Mar 15, 2013 - One of the important additions in the. 2001 Census was the item on the assetsâlike radio/transistor, telephone, telephone, scooter and car, etc.
Revised Version of Paper Presented in the National Seminar on “Knowing the Social World: Challenges and Responses”, held at Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 13-15th March, 2013.
Knowing the Social World through Census: Reflections on the Conditions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
R.B. Bhagat
Census is a methodology of complete enumeration of all households as different from the sampling strategies of surveys. Surveys also suffer from varying levels of sampling errors depending upon sample size and sampling methods employed. While census is free from sampling errors, it suffers from coverage and content errors. However, the number of households covered is so large in censuses that these errors have little bearing on the veracity of results. We also need to have a census for knowing the universe out of which samples are drawn. Further, data matrices of censuses show how social structure is evolving or being constructed. Looked thus, census is an important tool in knowing the social world. In India, the censuses are of various types, such as population census, housing census, agricultural census, and economic census. The Census of India—a statutory body under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India— conducts population and housing censuses every ten years. The 2011 Census was the seventh census since independence and the fifteenth since it started during the British rule.
2 In social research, the research questions, data, and methods are closely related with the overriding position of research questions determining the nature of data and the choice of methods for collecting and analysing them. Also, the research questions determine whether primary or secondary data will be used. Along with decennial census, National Sample Surveys (NSS), and National Family Health Surveys (NFHS)1 are some of the important secondary sources of social and economic data which are not primarily driven by any research question, but are meant to provide data pertaining to the trends and patterns of the socioeconomic and demographic conditions of various social groups at the national, state, and local levels. These data are required to plan and monitor the progress of a nation and its various constituents in order to realise the human goals fulfilling the objective of social justice in the distribution of resources. Many questions raised at the aggregate level could be answered on the basis of secondary data sources: (a) How far has the country progressed in achieving the goals stated in our policy and planning documents? (b) To what extent has the country improved its position in the comity of nations towards Sustainable Development Goals? In other words, to what extent have we been able to improve human development indices or reduced social, economic, and regional disparities? These questions are primarily quantitative and are very important for measuring the level, trend, and patterns of the social, economic, and human development indicators. For instance, the data on child sex-ratios and literacy rates over censuses provide robust indicators of social progress with strong bearing on social engineering. India has experienced a reasonably high economic growth during the last decade. The economy grew at the rate of about 8 per cent per annum during the Tenth (2002–07) and Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007–12) periods (see Planning
3 Commission 2011). As the economy is expanding, inclusiveness has been a major concern in our planning process. Inclusive development is viewed in terms of progress in economic and social inclusion reflecting in poverty reduction, better health outcomes, increased access to education and improved access to basic amenities such as electricity, drinking water, sanitation, and transport and banking facilities. A large part of the population, particularly segments like the scheduled castes (SCs), the scheduled tribes (STs), and landless agricultural labourers, and small and marginal farmers continue to suffer social and economic exclusions. Accordingly, government’s policies are directed towards economic and social uplift of these segments so as to enable everyone to reap the benefits of growth and bringing the marginalised sections of the society into the mainstream (Ministry of Finance 2012). The Human Development Report – 2011, prepared by Planning Commission in collaboration with the Institute of Applied Manpower Research, highlighted several aspects of living conditions and wellbeing of the SC and ST populations, which constitute about one-fourth of Indian society. This Report shows that the condition of SCs and STs is not only improved in human development outcomes, but also there has been a convergence in several human development indicators between 1999–2000 and 2007–08 (Institute of Applied Manpower Research and Planning Commission 2011). These results are essentially survey based, and it would be interesting to see how census-based indicators support or reject such type of results. However, it is important to mention that questions included in census and surveys are often not similar. As a result, census-based indicators are not the same as that of the surveys, but comparison over censuses is absolutely robust because of the continuity of similar questions over censuses.
4 This chapter shows the use of census data in understanding the economic and social conditions of SC and ST households. It describes the nature of census data on SCs and STs in knowing their social world, and possible indicators which could measure changes in the living and economic conditions of broad social groups. In sum, the chapter vindicates the utility of census methodology and also the importance of census data in knowing India’s social reality.
SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES IN THE CENSUSES
India is an illustration of a country with strong religious and caste identities. G.S. Ghurye (1932) was one of the first social scientists to point out that asking questions on caste in the census had heightened the caste consciousness of the people. This has been followed by the seminal work of Bernard Cohn (1987) on census and the objectification of communities in South Asia, and several other writings, most importantly, by Arjun Appaduari (1994) and Nicholas Dirks (2001). During British rule, the census enumerated over 4,000 castes until 1931. The caste census was discontinued in independent India, except the enumeration of SCs and STs that were accepted as new official social categories under the provision respectively of Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution of India. According to these Articles, the President of India, after consultation with the Governor of a State/Union Territory, may declare castes, races, or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races, or tribes as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes belonging to that state or union territory.
