Papers by Debarshi Debnath
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Religious Groups Bundelkhand's population is overwhelmingly Hindu. The percentage of Hindu popula... more Religious Groups Bundelkhand's population is overwhelmingly Hindu. The percentage of Hindu population in UP Bundelkhand is much higher than the percentage in UP as a whole. It is also higher than the MP average in MP Bundelkhand, and including both parts of Bundelkhand, the percentage of Hindu population is much higher than the India average as well. Coexisting with mainstream Hinduism are various streams of folk religion that continue to exert powerful influence in rural areas (read about cults and local deities). Notable also is worship at sati shrines.
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By Government of India norms, one primary health centre (PHC) should serve a rural population 30,... more By Government of India norms, one primary health centre (PHC) should serve a rural population 30,000 people. Roughly, that means there should be one PHC per 30 villages. Census 2001 data showed that in both UP and MP, and all Bundelkhand districts, the coverage was much poorer, with roughly one PHC per 50 villages in both UP Bundelkhand and MP Bundelkhand. The poor coverage was also seen when one uses rural population of a district as the criterion. Using Census 2001 population figures, one can see that one PHC served a rural population of more than 50,000 in all districts of the region except Chitrakoot and Chhatarpur. In Banda, one PHC served over 90,000 people-thrice the norm. At the level of primary sub health centers (PSHCs), the situation was terrible in UP Bundelkhand. While the region should have had over 1000 such centers by norms of the National Rural Health Mission for the region (10 PSHCs per PHC), it had only around 250; the situation was worst in Lalitpur and Chitrakoot districts where there was only around one PSHC per PHC. There is a gap even between sanctioned and completed infrastructure. A plan made in 2006 by the Chhatarpur District Collector for the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) disclosed that while 43 PHCs were sanctioned for the district, there were only 33; buildings for 186 PSHCs were sanctioned but there were only 56 on the ground. These gaps were expected to be filled through BRGF, but even after that happens, there would be an increasing gap between demand and supply. Going by population growth trends, Chhatarpur needs to have at least 50 PHCs in 2010, according to Government of India norms (one PHC per rural population unit of 30,000). The gap would be more pronounced at the level of more easily accessible PSHCs: Chhatarpur would require around 450 such centers by 2010, but would have less than 200 even if the BRGF plan projection is met by that year. (The assumption is that rural population of Chhatarpur, which was around 11.5lakhs in 2001, would be around 14lakhs in 2010. The National Rural Health Mission norm for Bundelkhand is that one PSHC should serve a rural population of 3000). In UP Bundelkhand, the gap between required and available primary health sub centers would be staggering. Looking at the situation in 2001, the progress made since then and population growth trends, it appears that by 2010, PSHCs in the region would be, on an average, catering to 12,000 to 15,000 persons, against the National Rural Health Mission's norm of 3,000 persons for the region. Infrastructure is only aspect of health service; the more important aspect is availability of trained staff and adequate stock of medicines. The situation in UP is dismal, and reflected in extremely poor usage of government health facilities. A large 'poverty and social monitoring' survey (PSMS-II) conducted jointly by the state's Planning Department and the World Bank in 2002-03 found that only 10% of people in rural areas who consulted any medical practitioner went to a government health facility; the rest went to a private sector doctor (35%) or a quack or traditional healer (55%). Among poor families in rural areas, the percentage was even lower (7%). Probably the most important reason for low usage is low staff presence. Quoting a World Bank study, a `note on the health sector in Uttar Pradesh', prepared by the state's Planning Department in 2005, reported that 40 to 45% of doctors in PHCs were absent on the day of an unannounced visit. As it is, PHCs are few; a poor family living at a distant location would be very foolish to risk expenditure of time and money for a visit to a centre where the chances of the doctor being present are 1: 2. As regards sub health centers closer to villages, the vast gap between minimum need and supply has already been mentioned. In UP much of the supply is also incapable of dealing with acute illnesses and accidents; many sub health centers are manned by ayurvedic or homeopathic doctors with limited and outdated medicine stocks. The situation seems to be better in MP. A review of health facilities in 2006-07 in 17 states, conducted jointly by representatives of donor agencies and state officials, gave MP the highest rating with 12 points; UP got 6. Among the criteria used was assessment of PHCs and observation of sample health facilities. The rating does not tell us about usage of facilities. PSMS-II data mentioned earlier and field observations indicate that 30-50% of rural people of Bundelkhand who require medical attention consult traditional healers, called vaidyas or vaidoos, and 'ojhas' who claim to have powerful mantras to drive away evil spirits that bring illness. A survey of 152 villages in Tikamgarh
