[Reader-list] NO CAVILING AT GUJARAT'S HARD FACTS
Bipin Trivedi
aliens at dataone.in
Fri May 28 11:04:47 IST 2010
Dear Britta,
Because few NGO's of wasted interest (for ex. Teesta NGO, proved her wasted interest) wants to keep this issue alive for ever want to maintain these camps for ever. Gujarat government offered them alternative rehabilitation far back, but they did not accept it and playing in the hand of Teesta like people. So, how can Gujarat government acknowledge it officially. It is absolutely baseless that they are not in any survey. Most of them voted in the elections.
Thanks
Bipin
-----Original Message-----
From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Britta Ohm
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 1:27 AM
To: Pawan Durani
Cc: sarai list
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] NO CAVILING AT GUJARAT'S HARD FACTS
I also have a few questions:
a) Numbers being as stretchable to the creation of myths as any other
source, what about the displaced inhabitants of the 70 'semi-
permanent' camps scattered around Gujarat, not officially acknowledged
by the Gujarat government and maintained by NGOs (a few of which I
visited in 2007)? The Muslim inhabitants' voter IDs and ration cards
have to a large degree never been replaced, which means they would
never figure in any 'proper' survey. Does the physical displacement
and statistical/legal erasure of nearly 200 000 Muslims not constitute
a 'hard fact'? Or is it precisely the necessary basis of 'hard facts'
creation?
b) At what political and psychological price has this numerical
mystery been achieved? How many legal cases have been withdrawn under
what pressure? How many Muslims are imprisoned without seeing a
lawyer, or even knowing their case? What rights were sacrificed in
return for acceptance in employment? How many residential areas were
'voluntarily' vacated (or not reclaimed) in order to not provoke
further exclusion? Which topics of learning and education have been
dropped so as to be admitted to higher education? What do the numbers
of primary schools close to a 'Muslim area' tell about kids'
discrimination? Any minority that knows it can't do anything to
profoundly change its situation will cooperate to the best of its
abilities - and after a while, helped by the outer circumstances that
play off 'cooperative' against 'non-cooperative' members - possibly
truly believe that it is doing really well and even start to discredit
'non-cooperative' members of the same community. After all, it's their
fault if they do not progress and make their lives difficult, and they
better learn to adjust lest they soil the new good reputation of those
who cooperate willingly and see the advantages. The deal is
psychologically extremely straining but at the core dead simple:
inclusion for justice.
The pogrom of Gujarat was not classified by the UN as an attempted
genocide because of the number of victims but because there was no
other way of doing categorical justice to the uncompromising will to
kill the Muslim minority. Everybody knew that it was, because of their
numbers, impossible to 'get them all'. Modi's 'success' thus lies not
in the pogrom itself but in having been able to employ it as a means
of ending the 'communal/minority problem' on another level. The
numbers of success and inclusion suggested here correspond with claims
and imaginations of fair and supportive minority politics. Nice. But
how should this be possible after a genocidal attack and the same
government in power? There are just things that do not go together,
whichever way you turn them, because they are humanly impossible, so
there have to be found other, more human explanations. And looked at
the 'hard facts' this way, it simply is more likely that they express
the 'actual' and realistically pursued outcome of the pogrom, namely
the renunciation or created sheer impossibility of democratically
claiming human and minority rights.
Am 26.05.2010 um 13:26 schrieb Pawan Durani:
> Any idea of recent communal riot in Shahpur , Ahmedabad....I dont
> see anyone
> discussing that.
>
> pawan
>
> On Wed, May 26, 2010 at 4:43 PM, anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
>> Bipin,
>>
>> I have a few questions for you: When was the Sachar committee
>> report filed?
>> Was there any such committee before Sachar to assess the condition
>> of one
>> particular community as mentioned in your post? Do you think a
>> comparative
>> analysis is required in ascertaining the conditions prevalent in the
>> community now and then?
>>
>> thanks anupam
>>
>> On Wed, May 26, 2010 at 3:30 PM, Bipin Trivedi <aliens at dataone.in>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> To an editorial published in the Indian Express on May 22 titled "
>>> <http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hard-facts-to-face/622193/> Hard
>> facts
>>> to
>>> face" the Gujarat Government had sent a letter in response stating
>>> the
>>> factual position regarding the status of Muslim in Gujarat.