5 The enumeration of SCs and STs in the census is done strictly according to the list supplied to the enumerators. The list varies from one state/union territory to another. If a person claims to be a SC or ST, but his or her caste or tribe name does not figure in the list, s/he will not be recorded as a SC and ST as per census instructions (Census of India 1971). The list is treated as sacrosanct and how the communities perceive themselves is not important. However, before the 1971 census, enumerators were also supplied with a set of synonyms and local and generic names so that a person reporting his caste or tribe by any synonym or generic name was treated as SC or ST irrespective of whether such a synonym or generic name was in the notified list. This practice of enumerating SCs and STs was discontinued following a Supreme Court judgment. It is well known that the names of castes vary widely depending on the dialect and language spoken in the area. Even in a homogenous linguistic area, there may be variation in the way the name of a caste is pronounced and written. The official construction of SC or ST ignores this important fact. On the other hand, it warrants that SC and ST communities should know the official names of their caste or tribe and report them accordingly. As such, the official standardisation of caste names provides a new symbol under which to unite the splinter groups of a caste known by different local variants and with differing cultural practices in a state. It is beyond doubt that the majority of the SCs and STs are still poor. According to the 2001 Census, the percentage of landless agricultural labourers was nearly double among SCs compared to the non-SC population (Census of India 2001a). Being poor, they often have to migrate to urban areas in search of employment. However, migration of SCs and STs not only makes their
6 enumeration difficult, but also make them forfeit their scheduled status if they migrate out of their state of origin. This is due to the fact that the list of SCs and STs is applicable only in the state where these communities traditionally live. Thus, we find that, in the 2001 Census, even a former President of India was not counted as SC because he had migrated from the state of Kerala to the National Capital Region of Delhi (Pinto 2001). This raises an important issue about the way census counts SCs and STs, and points to a paradox: of the state granting privileges to uplift them, on the one hand, and dissolving their special status through the instrument of census enumeration, on the other (Bhagat 2006). Furthermore, only Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists are classified as SCs, but STs could belong to any religion. It is important to keep in mind that census follows the state policy in the identification and categorisation of SCs and STs and it cannot be blamed for this. In NSS and NFHS, however, SCs and STs are categorised and enumerated as self-reported by the respondents. It is also important to distinguish between the SC/ST identity of a person and the SC and ST status of a household. It is quite possible that, due to marriage, one member of the household may be SC or ST, whereas another may be non-SC or non-ST. All such households are treated as either SC or ST households depending upon the SC or ST status of their head of the household. The head of the household is defined as a person of either sex who bears the chief responsibility of managing the affairs of the household and takes the decision on behalf of the household; s/he may not be necessarily the oldest member or an earning member of the household (Census of India 2001b: xxv; Census of India 2001c:77–78).
7 LIVING AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF SCs AND STs: NATURE OF CENSUS DATA
Census not only reflects the social and economic changes, but also is implicated in the political processes. The type of questions included, its categories and the format of publication or even non-publication, and delay in publication have been influenced by political processes and decisions. According to Benedict Anderson (1991), census is one of the institutions of power, along with map and museum, invented before the mid-nineteenth century, and one that turned out to be a very powerful instrument of domination during colonial rule. However, its role has changed from an instrument of governance during colonial rule to an instrument in development planning in independent India. It can also serve as a powerful instrument in building an inclusive society. But the use of census data in building society depends upon our demographic imagination. For example, the 2011 Census has shown that India’s population is 1.21 billion and India has the largest illiterate population (272 million in the age-group 7 and above) in the world. Census also tells us about the number of houseless, the disabled, and the population living in slum areas, and even the number of beggars. During the last three censuses, the declining child sex-ratio created an immense concern among the intelligentsia, the political leaders, and women activists helping to bring about several changes in the policy and programmes to address discrimination against the girl child. Census has been a source of demographic data historically, but data on housing and household conditions collected during census operations six month prior to the population enumeration as a part of house-listing exercise has become extremely useful during the last three censuses. This happened as India entered
