Below the Poverty Line (BPL) by Suchit Nanda
The headlines on 26th April 2007 newspapers in India screamed and declared "India a trillion dollar economy", but does this headline really matter to over 350 million Indians? Probably not as arguably, that many Indians can't read or write a word. For that matter, they probably don't really understand the meaning of the word economy or the number of digits in trillion! Visiting rural India in a place (GPS data included with images) about 300 kms from Nagpur in Maharashtra state and bordering with Madhya Pradesh State one comes face to face with this reality. On an ICT evaluation visit, I was amazed to learn that most of the villages I visited had 100% illiteracy. All of them fall under this virtual line that we have drawn called "The Below Poverty Line (BPL)". In other words living on an earning of under a dollar a day. The BPL Census in India is conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development at the beginning of each Five year Plan period. According to the survey and estimates, the number of people living below the poverty line (BPL) in the country continues to remain in the range of 22-23 crore, while in terms of net percentage of population it has decreased. This suggests that the series of poverty alleviation programmes undertaken by the Government between 1993-94 and 2004-05 have had only a minimal impact on the real economic situation of a larger section of the population, according to the findings of the National Sample Survey (NSS). A visit to any of the villages shows this is true.
In August, 1995 The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was passed. It states that every state government shall within six months from the date of commencement of this Act, make a scheme for providing not less than one hundred days of guaranteed employment in a financial year to every household in the rural areas scheme and whose adult members, by application, volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Ironically even to fill the form for this one needs to be literate. Even though thousands of crore rupees have been allocated and Governmental and NGOs have tried to help by offering assistance in this regards, the benefit does not seem to percolate down to all. Even this limited financial assistance has not reached everyone. On my visit to villages such as Banur, Pathakila, Pipalna and others I could see the levels of poverty and sufferings. Some of the villages I visited get cut off from the rest of the civilization for nearly 3 months each year due to the monsoon season. Healthcare is poor and even the basic amenities like clean water was an ordeal.
Suchit Nanda's photography exhibition "Below the Poverty Line" was held from 25th to 30th September, 2007 at the Drik Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Suchit is a majority world photographer and regularly contributes to http://www.majorityworld.com/ The exhibition was part of a series of activities carried out under UNESCO's Artist in Development Programme funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norwegian Embassy).
See: http://majorityworld.com/features.php?sessioid=&features_id=17
The headlines on 26th April 2007 newspapers in India screamed and declared "India a trillion dollar economy", but does this headline really matter to over 350 million Indians? Probably not as arguably, that many Indians can't read or write a word. For that matter, they probably don't really understand the meaning of the word economy or the number of digits in trillion! Visiting rural India in a place (GPS data included with images) about 300 kms from Nagpur in Maharashtra state and bordering with Madhya Pradesh State one comes face to face with this reality. On an ICT evaluation visit, I was amazed to learn that most of the villages I visited had 100% illiteracy. All of them fall under this virtual line that we have drawn called "The Below Poverty Line (BPL)". In other words living on an earning of under a dollar a day. The BPL Census in India is conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development at the beginning of each Five year Plan period. According to the survey and estimates, the number of people living below the poverty line (BPL) in the country continues to remain in the range of 22-23 crore, while in terms of net percentage of population it has decreased. This suggests that the series of poverty alleviation programmes undertaken by the Government between 1993-94 and 2004-05 have had only a minimal impact on the real economic situation of a larger section of the population, according to the findings of the National Sample Survey (NSS). A visit to any of the villages shows this is true.
In August, 1995 The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was passed. It states that every state government shall within six months from the date of commencement of this Act, make a scheme for providing not less than one hundred days of guaranteed employment in a financial year to every household in the rural areas scheme and whose adult members, by application, volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Ironically even to fill the form for this one needs to be literate. Even though thousands of crore rupees have been allocated and Governmental and NGOs have tried to help by offering assistance in this regards, the benefit does not seem to percolate down to all. Even this limited financial assistance has not reached everyone. On my visit to villages such as Banur, Pathakila, Pipalna and others I could see the levels of poverty and sufferings. Some of the villages I visited get cut off from the rest of the civilization for nearly 3 months each year due to the monsoon season. Healthcare is poor and even the basic amenities like clean water was an ordeal.
Suchit Nanda's photography exhibition "Below the Poverty Line" was held from 25th to 30th September, 2007 at the Drik Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Suchit is a majority world photographer and regularly contributes to http://www.majorityworld.com/ The exhibition was part of a series of activities carried out under UNESCO's Artist in Development Programme funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norwegian Embassy).
See: http://majorityworld.com/features.php?sessioid=&features_id=17
India: Finger in mouth - this was exactly how this little girl was walking down the rural street carry water for her family. Image shot in village near Nagpur, Maharashtra. Jan 2007.
India: "Smiling India": As I was walking down the lanes of the village in near Nagpur, Maharashtra the children of the village started to follow me. They were very excited when I turned to them to take their picture. Jan 2007.
India: "Delicate Balance in Life": This girl in her school uniform was sitting on the wooden branch outside her house in a village near Nagpur, Maharashtra. When visiting the villages (in India) its hard not to get moved by the level of poverty in the country side and to experience the feeling of helplessness that they feel. Jan 2007.
India: "Grandfather with the little girl": As I was taking the picture of the old man, he called out to his young grand daughter and asked her to sit with him for this picture.
Jan 2007.
Jan 2007.
India: "Happy children": As I was walking down the lanes of the village in near Nagpur, Maharashtra the children started to follow me and then at one time gave me a pose which I have captured here. Jan 2007.
Jan 2007.
Jan 2007.
India: "Shy": This little girl was shy and coy at the same time. Image shot in a village near Nagpur, Maharashtra. Jan 2007.
India: Loving mother and her daughter were sitting near their home in a village near Nagpur, Maharashtra. Jan 2007.
India: Portrait of a girl in a village near Nagpur, Maharashtra. This girl had drapped the torn cloth over herself and with her earings gave a pose for a picture. Jan 2007.
India: Water is scarce, and any water source serves as an area to collect water to drink, to wash cloths and vessels and do the laundry. This image is taken in a village near Nagpur, Maharashtra, India Jan 2007.
India: Group of women returning to their village after filling water from the the community well which is fitted with a hand pump. The women typically carry the water in vessels balanced on their heads. This image was taken in a village near Nagpur, Maharashtra, India Jan 2007.
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