Himachal Pradesh - Society
Himachal Pradesh stands apart from many states in India with its strong track record of poverty reduction, service delivery, and human and social development outcomes. Himachal Pradesh has also done remarkably well in the area of sanitation and is the first state in northern India that is close to being “open defecation free”.
Over the years Himachal Pradesh has made great strides in reducing extreme poverty and has emerged as one of the states with the best human development outcomes in India. Himachal Pradesh has effectively balanced economic growth with good human development outcomes and has successfully reduced poverty among different groups in the state. However, it has also captured issues of concern for the state such has the decline in the female child sex ratio, under nutrition in children and an ageing population.
While Himachal Pradesh’s “special category” status allowed for fiscal space to spend on the social sectors, the foundation for progress was laid by land reforms that were first introduced in the 1950s and deepened later in the 1970s. These reforms have meant that almost 80 percent of rural households in the state possess some land. Crucially, distribution of land across social groups is more equal in Himachal Pradesh compared to the rest of India. For instance, SCs who are historically overrepresented among the landless across India tend to own land in Himachal Pradesh, with the differential between them and other groups, in terms of average landholding size, converging over time.
Great social change was witnessed with the abolition of untouchability. In the early days, none but the Brahmins and the upper caste people could enter a temple. Any other so-called ‘low caste’ could not drink at the same source as a ‘high class’ Hindu. Today, many of the rigidities of the caste system have been discarded. With the spread of education and the opening of employment avenues for both boys and girls, there is greater social mixing which has resulted in inter-community and inter-caste marriages.
The reservation of a definite share for Scheduled Tribes and for Scheduled Castes in panchayats and urban local bodies, the Legislative Assembly and in Parliament — as also in the Services — has created a new sense of identity among them. The status in society has come to be determined more by the economic and political clout of an individual or family, rather than by its caste or community
One of the main achievements of Himachal Pradesh was its success in raising people out of poverty. Between 1993–94 and 2011, there was a fourfold drop in poverty in the state. Rural poverty, where 90 percent of its population lives, declined from 36.8 percent to 8.5 percent. The overall poverty decline benefitted all social groups across rural and urban areas.
Educational attainment in Himachal Pradesh is among the best in the country; poverty headcount is nearly one-third of the national average; life expectancy is 3.4 years longer than an average Indian expects to live; and, per capita income is the second highest in India. Inter-group disparities are also low in a state where traditionally disadvantaged groups such as the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) make up a considerable 30 percent of the population. Further, Himachal Pradesh is ahead of many other Indian states in demonstrating a sense of environmental consciousness.
A variety of mutually reinforcing factors in rural Himachal, such as lower levels of education, concerns of dowry — albeit unspoken — a poor ‘exposure’ to the outside world, among others, combine to create a rural ambience that does not seem favorable to the girl child. Sons are desired for economic and socio-cultural reasons whereas daughters are valued for utilitarian and psychological reasons. Malnutrition among women and the girl child are rampant — even the well off are quite often pale and anaemic and these conditions are not accorded the status of major ailments.
A majority of women keep fasts for the well being of the family, son, husband etc. besides a weekly fast in honor of a specific deity. Family needs such as ‘collection of fuel, fodder and water; animal care; child care; cooking; washing clothes; cleaning utensils as well as the cowshed etc.’ fall in the exclusive domain of the daily workload of women — and from which they never get a respite.
When combined with a strong tribal ethos, diverse marriage patterns and the accompanying autonomy for women, it has been easier for Himachal Pradesh to enlist women’s participation in programs such as sanitation, immunization, and other health-related campaigns than it has been for neighboring states. Finally, women in Himachal Pradesh have a strong tradition of protest movements against environmental degradation and male alcoholism.
Himachal Pradesh also outperforms its neighbors and other Indian states on many human development indicators. Not only does it have the lowest share of individuals who received no education among northern states, but it has made significant progress in improving educational attainment, particularly among excluded groups.
The Govt for the first time formulated a Special Component Plan (SCP) in 1979-80 now renamed as Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) for the Scheduled Castes as part of the State Plan. The Scheduled Caste Sub Plan is specifically designed to channelize the flow of benefits and outlays from the general sector in the state plan and from the union ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the development of Scheduled Caste in physical as well as financial terms.
Urbanization among the Scheduled Castes population is 6.60% as against the State average of 9.80%. The Scheduled Castes in this State are not concentrated into specific regions but are widely dispersed and would be benefited equally as rest of the population. Accordingly approach to economic development in the case of Scheduled Castes Sub Plan for Scheduled Castes is not area based as is the case with the Tribal Sub-Plan. The district of Bilaspur, Kullu, Mandi, Solan, Shimla and Sirmour are the predominantly Scheduled Castes populated districts where Scheduled Castes concentration is above the State average.
The nature of social stratification in Himachal Pradesh and the numerical composition of social groups have also minimized social conflict. Although the caste system is deeply entrenched, some characteristics mediate for greater social solidarity. First, the proportion of SCs in Himachal Pradesh is much higher than the national average, at 25 percent, and second only to Punjab. However, unlike other states, SCs in Himachal Pradesh, for the most part, own land, and have benefitted from the rapid decline in poverty.
The labor market in Himachal Pradesh has been another arena for inclusive outcomes, when compared to elsewhere in India. Men’s employment rates are similar to the rest of the country, but the bigger success story is in women’s employment. In 2011–12, about 63 percent of rural women in the state reported themselves as being employed. This places Himachal Pradesh second in female labor force participation in the country, after Sikkim, and significantly above the all-India average of 27 percent. However, female labor force participation in urban areas was much lower, at 28 percent in 2011, but nonetheless much higher than other north Indian states and on par with states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
While the work of primary education seems nearly done, quality of education and ensuring that large, educated youth cohorts have adequate skills for jobs will be a key policy issue. Even as the present youth bulge is of policy concern, a rising median age in the state suggests that very soon, Himachal Pradesh will have a high share of the elderly. When combined with increasing urbanization, larger cohorts of older people may imply a change in living arrangements with implications for the care of the elderly.
In general, the world over, the female component of population has been discriminated against, oppressed and exploited. In India too, the unfortunate phenomenon of gender disparity is quite widespread, though its extent varies from one region to the other. In Himachal Pradesh, some positive features of social life and customs make for less gender discrimination, though it would be too simplistic to gloss over its presence. A significant characteristic is the absence of the pernicious ‘purdah’ system in most parts of the State.
Patriarchal relations here leave more scope for female independence. One major consideration is that Himachali women have a high involvement in work outside the home. This contributes to their economic independence, freedom of movement, decisionmaking power, and social recognition. Women’s autonomy has been reinforced by local kinship practices (involving, for instance, enduring links between parents and married daughters), and by high rates of male out-migration. Following on this, gender discrimination is less common in Himachal Pradesh than elsewhere in north India.
Higher female labor-force participation reduces the extent of gender bias in child survival, and this effect is statistically significant’. Unlike other north Indian States but similar to southern ones, Himachal Pradesh has a female mortality rate lower than the male rate in the 0–4 year age group. A higher female work participation rate, combined with a relatively high female literacy rate (to be considered below) may well have together produced a high sex ratio in this State
The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for Himachal Pradesh is lower than that for its neighboring States and the country as a whole. This indicates that a demographic transition in the former is taking place at a faster pace than among the latter. This is a welcome development in view of the hill State’s relatively meagre resource potential as well as its seemingly lower population carrying capacity which is a result of its fragile physical environment.
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