Article Type : Research Article
Authors : Pal D, Singh G, Kaur V, Jyoti and Kaur G
Keywords : Dalit; Woman labourers; Poverty line; Head-count ratio; Rural areas; Income; Consumption expenditure
Based
on primary data collected from 927 Dalit woman labour households spread over
all the three geographical regions of Punjab, viz. Malwa, Doaba, and Majha, the
present study revealed that the socio-economic conditions of the Dalit woman
labour households were very miserable. A large majority of the members of Dalit
woman labour households were living in income-based and consumption
expenditure-based poverty in all the three regions according to the different
poverty criteria. However, the incidence of income-based poverty among the
Dalit woman labour households was found relatively higher as compared to the
consumption expenditure- based poverty in all the three regions in rural Punjab.
Further the incidence poverty among the Dalit woman labour households was
relatively higher in Majha, followed by Malwa and Doaba under the different
poverty criteria.
The problem of poverty,
especially rural poverty has drawn a great deal of attention of intellectuals,
planners and policy-makers in India. Though many anti-poverty programmes have
been strengthened in the successive years, a large section of the population is
still living Below the Poverty Line. Such a heavy incidence of poverty is sure
to adversely affect the country’s development [1,2]. Poverty has mounted
frustration among the rural households which led to even suicide by many
farmers and agricultural labourers. It has also increased migration from rural
areas and adversely affected employment in such areas [3]. The Dalits lie at
the bottom of the Indian society. Economically poor and often living in dire
poverty, their inferior position is explained by the permanent ritual impurity
deriving from their association with death and organic pollution. They are
engaged in occupations which are indispensable for removing impurity from
social life and work as sweepers, scavengers, grave-diggers and tanners. They
also work as agricultural labourers and are pre-dominantly landless [4].
Discrimination based on caste status is a root cause of the high poverty levels
that caste-affected people experience. Most of the Dalits, live Below the
Poverty Line, earn less than the minimum wages, have no access to education,
experience segregation in access to housing and suffer from numerous diseases
due to lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation. This inequality is
exacerbated by the lack of implementation of existing laws to protect the
Dalits [5]. Gender dimensions of poverty often gain significance from the
notion that woman labourers constitute the poorest of the poor, being the
lowest in social and economic hierarchies [6]. Generally, female-headed
households in the labour class are necessarily poorer and suffer from
vulnerabilities when compared with those of male-headed households [7]. Low wages,
unemployment and poor living conditions are a familiar part of their daily
life. At the same time, in most of these societies, the Dalit women bear the
worst consequences of poverty and exploitation as they suffer from oppression
based on sex, class, and race. The traditions of male-dominated society force
women to think that virtue lies in self-sacrifice, leading to their slow
starvation when the family is living at a bare subsistence level [8]. The
reduction in poverty and provision of other basic needs have been emphasized in
all the Five-Year Plans, particularly since the Fifth Five-Year Plan [9]. The
Government of India has implemented several anti-poverty schemes. These schemes
aim at creating adequate livelihood opportunities for the marginalised segments
of the population, provisioning of public services and goods for improving
standard and quality of life, strengthening of institutions and delivery
mechanisms to empower the poor and targeted development of backward regions
through resource transfers and supportive policy measures [10]. Despite efforts
made over the past few decades, the rural poverty still persists, particularly
among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe people in rural areas [11]. The
presence of such disparities and widespread discrimination against the
Scheduled groups is not a new phenomenon in India [12]. In recent times, there
has been a significant shift in focus in the poverty literature away from the
‘trickle-down’ concept of growth towards the idea of ‘pro-poor growth’. The
ideal outcome of such a growth process should be that no person in society is
deprived of the basic minimum needs. Hence, promoting pro-poor growth requires
a strategy that is deliberately biased in favour of Below the Poverty Line
people, so that they benefit proportionately more than the rich. Adequate