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Migration Figures in the last row of the table in 2002 BPL Survey Data indicate that 50% to 70% o... more Migration Figures in the last row of the table in 2002 BPL Survey Data indicate that 50% to 70% of rural households across Bundelkhand's districts have at least one member who migrates annually or has migrated permanently. The data also indicates that apart from permanent or semi-permanent migrants, working adults of 30% to 50% of the region's rural households migrate every year, seeking casual or seasonal employment. Whereas the proportion of casual labor migrants is much higher than that of migrants seeking seasonal employment in UP Bundelkhand, the situation is the reverse in MP Bundelkhand. The highest annual migration appears to occur in Tikamgarh and Damoh districts, and the overall highest proportion of migration is from Chitrakoot. Actual number of migrants obviously varies across villages according to factors like quality of local land, availability of irrigation water, and agriculture and non-agriculture employment opportunities available in the village, or neighboring villages. Analysis of field studies shows that the first important 'determinant' of migration is size of land owned. The more he land a house hold owns, the less likely any member will migrate. However, small and marginal farmers have a slightly higher chance of migrating compared to households with practically no land. Perhaps this is because the first category of families has the resources to hire labor and thus release family labor for more lucrative outside work. In other words, in normal conditions, the poorest of the poor are unlikely to migrate. Families with extra hands are more likely to migrate. As a rule, only men migrate when they possess the skills required in the work destination, or when migration is a relatively new activity for the community. As the 'migration stream' becomes more established, women accompany their husbands, in some tribal villages, the female migrants outnumber males. Among all social groups, scheduled tribes (STs), followed by scheduled castes (SCs), are more likely to migrate than people from any other group. This is clearly seen in 2002 BPL survey data, which show that whereas 47% of Banda district's rural households reported casual or seasonal migration, among SC families, the proportion was 51%. In Panna, the incidence of casual or seasonal migration was 49% among all rural households and 63% among ST households. (See tables in 2002 BPL Survey Data and Poverty among SC and ST rural households in Bundelkhand). Members of landed Thakur and educated Brahmin households also migrate, but their reasons for leaving the village are opportunistic-driven by the desire to have a better life. But for people from SC and ST groups, migration is usually an unavoidable 'coping strategy', driven simply by the need to survive.
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LOCATION District Chitrakoot lies between Lat. 24 0 48 ' to 25 0 12 ' N and Lang. 80 0 58 ' to ... more LOCATION District Chitrakoot lies between Lat. 24 0 48 ' to 25 0 12 ' N and Lang. 80 0 58 ' to 81 0 34 ' E.
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Livestock In any subsistence-based, traditional-agriculture economy, livestock plays an important... more Livestock In any subsistence-based, traditional-agriculture economy, livestock plays an important role. Draught animals are used during sowing, to draw water from wells, and to transport people and goods. Dung is used as fuel. Some supplemental income can come from sale of milk. For these reasons, and also possibly due to traditional Hindu reverence for the cow, Bundelkhand has had a high livestock population for ages. It is often said that there is more livestock than human population in Bundelkhand. This was certainly so till the 1980s-the total livestock population of the region in 1982 was 8.96 million, close to the Census 1981 human population figure but since the 1980s the livestock population growth rate has generally declined in comparison to the human population growth. As the table below shows, the total livestock population of Bundelkhand, excluding some minor animal categories, was 10.78 million in 2003, or around two-thirds the human population in 2001, and divided roughly in equal proportion in UP and MP Bundelkhand. The livestock population was highest in Chhatarpur district. In UP Bundelkhand, the highest number of animals was in Jhansi. Comparing the 2003 figures in the table below with 2001 human population figures, and ignoring marginal variation due to difference in years, we can see that per capita ownership of livestock was much higher in MP Bundelkhand districts than in UP Bundelkhand, at 0.75 and 0.65 respectively. The highest figure was in Chhatarpur district, with around 0.80 animals per capita. What these figures mean is that per rural household of five to seven persons, there are four to seven animals on an average. It is however more meaningful to relate ownership of animals to size of holdings. Analysis of data from Agriculture Census Input Survey 2001-02 (Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India) shows that in Banda, 76% of operators of marginal holdings had livestock, accounting for nearly 50% of the total livestock in the district. The number of animals per marginal holding was 3.91 & increased to a little over 6 animals per medium & large land holding.In comparison, in Chhatarpur, which had a far higher livestock population, though 77% of marginal farmers had livestock, their livestock accounted for only 30% of the total livestock in the district. However, even so, animals per marginal holding were higher than in Banda, at 5; animals per medium and large holding were also higher in the district, at 7 and 9.7 respectively.
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Land use pattern in UP Bundelkhand and MP Bundelkhand districts is not significantly different fr... more Land use pattern in UP Bundelkhand and MP Bundelkhand districts is not significantly different from the rest of UP and MP respectively. Net sown area in all MP Bundelkhand districts except Data is considerably lower than in UP Bundelkhand. Around 7% of cultivable land in UP Bundelkhand and around 5% of cultivable land in MP Bundelkhand lies fallow in any year. Note: In the table below, notified forest land includes land covered with degraded forest, or land with virtually no trees; actual forest cover, as revealed by satellite data, is lower.
