BackUttar Pradesh: the end of status quo
Uttar Pradesh: the end of status quo
PremiumAhmed Raza Khan/Mint
If there is one enduring image from a road journey into the interiors of Uttar Pradesh, ignoring for a moment the visible poverty and bad roads, then it is that of the girl child going to school.
If you keep this image in mind while watching the electoral outcome being pronounced tomorrow, then the significance of the verdict will be of that much greater import.
Reading into the politics of the outcome runs the risk of reducing it to some simplistic conclusions—stinging defeat for Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati succumbing to an anti-incumbency wave, Akhilesh Yadav combining modern techniques to emerge as the youth leader, and so on. Actually, while these conclusions may or may not be off the mark, there is far more at stake. Instead, it should be viewed as another part of the process of transformation. And, that is the big message from the Uttar Pradesh electoral verdict: beginning of the end of status quo.
It may sound very ambitious, but this transformation of Uttar Pradesh, albeit nascent, is visible in the tale of two villages, Ramwapur and Naikinya, in Balrampur district located in north Uttar Pradesh and bordering Nepal. Though similar in demography, they are both a study in contrast.
While Ramwapur represents hope, the latter represents the typical despair associated with a state that is often dismissively referred to as Bimaru (so called as they were considered the perennial laggard states—Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh). The only thing common between them is aspiration, something they share with the rest of the country.
The transformation of Ramwapur was managed in the past 15 years, while Naikinya simply regressed over the same period. Consequently, the latter has seen an exodus of its younger demography, while the former has drawn 100 families from other parts of the state as new residents. This is not an exception. Throughout the state Mint’s reporters who have been on the election trail have returned with similar stories, suggesting that status quo is altering, albeit slowly.
“It was not easy. We went about it progressively, used funds from the MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) to develop bunds (dams) and help the farmers. And also worked on developing community assets, including the creation of a water tank," says Mohammed Ayub Khan, an engineer at the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (state water supply) and whose wife, Rukhsana Khan, served as the head of the panchayat (village council) for two terms ending 2010.
Dr Mohammed Umar Khan, Rukhsana Khan’s brother-in-law, was also active in the village’s development activities. No doubt, the fact that the family is among the biggest land owners in the village, helped sustain the change. This included making the monitoring of the midday meal scheme more democratic through its monitoring by a village committee—ensuring not only attendance but also that teachers remained focused on the job of imparting education.
An hour-long visit to the village revealed how the situation is so wretched, with residents focused only on themselves— making 18 written requests for BPL (below poverty line) cards, jobs, etc., in their cry for help—and ignoring the larger and more worrying collective problem of reviving the dam. Since the village falls in the vicinity of the Himalayan mountain range, deep drilling of tubewells is also not possible, and hence, the farmers are totally dependent on the monsoon, leaving them that much more vulnerable (another story as to how progressive administrations have ignored fixing the dam and gained political brownie points). Not surprisingly, the local government school, which has seen better times, is in utter neglect, and consequently suffering a very high dropout rate.
It is easy to be overwhelmed by Naikinya’s story. But that would be ignoring the ability of Ramwapur to transcend similar challenges. These incremental stories are presumably contributing to the aggregate story, which has gone from abysmal to impressive. According to the state’s Planning Commission data, the economy’s growth rate is up from 2.2% in 2000-01 to 7.2% in 2008-09, higher than what is projected nationally for this fiscal.
It is this message of “Yes, we can" that holds out hope for the entire state and also the message the electorate is serving up to politicians. Business-as-usual is clearly unacceptable. Interpreting the verdict in this background is critical for this message not to be ignored. Any reductionist theories on the outcome would numb victor and vanquished. Uttar Pradesh is at a cusp where it needs both the government and a vibrant opposition to realize its potential.
Anil Padmanabhan is a deputy managing editor of Mint and writes every week on the intersection of politics and economics.
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What was the attitude to education, say 10 years ago?
Earlier, parents would pressurize teachers to allow students to drop out. Now, it is the other way round. They put pressure to enroll them.
Across UP, we see scores of children go to school,particularly girls. Is this new?
Yes, there has been a transformation, especially due to the government schemes that provide free uniforms, school bags and bicycles. Secondly, all girls who graduate school are given ₹ 25,000 either to study further or to use at the time of marriage. So, there is an incentive for parents to send even girls to school.
Is it also because society is far more accepting?
Definitely. There is an awareness in society, though it is still not enough. Ten years ago, people didn’t want to educate their daughters. I am a teacher and I would gather the boys of my school and go from door to door convincing parents to send their daughters to schools located in the districts of Balrampur, Gonda or Bahraich. Even then they were not willing. But now there has been a lot of change in this respect.
Nidhi Mishra contributed to the report.
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