public spending on basic education and health services represents direct
pro-poor policies. Hence, it becomes necessary to identify and control other
factors that can reduce poverty directly even if growth does not increase, or
which can improve the mapping of growth onto poverty. The state of Punjab has
the highest percentage of Dalit population amongst all the states of the
country. As per the recent Socio-Economic and Caste Census, the Dalit population
in Punjab is 88.60 lakh, which is 31.94 per cent of the total population of the
state. This percentage has been reported even higher (36.75 per cent) in the
rural areas which is nearly double the national average (18.46 per cent). It
means that most of the population living Below the Poverty Line in the rural
areas belongs to the Dalit population. Poverty is a phenomenon which is complex
in origin as well as manifestation. It is said to be easily perceived, but
difficult to describe [14]. Poverty is a polysemic and multidimensional
concept. In its broadest sense, it is defined as a situation where the level of
individual welfare is inadequate and socially unacceptable. However, its
measurement is the subject of considerable debate. The non-monetarist view of
poverty focuses on the deprivation of rights [15]. Poverty in the Indian
context is related to the low level of Per Capita Income and its highly skewed
distribution, along with a slow pace of economic development [16]. Poverty is a
state of deprivation. In absolute terms, it reflects the inability of an
individual to satisfy certain basic minimum needs for a sustained, healthy and
reasonably productive living. There is no unique approach to estimate a poverty
line for measuring the incidence of poverty in conformity with the absolute
notion of poverty. In the Indian context, a consensus emerged in the early
1970s on the adoption of an energy adequacy norm to anchor the minimum
consumption level for defining the poverty line [17]. On the basis of above studies,
the term ‘poverty’ is defined as inability of an individual to satisfy certain
basic minimum needs for a sustained, healthy and reasonable productive living.
All those people who live below this minimum desirable level of living are said
to be living Below the Poverty Line. Most of the economists and policy-makers
are unanimous on this definition of poverty. However, the debate on what we
mean by the poverty line is still going on in academic circles. Prevalence of
poverty among the Dalit woman labourers in Punjab has been analysed on the
basis of following criteria:
Expert
group criterion
The poverty line worked
out by the Expert Group was Rs. 49.09 monthly, per capita expenditure at
1973-74 prices for the rural areas. However, for the purpose of this study, the
poverty line was estimated by using the General Consumer Price Index for the
rural labourers for the year 2016-17. The poverty line comes to Rs. 28021.65
per capita, per annum. All the Dalit woman labour households having per capita
income or per capita consumption expenditure below Rs. 28021.65 have been
considered as poor. The commonest measure is the Head-Count ratio, given by the
proportion of the population whose income is below the defined poverty line,
which can be expressed as under:
HCI=
Where,
HCI = Head-Count Index
I = Indicator
function
Yi = Actual income of
ith household
Z = Income at the poverty line
N = Total number of persons.
The indicator function I is 1 if (Yi< Z) is true and 0 otherwise.
So, if actual income (Yi) is less than the poverty line income (Z), then I is
equal to 1; and the person would be counted as poor.
Tendulkar
criterion
In 2005, Suresh Tendulkar Committee was constituted by the Planning
Commission to review the methodology for estimation of poverty in India. This
committee recommended to shift away from the calorie-based model and made the
poverty line somewhat broad by considering monthly spending on education,
health, electricity and transport also. For 2004-05, the poverty line using
this methodology was estimated at Rs. 543.51 per capita, per month for the
rural areas of Punjab. For the purpose of this study, the poverty line comes to
Rs. 16686.71 per capita, per annum by using the General Consumer Price Index
for the rural labourers for the year 2016-17.
Rangarajan
criterion
An Expert Group under the chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan, to
review the methodology for measurement of poverty in the country, was
constituted by the Planning Commission in June 2012. This Expert Group
submitted its report on 30th June, 2014. As per the report, for 2011-12, the
poverty line was estimated at Rs. 1127.48 per capita, per month in the rural
areas of Punjab. The poverty line comes to Rs. 19375.67 per capita, per annum
by using the General Consumer Price Index for the rural labourers for the year
2016-17.
