40 liters drinking water to around 20 per cent rural people of the country as per the information provided to the Parliament last July just cannot provide say five litres minimum water for draining per day per capita using current designs of toilets. Many African countries are experimenting with waterless toilets with a system to collect and process excreta to make briquettes and fertilizer).
c) The public distributions system needs further streamlining and prioritization;
d) Public preventive health incorporating AYUSH system is as important as curative system, the conditions of primary health centres in most states in pitiable;
e) high quality school education in governments schools on the pattern of Navodaya Vidyalaya (this has unfortunately not been mentioned as top priority by any party) is another area which needs massive investment. Specific suggestions were made to replicate a Navodaya Vidyalaya in every block but was ignored by successive the minister for human resource development;
f) Around 30-35 per cent infant children being malnourished brings no honour to the country and yet this is not a top priority and one can go on.
How will we innovate new institutional models bringing transparency, trust and total decentralization in the polity of the nation. How do we subvert the increasing tendency to centralize governance?
There was a time when Gujarat and Maharashtra were known for really powerful Zila Parishads at district levels. Over time, states want more resources from centre, but they don’t want to delegate it to the district, block and village level.
Many of the national leaders emerged from cooperatives and local bodies. But we lack a commitment to revitalize cooperative sector (with the glorious exception of milk in Gujarat, handloom in Tamil Nadu, and few other sectors), local bodies and autonomy of educational and other public institutions.
This election has not even posed the issue of giving autonomy to educational and other public institutions, institutionalizing meritocracy, giving up mediocrity and commitment to truthful data for self-critical assessment of policies that don’t work, and celebrating those which work.
Which leader wants to hear the truth and encourage dissent and diversity in public discourse? But if the selection of candidates continues to be on caste and religious considerations, then why am I being so naïve?
---
*Founder of the Honey Bee Network, workimg in the area of grassroots innovations; has been Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Source: Author's Facebook timeline

Comments

TRENDING

Wave of disappearances sparks human rights fears for activists in Delhi

By Harsh Thakor*  A philosophy student from Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, and an activist associated with Nazariya magazine, Rudra, has been reported missing since the morning of July 19, 2025. This disappearance adds to a growing concern among human rights advocates regarding the escalating number of detentions and disappearances of activists in Delhi.

How community leaders overcome obstacles to protect forests and pastures in remote villages

By Bharat Dogra  Dheera Ram Kapaya grew up in such poverty that, unable to attend school himself, he would carry another boy’s heavy school bag for five kilometers just to get a scoop of daliya (porridge). When he was finally able to attend school, he had to leave after class five to join other adolescent workers. However, as soon as opportunities arose, he involved himself in community efforts—promoting forest protection, adult literacy, and other constructive initiatives. His hidden talent for writing emerged during this time, and he became known for the songs and street play scripts he created to promote forest conservation, discourage child marriages, and support other social reforms.

‘Act of war on agriculture’: Aruna Rodrigues slams GM crop expansion and regulatory apathy

By Rosamma Thomas*  Expressing appreciation to the Union Agriculture Minister for inviting suggestions from farmers and concerned citizens on the sharp decline in cotton crop productivity, Aruna Rodrigues—lead petitioner in the Supreme Court case ongoing since 2005 that seeks a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops—wrote to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 14, 2025, stating that conflicts of interest have infiltrated India’s regulatory system like a spreading cancer, including within the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The GMO illusion: Three decades of hype, harm, and false hope

By Sridhar Radhakrishnan  Three decades of hype, billions of dollars spent, and still no miracle crop. It's time to abandon the GMO biotech fairy tale and return to the soil, the seed, and the farmer. “Trust us,” they said. “GMOs will feed the world.” Picture a world where there is plenty of food, no hunger, fields grow without chemical pesticides, children are saved from malnutrition, and people live healthily.

Overriding India's constitutional sovereignty? Citizens urge PM to reject WHO IHR amendments

By A Representative   A group of concerned Indian citizens, including medical professionals and activists, has sent an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to reject proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) before the ratification deadline of July 19, 2025. 

Sandra Gonzalez Sanabria: An inspiring life from Colombia’s Amazonian valley

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  In the village of Héctor Ramírez, known as Agua Bonita, in La Montañita, Caquetá, Colombia, a vision of peace and renewal is unfolding. In the pre-2016 period, this would have been nearly impossible for outsiders to visit, as it was the epicenter of violent resistance against state oppression. However, after the Peace Accord was signed between the Colombian government and former revolutionaries—marking the end of a 70-year insurgency that claimed over 400,000 lives until 2025, including civilians, rebel fighters, and security personnel—things began to change. Visiting Agua Bonita during the Global Land Forum in Bogotá revealed a village of hope and resilience. Former FARC revolutionaries have settled here and transformed the village into a center of peace and aspiration.

Indigenous Karen activist calls for global solidarity amid continued struggles in Burma

By A Representative   At the International Festival for People’s Rights and Struggles (IFPRS), Naw Paw Pree, an Indigenous Karen activist from the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), shared her experiences of oppression, resilience, and hope. Organized with the support of the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), the event brought together Indigenous and marginalized communities from across the globe, offering a rare safe space for shared learning, solidarity, and expression.

Activists allege abduction and torture by Delhi Police Special Cell in missing person probe

By A Representative   A press statement released today by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) alleges that several student and social activists have been abducted, illegally detained, and subjected to torture by the Delhi Police Special Cell. The CASR claims these actions are linked to an investigation into the disappearance of Vallika Varshri, an editorial team member of 'Nazariya' magazine.

India’s zero-emission, eco-friendly energy strategies have a long way to go, despite impressive progress

By N.S. Venkataraman*   The recent report released by OPEC’s World Oil Outlook 2025 has predicted that by the year 2050, crude oil would replace coal as India’s key energy source. Clearly, OPEC expects that India’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy will continue to remain high in one form or another.