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Geology Geologically, Bundelkhand presents a mixture from different eras, from the earliest days ... more Geology Geologically, Bundelkhand presents a mixture from different eras, from the earliest days of the formation of the earth, when its upper crust cooled and solidified, till recent times. From the earliest period, older than 2500 million years, are granite-like formations called gneiss and so-called Bundelkhand Granite. Much of the area of Datia, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Tikamgarh Chhatarpur, Panna and Sagar districts, and southern portions of Chitrakoot and Mahopac districts is granite country, marked by outcrops of great diversity in mineral composition and size, ranging from small patches to large hillocks. A striking feature of the granite country, which has impacted settlement patterns and agriculture, is the presence of long and narrow rocky ridges, known as quarts reefs and dolerite dykes. Often, these wall-like natural features intercept the course of streams, leading to formation of water bodies and enabling the creation of large artificial lakes. From later geological eras (570 to 900 million years ago), we get diamond fields in Panna, extensive limestone deposits in Damoh, Chhatarpur and Datia, basaltic rocks in southern Lalitpur and sandstone deposits in Panna and Sagar. Massive sandstone and limestone cliffs are seen in the Vindhyan hills which girdle the granite country. The most recent geological deposits are alluvium, in the form of sand, silt or clay, brought down by north-flowing rivers.
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Mahua flowers, fruits and seeds, tendu leaves and firewood are a major source of livelihood for p... more Mahua flowers, fruits and seeds, tendu leaves and firewood are a major source of livelihood for people living in hilly areas of Bundelkhand, like the Kols in Patha area of Chitrakoot, tribal groups living in and around forests of Panna district and Sahariyas of Lalitpur district. Mahua flower, collected in March-April, is used to make alcohol locally for domestic consumption and sale. Mahua fruit, collected in June-July, is used in production of medicines and oil, and sold to middlemen. Whole families, including children and the aged, are engaged in collection of these products. In terms of value, tendu leaves are the most important forest produce in Bundelkhand and its collection and sale is done through state agencies in both UP and MP. Wages from tendu collection are a crucial source of supplementary income to tribal families in the lean agriculture season. However, compared to final sale value, quantity-based wages paid for collection are low and instances of delayed or improperly calculated wage payments are common. Tendu leaves, collected by tribals, are used to wrap beedis, after drying and curing. Mature leaves are collected from around the middle of April to the middle of May, over a period of around six weeks. Whole families are engaged in tendu leaf collection, receiving wages as per number of bundles. In MP, collection is organized through cooperative societies of people involved in the job. The societies sell leaves packed in bags to the MP State Minor Forest Produce Federation, which fixes rates every year. In 2006, the rate for one standard bag of 50,000 leaves was Rs 400 only. Collection of firewood and sale in nearby markets is a regular source of income for families with little or no productive land. The extent of this business can be gauged any morning in Manikpur railway station, in Chitrakoot district, when hundreds of bundles of firewood collected from the Patha jungles, are loaded in passenger trains, for sale at other places. Study of 53 households living on the outskirts of the Panna Reserve Forest in Panna district, conducted as part of the MP Human Development Report 2002, and revealed that the households earned a total annual income of around Rs. 3.23 lakhs through collection of tendu leaves, mahua products and firewood. The households plucked tendu leaves worth Rs. 1.5lakh, which were sold to cooperatives. Mahua leaves and nuts worth Rs. 98,000 were either sold in local markets (hats) or to traders in barter. Fuel wood worth Rs. 65,000 annually, was sold to employees of the Majhgawan diamond mines nearby. While the 53 households also had other income sources, the income from forest produce accounted for 85 % of the total income of 46 households. Each family on an average earned Rs 9450 from the forests. Other forest produce collected and sold is medicinal plants and products like harra, gond, imli, khair, chiraunji, babul, anjan and salbeaj. Income from forests can increase in a sustainable manner, for the benefit of tribal groups and the State, if forest management practices are fundamentally altered. The current reality is that, as in most other parts of India, the forest department and communities living in and around forests in Bundelkhand are in an adversarial position. This does not help the forest department, the communities, or the forests.