>>> <http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hard-facts/623677/0> A part of
>>> the
>>> letter
>>> was published in the Indian Express dated May 26, 2010. The complete
>>> version
>>> of the letter that was sent to the Editor Indian Express is enclosed
>>> herewith so that you will be conversant with the real hard facts.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Refer link:
>> http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hard-facts-to-face/622193/0
>>>
>>>
>>> No caviling at Gujarat's hard facts
>>>
>>> How do Muslims fare in Gujarat? They fare much better compared to
>>> other
>>> states. The objective study by the Prime Minister's high-level
>>> committee
>>> headed by Justice Rajendra Sachar, appointed by Prime Minister Dr
>> Manmohan
>>> Singh in 2006, indicates that Muslims in Gujarat perform and fare
>>> much
>>> better when compared with other states in several key indicators
>>> such as
>>> education, employment, income and access to critical
>>> infrastructure. The
>>> editorial in the Indian Express dated May 22, 2010 is mostly based
>>> on
>>> perceptions and anecdotal evidences rather than hard facts.
>>> However the
>>> facts below speak for themselves.
>>>
>>> In trying to make out a case for Muslim children being given a raw
>>> deal
>> in
>>> primary and upper primary school enrolment facts that has placed
>>> Muslims
>> in
>>> Gujarat on the top of literacy ladder have been totally ignored.
>> According
>>> to Sachar committee report the percentage of literacy of Muslims in
>> Gujarat
>>> is 73.5 per cent, the highest in India. It is pertinent to note
>>> that this
>>> is
>>> much higher than that of national average of 59.1 per cent and
>>> also the
>>> percentage of literacy of Hindus in Gujarat which is 68.3 per
>>> cent. Even
>>> Muslim women in urban areas of Gujarat have average literacy rate 5
>> points
>>> higher than the national average and rural Muslim women are far much
>> better
>>> with their literacy rate of 57 per cent as compared to the national
>> average
>>> of 43 per cent. If Muslim children are not provided education how
>>> can
>>> Muslims in Gujarat attain the highest literacy rate in the country?
>>>
>>> During 2009-10 the enrolment of Muslim children has been 6.45 per
>>> cent
>> (as
>>> against 4.7 per cent reported). It should be kept mind that this
>> percentage
>>> excludes the enrolment in Madarsas and also some of the private
>>> schools
>>> which do not provide segregated data. The very fact that Muslims in
>> Gujarat
>>> have the highest literacy rate in the country proves that they have
>> access
>>> to education much better than in other states. If you look at Muslim
>>> education attainment those who have passed the primary stage are
>>> 74.9 per
>>> cent way ahead of the national average 60.9 per cent. In the
>>> category of
>>> those who passed secondary education Gujarat at 45.3 is ahead of the
>>> national average of 40.5 per cent. Even in the category of those
>>> who have
>>> passed higher secondary level Gujarat with 26.1 per cent is ahead
>>> of the
>>> national average of 23.9 per cent. In the average years of secondary
>>> schooling provided between the age group of 7-16 once again
>>> Gujarat with
>>> 4.29 per cent is ahead of the nationa Your reference to Juhapura
>>> area of
>>> Ahmedabad lacking schools due to "gradual disentitlement and
>> ghettoisation
>>> of Gujarat's Muslims" is specious to the say the least as the
>>> facts prove
>>> otherwise. There are eight high schools out of which three are
>>> government-aided schools. In Juhapura and surrounding areas there
>>> are 13
>>> municipal primary schools funded by the state government and also 15
>>> private
>>> schools. Far from being ghettoized there is ample opportunity for
>>> the
>>> Muslim
>>> children to enroll themselves.
>>>
>>> Secondly it has become a knee-jerk habit of secularists to pooh-
>>> pooh the
>>> good governance of the state of Gujarat. And as to your question
>>> if "his
>>> fabled governance genius translate into a better life for those his
>>> politics
>>> rejects?" the answer is clearly in the Sachar report which has
>>> called the
>>> bluff of those who have tried to besmirch Gujarat.
