Dabhi, Jimmy. 2012:246-268,
Development
and Changes in Globalising Gujarat with Reference to Muslims
in Lobo, Lancy and Jayesh Shah (Eds), 2012, Economy And Society In
Globalizing Gujarat,
Ahmedabad: Shanti Prakashan.
Introduction
The
governments of South Asian countries have welcomed globalisation and the
package of liberalisation and privatisation along with it. Some groups within
political class and civil society opposed and resisted the warm welcome given
to market economy wrapped in globalisation. India is in the race and the State
of Gujarat is in the forefront of globalisation. The basic tenets of
globalization are to remove borders, restrictions and create a free movement of
people and resources. However, the globalization we have experienced and
observed so far at the international, national and the State level seem to be
pro rich and anti-poor in more than one way. Globalisation has affected almost
all the parts of the globe and communities there in. It has changed the way we
govern and manage ourselves, the way we relate with one another and interact
with one another economically and politically. It has changed the quality of
our lives in some way or the other either enhancing our chances of being
socially included or excluded. It has changed the definition, the process of
development and the way in which the fruits of development are shared.
This paper is about changes brought about by development as a process
and an outcome of globalisation. It highlights and critiques some of the
changes in globalizing Gujarat from this perspective with focus on the Muslim
communities. A few relevant concepts like globalization and development dealing
with the subject matter will be defined here in the given context. It will
argue that the globalisation as of today is monopolized and distorted. It will
also examine the various aspects of these changes and its impacts on various
categories of people. The paper will unravel the plus and minuses of
globalising Gujarat. The paper will discuss in some details the impact of
globalisation and development on the society and on various domains within
society. It will then make an effort to highlight the situation of the Muslim
minority in Gujarat in face of globalisation and development therein. The paper
will conclude with the aspiration of the people about development and sum up
some of the major issues highlighted.
Understanding globalisation - different perspectives
The winds of globalisation have
swept through the entire globe and have kicked off liberalisation and
privatization in motion more than two decades back. It is both a process and an
outcome of development. It has its pros and cons. Metaphorically these forces
have sunk a few boats (smaller developing and underdeveloped countries) and have
put some big ships (developed countries) on the high seas. Globalisation of
goods and capital through export is pushed by the rich countries especially the
European Union and USA while globalization of labour without visa is demanded
by the poor countries rich in labour. What we are seeing is globalization and
liberalization of profit to a great extent. To an ever increasing extent, third
world countries sell cheap and buy dear. IMF-style economic adjustment to
curtail public spending then has an adverse effect on the poor in developing
countries like India.
Globalisation is defined as the
spatial extension of social relations across the globe (Nairn and James, 2005).
It is further argued that like all social practices globalisation is always
structured as relations of power, and these relations of power- both structural
and ideological need to be analyzed in the broadest possible way to see its
impact on different countries and within those countries. On the one hand it is
suggested that globalization is a consequence of modernity (Giddens, 1996)
while on the other it is claimed that globalisation is replacing modernity
(Albrow, 1996).
Nobel laureate Stiglitz defines
globalisation as ' ... the closer integration of the countries and peoples of
the world which has been brought about by the enormous reduction of costs of
transportation and communication, and the breaking down of artificial barriers
to the flows of goods, service, capital, knowledge, and (to lesser extent)
people across borders' (Stiglitz, 2002: 9). Globalisation, which began a
century ago, circa 1870, and gathered momentum until 1914, when it came to an
abrupt end, was marked by an absence of restriction on the movement of goods,
capital and labour across national boundaries, and minimum government intervention
in economic activity. New forms of industrial organisations, information and
knowledge based organisations have given a fillip to globalisation today
(Nayyar, 1997).
Globalisation is often viewed from
economic perspective only where finance and trades are expected to have no
borders and restrictions of movements. However the proclaimed globalisation has
in many ways been monopolized and has contradiction in terms because it has
restricted the freedom of movement of labour, free flow of knowledge and
technology. Movement of labour is considered as liability for the developed
countries, and therefore, there are strict, stringent migration and visa
restriction.
Globalisation thus has been
perceived and encouraged from a very narrow perspective of free movement of
products and finance only and not so as knowledge sharing, communication,
technological and human development and free movement of people across
international boundaries.
