Perspectives on Development & Wellbeing in India: A Case Study of the Gonds

1. Perceptions of Development and Wellbeing Dr. Preeti Mann DSA Annual Conference London, Nov-2010

2. Among key themes of today’s conference are • What alternative values, ethics and moralities could usefully inform development theory and practice? • To what extent are essentially relativist positions presented as universal AND • It is in this general backdrop that I would locate this current paper. • The paper sheds light on how communities perceive and experience development and wellbeing and how this information could help change the way in which development in conceived and delivered. • Through the case of the Gonds, the paper endeavours to show why there is not always preference for a life, which the official assume to have universal appeal

3. India’s development model • The Nehruvian model versus Gandhian • The industrialize or perish mantra • Economic growth would reduce poverty and inequality • Five year plans all emphasize economic growth and have a core goal to reduce poverty

4. Today • India is being projected as a strong economic force • Goldman Sachs predicts that India will surpass the American economy in 30 odd years • But does economic growth automatically reduces poverty?

5. The Indian Scenario • A country with glitzy growth figures but huge disparities • So while economic growth has the potential to reduce poverty it is not a default fallout • The Indian model of development has favoured only a select segment of the population • The vast majority living in rural areas have not been able to reap benefits • And for various reasons the Scheduled Tribes have been the worst hit in the process

6. Development and Displacement • Land alienation and lack of access to natural resources, due to development/ conservation, have hardest hit the tribals • While they constitute only 7.5% of the population they comprise over 40% of those displaced • And forces of liberalization and globalization are likely to make the situation further grim • Roy calls them “refugees of an unacknowledged war”

7. The Gonds of Singrauli • Singrauli • Primarily subsistence farmers (madad) • Notions of land ownership • Tribe or Caste – political matter too! • Displacement, resettlement and compensation

8. Relative perceptions • Disparity in perceiving wellbeing and development: officials and the Gonds • Preference of life in the new sites is not necessarily a universal one as the developers assume! • Wellbeing as experienced by the Gonds does not overlap with the way in which the officials define it • Dignity, freedom, self-reliance, life free of humiliation are all important for the Gonds • But the officials only focus on income and consumption while talking of Gond progress

9. Monetary incomes • Money replaced multiple resources through which Gonds earned a living • They became hedgehogs from foxes (Chambers, 1995) • Or their entitlements reduced to use Sen’s poverty and famine theory • Sen (1981) – Starvation happens when entitlements reduce! • The displaced Gonds might be more vulnerable to hunger, as a result of reduced entitlements and loss of traditional safety nets (madad) • The professionals dismiss these multiple livelihood strategies as too insignificant and they fail to understand their value

10. Cont… • Cash incomes could not replace the sense of food security that came through land • The jholla economy is very distressing • The Gonds do not feel they are fully functional members of society • For the Gonds, money is fleeting and ephemeral, while land is enduring. • Abrupt marketization and the denuding social insurance models have been a big problem • No matter what the Gonds earn, they all have cycles of debt – linked to their traditional ethos of consumption

11. Increased sense of destitution • New materialities or factors have been added to define wellbeing among Gonds • Materialities are not static and constantly shift within a community and across generations • Despite increased incomes and access to infrastructure, Gonds now label themselves as POOR. • The Gonds sense of wellbeing straddles two economic systems. • This has exacerbated feelings of deprivation, worry, insecurity and impoverishment

12. Inequality and injustice • Though, developments main goals is to reduce inequality, the Gond experience of it has been in reverse • They feel poor compared to others and blame development for creating disparity in their erstwhile egalitarian society • As opposed to before, it is now possible to speak in terms of rich-poor Gonds • This they find socially unjust and blame it for having denuded the cohesiveness in their community

13. Conclusions • Development can be made into an opportunity to genuinely enhance peoples’ wellbeing, but for this THEIR viewpoint is critical • If development means change for the good then an understanding of what qualifies as good for the locals is crucial • Creation of newer forms of poverty and vulnerability through the act of development itself needs to be acknowledged • To tackle poverty we first need to know what the factors that lead to it were. If the triggers are unknown, efforts to tackle it are going to be a waste

14. Cont… • India needs to make its people as opposed to economic growth its main focus • Development should not merely mean to become disembedded from a traditional way of life. • It needs to translate into actual enhancements in human capabilities and human development • Then and only then can we hope for any reduction in the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’