>>>
>>> In the very social sectors which your editorial cites as the
>>> indicator of
>>> percolation of development to the minorities, Sachar Committee
>>> report
>>> reveals the performance of Gujarat is far better than many other
>>> states.
>>> The
>>> document also reveals Gujarat is far ahead in terms of providing
>> education
>>> facilities and health facilities. If we take the case availability
>>> of
>>> schools in villages where there is Muslim population Gujarat is
>>> far ahead
>>> of
>>> the national average. In the category of villages with population of
>>> Muslims
>>> more than 2000 all the villages have education facility as against
>>> 98.7
>> per
>>> cent national average. In the category of 1000 to 2000 population,
>>> 99.9
>> per
>>> cent villages have education facilities as against the national
>>> average
>> of
>>> 95.4 per cent. In the category of less than 1000 population 98.6
>>> per cent
>>> of
>>> the villages have education facility as against the national
>>> average of
>>> 80.4
>>> per cent.
>>>
>>> When we consider the availability of medical facilities in villages,
>> where
>>> Muslim population is more 2000, 89.9 per cent of the villages have
>> medical
>>> facilities as against the national average of 70.7 per cent. In the
>>> category
>>> of 1000-2000 population, 66.67 per cent of villages have medical
>> facilities
>>> against the national average of 43.5 per cent. In the category of
>> villages
>>> less than 1000 population, 53 per cent of the villages have medical
>>> facilities as against the national average of 20.2 per cent.
>>>
>>> Even in the case of other indicators such as road connectivity,
>>> availability
>>> of pucca approach road etc Gujarat is far ahead of national
>>> average and
>>> many
>>> other states. Even on per month per capita income of Muslims is
>>> more than
>>> the Hindus of Gujarat in rural areas. For Muslims it stands at Rs
>>> 668
>>> compared to Rs 644 for Hindus (SCs Rs 527 and OBCs Rs 594). This
>>> is much
>>> higher than many other states for example Andhra Pradesh (Rs 610);
>>> West
>>> Bengal (Rs 501); UP (Rs 509); Karnataka (Rs 532); MP (Rs 475) .
>>> The per
>>> capita income of Muslims in urban areas is also higher than the
>>> national
>>> average and many other states. (see Sachar report). The prosperity
>>> of
>>> Muslims in Gujarat when compared with other states is reflected in
>>> terms
>> of
>>> the bank account wise average deposit. For instance Gujarat it is Rs
>> 32,932
>>> compared to West Bengal Rs 13, 824, Assam Rs 26,319 to cite a few
>> examples.
>>>
>>> If you take the employment of Muslims in critical departments of
>> government
>>> such as home department, state transport dept and even in public
>>> sectors
>>> the
>>> percentage of Muslims occupying high posts is higher in Gujarat when
>>> compared with other States. Just to cite an example in Gujarat
>>> where the
>>> percentage of Muslims is 9.1 the proportion of Muslims in high
>>> posts is
>> 8.5
>>> per cent whereas in West Bengal where the Muslim population is
>>> 25.2 per
>>> cent
>>> the proportion of Muslims is merely 1.2 per cent.
>>>
>>> To discuss on each and every parameter to establish that Muslims
>>> fare far
>>> better in Gujarat is neither required nor possible to enumerate in a
>>> letter.
>>> Your editorial mentions that Modi should be open to verification
>>> of his
>>> claims of inclusive development. The above mentioned facts clearly
>>> demonstrate that better governance in Gujarat has been translated
>>> into a
>>> better life for all the people in Gujarat, including the
>>> minorities. Your
>>> editorial recommends open verification of the claims. The high-
>>> powered
>>> committee appointed by the Prime Minister has to a great extent
>>> not only
>>> verified the claims but also clearly established that these claims
>>> are
>>> true.
>>>
>>>
>>>
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---------------------------------------
Dr. Britta Ohm
Institute of Social Anthropology
University of Bern
Laenggassstr. 49a
3012 Bern
Switzerland
+41-(0)31-631 8995 (main office)
+41-(0)31-631 8997 (direct line)
britta.ohm at anthro.unibe.ch
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Germany
+49-(0)30-69507155
ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de
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