Monopolized and distorted
Globalisation
Globalisation per say has the
potential for the wellbeing of all but there is evidence to suggest that
globalisation has been beneficial to many in many aspects. However there is
also evidence to suggest that as it is practiced and encouraged it is highly
monopolised and distorted. I have commented elsewhere (Dabhi, 2006) that the
evils of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation are resisted all over
the world and at the same time they are gaining ground in all spheres of
national and international life. The growth centred globalisation often has
gender bias and often failed to address the gender, caste and class biases and
thus distorting it (Seth, 2001; Bano, 2003; WB, 2008; Krishna, 2012; Sangari,
2012; Rao, 2012; Daughters of Fire, 2011). These forces have changed the
character of world economy as well as that of the socio-cultural and political
life.
South Asia despite strong economic
performance remains among the most impoverished regions in the world. About 500
million people are still living in a state of severe deprivation, lacking
sufficient access to adequate nutrition, health, housing, safe water,
sanitation, and employment. Poverty in South Asia is largely a rural
phenomenon. Rural poverty is not only about inadequate incomes but goes beyond.
The poor people in India for example, reveal their acute vulnerability to
disease, crop failures, labour market fluctuations, domestic violence, natural
disasters, floods and cyclones, which further exacerbate their sense of
insecurity (http://go.worldbank.org/RF3070S7FO/).
In the past years, agriculture
sector has shown that the successful foodgrain self-sufficiency strategy of the
1970s to the 1990s is no longer sufficient for sustaining agricultural growth
in the long term. Agricultural growth is less than 3%, which is far below the
growth rates of other economic sectors (http://go.worldbank.org/RF307OS 7FO/).
Free and unrestricted market has
been one of the main objectives of globalisation. "Globalization, as it
has been advocated, often seems to replace that old dictatorship of national
elites with new dictatorships of international finance. Countries are
effectively told that if they don't follow certain conditions, the capital
markets, including the speculators whose only concerns are short-term rather
than the long-term growth of the country and the improvement 'of
living standards, 'discipline' them, telling
them what they should and should not do" (Stiglitz, 2002: 247). It has
undermined democracy and sovereignty of some of the countries. In the last two
decades the world has seen many conflicts, wars and displacement of huge
population. More than love for democracy the greed for power and control over
oil, natural resources and big business (arms supply, reconstruction, relief
supply) that can be established in times of war seem to the source of these
conflicts and wars (Kumar, 2004; Dabhi, 2007). The recent news has highlighted
UN's stand against India's Armed Forces (Special Powers Act) stating 'it had no
role to play in a democracy'. Mr. Heyns, the UN Special Rapporteur said that
"women and minorities - religious minorities, as well as Dalits and
Adivasis - as well as human rights defenders, including Right to Information
activists, are especially at risk, and their protection deserves special
measures" (http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationall article3263687.ece).
Rapid economic growth has ensured
India a place among the top 10 movers on GDP growth, but the country ranks a
low 119 among 169 countries on the Human Development Index 2010. The loss in
global HDI due to inequality is much higher in India (32 percent) than in the
world (22 percent) as a whole (UNDP, 2010:155). India compares very poorly with
countries with high level of human development on all indicators such as life
expectancy, education and per capita income. These inequalities arise due to
disparity in distribution of incomes, gender inequality and multi-dimensional
poverty (The Economic Times, 5th November, 2010).
The state of employment, India
reflects that globalisation has been capital intensive and profit driven. Not
only has the growth of employment come down from 3.21 per cent from 1980-1990
to 1.01 per cent in 1990-2000, but the percentage of unemployment rose from 6.3
per cent to 7.32 per cent. It has since then increased to 8.3 per cent. In
1989, profits were 19.07 per cent of value added and wages no less than 50.78
per cent but in 2005, profits had increased to 55.64 per cent and wage fell to
only 32.37 per cent. In the last three years profits have increased two and a
half times while wages have gone down by a third (Chopra, 2008).
An inclusive globalisation has the
potential to reduce gender disparities by connecting women to markets and
economic opportunities, reshaping attitudes and norms among women and men about
gender relationship, and encouraging countries to promote gender equality
(World Development Report 2012). In the era of globalisation and liberalisation
'the reduction of subsidies to basic amenities such as sanitation and water
supply, public health facilities has not only reduced wage-earners' household
incomes, but has put an extra burden on women' (Gosh, 2001: 90). The income
growth by itself has not delivered gender equality on all fronts.
In globalised world race,
religion, sexuality, ethnicity, and class identity coexist with gender (Bano,
2003). As a result, different groups of women differ in their needs,
experiences, and perceptions of social, economic, and political reality; in
turn, those differences influence their political preferences and
interpretation of policy options (World Development Report 2012). Often these
specificities are not considered in policy and programmes and thus continuing
gender bias in health, education and employment (Sheth, 2001).
