Battling for a better life

June 07, 2015 12:50 am | Updated 01:37 am IST

17oeb_Breaking

17oeb_Breaking

Bernard Shaw condemned poverty as a crime. Major Barbara vividly portrays the ideological clash between the Salvation Army idealists offering ‘bread and soup’ to the poor and Andrew Undershaft who prides over his munitions factories offering jobs to the poor to lift them from poverty. In this part of India, we had politicians who “saw divinity in the smiling face of the poor” even if, while in power, they did not do much to lift them from poverty except offer populist freebies.

Poverty has turned into a subject of deep study by social scientists. Rather, it is the work of sociologists that deserves more attention. Oscar Lewis based his Children of Sanchez (1961) on ethnographic studies of small Mexican communities and identified attributes shared by them such as violence, neglect of planning for future, etc. This generated more studies on what came to be named “the culture of poverty.”

Since then, academicians have distanced themselves from these notions. Industrialisation, globalisation, migration, modernisation and related upheavals churn social groups and the poor are caught in the crosshairs. There is struggle for life, advancement in society and raising a family. The stable and assured social (read, caste) structures are no longer there and, in a competitive rat race, each person has to fend for herself. Some perish on the way and some flourish. There are stories or records of a vast number of people in the lower rungs of society clambering up the social ladder. Eminent journalists have written about the “other half” or how they rise or fall.

This book is by a sociologist who teaches in the University of Delhi. She has undertaken field studies during the years 2010 to 2013. She watched the work done by non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and social activists committed to the welfare of the poor. The stories are from Delhi, or Jaipur or elsewhere in Rajasthan. The book also covers parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. The thematic sections deal with shelter, health, education, livelihood, governance, microfinance and new collectives.

On shelter, there is the story of Neel who came to Delhi as an orphan when he was eleven, and how he manipulated the system and rules and managed to possess a “real flat” in Delhi. Santosh who was keen to have birth control could not succeed until she gave birth to five children. Nazma fought her way through the voucher system and gave ‘quality’ education to her daughter in a private school. There are stories of Dalits who wanted to become business leaders so that they could get away from “dependency” on government jobs and reservations. They are helped by special financing agencies set up to promote Dalit entrepreneurs. And yet, they have to fight their way through the maze. Records suggest that much of their rise in life (and business) is confined to the informal sector as highlighted by the Arjun Sen Gupta Committee.

Unlike in the book of Oscar Lewis referred to earlier, what distinguishes this book is the positive message it offers. It does not portray the deadening mosaic of the “culture of poverty.” The poor in many parts of India are not the wretched of the earth. They have aspirations for a better life with higher degree of welfare for them and for their children. They look for government support; but are not wholly dependent. They are amoral and can manipulate systems and politicians for personal gains such as acquiring houses, school admission, jobs, etc. Despite their yearning for government support, they fall back on traditional community support. Thus, Neel or his cousin who arrives from the village late at night can seek shelter with their relatives, however distant, in the single room accommodation. Political support to redress grievances is also often caste-based. While some sociologists like Nandini Gooptu take the view that caste structures perpetuate poverty, these bonds also seem to buffer poverty at the margin. They come to the rescue of basti dwellers during times of stress where public provisioning fails. For instance, when primary health centres (PHCs) fail to offer services to pregnant women, Rocibhai becomes of the “cornerstone of a serious network of unofficial informal health providers in the region.” There are other situations causing crisis when the community rises against it jointly. Unlike in rural villages, the caste hierarchies are losing their hold.

Mitra has offered the accounts of several ordinary human beings who battle for a better life for themselves, their families and children. They are mostly in the informal sector and often have to fight against established giants as in the retail sector. They are not heroes or warriors on a horse. In a way, they are nameless individuals who can be spotted in any part of modern India. They have hope in their future and joy in their living.

The author provides a lucid account of these ordinary men and women. Unlike many sociological studies, it is not heavy. It is lucid and unpretentious in its style. Despite the years of study, it seems that the conclusions are blasé and do not provide insight or originality. Some of our senior journalists had come out with greater depth and incisiveness in the past.

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