THE results of the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) conducted in 2011 were finally released to the public in early July 2015. And even this was only a partial release, with data covering only rural India and that too based on a combination of draft (351 districts) and final (277 districts) lists, with lists for 12 districts not yet available. The urban data (for which a different methodology has been used) are not yet available. Also, while caste data were collected for each household, these have not yet been released despite the demand for their release from several quarters.
The data emerging from this census have been eagerly awaited for several reasons. Unlike the National Sample Surveys, which explicitly do not cover the entire population, this was a census that supposedly included every household (although it is likely that the SECC as in the case of the census on whose lists it was based —did not actually fully cover groups such as the homeless and migrants).The data will form the basis of the lists of “poor” and “non-poor” that are used by both Central and State governments to determine the beneficiaries of various government programmes as well as access to a wide range of other publicly provided goods and services. Since the strategy of targeting “the poor” appears set to continue despite the many concerns with it and the greater advantages of universal provision, this is obviously a matter of great economic and political significance.
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How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
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Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
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New worries
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No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
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Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