The annual
number of child deaths has been halved, from roughly 20 million in 1960 to 9.7
million in 2006 and yet on an average more than 26,000 children under the age
of five die each day mostly from preventable causes. More than 80 per cent of
all under-five deaths in 2006 were in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Overall, the regions that are not on track to meet the MDG 4 child survival
targets are the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia and sub-Saharan
Africa, including both Eastern and Southern Africa and West and Central Africa
(http://www.unicef.org/india/media_3896.htm).
Stiglitz
said that for most of the world, globalization as it has been managed; seem
like a pact with the Devil. "For millions of people globalisation has not
worked. Many have actually been made worse off, as they have seen their jobs
destroyed and their lives become more insecure. They felt increasingly
powerless against forces beyond their control. They have seen their democracies
undermined, their culture eroded" Stiglitz (2002:248). The globalisation
has been managed to suit the interest of the haves and not to address the needs
of the poor (Sachar, 2007:10). The growth centric development backed by skewed
policies and Acts is increasing inequalities and has made lives for some worse
(Shukla, 2012; Saxena, 2012). The eight poorer States in India-Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and
Uttarakhand, are home to nearly 48 per cent of all SCs, 52 per cent of the STs
and 44 per cent of all Muslims in the country (India Human Development Report,
2011).
The
monopoly of a few in the proclaimed and practiced globalisation is reflected in
the words of the Pope to the people of Cuba in his recent visit. "May no
one feel excluded ... from taking up this exciting search for his or her basic
freedom, or excused from this by indolence or lack of material resources, a
situation which is worsened when restrictive economic measures, imposed from
outside the county, unfairly burden its people" (http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/03/2012328213617942209.html).
The
foregone discussion suggests that overall poverty in the country has declined.
But it also points to the fact that the monopolised globalisation and sheer
profit driven market have contributed to inequality in developing countries
including India (Singh and Dhumale, 2005; Van der Hoeven, and Saget, 2005).
Globalized Gujarat - in whose favour?
Gujarat is quite ahead in the race
of globalisation as compared to other States in India. A large number of
Gujaratis with a mercantile mindset believe that all changes due to
globalisation are good for Gujarat. As per Census of India 2011, the growth
rate of Gujarat compared to India average has been on increase from late 1990s.
Today it stands at 19.17 percent decadal growth compared to 17.64 percent
average India growth. Gujarat decadal population in 2011 has gone up but the
rate of growth has come down to 19.2 percent in 2011 from 22.7 percent in 2001
Census though compared to India average of 17.64, Gujarat's rate of growth is
high.
In some
sectors such as forestry and logging; registered and unregistered
manufacturing; electricity, gas and water supply; transport by other means;
storage; trade and hotels; and other services, Gujarat has done better than
national economy (Dholakia, 2007). The length of surfaced roads was 70,702 km
at the end of 2001-02. There is an increase in the number of vehicles in
Gujarat estimated to be 65.081akh vehicles. Gujarat is well connected by road
and rail networks. The total length of the railway lines of Gujarat was 5310
kms as on March 2002. Gujarat has 40 ports of which Kandla is a major one. The
total cargo handled was 971.28 lakh tonnes while Kandla alone handled
415.511akh tonnes during 2004-05 (India 2007).
The
quality and quantum of infrastructure such as road, institutes of higher
education, private health care, industrial growth, diamond export, coastal and
port development have increased substantially in the era of globalisation.
Urbanisation is increasing and is expected to go upto 45 % in the coming decade according to Annual Report of 20
10-20 11 of Government of India, Planning Commission. Rate of Growth in Gross
State Domestic Product at Constant (2004-05) Prices of Gujarat is much higher
than national as shown in the Table 13.1.
Table 13.1: Growth Rate over Previous Year (in %)
|
||||
State\UT
|
EFP Target
|
2007-08
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
Gujarat
|
11.2
|
12.5
|
7.2
|
10.5
|
All-India
GDP(2004-05 base)
|
9.00
|
9.3
|
6.8
|
8.0
|
Eleventh
Five Year Plan (EFP) targets are annual averages
Annual
Report of 2010-2011 of Government of India, Planning Commission. http://planningcommission.gov.in
|
||||
However there are shadows to
globalised Gujarat. For many Dalits, Adivasi, Muslim minorities, backward
castes and communities globalisation has been a curse. Many have actually been
made worse with their jobs destroyed, their habitats trampled upon, and making
their lives more insecure. They feel increasingly powerless against the forces
beyond their control (Dabhi, 2007a).
The sex ratio of Gujarat (918) has
declined from 2001 of 920 and is lower than India (940) as of Census 2011.
Gujarat in the decade 2001-2011 ranks below the world (984) and China (926).
