Tuesday 14 May 2013

How to measure development

To encourage industrialisation, lands of tribal population was acquired. The land of the tribal settlements is rich in mineral resources. For last three years, tribals have been protesting because they do not want industry in their lands. Right now the government officials are meeting at the village of Dongriya Kondh tribal of Odisha's Niyamgiri Hills. Our Supreme Court had ordered that the "will" of the tribal population should decide on the issue of making of industrial plant in their lands. Their religious rights are involved here. But the corporates and the state government have other devious plans. First is that the Supreme Court order would reduce the number of village councils which would be allowed to decide on the making of the steel plant. Another plan is to involve the "'tribal gram sabha" only and not the actual people (tribals).(Decision the tribal gram sabha could be shaped as per the private firm's interests).In June 2005, the Korean firm signed for 4004 acres of tribal land from the state government. Although the central government and the Supreme Court want to give rights to the tribals, in reality, the state government is depriving the tribals of rights over their lands. As we are racing for faster industrialisation, development of factories is very important(Are the tribal people not important?)
Is industrialisation a measure of development? Sometimes Demographic and Health surveys are used to measure development.Childhood deaths or maternal death rates are used as a scale to measure development. Human Development Index (height, weight)is used to measure development. Racial qualities vary and epigenetic repercussions also make the data incomparable.Presence of poverty a measure of development? Poverty is a relative concept. Some are more poor and some less poor. All could be classified as poor. Purchasing power is used to measure development. Nutrition, sanitation and access to water is used to measure development. We really cannot measure development by living standards. Because it is always comparative....poor? compared to whom? People here need very basic needs--water,electricity, how to measure their prosperity?We can truly measure development by the "rights" we can give to our people.So if the tribal people get their rights, we have good development in India, if they do not get what they want, that indicates lack of development in the Indian nation.

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