50
Percent of state pci criterion
The fourth criterion defines poverty in relation to contemporary
living level by drawing the poverty line at, say, half of the average Per
Capita Income (PCI) level of the state. Punjab’s Per Capita Income at current
prices for the year 2016-17 was Rs. 131112. The formula for finding the income
level of persons, who appear Below the Poverty Line, can be worked out as
follows:
Cut-off line = PCI
of state × 50%
= Rs. 131112 ×
50/100
= Rs. 65556.00
40
Percent of state Pci criterion
Below the Poverty Line persons in the rural Punjab can also be
identified by taking into consideration only 40 per cent of Per Capita Income
(PCI) of the state instead of 50 per cent. The cut-off line as per this
criterion can be calculated as below:
Cut-off line = PCI
of state × 40%
= Rs. 131112 ×
40/100
= Rs. 52444.80
World
Bank’s extreme poverty line criterion
In the recent years, the World Bank’s methods to measure poverty have
also been applied to estimate poverty among people of developing countries. The
World Bank’s first concept of poverty is the Extreme Poverty. In October 2015,
the World Bank revised (largely due to inflation) Extreme International Poverty
Line to $1.90 per day, per person at Purchasing Power Parity (Ferreira et al.,
2015).
The purchasing power parity of the Indian Rupee with US $ in 2016-17
was 1 $ = Rs. 17.82 (www.data.oecd.org). The cut-off line as per this criterion
is as below:
Cut-off line = 1.90 × 17.82 × 365
= Rs. 12358.17
World
Bank’s moderate poverty line criterion
The World Bank’s second concept of poverty is the Moderate Poverty.
The revised Moderate International Poverty Line is $3.10 per day, per person at
Purchasing Power Parity (Ferreira et al., 2015). As per this criterion, the
cut-off line is as below:
Cut-off line = 3.10 × 17.82 × 365
= Rs. 20163.33
Socio-economic profiles of the poor households provide a background
in understanding the poverty prevailing in these households. Therefore, the
present paper attempts to examine the socio-economic and living conditions of
the Dalit woman labourers and the incidence of income-based and consumption
expenditure-based poverty among their households in the rural areas of Punjab.
The present study, based on multi-stage systematic random sampling technique, is related to the year 2016-17. For the purpose of present study, four districts were selected from the three geographical regions of Punjab, viz. Majha, Doaba and Malwa. Majha and Doaba comprise four districts each whereas Malwa forms a major part of the Punjab state and consists fourteen districts.
Figure 1: Map of the study area.
Amritsar district was selected from the Majha region; Jalandhar
district from the Doaba region; whereas two districts, namely Mansa and
Fatehgarh Sahib, were selected from the Malwa region. The map of the study area
is depicted in Figure 1 (Figure 1).
At
the next stage, one village from each development block of the selected
districts was chosen on the basis of random sampling technique. From these
villages, 927 Dalit woman labour households were randomly selected and
investigated by taking 20 per cent households from the total number of Dalit
woman labour households. Out of these 927 respondent households, 340 households
belonged to Malwa region, 243 to Doaba region and 314 to Majha region. The
required primary data were collected from the sampled households through the
well prepared questionnaire. Since the majority of the Dalit woman labourers
were illiterate, it was decided to fill questionnaires-cum-schedules through
the interview method. The results were analysed by using the mean values and
percentages. Bar-diagram was used to present some of the results. The analysis
has been divided into two sections. Section I deals with the analysis of
socio-economic conditions of the Dalit woman labour households in the rural
areas of Punjab, while Section II examines the incidence of income-based and
consumption expenditure-based poverty prevailing among these labour households.
Section I
This section focuses on the analysis of the socio-economic conditions of the Dalit woman labourers in rural Punjab. Table 1 depicts that out of the total 4266 family members, 52.20 per cent members were in the earning category, 31.18 per cent members belonged to the dependent category, while the remaining, i.e., 16.62 per cent members appeared under the earning dependent category in the rural areas in Punjab. In Doaba, out of the total 1091 family members, 54.45 per cent members belonged to the earning category, 30.43 per cent members appeared under the dependent category, while the remaining, i.e., 15.12 per cent members belonged to the earning dependent category. The corresponding proportions were 52.50, 28.63, and 18.87 per cent in Malwa; and 50.24, 34.58, and 15.18 per cent in Majha respectively. Education provides awareness to a person about the rights and prepares him/her for diverse occupation jobs [18]. Therefore, the education status of the earning members in a family is very important to examine the level of living of the family. The table reveals that out of the total 2227 earning members, more than half of, i.e., 56.31 per cent were illiterate. Thus, only 43.69 per cent acquired some formal school education in the rural Punjab. The level of literacy is low because the money meant for constructing and managing schools is often siphoned off and teachers are either not appointed or remain absent. According to the 10th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2014), 52 per cent of the school children in fifth grade were unable to read grade two books, and as a result they would be per forced to work at low levels of productivity for the rest of their lives and would likely remain poor. The region-wise analysis reveals that the percentage of illiterates was the highest, i.e., 65.31 per cent in Malwa and relatively the lowest, i.e., 40.74 per cent in Doaba. It was 58.06 per cent in Majha. Thus, only 34.69, 41.94, and 59.26 per cent acquired some formal school education in Malwa, Majha, and Doaba respectively (Table 1).