Gujarat has improved on literacy and has moved from 79.31 in 2001 to 87.23
percent in 2011 but still stands at 15th rank compared to other
States. The literacy among males is higher than females in India and Gujarat.
Gender desegregation of data
indicated that more boys reported physical abuse as compared to girls in a
Study of Child Abuse in 2007 of selected States in India of children in family
environment. The ratio of girls physically abused was higher in Kerala (55.61
%) and Gujarat (54.63%) compared to that of boys which was reported as 44.39%
and 45.37% respectively. States like Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal and
Gujarat, were also sample States in the study, corporal punishment has been
banned by State governments; yet the incidence of corporal punishment reported
from the Municipal/Zila Parishad Schools was highest in Maharashtra at 47.6%
followed by Gujarat at 41.5%. Within the age group of 5-12 years, the highest
percentage of sexual assault (57.89%) was reported from Gujarat followed by
50.0% from Goa and 46.85% from Delhi. While the overall percentage of girl
children reporting getting less food than their brothers was 27.33%, there were
at least five States reporting higher percentages than the average - West
Bengal (48.16%) followed by Assam (46.63%), Delhi (42.73%), Bihar (42.68%) and
Gujarat (36.95%). The high level of malnutrition amongst women is India
including Gujarat is probably due to the fact that females are getting less
than their share of food in a household (http://wcd.nic.in/childabuse.pdf;
World Bank, 2008).
Overall economic growth in Gujarat
far outpaced the agricultural sector growth. In the 1990s, while population
grew by an average of 1.8 per year, total output grew by 8 percent per year,
giving a per capita Gujarat State Domestic Product (GSDP) growth of 6.1 percent per year. In 2001 per
capita GSDP reached Rs 15,747, 34 percent
higher than the all-India average of Rs 11,752. Much of the growth was attributed to non-primary sectors. Between 1981-82,
and 2000-01, the share of the services sectors in GSDP increased from 31.4 percent to 42.5 percent, and the share of the industrial sector rose from 27.2 percent to 43.8 percent. However, over the same period, agriculture's share in total output
significantly dropped from 43.8 percent
to 13.6 percent, one of the lowest
shares in India. Nonetheless, agriculture is still the primary occupation of 52
percent of the labour force in the State and
is a major source of income for the rural poor (World Bank, 2006). In the last decade the relative shares of the
bottom 20 percent Urban Household in
Consumption Expenditure in Gujarat have decreased from 6.81 % (1993-4) to 6.00 % (2004-5) and Top 20 percent have
increased from 36.28 % (1993-4) to 37.40
% (2004-5) (Mathur, 2009).
Gujarat with its 1600 kms of
coastline has undertaken coastal development through private and public sectors
in a big way. The total investment in the port development is now estimated at
Rs. 23,594 crore. This sector thus offers
enormous opportunities not only for direct investments, but also in ancillary
activities (http://www.economywatch.com/ state profiles/Gujarat/profile.htm).
However these development projects are silent about the local resistance and
loss of land, commons, gauchar (grazing land), livelihoods and indigenous
ecological balance and environment. The undertaking does not mention how a few
companies and industrial houses are awarded the development projects at the
neglect of public sector undertakings. Interaction with Adivasi Maha Sabha (a civil society advocacy group in Gujarat) showed
that many tribals were denied the right to land they have been cultivating for
years. However the industries have acquired land at throw away prices
generously facilitated by GoG land polices through GRs without being discussed
on the floor of the house.
Marginalization in Globalising
Gujarat
Politics of identity based on
caste, class and religion in Gujarat has not adhered to the principles of
democracy and secularism laid down in the Constitution of India. The politics
of Gujarat has greatly benefited the dominant Hindu community and has found a
voice in the BJP Hindu nationalist government (Bhargava, 2002).
The opposition has not shown any competence
and exhibited leadership within worthy of a secular and pro-people party.
'Profitability and efficiency are
worthy goals because their realisation is foundational to the development of
the business as a whole', but they are not adequate. "The goal of human
development must inform all the ends for which the company is organised and
run" (Alford and Naughton, 2001:45). The governance and management of the
'model of development' projected by the present Gujarat government has come
under severe criticism by the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) stating that
the Government of Gujarat has failed to ensure that public and private sector
adhere to the goal of human development, besides those of profitability and
efficiency.
Evidence suggests that present
globalisation in Gujarat in many ways have violated the millennium goals, the
human rights and sidelined the human development indicators. Maneuvered and
manipulated globalisation has excluded some groups such as the SCs, ST and
minorities and Muslims in the process of development (Hirway et al, 2002;
Bhargava, 2002; Dabhi, 2007). Differential wages for male and female labourers
in spite of the same nature and quantum of work are some aspects of gender
discrimination that exist in India and Gujarat. Table 13.2 shows the situation
of labour in Gujarat compared to India and status of the poor who survive with
these wages.
