Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Development and Changes in Globalising Gujarat with Reference to Muslims

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).
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.
References
Albrow, Martin. 1996, The Global Age, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Alford, Helen J. and Naughton, MichaeI J., 2001, "Managing As If Faith Mattered - Christian Social Principles in Modern Organisation", Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame.
Bano, Afsar, 2003, Women and Social Change, New Delhi: Preference Press.
Bhargava, Rajeev, 2002, "Gujarat: Shades of Black', at Open          Democracy, 17thDecember, 2002, http://www.opendemocracy.netldemocracy/article_845.jsp
Census ofIndia, 2011, Provisional Population Totals, India Series 1, Registrar General and Census Commission, India.
Chakravarti, Anand, 2002, "Doubly Alienated Muslims Some Implications of the Gujarat Carnage", Akhbar, Year 2002, No 5 October-December, at http://www. indowindow.com/akhbar/article.php?article=145&category=12&issue=19
Chandra, Suresh, 2011, Understanding Political Sociology, New Delhi: Jnanada Prakashan.
Chopra, Suneet. 2008, "Nee-Liberalism and Social Justice - I", People's Democracy, Vol. XXXII, No.26, June 30-July 6,2008, P.4
Dabhi, Jimmy, 2003, "The Key Factors Leading to Emergence of New Non-Government Organisation", Management and Change, Vol. 7, No 2, New Delhi: The Journal of the Integrated Learning in Management (IILM), pp. 251-258.
Dabhi, Jimmy, 2004, "Development and Social Transformation-Role of the Voluntary Sector", in Social Change - Issues and Perspective, Vol. 34, No.1, March, pp. 86-101, New Delhi: Journal of the Council for Social Development.
Dabhi, Jimmy, 2006, The Age of Development, New Delhi: Indian Social Institute.
Dabhi, jimmy, 2007a, The Flipside of the Vibrant Gujarat, New Delhi: Indian Social Institute.
Dabhi, Jimmy, 2007b, "Profit Making Organizations and Development in India", in Jain, Mahaveer and Parth, Sarthi (eds.), Annual Handbook of Human Resource Initiatives pp. 68-99, New Delhi: Initiatives and Interventions.
Dabhi, Jimmy, 2009, "Women on the Margins and the Role of NGOs in India", Int. J. Indian Culture and Business Management, Vol. 2, No.4, 2009, pp. 392-407, USA.
Daughters of Fire, 2011, Speaking Pain, Seeking Justice, Sustaining Resistance, Voices and Vision from India Court of Women on Dowry and Related Forms of Violence against Women, Bangalore: Streelekha Publication.
Deaton, A., 2003, "Prices and Poverty in India, 1987-2000", Economic and Political Weekly (January).
Dixit, Anita K. 2011, "Poverty and Food Security in Gujarat, India", European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes 0957-8811, European Journal of Development Research Vol. 23, 1, 129-150, at http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ejdr/journal/v23/nlipdf/ejdr201036a.pdf.
Dholakia, Ravindra H., 2007, "Sources of Economic Growth and Acceleration in Gujarat", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 47, No.14, April 7-13.
Engineer, Asghar Ali, 2004, Census figures and BJP's Anti- Minorityism, Published in the 1-15 Oct 2004 print edition ofMG, at http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/01- 150ct04- Print- Edition/O 1151 0200463.htm
Giddens, Anthony, 1996, Consequences of Modernity, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hirway, Indira, Kashyap, S. P, and Shah, Amita, (eds.), 2002, Dynamics of Development in Gujarat, Ahmedabad: Centre for Development Alternatives.
ILO, 2003, Working Out Of Poverty, International Labour Conference, 91st Session 2003, International Labour Organisation, Geneva, at http://www .ilo.org/public/english/ standards/relmlilclilc911pdf/rep-i-a.pdf
India Human Development Report 2011, Towards Social Inclusion, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Khan, Amir Ullah, 2012, "Poverty is not just a Number Game for those Stuck below the Breadline', Current News, 29th March 2012, at http://currentnews.in/?p=25557.
Krishna, Sumi. 2012, "Genderscapes: Understanding Whey Gender Bias Persists in Natural Resource Management", in Banerjee, Nirmala; Sen, Samita and Dhawan Nadita (Eds), Mapping the Field: Gender Relations in Contemporary India, Volume 2, School of Women Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata: Mandira Sen for Stree. P.P. 265-295
Kumar, Shashi, 2004, New Dimensions for Economic Growth, New Delhi: Atlantic Publication.
Mann, Michael, 2005, The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mathur, Om Prakash, 2009, "Alleviating Urban Poverty: Income Growth, Income Distribution, or Decentralisation?", in India: Urban Poverty Report, 2009, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government ofIndia, pp.262-270.