Table 1: Socio-Economic Background of Dalit Woman laborers.
Particular |
Malwa |
Doaba |
Majha |
Punjab |
1. Economic status of the
family members |
|
|
|
|
Earning |
882 (52.50) |
594 (54.45) |
751 (50.24) |
2227 (52.20) |
Earning dependent |
317 (18.87) |
165 (15.12) |
227 (15.18) |
709 (16.62) |
Dependent |
481 (28.63) |
332 (30.43) |
517 (34.58) |
1330 (31.18) |
Total |
1680 (100.00) |
1091 (100.00) |
1495 (100.00) |
4266 (100.00) |
2. Educational status of the earning members |
|
|
|
|
Illiterate |
576 (65.31) |
242 (40.74) |
436 (58.06) |
1254 (56.31) |
Primary |
120 (13.61) |
128 (21.55) |
89 (11.85) |
337 (15.13) |
Middle |
68 (7.70) |
123 (20.71) |
84 (11.19) |
275 (12.35) |
Matric |
67 (7.60) |
65 (10.94) |
98 (13.05) |
230 (10.33) |
Senior secondary |
40 (4.53) |
27 (4.55) |
44 (5.86) |
111 (4.98) |
Graduate & above |
9 (1.02) |
5 (0.84) |
0 (0.00) |
14 (0.63) |
Other professional |
2 (0.23) |
4 (0.67) |
0 (0.00) |
6 (0.27) |
Total |
882 (100.00) |
594 (100.00) |
751 (100.00) |
2227 (100.00) |
3. Age (in years) of the earning members |
|
|
|
|
Less than 30 |
196 (22.22) |
153 (25.76) |
221 (29.43) |
570 (25.59) |
30 to 44 |
340 (38.55) |
220 (37.04) |
327 (43.54) |
887 (39.83) |
45 to 59 |
231 (26.19) |
176 (29.63) |
133 (17.71) |
540 (24.25) |
60 & above |
115 (13.04) |
45 (7.58) |
70 (9.32) |
230 (10.33) |
Total |
882 (100.00) |
594 (100.00) |
751 (100.00) |
2227 (100.00) |
4. Family type |
|
|
|
|
Nuclear |
340 (91.89) |
208 (85.60) |
294 (93.63) |
842 (90.83) |
Joint |
30 (8.11) |
35 (14.40) |
20 (6.37) |
85 (9.17) |
Total |
370 (100.00) |
243 (100.00) |
314 (100.00) |
927 (100.00) |
5. Family head |
|
|
|
|
Male |
332 (89.73) |
200 (82.30) |
260 (82.80) |
792 (85.44) |
Female |
38 (10.27) |
43 (17.70) |
54 (17.20) |
135 (14.56) |
Total |
370 (100.00) |
243 (100.00) |
314 (100.00) |
927 (100.00) |
Source: Field Survey, 2016-17 Note: The figures
given in parentheses indicate percentages. |
Table 2: Housing Conditions of Dalit Woman Labourers.