Table
13.2: Male-Female Wage Rate of Casual Workers in Farm and Non-farm Sectors
|
|||||||
Farm
Sector Wage rate
of
casual worker in Rs.
|
Non-farm
Sector Wage rate of casual worker in Rs.
|
||||||
State
|
Minimum
wages for unskilled workers in Rs.
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
Gujarat
|
50-99
|
46.17
|
41.43
|
44.54
|
72.72
|
53.11
|
69.24
|
All-India
|
65- 115
|
49.57
|
33.77
|
43.98
|
71.15
|
4437
|
67.05
|
Ministry
of labour for minimum wages, and NSSO 61st round for the wage
rates of farm and non-farm sectors (Pankaj, 2008).
|
|||||||
If you have money to pay Gujarat
has the most sought after super-specialties: cardiology, neuro-surgery,
orthopedics, infertility treatment, joint replacement and eye surgeries
(http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/healthcare.htm). Health and education are two main
pillars of human development and globalised Gujarat lags behind in health and
education compared to its 'growth'.
Table 13.3: Dropout rate in Primary
Education in Gujarat (in percentage)
|
||||||
Std 1 to V
|
Std 1 to VII
|
|||||
YEAR
|
Boys
|
Girls
|
Total
|
Boys
|
Girls
|
Total
|
1996-97
|
32.72
|
39.74
|
35.40
|
48.19
|
51.17
|
49.49
|
1998-99
|
29.28
|
27.56
|
28.96
|
46.93
|
49.74
|
48. [8
|
1999-00
|
23.77
|
20.83
|
22.30
|
42.76
|
39.90
|
41.48
|
2000-01
|
21.05
|
20.81
|
20.93
|
40.53
|
36.90
|
38.92
|
2001-02
|
20.46
|
20.53
|
20.50
|
39.16
|
35.28
|
37.22
|
2002-03
|
19.08
|
19.12
|
37.80
|
33.17
|
35.46
|
35.46
|
2003-04
|
17.79
|
17.83
|
36.59
|
31.49
|
33.73
|
33.73
|
2004-05
|
8.72
|
11.77
|
10.16
|
15.33
|
22.80
|
18.79
|
2005-06
|
4.53
|
5.79
|
5.13
|
9.97
|
14.02
|
11.82
|
2006-07
|
2.84
|
3.68
|
3.24
|
9.13
|
11.64
|
10.29
|
Large scale industrialisation and
privatisation of education and health are part of this globalisation scenario
in Gujarat. The highly capital intensive industry provides the local labour
only casual/contractual unskilled work which tends to be irregular, low-paid
and almost without any social protection. In face of high industrialisation in
Gujarat there was mismatch of the demand and supply of educated labour-power in
the State (Hirway et al, 2000), the situation has not changed much and
therefore the local population have not benefited much through the
industrialisation.
The Sikhs in India have the lowest
poverty level in rural areas (1l.9%), it is the Christians (12.9 %) who have
the lowest poverty rate in urban areas. Muslims are the poorest in both rural
and urban areas, with almost one in three in urban areas living below the
poverty line. Scheduled castes and tribes are in a similar state. Agricultural
workers in rural areas are very poor with 50% below poverty line and casual
labourers in urban areas are just as badly off (Khan, 2012). Anita Dixit (2011)
argued that Gujarat has not made significant achievements in terms of
well-being, especially in the rural areas. She argues that poverty is indeed
underestimated in Gujarat because the official figures do not consider the
change in consumption patterns, occurring partly as a result of high relative
food prices. Nutrition poverty levels in Gujarat are higher than all India
level, which create a case for direct nutrition intervention for the poor she
argued.
The India State Hunger Index
represents the index calculated using a calorie undernourishment cut-off of
1632 kcals per person per day to enable comparability of the India State Hunger
Index with the Global Hunger Index 2008. As per this Gujarat has 13th
ranking out of 17 other state selected (http://www.theaahm.org/fileadmin/user_
upload/aahm/docs/India-State-Hunger-Index.pdf.).
Gujarat among other States -
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
- have shown increase in the incidence of anaemia among women in the
reproductive age group. Among economically developed States Gujarat among
others like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka find themselves in the
category of high food insecurity - a reflection perhaps of the manifestation
of the agrarian crisis in the States and its consequent negative impact on the health and well-being of the rural population (http://home.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/ documents/newsroom/wfp197348.pdf).
of the agrarian crisis in the States and its consequent negative impact on the health and well-being of the rural population (http://home.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/ documents/newsroom/wfp197348.pdf).
