GROWTH OF RURAL POVERTY

Introduction

Poverty refers to a situation when people are deprived of basic necessities of life. It is often characterized by inadequacy of food, shelter and clothes. In other words, poverty refers to a state of privation where there is a lack of essential needs for subsistence. India is one of the poorest countries in the world. Many Indian people do not get two meals a day. They do not have good houses to live in. Their children do not get proper schooling.

Agriculture continues to be the primary sector of the Indian economy even after more than six decades of planned development. Three-fourths of India’s population lives in rural areas and earns its livelihood through agricultural and allied occupations. Rapid growth of population coupled with slow growth of the non-agricultural sector led to excessive dependence on agriculture. Indian agriculture is still a gamble on monsoon as three-fourths of the net area sown depends on rainfall which is very often uncertain, unevenly spread and deficient to meet the requirement of crop growth resulting in instability in agricultural production and mounting seasonal unemployment and under-employment. Due to the rapid growth of population, the number of cultivators and small and marginal farmers and agricultural labourers have been increasing at an alarming rate.

Poor people are the depressed and deprived class. They do not get proper nutrition and diet. Their conditions have not sufficiently improved even long after over 71 years of our Independence.

Definition of Poverty

1. J. Murray stated, “The wants to be considered here are the recognised biological necessities Food and drink little will be said about housing.”

2. Orshansky has noted, “There is no generally acceptable standard of adequacy for essentials of living except food.”

3. The term “Poverty” refers to “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support.” or “to a condition of being in want of something that is needed, desired or generally recognized as having value.”

Causes of Poverty

Rural poverty is a multi-dimensional social problem. Its causes are varied. They are as follows:

1. Climatic factors:

Climatic conditions constitute an important cause of poverty. The hot climate of India reduces the capacity of people especially the ruralites to work for which production severely suffers. Frequent floods, famine, earthquake and cyclone cause heavy damage to agriculture. Moreover, absence of timely rain, excessive or deficient rain severely affects a country’s agricultural production.

2. Demographic factors:

The following demographic factors are accountable for poverty in India.

1. Rapid growth of population:

Rapid growth of population aggravates the poverty of the people. The growth of population exceeds the rate of growth in national income. Population growth not only creates difficulties in the removal of poverty but also lowers the per capita income which tends to increase poverty. The burden of this reduction in per capita income is borne heavily by the poor people. Population growth at a faster rate increases labour supply which tends to lower the wage rate.

2. Size of family: 

Size of the family has significant bearing on rural poverty. The larger the size of family, the lower is the per capita income, and the lower is the standard of living. The persistence of the joint family system has contributed to the health and earning capacity of the ruralites.

3. Personal causes:

1. Lack of motivation: 

Lack of motivation is an important cause of rural poverty. Some ruralites do not have a motive to work hard or even to earn something. This accounts for the poverty of the ruralites.

2. Idleness: 

Most of the rural people are lazy, dull and reluctant to work. Hence they rot in poverty.

4. Economic causes:

1. Low agricultural productivity: 

Poverty and real income are very much interrelated. Increase in real income leads to reduction of the magnitude of poverty. So far as the agricultural sector is concerned, the farmers even today are following the traditional method of cultivation. Hence there is low agricultural productivity resulting in rural poverty.

2. Unequal distribution of land and other assets:

Land and other forms of assets constitute sources of income for the ruralites. But, unfortunately, there has been unequal distribution of land and other assets in our economy. The size-wise distribution of operational holdings indicates a very high degree of concentration in the hands of a few farmers leading to poverty of many in the rural sector.

3. Decline of village industries: 

At present consequent upon industrialization new factories and industries are being set up in rural areas. Village industries fail to compete with them in terms of quality and price. As a result they are closed down. The workers are thrown out of employment and lead a life of poverty.

4. Immobility of labour: 

Immobility of labour also accounts for rural poverty. Even if higher wages are offered, labourers are not willing to leave their homes. The joint family system makes people lethargic and stay-at-home.

The ruralites are mostly illiterate, ignorant, conservative, superstitious and fatalistic. Poverty is considered as god-given, something pre­ordained. All these factors lead to abysmal poverty in rural India.

5. Lack of employment opportunities: 

Unemployment is the reflection of poverty. Because of lack of employment opportunities, people remain either unemployed or underemployed. Most of these unemployed and underemployed workers are the small and marginal farmers and the landless agricultural labourers.

5. Social causes:

1. Education: 

Education is an agent of social change and egalitarianism. Poverty is also said to be closely related to the levels of schooling and these two have a circular relationship. The earning power is endowed in the individual by investment in education and training. But this investment in people takes away money and lack of human investment contributes to the low earning capacity of individuals.

In this way people are poor because they have little investment in themselves and poor people do not have the funds for human capital investment.

2. Caste system: 

Caste system in India has always been responsible for rural poverty. The subordination of the low caste people by the high caste people caused the poverty of the former. Due to the rigid caste system, the low caste people could not participate in the game of economic progress. A Sudra was not allowed to become a trader and a Vaishya could earn his bread only by trade. Birth would decide their occupation and their economic fate.

3. Joint family system: 

The joint family system provides social security to its members. Some people take undue advantage of it. They live upon the income of others. They become idlers. Their normal routine of life consists in eating, sleeping and begetting children. In this way poverty gets aggravated through a joint family system.