8 into a new phase of globalisation in the mid-1980s and with the New Economic Policy launched in 1991. Census was expected to provide data on the economic and living conditions of the Indian people. The 1991 Census published huge data on household amenities like the source of drinking water, source of lighting, toilet facilities, and source of fuel used in the household. These data have been made available for both rural and urban areas and right up to district and city levels and also for SC and ST households. In 2001 Census, the household amenities were expanded to include wastewater outlets from the house such as connected to ‘closed drainage’, ‘open drainage’, or ‘no drainage’. It also provided information on the availability of bathroom and kitchen. One of the important additions in the 2001 Census was the item on the assets—like radio/transistor, telephone, telephone, scooter and car, etc.—possessed by the households, and also the households availing banking services. The information on ownership of mobile phone was included in the 2011 Census. Data on household assets and amenities are also available or SC and ST households; these are not available for religious groups. The Indian census has been conservative as regards publication of data relating to religious differentials in socio-economic and living conditions of people. Since the 1951 Census, data on demographic aspects such as size and growth of population by religion are published, but socio-economic data such as literacy/education and industrial and occupational status were discontinued. These were published for the first time in the 2001 Census after so much criticism of the census by academicians, demographers, and civil society organisations. It may be noted that the data provided by 2001 Census on the educational and working status by religious groups hugely aided the Sacher Committee (2006) in
9 articulating its argument about the disadvantageous position of Muslims in India. It is an irony that data on household amenities and assets by religious groups are not available either from the 2001 or the 2011 Census. It is important to mention here that census in India is not an independent organisation, but a part of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
CENSUS-BASED INDICATORS AND MEASUREMENT OF THE CONDITIONS OF SCs AND STs
Census-based indicators depend on the nature of questions included in the Census and of the data published. While there is flexibility in categorising the survey data by researchers, as unit (household/individual) level data are provided, no such flexibility exists for census data. Census data are provided in tabular form with fixed categories. Often a category of ‘Other’ is included to represent all those who do not fall into the defined categories. In spite of this limitation, census-based indicators are useful in knowing the social world. For example, the following indicators may be employed in measuring the living and economic conditions of various social groups like SCs, STs, and Others:
A. Living Conditions 1. Percentage of households having house with concrete roof. 2. Percentage of households having tap water facility. 3. Percentage of households having electricity as source of lighting. 4. Percentage of households with latrine facility. 5. Percentage of households connected with drainage.
10 6. Percentage of households using Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)/Piped Natural Gas (PNG).
B. Ownership of Specific Assets 1. Percentage of households with television. 2. Percentage of households with telephone. 3. Percentage of households with mobile phone. 4. Percentage of households with computer/laptop. 5. Percentage of households with scooter/motorcycle/moped. 6. Percentage of households with car/jeep/van. 7. Percentage of households with no specified assets. 8. Percentage of household availing banking services.
Living Conditions and Assets among All Households
For the majority of the households, the living conditions as well as ownership of assets is very low. In many surveys, housing is categorised in terms of pucca, semi-pucca, and kaccha houses depending upon the housing structure. But, in census, such type of classification is not available; rather, the materials used for constructing wall and laying floor and roof are classified separately. Table 2.1 shows that the percentage of households with concrete roof was only 21 per cent for the country as whole and 18 and 52 per cent in rural and urban areas respectively in 2011. Only about half of the households in rural areas used electricity as a source of light in 2011, an increase of about 12 percentage points since 2001. Also, only 47 per cent of the households had latrine facility within
11 their premises, 41 per cent had a bathroom, 28 per cent used LPG/PNG as cooking fuel, and 43 per cent households had access to tap water as per the 2011 Census for the combined rural and urban areas. Majority of the households did not have access to treated drinking water; which is mainly responsible for waterborne diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery. Water-related illness constitutes one-third morbidities among adults and two-thirds among children (High Level Expert Group 2011).
[Table 2.1 about here]
The lack of latrine and bathroom facility is tortuous for women who cannot use open spaces as freely as men can in the day time. This is also laden with health risk to women. Further, due to lack of access to clean fuel like LPG/PNG, majority of households in rural areas use wood, cow dung, and crop residue as cooking fuel and, as a consequence, suffer from the risk of indoor air pollution. Studies show that indoor air pollution is a major public health problem in developing countries, where it accounts for much ill health and well over a million deaths annually. In India alone several hundred thousand women and children die prematurely because of indoor air pollution (Mishra, Retherford and Smith 2002). Asthma, tuberculosis, and acute respiratory infections are some of the diseases associated with indoor pollution. If exposed for long duration, it might lead to lung cancer, adverse pregnancy outcomes, cataract, and blindness. Most of these households also belong to Below Poverty Line (BPL) and SC and ST categories. Almost all
12 indicators show that rural areas are more deprived as regards living conditions compared to urban areas. As the economic condition improves, increasing number of households relate themselves with other households in terms of possession of certain goods and assets. This promotes consumerism—the fundamental basis of the economic growth driven by market forces. Many indicators show this trend (see Table 2.2). For example, television and mobile phone show a huge expansion in both rural and urban areas from 2001 to 2011. About half of the households have access to television (47 per cent) and mobile phone (53 per cent) in 2011.