Particulars |
Number of
Dalit woman labourers |
|||
Malwa |
Doaba |
Majha |
Punjab |
|
Type of house |
|
|
|
|
Kutcha |
8 (2.16) |
7 (2.88) |
7 (2.23) |
22 (2.37) |
Semi- pucca |
332 (90.81) |
219 (90.12) |
296 (94.27) |
851 (91.80) |
Pucca |
26 (7.03) |
17 (7.00) |
11 (3.50) |
54 (5.83) |
Total |
370 (100.00) |
243 (100.00) |
314 (100.00) |
927 (100.00) |
Condition of
house |
|
|
|
|
Good |
5 (1.35) |
2 (0.82) |
5 (1.59) |
12 (1.29) |
Moderate |
69 (18.65) |
66 (27.16) |
44 (14.01) |
179 (19.31) |
Dilapidated |
296 (80.00) |
175 (72.02) |
265 (84.39) |
736 (79.40) |
Total |
370 (100.00) |
243 (100.00) |
314 (100.00) |
927 (100.00) |
Status of kitchen in dwelling house |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
95 (25.68) |
77 (31.69) |
111 (35.35) |
283 (30.53) |
No |
275 (74.32) |
166 (68.31) |
203 (64.65) |
644 (69.47) |
Total |
370 (100.00) |
243 (100.00) |
314 (100.00) |
927 (100.00) |
Average
number of rooms available |
1.84 |
1.65 |
1.75 |
1.76 |
Families having access to
bathroom/toilet |
294 (79.46) |
216 (88.89) |
265 (84.39) |
775 (83.60) |
Condition of
bathroom/toilet |
|
|
|
|
Good |
5 (1.35) |
2 (0.82) |
0 (0.00) |
7 (0.76) |
Moderate |
46 (12.43) |
32 (13.17) |
24 (7.64) |
102 (11.00) |
Dilapidated |
243 (65.68) |
182 (74.90) |
241 (76.75) |
666 (71.84) |
Total |
294 (79.46) |
216 (88.89) |
265 (84.39) |
775 (83.60) |
Source: Field Survey, 2016-17 Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate the percentages. |
The houses, they were living in, were in a pitiable condition; and
there was not even proper provision of drinking water which exposes them to
many health hazards. A large majority of the respondents, i.e., 91.80 per cent
were living in semi-pucca houses, whereas only 5.83 per cent had pucca houses.
It is pertinent to note that 2.37 per cent of the respondents had kutcha houses
to live in. The table further reveals that majority of the respondents, i.e.,
79.40 per cent were living in dilapidated housing conditions, while the houses
of 19.31 per cent respondents were neither in a good or bad condition. Only a
small proportion of the respondents, i.e., 1.29 per cent had relatively better
houses to live in. The table clearly reflects that the Dalit woman labourers
were living in pitiable conditions due to their economic compulsions. The field
survey brought out a disturbing fact that the Dalit woman labourers found it
hard to even get their houses repaired.
The table also shows that 69.47 per cent of the total Dalit woman
labour households had no arrangement of a separate kitchen in their houses. On
an average, less than two (1.76) rooms were found in sampled household. Out of
the total 927 households, 83.60 per cent had access to bathroom/toilet.
However, the bathrooms/toilets used by them were not proper in any respect.
Dalit labourers lacked the resources to avail these amenities. Even though the
state government gives grant to construct the toilet in the rural areas but
most of the Dalits, who lack even a pucca house to live in, cannot afford to
spend a few thousand rupees on a toilet [19]. The bathrooms/toilets were in
extremely bad conditions in the case of 71.84 per cent Dalit woman labour
households. Only 11.00 per cent of the respondents have neither good, nor bad
bathrooms/toilets, whereas a meagre proportion of the respondents, i.e., 0.76
per cent had bathrooms/toilets in a relatively good condition. The region-wise
data explaining the housing conditions highlights that majority of the
respondent Dalit woman labourers had semi-pucca houses. There were 94.27 per
cent respondents in Majha, 90.81 per cent in Malwa, and 90.12 per cent in Doaba
who lived in semi-pucca houses. Only 7.03, 7.00, and 3.50 per cent respondents
had pucca houses in Malwa, Doaba, and Majha respectively. It needs to be noted
here that only 2.88 per cent respondents in Doaba, 2.23 per cent in Majha and
2.16 per cent in Malwa had kutcha houses to live in. The table also reveals
that 84.39 per cent of the respondents were living in dilapidated houses in
Majha. The corresponding figures were 80.00 and 72.02 per cent for Malwa and
Doaba respectively. It presents a clear picture about the poverty prevailing in
their houses. As many as 27.16, 18.65, and 14.01 per cent respondents lived in
moderate housing conditions in Doaba, Malwa, and Majha respectively. Only 1.59
per cent respondents in Majha, 1.35 per cent in Malwa and 0.82 per cent in
Doaba lived in relatively good housing conditions. The table also indicates
that 74.32 per cent of the respondents in Malwa, 68.31 per cent in Doaba and
64.65 per cent in Majha had no separate kitchens in their houses. The average