4. Social customs: 

The ruralites spend a large percentage of annual earnings on social ceremonies like marriage, death feast etc. As a result, they remain in debt and poverty.

5. Growing indebtedness: 

In the rural sector most of the ruralites depend on borrowings from the money-lenders and land-lords to meet even their consumption expenses. Moneylenders, however, exploit the poor by charging exorbitant rates of interest and by acquiring the mortgaged land in the event of non-payment of loans.

Indebted poor farmers cannot make themselves free from the clutches of moneylenders. Their poverty is further accentuated because of indebtedness. Such indebted families continue to remain under the poverty line for generations because of this debt-trap.

Effects of Poverty

1. Illiteracy: 

Poor people constitute a greater share of the illiterate population. Education becomes extremely difficult when people are deprived of basic necessities of life.

2. Child Labor: 

In India, a large number of young boys and girls are engaged in child labour. Article 24 of the Indian constitution clearly states that, “No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or employed in any hazardous employment.”

3. Nutrition and diet: 

Poverty is the leading cause of insufficient diet and inadequate nutrition. The resources of poor people are very limited, and its effect can be seen in their diet.

4. Poor living conditions and Housing problems: 

They don’t get proper living conditions. They have to fight the hardship of poverty to secure food, clothes and shelter. A large number of poor families live in houses with one room only.

5. Unemployment: 

Poor people move from villages to towns and form one town to another in search of employment or work. Since they are mostly illiterate and unskilled, there are very few employment opportunities open for them. Due to unemployment, many poor people are forced to live an unfulfilled life.

6. Hygiene and sanitation: 

These people have little knowledge about hygiene and proper sanitation systems. They are not aware of the harmful consequences of not maintaining proper hygiene. The government is taking initiatives to make available clean and safe water, and proper sanitation systems to them.

7. Feminization of poverty: 

Women are the worst victims of poverty. Poverty affects a greater number of women than men. The total of poor women outnumbers the total population of poor men. The causes include low income, gender-inequality, etc. They are deprived of proper-diet, medicines and health treatment.

8. Social tensions: 

Poverty is often characterized with income disparity and unequal distribution of national wealth between the rich and the poor. Concentration of wealth in the hands of few rich people lead to social disturbances and revolts. Fair or even distribution of wealth leads to an overall improvement in the general standard of living of people.

Poverty is a national problem and it must be solved on a war footing. The government is taking a number of steps to mitigate poverty. Eradication of poverty would ensure a sustainable and inclusive growth of economy and society. We all should do everything possible and within our limits to help alleviate poverty from our country.

SOLUTIONS

To solve this problem of India’s poverty. Here are some on the given points:

1. Farmers must get all facilities for irrigation.

2. They should be trained and educated.

3. Agriculture must be made profitable.

4. The ever-rising population should be checked.

5. Family planning schemes should be introduced.

6. More and more industries should be set up to meet the needs of our country.

7. Corruption must end. Our offices should work efficiently.

These are some of the ways by which our poverty can be removed.

Measures for Poverty Alleviation

Poverty is one of the major social problems and needs to be eradicated. Poverty is found not only in rural areas but also in urban areas. The major strategies must be implemented in rural areas as most of the Indian population lives in rural areas. The measures must be such that they increase agricultural production as well as improve the standard of living of people.

Some of the measures are discussed as follows:

1. Changes in the Agricultural Sector: 

The changes that have to be brought in the agricultural sector are implementing land reforms, freeing the landless labourers from bondage of the moneylenders, encouraging the farmers to use modern inputs and implements, which can increase production, and meas­ures such as informing farmers about the latest agricultural development, which would help them to raise productivity of their landholdings.

2. Development of Small-Scale and Cottage Industries: 

Agriculture and its allied sector cannot generate employment after a certain point. On the other hand, small-scale and cottage industries have the potential to generate suf­ficient employment opportunities. Labour-intensive technology must be adopted and cottage industries must be revived.

3. Distributive Justice: 

According to Ram Ahuja, wealth has to be created before it is properly distributed among different sections of society. In order to stop the growing inequality between the rich and the poor, there is a need to reor­der priorities. Complete equality in income and property may not be possible, but the laws must be so enacted that the rich do not escape the payment of taxes, and the lands in the villages may be protected from benami transfers (Who are Benami? a Benami transaction is a transaction where the legal owner and payer of a property transaction are two different persons. The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, which is an amendment of the older Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act 1988 defines and regulates the Benami Properties/Transactions and is effective from November 1, 2016.).

4. Use of Appropriate Technology: 

Technology, which requires high training and capital-intensive, complex infrastructure, would not be appropriate for eradicat­ing poverty as most of the poor people are illiterate, especially in rural areas. A technology, which is small and simple, capital-saving and labour-intensive is most appropriate, which can help the poor people to meet their requirements.

5. Proper Implementation of Developmental Programmes: 

The local panchayats at the village-level and the municipal councils at the urban-level should effec­tively implement the programmes undertaken by the government. Unless the families living in poverty are identified both at rural and urban areas, the pro­grammes will not benefit the persons for whom they have been made. Assistance from voluntary agencies and non-governmental organizations should be taken for the proper implementation of rural and urban developmental programmes.