When George Bush is admonishing India for eating too much, Dalits in Uttar Pradesh face hunger deaths and suicides

Uttar Pradesh has the distinction of having 3.51 crore Dalits as per the 2001 Census constituting 21.1 per cent of the total population (16.6 crore) of the State. Uttar Pradesh holds first rank and fourth rank in terms of absolute number of SC population and its proportion to the total population respectively among all the States and Union Territories. The State has a total of 66 Schedules Castes.

Uttar Pradesh has also got the distinction of having a Dalit woman Mayawati as Chief Minister for the fourth time. The State has also won the distinction of being one the most under-developed States of India. It has got the largest number of illiterate, malnourished people, polio, leprosy and TB cases.

Among the SCs literates, 38 per cent are either without any educational level or have attained education below primary level. The proportion of literates, who have attained education up to primary and middle levels, is 27.1 per cent and 18.5 per cent respectively. Literates who are educated up to matric/higher secondary constitute 13.3 per cent. Graduated and above are just 3.5 per cent. The non-technical and technical diploma holders constitute a meagre 0.1 per cent only.

Out of the total 133 lakh SC children in the age group 5-14 years, 58.3 lakh only have been attending school constituting 56.4 per cent. As many as 45.1 lakh (44.6 per cent) children in the corresponding age group have not been going to the school.

Work participation rate (WPR) of the SC population is 34.7 per cent which is lower than that of all SCs at the national level (40.4 per cent). Among the total workers, 65.2 per cent are main workers, which is lower than that recorded for all SCs at the national level (73 per cent).

"Agriculture Labourers" constitute the highest proportion (42.5 per cent) among the total SCs workers. This is lower than the national average 45.6 per cent recorded by all SCs in this category. 'Cultivators' constitute 30.9 per cent which is significantly higher than the national average (20.0 per cent). 'Other Workers' account for 22.2 per cent against the national average of 30.5 per cent. Workers in House Hold Industry (HHI) constitute 4.3 per cent, which is higher than the national average (3.9 per cent).

Hinduism is the predominant religion of the State (80.6 per cent). The SCs who profess Hinduism account for 99.3 per cent. The remaining SCs follow Buddhism (0.6 per cent and Sikhism (0.1 per cent).

From the above statistics of 2001 census, it is clear that Uttar Pradesh Dalits are quite backward as compared to Dalits at the national level. This is not withstanding the fact that a Dalit Chief Minister is ruling this State for the fourth time since1995 till date with some gaps in between.

So the question arises as to what has happened during all these years of so called 'Dalit Rule'. It is a serious question which needs to be discussed in detail and depth at some later stage.

The main question which needs immediate attention of all the concerned with Dalits' plight in Uttar Pradesh is the ever increasing number of suicides and hunger deaths among Dalits as well as other weaker sections of society especially in the Bundelkhand region consisting of Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Jalaun, Lalitpr, Mahoba and Banda districts.

The main reason for this situation is the rain failure for the last five years resulting in loss of crops and wages for the agriculture labourers who are predominantly Dalits of Kol and Sahriya castes. Not only higher caste farmers but even Dalit farmers are committing suicides due to crop failure and indebtedness. The agriculture labourers are dying of hunger, malnutrition and unemployment.

This region has been identified with Vidharba region of Maharashtra where as many as 4,453 farmers committed suicides during 2006. It is reported that as many 200 farmers had committed suicides and another 250 had died of hunger deaths in Bundelkhand during the last five years. Out of this Dalits' share is about 30 per cent among suicides and 70 per cent among hunger deaths. About 80 per cent Dalits are on the verge of hunger deaths. As many as 12 Dalits in Bundelkhand and 11 Dalits in other districts of Uttar Pradesh committed suicide and as many 25 Dalits died of hunger deaths in 2007 alone.

In the face of this horrifying calamity the so-called Dalit Chief Minister Mayawati had the temerity to claim that not a single man had died neither of hunger death nor had committed suicide in the State. She also declared that she would scrap the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme which aims at providing 100 days assured employment to rural labour families. Her claim of zero death and declaration of scrapping NREGP at this juncture are shocking.

The need of the hour is to save Dalits, other poor families and farmers by providing succour and relief but she has totally denied the existence such situation. In response to her claim of 'No Death', Social Organization like Dalit Mukti Morcha; PUCL; Asha Parivar; Shudra Mahaabha and Ayodhya Ki Awaz have come out with the list of the Dalits who had died of hunger deaths and had committed suicides during 2007 i.e. during Mayawati's tenure as Chief Minister. This list has been published in a Hindi news paper "Daily News Activist" on 3 February 2008 published from Lucknow. The interested persons may like to have a look at it. These social organisations had also arranged a Dharna (Protest) before Uttar Pradesh Assembly on 2 February 2008 against Mayawati's apathy towards the Dalits' misery in the State.

They also submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, the National Commission for Human Rights, the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment and the Minister for Rural Development  requesting them to get the whole matter enquired by some Independent Enquiry Commission as the State Government has refused to take notice of this catastrophe.

They have also demanded the honest implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, Public Distribution System and Pension Schemes for widows, handicapped and old age persons, as these schemes have fallen prey to corruption under Mayawati's misrule.

(Courtesy: Countercurrents.org, 09 May 2008)