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Food insecurity exists in a particular location when all people living there do not, at all times... more Food insecurity exists in a particular location when all people living there do not, at all times, have 'physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs' according to a definition of the Food Aid Organization (FAO) of the Unfold insecurity in India has been mapped by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai and World Food Program (WFP) of the FAO, which have drawn up food.The mapping does not look only at availability of food, which is the primary but not sufficient criterion. It also looks at access to food, which is determined by purchasing power, and can be severely affected by disasters like floods and drought. Purchasing power is in turn determined by access to livelihood opportunities. Access to food is also affected by caste and gender discrimination. Another basic factor to consider is utilization of food-the body's ability to absorb food, or the health status of an individual, which is determined at the very basic level by access to safe drinking water, health services, and sanitation facilities. Food insecurity is thus a complex issue, and the rural India food insecurity atlas uses 19 indicators, including per capita consumption of food grain, percentage of population consuming less than 1890 calories a day, percentage of drought-prone area, poverty line, percentage of population dependant on labor and rural and health infrastructure index. Based on these indicators, the states of Bihar and Jharkhand were classified in 2004 as 'extremely (food) insecure' and UP and MP were deemed 'severely insecure'. In this 'severely insecure' area, we get a more detailed picture of MP Bundelkhand districts from the Food Insecurity Atlas of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh prepared earlier, in 2000, by WFP. The objective of the study was 'vulnerability analysis and mapping' of food insecure areas in these two states. The 20 indicators chosen, under five broad categories, were related to the three basic aspects of food insecurity mentioned above, namely food availability, accessibility and utilization. A composite vulnerability index, derived from category-wise indexes, showed that the most vulnerable district of MP was Jhabua, with a score of 1.61. The least vulnerable of the districts was Neemuch with a score of 0.61. Within MP Bundelkhand, the most vulnerable district was Panna (1.23) followed by Damoh (1.02), Sagar (0.80), Datia and Chhatarpur (0.79), and Tikamgarh (0.76). This objectively deduced vulnerability assessment reflects the food insecurity assessment made by households themselves: the 2002 BPL Survey reported that over 85% of rural households in Panna and Damoh, and around 80% of households in Chhatarpur and Tikamgarh districts said that they did not have enough food throughout the year. It is no coincidence that Jhabua, Panna and Damoh have a high ST population. Irrespective of everything else, ST groups of peninsular India are the most food insecure section of the country's population, suffering the most under all three aspects of rural food insecurity: they have poor quality of agricultural land, have very little purchasing power and have low health status and access to health facilities. In UP Bundelkhand, ST groups (though not recognized as such by the state government) are found in Chitrakoot and Lalitpur, and it was from the latter district that the first report of 'hunger death' in Bundelkhand in recent times, made national headlines, in 2001. Subsequently, in 2003, there were reports about poor families forced to survive by 'eating grass', following media visits organized by Bundelkhand Sewa Sansthan (BSS), an NGO associated with ABSSS, to the interior regions of Madawara block of Lalitpur district, where Sahariyas live in large numbers. Following the reports, the district collector and magistrate (DM), Umesh Kumar Mittal, and his colleagues were moved to action. They decided to visit a few villages and the BSS organized a public hearing. Sheelrani, a woman
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Feudal Culture From the time of the Chandelles, Bundelkhand ruling clans claimed high Rajput stat... more Feudal Culture From the time of the Chandelles, Bundelkhand ruling clans claimed high Rajput status and behaved accordingly. A feudal culture emerged, which remains quite strong, especially in some MP Bundelkhand districts like Tikamgarh. The chief features of the feudal culture include: a high sense of honour open display of guns 'rule' of 'dadus', which often leads to land-related violence fiefdoms where the state apparatus is inconsequential Sense of honour Traditionally, much value is put on honour in Bundelkhand. Honour is understood in the region as 'pat' (rhymes with 'cut' in English). Historically, the noblest deeds were those that secured the 'pat' of 'swami' (religious leader), clan and the state. A line from a popular folk song implored the mother goddess, Mori maya pat rakhiyon bare jan ki. The sense of honour has been extolled in folk songs and tales, celebrated in historical novels and approvingly mentioned in many academic and semi-academic discussions on Bundelkhand culture. What is not often mentioned is that the sense of honour was Extremist. It encouraged violence and limited choice. Women of higher castes were compelled to kill themselves 'voluntarily' after their husbands lost in battle. For rulers, 'pat' was more important than creating stable, prosperous kingdoms. The exaggerated sense of honour fuelled relentless internecine warfare in Bundelkhand, and was a major cause of political instability in the region till the British took over. The exaggerated sense of honour and attendant sense of self pride persisted among members of erstwhile ruling clans even after they were completely overpowered and deposed by the British. A remarkable description of Bundela pride is provided in the section on Bundelas in a voluminous colonial era publication, The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India. The authors noted that the Bundelas were 'proud and penurious to the last degree, and quick to resent the smallest slight'. They made good shikaris but 'were so impatient of discipline that they have never found a vocation by enlisting in the Indian Army.' Their characteristics were described in a doggerel verse: The Bundles salute each other from miles apart; their pagris are cocked on the side of the head till they touch the shoulders. A Bundela would dive into a well for the sake of cowries, but would fight with the Sardars of Government.
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Papers by Debarshi Debnath