In Gujarat 44.6 % of children below
the age of five suffer from malnutrition whereas 70% of the children suffer
from anaemia (Human Development Report 2011). It is also stated that women in
Gujarat have some of the lowest consumption of fish, chicken and meat in India
(12.4%). They also suffer significantly higher level of server anemia (2.6%)
than the national average of l.8 % (http://kafila.org/2011/10/24/human-development-and
-other-holy-cows-sajan-venniyoor/).
Civil society socio-religious
organisations and NGOs have had a role to play in the globalising Gujarat and
endorsing skewed development. I have stated elsewhere that a sizeable number of
NGOs and organisations adhere to mere social reform approach. They believe that
exposure to civilized world and process of sanskritisation through changes and
modifications, cosmetic in nature, such as better education and health
facilities, the brahmanical ritual cleanliness, vegetarianism, joining
movements like Swadhyay (a softer Hindutva movement, very strong in Gujarat and
Maharashtra) will bring the poor to the main stream. The social order, access
and control over public wealth and natural resources, unequal distribution of
power and blatant social discrimination and violence are neither questioned nor
addressed by such organisations who view development in this manner (Dabhi,
2004).
As discussed in this section there
have been shadows of globalising Gujarat and some communities and people are
pushed into those shadows. In the following I would like to discuss the Muslims
and highlight how a large number of them are marginalised and deprived of the
process and fruits development in Gujarat.
Marginalised Muslims in
Globalising Gujarat
One may
wonder why particular attention to the Muslim minority. Muslims may not be an
economic category, but certainly they are a distinct social group with a
definable identity of feeling and belief which is an important element, shaping
their attitude to their environment and which also conditions the attitude of
others in their dealings with Muslims. If Muslims were subject to the same
economic and social forces as others, there would have been no justification
for studying their problems separately. But there have been forces having
decisive impact on the economic situation of Indian Muslims, not operative in
case of Non-Muslim communities (Suhrawardy, 2001).
Let me begin by stating that
Muslims in Gujarat are not a homogenous community. There are religious sects,
differences in beliefs, class and occupational difference with the Muslims in
Gujarat. The caste system of Hinduism has in some way affected them as well.
There are cultural, language and ideological differences. A few of them have
been able to take advantage of globalisation and privatisation and have made
lives for themselves. A few Muslims who have accepted to be subservient to
regime of the right wing dictate in the State have benefited in globalised
Gujarat in some way. But a large number has not been that fortunate; on the
contrary for a large number of Muslims globalisation clubbed with the onslaught
of Hindu fundamentalism in Gujarat has increased their poverty and pushed them
to the status of second class citizens.
The poverty among Muslims in
Gujarat needs to be understood as suggested by the International Labour
Organisation (2003) 'poverty is not only about shortage of money. It is about
rights and relationships; about how people are treated and how they regard
themselves; about powerlessness, exclusion and loss of dignity. Yet the lack of
an adequate income is at its heart'. In light of this it is found that a
near-uniform hatred of Muslims among the Hindu middle class. Beneath the
communal poison, a deeper crisis of the Indian public realm is at work - an
egoism that is fostered by caste-based identity, and reinforced by
globalisation. The experience of Gujarat offers no easy answers. But the
beginning of understanding may be to situate what is happening there in the
context of the effects of rapid change on unequal societies and the distinct
dangers to democratic citizenship posed by religious communalism (Bhargava,
2002).
There has been very slow progress in the field of sanitation. As per
2001 Census, rural sanitation coverage stands at a low 21%. Limited reach
availability of a less reliable delivery system, lack of awareness and
leadership amongst the community are some of the major constraining factors in
increasing coverage of sanitation at the household level (http:/
Iwww.unicef.org/india/resources_1208.htm). Table 13.4 highlights the status of
Muslims.
Table 13.4: Indicators SC ST Muslims All Groups (in %)
|
||||
SC
|
ST
|
Muslims
|
All Groups
|
|
Literacy
|
63.5
|
60.5
|
67.6
|
72
|
Malnutrition among Women
(BM/<18.5)
|
41.2
|
46.6
|
35.2
|
33
|
Underweight Children
|
47.9
|
54.5
|
41.8
|
39.1
|
Pucca Housing
|
38.3
|
57.9
|
63.8
|
66.1
|
No toilet facility
|
65
|
69.1
|
35.8
|
49.2
|
Electricity for domestic use
|
61.2
|
66.4
|
75.2
|
75
|
IMR (Infant Mortality Rate)
|
66.4
|
62.1
|
52.4
|
50
|
U5MR (Mortality Rate under 5
yrs of children)
|
88.1
|
95.7
|
70
|
74.3
|
TFR (Total Fertility Rate)
|
2.92
|
3.12
|
3.09
|
2.6
|
Child Immunization
|
39.7
|
5.4
|
36.3
|
43.5
|
India Human Development Report 20 II: Towards Social
Inclusion
|
||||
Sengupta
(2011) has reported that Muslims are educationally deprived: despite 75%
enrolment of Muslim children in primary school, a mere 26% reach matriculation.