numbers of rooms available per household were 1.84, 1.75, and 1.65 in Malwa,
Majha, and Doaba respectively. As many as 88.89 per cent respondent Dalit woman
labourers in Doaba, 84.39 per cent in Majha and 79.46 per cent in Malwa had
access to a bathroom/toilet. The bathrooms/toilets were in a dilapidated
condition in the case of 76.75 per cent of the Dalit woman labour households in
Majha, 74.90 per cent in Doaba and 65.68 per cent in Malwa. A small proportion
of the respondents, i.e., 13.17 per cent in Doaba, 12.43 per cent in Malwa and
7.64 per cent in Majha had neither good, nor bad bathrooms/toilets in their
houses. Only a minimal proportion, i.e., 1.35 per cent in Malwa and 0.82 per
cent in Doaba had bathrooms/toilets in a relatively good condition. However,
not even a single respondent fell under this category in Majha [20-29].
Section II
This section is devoted to the analysis of extent of income-based and
consumption expenditure-based poverty among the members of the Dalit woman
labour households.
Incidence of income-based poverty
All the Dalit woman labour households having Per Capita Income below
the cut-off lines, defined by the policy-makers, economists, and institutions,
have been considered as poor. Table 3 carries the data showing the total
members of Dalit woman labour households living below the income-based poverty
line, which have been worked out on the basis of different income criteria as
mentioned above. A perusal of the table shows that out of 4266 family members
of the Dalit woman labour households, 92.52 per cent were living Below the
Poverty Line as suggested by the Expert Group criterion. As per the poverty
criterion suggested by the Tendulkar Committee, out of total family members of
Dalit woman labour households, 57.71 per cent were living Below the Poverty
Line. However, according to the Rangarajan criterion, the incidence of
income-based poverty among the family members of the Dalit woman labourers was
72.71 per cent in the rural areas of Punjab. Further, all the family members of
Dalit woman labour households were living Below the Poverty Line according to
the 50 per cent of state Per Capita Income criterion. Even when the 40 per cent
of state Per Capita Income criterion was taken into account, the proportion of
the family members living Below the Poverty Line was almost the same, i.e.,
99.74 per cent. On the basis of the World Bank’s Extreme Poverty measure of $
1.90 per person, per day; 33.29 per cent of the family members of the Dalit
woman labour households were living Below the Poverty Line. On the other hand,
76.42 per cent of the total family members of the Dalit woman labourers were
living Below the Poverty Line as calculated on the basis of World Bank’s
Moderate Poverty Line criterion (Table 3).
Table 3: Income-based Poverty among Family Members of Dalit Woman Labourers
S. no. |
Criterion |
Poverty
line* |
Family
members living Below the Poverty Line |
|||
Malwa |
Doaba |
Majha |
Punjab |
|||
1. |
Expert Group criterion |
28021.65 |
1543 (91.85) |
987 (90.47) |
1417 (94.78) |
3947 (92.52) |
2 |
Tendulkar criterion |
16686.71 |
877 (52.20) |
541 (49.59) |
1039 (69.50) |
2457 (57.71) |
3. |
Rangarajan criterion |
19375.67 |
1198 (71.31) |
696 (63.79) |
1208 (80.80) |
3102 (72.71) |
4. |
50 per cent of state PCI criterion |
65556.00 |
1680 (100.00) |
1091 (100.00) |
1495 (100.00) |
4266 (100.00) |
5. |
40 per cent of state PCI criterion |
52444.80 |
1678 (99.88) |
1085 (99.45) |
1492 (99.80) |
4255 (99.74) |
6. |
World Bank's Extreme Poverty Line criterion |
12358.17 |
489 (29.11) |
289 (26.49) |
642 (42.94) |
1420 (33.29) |
7. |
World Bank's Moderate Poverty Line criterion |
20163.33 |
1261 (75.06) |
738 (67.64) |
1261 (84.35) |
3260 (76.42) |
Source: Field Survey, 2016-17 Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages. * Per
Capita Income, per annum |
|
The extent of consumption expenditure-based poverty among the family
members of Dalit woman labour households has also been worked out; and the
results are presented in Table 4. The basic criteria for the poverty line
remains the same as applied in the income-based poverty measures. All the family
members of Dalit woman labourers having per capita consumption expenditure
below Rs. 28021.65 in the rural areas of Punjab have been treated as poor,
according to the Expert Group criterion. The table shows that out of total 4266
family members, 86.57 per cent were living Below the Poverty Line as per the
Expert Group criterion. As per the poverty criterion suggested by the Tendulkar
Committee, 44.07 per cent members of the Dalit woman labour households were
living Below the Poverty Line.