Misra, R. K., 2012, "Bureaucratic Exodus", Current News, National Weekly, March 29, 2012, at http://currentnews.inl2008/1 0/06/bureaucratic-exodus/
Rao, Anupama. 2012, "Caste and Gender", in Banerjee, Nirmala; Sen, Samita and Dhawan Nadita (Eds), Mapping the Field: Gender Relations in Contemporary India, Volume 2, School of Women Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata: Mandira Sen for Stree. P.P. 506-561
Nayyar, Deepak, 1997, "Globalisation: What does it mean for Development?", RGICS Paper No. 42, New Delhi: Rajiv Gandhi Institute for contemporary Studies.
Pankaj, Ashok, 2008, "The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act - Guaranteeing the Right to Livelihood', in India Social Development Report 2008, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Patel, Girish, 2012, "Gujarat's Decade of Authoritarian Rule", DNA, Column, 29th February 2012, at http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column_gujarats-decade-of- authoritarian- rule_1656526
Rehman, Mujibur, 2007, "Globalisation and Gujarat", The Financial Express, 6th December 2007, at http://www.financialexpress.com/news/globalisation-and-gujarat/247067/2.
Rummel, Rudolph J., 1995, "Democracy, Power, Genocide, and Mass Murder", in Journal of  Conflict Resolution, March 1995, pp. 3.26, University of Maryland, USA.
Rummel, RudolphJ., 1997, "Collective Violence Correlated with Social Pluralism?", Journal of Peace Research, May, Vol. 34, pp. 167-175, in The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Sachar Committee Report, 2006, Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India, Prime Minister's High Level Committee, Government of India.
Sachar, Rajindar, 2007, 'We are all Minorities’, in PUCL Bulletin, Vol. XXVII, No.5, May 2007, pp. 10
Sangari, Kumkum, 2012, "Politics of Diversity: Religious Communities and Multiple Patriarchies", in Banerjee, Nirmala; Sen, Samita and Dhawan Nadita (Eds), Mapping the Field: Gender Relations in Contemporary India, Volume 2, pp. 361-463, School of Women Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata: Mandira Sen for Stree.
Saxena, K. B., 2012, "Development Policy and Social Exclusion: Access of Dalits and Adivasis to Common Property Resources", in Saxena, K. B; Mohanty, Manorajan and Chakravartty, Sumit (Eds.). A Fistful of Dry Rice: Land, Equity and Democracy, pp. 87-125, Delhi: Aakar Books.
Sengupta, Nadita. 2011, "Muslims Left Behind in Gujarat's Growth Story", The Times of India, of 18th February 2011, at http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-02-181 india/28615068 _l_gujarats-muslims-enrolment-sachar-committee
Seth, Mira. 2001, Women and Development - The Indian Experience, New Delhi: SagePublication.
Shukla, S. P., 2012, "A Note on the Neo-Liberal Threat to the Survival of Adivasis", in Saxena, K. B; Mohanty, Manorajan and Chakravartty, Sumit, (Eds.), A Fistful of Dry Rice: Land, Equity and Democracy, pp. 311-314, Delhi: Aakar Books.
Singh, Ajit and Dhumale, Rahul, 2005, "Globalisation, Technology and Income Inequality: A Critical Analysis", in Cornia, Giovanni Andrea (Ed.), Inequality, Growth and Poverty in an Era of Liberalisation and Globalisation, pp. 145-165, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stiglitz, Joseph, 2002, Globalisation and its Discontents, New Delhi: Penguin.
Study of Child Abuse India 2007, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, (http://wcd.nic.in/ childabuse.pdf).
Suhrawardy, Saeed, 2001, "Economic Situation of Indian Muslims", at http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/15072001/30.htm
Timmer, Peter C., 2005, "Agriculture and Pro-Poor Growth: An Asian Perspective", Working Paper Number 63, July 2005, Centre for Global Development, at http://cgdev.org/ files/2986_file_WP63_1.pdf
Thaker, Hrima, H. and Shiyani, R. L., 2009, "Socio-Economic Development In Gujarat: Rosy Picture with Concerns", Journal of Rural Development, Vol. 28, No.4, October - December, pp. 515 - 528.
Van der Hoeven, Rolph and Saget, Catherine, 2005, "Labour Market Institutions and Income Inequality: What are the New Insights after the Washington Consensus?" in Cornia, Giovanni Andrea (Ed.). Inequality, Growth and Poverty in an Era of Liberalisation and Globalisation, pp. 197-220, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
World Bank, 2006, "India, Gujarat: Agricultural Development for Growth and Poverty Reduction", Agriculture and Rural Development Sector Unit, South Asia Region, Discussion Paper Series, Report No.2, The World Bank, Washington, DC.
World Bank, 2008, "Agriculture and Rural Development - Conference Edition, Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook", The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. Washington, DC at www.worldbank.org
World Development Report, 2012, Gender Equality and Development, The World Bank, Washington DC.

No comments:

Post a Comment