This is against 79% enrolment of 'others except SCs/STs’, 41% of who make it to matriculate levels. The
study shows 2% Muslims in Gujarat face theft and burglary, though they make up
merely 11 % of households. At the national level 13% Muslims face theft and
burglary with the same share of households. Harassment of Muslim girls is high,
with 17% reporting it in urban areas, though they make up only 11 % of share of
population. While FDIs and investments are channelled into the organized
sector, self-employment - where most
Muslims make their living - is "not a growing sector". Income growth
in self-employment has only marginally increased compared to other sectors in
Gujarat.
Studies have shown regional
disparity in development in Gujarat and the districts of Dang, Kuchchh,
Banaskantha and Panchmahal were found to be Low-developed (Thaker and Shiyani,
2009) where Kutchh has comparatively larger population of Muslims in the State.
The fisher folk in Kuchchh coastal area consists of Muslims and their problem
including losing their fishing rights and livelihoods along Mundra coast stem
from wider issues of industrialization (http://counterview.orgl 20
12/02/15/fishermens-problem-along-mundra-coast-stems-from-wider-issues-of-industrialization-world-bank/).
It is found that when power is
centralised, non-democratic, and highly dependent on one social group
membership such as ethnicity or religion, then collective violence is also
highly likely (Rummel, 1997). Studies also have showed that the more democratic
a regime, the less internal violence, strongly suggests that democracy is a
general method of non-violence (Rummel, 1995). These findings suggest that
Gujarat politics and economy is dominated by right wing religious social groups
and principals of democracy are not adhered to by the State machinery. A
systematic massacre of a large number of Muslims in Gujarat is 'the dark side
of democracy' world has seen it in Gujarat and elsewhere in the globalised
world coexisting with religious fundamentalism (Mann, 2005). The victims of
communal violence Muslims in particular have yet to receive adequate justice
and compensation (http://www .amnesty .orgl en/region/india/report- 2007).
Gujarat is considered one of India's relatively better 'developed' States, but,
in all earnest, its politics is certainly not what can be termed
"developed" on the available evidence (Rehman, 2007).
Experience and observation suggest
that the majority of Muslim community has been forced to live the life of
severe social and economic exclusion and deprivation. Fear, threat and
manoeuvring in a religio-cultural underpinning politics and economics in
Gujarat makes a trend of ghettotization of communities more so among Muslim in
major cities. In saffronised Gujarat a number of Muslim establishments have
changed their names to sound like Hindu, with
the hope that this will prevent them from being recognised as Muslim in the
future in case of violence and thus protect their property.
Marginalisation of Muslims in
Gujarat is the result of many factors including internal actors and factors.
However, I would like to suggest that poverty among Muslims in Gujarat is the
result of structural failures and ineffective economic and social systems. It
is the product of inadequate political responses (International Labour
Conference (ILC, 2003) and a loss of fundamental human values (Chakravarti,
2002, Engineer, 2004; Sachar, 2007, Dabhi, 2007a).
A word on
the civil society is not out of place here. Civil society is both impacted and
impacts quality and spread of globalisation. Civil society is commonly used to
refer to NGOs, social movements, community groups, religious organisations and
advocacy networks (Chandra, 2011) and has the potential for human security. Not
all NGOs work with and for Muslims and there are various reasons. I have argued
elsewhere that with due respect and recognition to sizable NGOs who are
competent and committed to marginalised communities and women in particular in
their struggle for emancipation, freedom, development with dignity, we must
examine their flipside as well. Not all NGOs wish to struggle with the
marginalised women because their reasons for existence (besides the stated
vision and mission) are different and their strategies to sustain themselves
are multiple. The NGO diversity exists not only in function and typology, but
also in its historical roots, culture and the nature of relationships between
NGOs and their different political, social and economic contexts (Dabhi, 2009).
