Land of contradictions

Maharashtra, India’s richest State and its financial powerhouse, is a microcosm of India in all its absurd extremes. A BusinessLine report (Why Nakushis will always have a pot over their heads, January 23) points out that in Nashik district, known for its flourishing vineyards, unwanted girls, often named ‘Nakushi (unwanted) or ‘Dhonda’ (stone) are cast away by families because of son-preference. Their lot in this water-starved area is to simply trudge miles to fetch water. Earlier this month a 22-year-old girl fell into a well and died on the spot, a chillingly routine affair in the drought-hit interiors of the State. This is not the first time that Maharashtra has hit the headlines for reasons that one would normally associate with the so-called BIMARU States. Some months ago, the State’s health minister said in the Assembly that nearly 20,000 children died between April 2017 and March 2018 due to ‘various reasons, including poor weight and respiratory illness’. If India as a whole represents a case of human development lagging economic development, this is particularly evident in States such as Maharashtra, Haryana and Gujarat. In Tamil Nadu and the southern States, the divergence is less sharp. Inequalities between States, and more so within regions in a State, have increased in the post-reform years. The gap between rural and urban incomes has widened, with visible socio-political manifestations. On the occasion of India’s 70th Republic Day, these contradictions need to be squarely addressed. India might have emerged as the world’s fastest growing economy, and to the credit of this government, leapfrogged several ranks in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index. But its poor quality of life and pockets of backwardness are not merely a moral embarrassment but also an economic liability.

Despite its advances in poverty reduction since 2005 as well as in most social indices, Maharashtra’s sex ratio at birth is lower than the national average, inexplicable for a State known for its social movements. A State that houses some of the world’s wealthiest people also records the highest farm suicides. Child marriage is not uncommon in drought-prone regions, while dowry remains a scourge. These contradictions point to a failure of the State to prioritise social expenditure, and make its growth process more inclusive.

Changing this, however, cannot be done by the government alone. India Inc must pick up the tab. Their CSR initiatives must translate into a fusion of growth and human development. And unless, we, the citizens of this Republic, collectively decide to change, these Nakushis and Dhondabais will continue to be a blot on our otherwise proud catalogue of achievements.

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