Figure 2: Percentage of Family Members of Dalit Woman Laborers Living in Income-based Poverty.
According to the Rangarajan criterion, the incidence of consumption
expenditure-based poverty among the family members of Dalit woman labour
households was 56.68 per cent in the rural areas of Punjab. However, under the
two criteria, i.e., 50 per cent of state PCI and 40 per cent of state PCI, a
huge majority of the family members, i.e., 99.93 and 98.41 per cent
respectively were living Below the Poverty Line. It was further observed that
13.03 per cent of the family members of Dalit woman labourers were Below the
Poverty Line as per the World Bank’s Extreme Poverty Line criterion. On the
other hand, according to the World Bank’s Moderate Poverty Line, 61.65 per cent
of the family members of Dalit woman labourers were living Below the Poverty
Line (Table 4).
The table also contains the data showing the region-wise consumption expenditure-based poverty among the family members of Dalit woman labour households in the rural areas of Punjab. The table indicates that the percentage of family members of Dalit woman labourers living Below the Poverty Line, according to the Expert Group criterion, was the highest, i.e., 90.03 per cent in Majha and the lowest, i.e., 82.77 per cent in Doaba. It was 85.95 per cent in Malwa. As per the Tendulkar Committee, more than half, i.e., 51.44 per cent of family members of the Dalit woman labourers were living Below the Poverty Line in Majha.
Table 4: Consumption Expenditure-based Poverty among Family Members of Dalit Woman Labourers.
S. no. |
Criterion |
Poverty line* |
Family members living Below the
Poverty Line | |||
Malwa |
Doaba |
Majha |
Punjab | |||
1. |
Expert Group criterion |
28021.65 |
1444 (85.95) |
903 (82.77) |
1346 (90.03) |
3693 (86.57) |
2. |
Tendulkar criterion |
16686.71 |
718 (42.74) |
393 (36.02) |
769 (51.44) |
1880 (44.07) |
3. |
Rangarajan criterion |
19375.67 |
883 (52.56) |
497 (45.55) |
1038 (69.43) |
2418 (56.68) |
4. |
50 per cent of state PCI
criterion |
65556.00 |
1680 (100.00) |
1088 (99.73) |
1495 (100.00) |
4263 (99.93) |
5. |
40 per cent of state PCI
criterion |
52444.80 |
1657 (98.63) |
1068 (97.89) |
1473 (98.53) |
4198 (98.41) |
6. |
World Bank's Extreme
Poverty Line criterion |
12358.17 |
207 (12.32) |
117 (10.72) |
232 (15.52) |
556 (13.03) |
7. |
World Bank's Moderate
Poverty Line criterion |
20163.33 |
996 (59.29) |
537 (49.22) |
1097 (73.38) |
2630 (61.65) |
Source: Field
Survey, 2016-17 Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate
percentages. * Per Capita Consumption
expenditure, per annum |
However, the corresponding percentages for Malwa and Doaba were 42.74 and 36.02 per cent respectively. According to the Rangarajan criterion, the incidence of consumption expenditure-based poverty among the family members of Dalit woman labourers was 69.43, 52.56, and 45.55 per cent in Majha, Malwa, and Doaba respectively. The table shows that all the family members of the Dalit woman labourers in Malwa and Majha were living Below the Poverty Line according to the 50 per cent of state Per Capita Income criterion. The corresponding percentage for Doaba was 99.73. Even when we take into account only 40 per cent of the Per Capita Income of state instead of 50 per cent to identify the family members of Dalit woman labourers living Below the Poverty Line, it was observed that a very large percentage of the family members of Dalit woman labourers was living Below the Poverty Line.