The rise of fundamentalism in
India, the events of 1992 - the Rath Yatra, the demolition of Babri Mosque,
communal riots, and the Gujarat carnage of 2002 brought in another dimension to
development, globalisation and role of civil society. Gujarat has shown that
civil society is highly fragmented and a section of it is wedded to secular and
constitutional values but you also have a large section which is saffronised in
the last two decades or more. Globalisation in this context has not really
upheld human rights and secular fabric of Gujarat. Some of the NGOs, civil
society organisations and civil society as a whole have not done much in
resisting violation of Indian secular Constitution, human security, dignity and marginalisation of the Muslim community in
Gujarat (Dabhi, 2003, 2004, Sachar, 2006).
A few senior police officers and
bureaucrats challenging the present day Government, its leadership and their
role in the 2002 violence shows that the bureaucracy, police and judiciary have
acted on their biases in carrying out their duties. Both in political life as
in dealing with the bureaucracy, the present Chief Minister lays great store by
personal loyalty strictly following the credo that if you are not for me then
you are against me (Misra, 2012).
A leading advocate of High Court
(Patel, 2012) argues that Gujarat was already saffronised by Hindutva forces and
had a fast growing economy when the present Chief Minister came to power. He
further brutalised the process of communalisation and aggravated the nature of
capitalist growth in the state. He has taken advantage of both and established
himself as dharma- rakshak (protector of religion) and vikas-purush (man of development). He abused POTA and raised the bogey of 'ISI
conspiracy' to allow the murder of alleged terrorists in fake encounters. This was
successful in terrorizing Muslims and keeping Hindus in a state of perpetual
fear. The majoritarian communalism - euphemistically called 'cultural-
nationalism' by the BJP - has been a permanent fixture on Modi's agenda. His
model of economic growth has ensured that a few industrialists of his
preference are the main beneficiaries of his policies. They are given lands,
natural resources, State incentives and concessions at the cost of agriculture
and social services.
Post-Babri demolition riots Muslim
outlook has changed greatly and they have realised that emotional issues and
confrontationist politics will take them nowhere and it is only modern
education and economic progress which will ensure better future for them.
Whatever figures are available point to the fact that trend for modern
education is progressively increasing. What lacking is economic means rather
than any traditional obstacle for modern education. One has to work hard to
provide such opportunities to poor Muslims. Partly it is for the government and
partly for Muslim leadership to create opportunities for education and economic
uplift of Muslims (Engineer, 2004).
The categorization done by
Chakravarti (2002) is very helpful in understanding the marginalisation of
Muslim in Gujarat. A large section of Muslims under
consideration are those who live essentially in a state of poverty because
their labour fetches them extremely low returns whether through wages or
self-employed work. They have no assured employment nor do they enjoy any kind
of social security and their work fall in the informal sector, such as
agricultural labourers, daily wage workers in factories and workshops, piece
rate workers, construction labourers, and domestic servants. They also include
large numbers of workers, such as rickshaw pullers, petty shopkeepers, hawkers
of vegetables, fruits, bakery products, snacks and beverages, and so on. Their
tragedy is that they are the principal victims of the violence and ghettotization
in rural and urban areas. They are marginalised in two major ways - in terms of
material well-being and as citizens. The poor Muslims here are not only
economically marginalised but, as Muslims, they are also subject to virulent
social ostracism and hate by Hindus, including many among Dalits and those
Adivasis who claim to be Hindus. The irony is that, generally speaking, these
Dalits and Adivasis share the same life chances as those of poor Muslims. The
latter are, therefore, alienated not only from the fruits of their labour but
also from even those who share the same material circumstances.
Conclusion
In the foregone discussion it is
argued that globalisation in itself, properly understood and implemented has
the potential wellbeing of all. But as discussed it is commonly understood as
growth at the cost of human development. I t is manipulated and distorted. Data
presented showed the pros and cons of globalisation. The article then
highlighted globalisation and changes in Gujarat showing that all is not well
There are sectors, groups and communities which are marginalised and left out
in this globalised development paradigm especially the Dalits, Adivasis, fisher
folks, daily wage earners, unorganized labourers, and women across these
groups.
Finally, we discussed that Muslims
in globalising Gujarat are no better than some of the marginalised communities.
They suffer not only in monetary terms but as Muslims, they are also subject to
venomous social ostracism and hate by Hindus, including many among Dalits and
Adivasis.
Let me conclude by stating that
the marginalised and poor are not against development or globalisation, they
welcome change. What matters is the nature of change. They want holistic
development - economic, social, cultural and political, where they feel
included, acknowledged, treated as subjects and not objects of development.
People want globalisation, which protects and enhances local resources and
increases people's ownership and access to them. People will encourage
globalisation, which enhances people's power to decide and to work for their
own development.
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