SLOW TRAIN COMING
The social infrastructure does not inspire faith among people
ASSESSING AND ACTING on the aspirations and demands of a wide social mosaic is a daunting task in India today, for it involves finding the right balance between many differing mindsets. Suspicions are fuelled quickly, even when the issues concerned aren’t that provocative. Technology is a contributor in this, in as far as being a vehicle for fake news, which in turn creates schisms and triggers violence. Is it any wonder, then, that the latest MOTN survey shows that electronic voting machines (EVMs) are still treated with some suspicion—the percentage that believes that they can be hacked and manipulated for political advantage has not gone up but it hasn’t gone down either.
With less than a year to go for the general elections, opinion is divided sharply on whether the BJPled NDA government has lived up to its ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikaas’ promise. On infrastructure, it seems to
have done well; over 40 per cent respondents feel rail and road connectivity, particularly national highways, has improved in the past four years—a vital catalyst in propelling economic growth.
However, there are several other serious concerns, education for one. Reposing faith in the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) after the question paper leaks this year has not been easy. Only a little over half of those polled felt there was fair play in the examination system, indicating the need for reform as well as tighter regulations. This despite the feeling that quality of education, both in schools and colleges, has improved, particularly in the past year with the plan to revamp higher education, give private varsities a greater say and replacing the outmoded University Grants Commission with another entity.
Water, a vital resource, is also a major concern. For India, a twin strategy to maximise gains is imperative given the sheer size of our population and the needs of the farming sector. A slew of initiatives in providing safe water across several states has improved availability significantly, enough to improve perceptions by seven percentage points in the past year alone, a feeling stronger in the western parts of the country. Water for irrigation, though, is another matter. The disappointment among farmers, stressed as they are over remunerative prices for produce and other factors, has heightened the feeling that irrigation facilities have not improved. The rapidly decreasing groundwater table is now a big worry. Satellite imagery has revealed that groundwater levels in North India are falling, on average, by a metre every three years; in Punjab they are going down by a metre a year. This, in a country where 60 per cent of agriculture and 85 per cent of domestic water supply depends on groundwater.
Developing infrastructure in rural areas, be it roads or healthcare, remains a challenge but there is progress. Be it roads or health facilities, over half
of rural respondents in the survey felt there have been improvements.
Aspirations have grown exponentially with digital access across the range of social indicators—be it for education, health, rural amenities or the all-important issue of inclusion. Though the condition of minorities like Muslims and Christians is perceived to have improved over the past four years, there is a disconcerting drop—of 6 percentage points—over the January 2018 MOTN. The same is the case with Dalits, with over half of those polled feeling conditions have not improved for them. Reports of lynching and other uncertainties seem to have contributed to the unease. The Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual global survey of citizens, says trust in major institutions of all kinds has gone down in India. Only 15 per cent believe the present system is working; 53 per cent say it is clearly not.
Another alarming worry is pollution. Two in three of those polled felt there is no respite despite government claims of getting industry and other polluters to fall in line with fines and stringent air quality norms. Now, the 2019 general election seems to have cast a shadow over the much-talked-about new policy for commercial vehicles (which wants all pre-2000 ones to be scrapped) also.
The Centre’s attempts to link the Aadhaar identity with mobile phone numbers and bank accounts has also hit a wall over privacy issues. Less than half of those surveyed welcomed the decision of linking even as the issue hangs fire in the Supreme Court. After the recent dare of TRAI chief R.S. Sharma ignited a debate on public displays of the 12-digit number, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is planning a user outreach to sensitise people on the dos and don’ts of sharing their biometric identifier. Linking of Aadhaar to DNA profiles (to be stored in data banks at the state/ national level) to aid criminal investigations is being put on hold to resolve privacy issues and until after the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018, is cleared by Parliament, possibly this winter session.
Multi-pronged initiatives to battle gender injustice and raise awareness levels have
not led to better safety for women and children on the streets, especially in urban India. Unsurprisingly, every other respondent felt that India continues to be unsafe for them.
The family unit also seems to be in a state of flux. A little over half of those surveyed feel the family system in India is disintegrating, blaming it on the rise of individualism and the growing number of nuclear families in urban India. Another trend is the rise in the number of divorces, with younger couples, including women, not treating it as a taboo like the generation before them did.
Adequate social and legal cover is still not in place, particularly to protect vulnerable women and children. Putting new and relevant laws in place to fight social inequities is a long-drawn battle. Muslim women will have to wait until the winter session to clear the last hurdle even after the Union cabinet cleared amendments to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, popularly known as the triple talaq bill. The bill is the second attempt by the government to legislate on the Supreme Court ruling on triple talaq.
The government had brought the bill in the Lok Sabha last December, where it had passed. But change is slow in coming—160 cases of triple talaq have been registered after the bill was introduced. Evidently, India needs time to be more inclusive and reject social tendencies that alienate.