Figure 3: Percentage of Family Members of Dalit Woman Labourers Living in Consumption Expenditure-based Poverty.
The proportions of such family members were 98.63, 98.53, and 97.89
per cent in Malwa, Majha, and Doaba respectively. According to the World Bank’s
Extreme Poverty Line criterion, the incidence of poverty was the highest, i.e.,
15.52 per cent in Majha and the lowest, i.e., 10.72 per cent in Doaba. It was
12.32 per cent for Malwa. Similarly, when the World Bank’s Moderate Poverty
Line criterion was taken into account; the percentage of family members living
Below the Poverty Line was the highest, i.e., 73.38 per cent in Majha, whereas
the corresponding percentages for Malwa and Doaba were 59.29 and 49.22
respectively. Figure 3 reflects the proportions of the family members of Dalit
woman labourers living Below the Poverty Line as per the different criteria (Figure
3).
The
figure clearly depicts that the incidence of consumption expenditure-based
poverty among the Dalit woman labour households was relatively higher in Majha,
followed by Malwa and Doaba under the different poverty criteria.
Policy implications on the basis of the conclusions of the study can
be summarized as under:
·
The study brings out a very disturbing fact
that more than half (56.31 per cent) of the earning members of the Dalit woman
labour households are illiterate. Therefore, adult education programmes must be
effectively implemented for the Dalit woman labourers to curtail the illiteracy
level among them on the priority basis. This will create awareness among the
Dalit woman labourers about their rights, problems and solution of these
problems. Quality education should be provided to the children of the Dalit
woman labourers so that they may get jobs in the non-agricultural sector also,
which may ultimately lead to the improvement in the economic condition of their
families. The government should come forward with more financial assistance for
the students belonging to labour class families which may help to arrest the
problem of drop-outs at the school level and encourage their parents to
understand the significance of education more earnestly.
·
A majority of the Dalit woman labourers under
study are living in the semi-pucca houses and most of their houses are in
dilapidated condition. They find it hard to even get their houses repaired. It
clearly reflects that Dalit woman labourers have to live under pitiable
conditions. To overcome this problem, the rural housing programmes chalked out
by the government should bring more and more needy and poor people,
particularly the Dalit woman labourers, in its ambit.
·
A large majority of the members of the Dalit
woman labour households are living Below the Poverty Lines defined by the
policy makers, economists and institutions. Therefore, the central and state
governments must take strong initiatives for creating sufficient employment
opportunities and should effectively implement the policies for improving the
economic condition of these households in the rural areas of Punjab. The
agro-based small-scale industries should also be established in the rural areas
on priority basis. There is an urgent need to create awareness among the Dalit
woman labourers about the various employment programmes meant for them. Both
the government and non-government organizations need to take the necessary
steps to organise skill development programmes for the economic upliftment of
Dalit woman labourers. The government should provide loans to the Dalit woman
labour households either at zero or very low rate of interest for the
establishment of various income generating ventures.
The
last, but the most important implication of the present study is based on the
fact that all the Dalit woman labourers under study are landless. Therefore,
the study highlights the need for land reforms in favour of the Dalits which
have had been neglected since the ages. Land reforms in favour of the Dalits
can really change their life. The practical example can be seen in Balad Kalan
village of Sangrur district. In this village, under the aegis of Zameen Prapti
Sangharsh Committee, the success of Dalit households’ protests is to take
control of common land despite having many opposing forces. Because the Dalit
households have succeeded in leasing in common land, they are practicing
co-operative farming and have acquired a feeling of self-respect. Now the Dalit
women have not to go in the fields of large farmers to collect the fodder for
their milch animals, and vegetables and food grains for self-consumption. This
successful struggle by the Dalit households has resulted in the elimination of
many types of exploitation of the Dalit woman labourers in rural Punjab.