[Table 2.2 about here]
We live in a world of information technology. The information on the possession of computer/laptop is very vital to assess the social and economic condition of the households. This information was not collected in the 2001 Census but included in the 2011 Census. About one-tenth of households owned computer/laptop in 2011. Every fifth household in urban areas owns a computer/laptop compared to one in ever twenty households in rural areas. Although rural–urban gap is enormous, the fact remains that about 25 million households in India possess a computer/laptop as per the 2011 Census which shows a huge supply of this commodity as well as market for computer related services. Scooter, motorcycle, and moped seem to have emerged as a convenient mode of transport with one-fifth of households using this mode of transportation. It has expanded more rapidly in rural areas where the percentage of households having
13 scooter, motorcycle, and moped almost doubled from about 7 per cent in 2001 to 14 per cent in 2011. The percentage of households with car/van/jeep increased from 2.5 per cent in 2001 to about 5 per cent in 2011. The increase has been almost of the same magnitude in both rural and urban areas. In absolute terms, about 12 million households in the country possessed car/van/jeep in 2011. Those households who did not possess any assets including radio/transistor or even a bicycle declined from 34 per cent in 2001 to 17 per cent in 2011—a 50 per cent decline among asset poor. This is true for both rural and urban areas. The analysis of data on the living conditions and assets shows that the speedy economic growth experienced during the last decade has made a significant impact in improving the economic and living conditions of a large number of households. However, the household assets have expanded faster due to run way consumerism compared to the improvement in living conditions. Information on availing banking services was also collected along with household amenities and assets. This information is particularly important as the government has been emphasising financial inclusion as one of the pillars of inclusive growth and the basis of conditional cash transfer. The 2011 Census shows that about 60 per cent of households are availing banking services—up from 35 per cent in 2001. Also, in rural areas, the banking services are availed by half of the households. Looking at the impressive growth of banking services during 2001–11, particularly in rural areas, the government’s policy of conditional cash transfer in selected districts having adequate banking services seems to be appropriate.
14 Living Conditions and Assets among SC and ST Households
In sociological literature, there has been an intense debate on the correspondence between economic status/class and caste status (Béteille 1974; Desai 1984; Deshpande 1996; Mukherjee 2000; Sharma 2001). Recent empirical studies also show the lowest economic status of SCs compared to other social groups like Other Backward Classes and Forward Castes (Bhagat 2011a). The Scheduled Tribes, on the other hand, comprise many tribes who are endogamous, but having no social hierarchy traditionally similar to caste. Also, their isolation from the mainstream communities is well known, as they have been mostly living in hilly and forest tracts. Out of 246.6 million households listed in the 2011 Census, 44.2 million (17.9 per cent) belonged to SCs and 23.3 million (9.4 per cent) belonged to STs. The Scheduled Tribes have been at the lower end in all the indicators of living conditions and household assets. Only one-tenth of the ST households had a house with concrete roof, one-fourth had tap water, and half of them had electricity, compared to one-fifth of households with concrete roof, two-fifth with tap water, and three-fifth with electricity among SCs in 2011. Similar disparity is also found with respect to other indicators like access to drainage, toilet, and bathroom facilities. The percentage of households using LPG/PNG for cooking was just 9 among STs, compared to 17 among SCs and 29 among all households in 2011. Due to lack of access to clean fuel like LPG/PNG, SC and ST households in both rural and urban areas are heavily dependent on wood, crop residue, and cow dung for cooking fuels (see Table 2.3).
15 [Table 2.3 about here]
There has been a huge expansion of banking facilities among the SC and the ST households during 2001–11. The access to banking services is found more than doubled—an increase from 19 per cent to 45 per cent among STs and from 25 per cent to 51 per cent among SC communities. This shows that the financial inclusion of the SC and the ST communities has been rapid as a result of several government programmes implemented through the banking channels. The expansion of mobile phone is another significant development during the last decade which also benefitted the SC and the ST communities. About 48 per cent households reported having mobile phones compared to 31 per cent among STs and 53 per cent among all households in 2011 (see Table 2.4).
[Table 2.4 about here]
Although SCs and STs have progressed very well during 2001–11, the gap between them and all households (average level) has widened in almost all indicators of living conditions except electricity facility among the ST households, and electricity facility and concrete roof among the SC households. Similarly, in assets like car, jeep and van, scooter/motorcycle/moped, and television there has been a widening gap between SCs and STs, on the one hand, and all households on the other. This shows that although SCs and STs have been benefitted, but the benefits have extended faster among the non-SC and the nonST communities during the decade of rapid economic growth (2001–11).
16 Furthermore, the gap between SCs and STs has widened, as SCs have benefitted more than STs during the last decade. For example, the percentage of SC households possessing television sets was 9 per cent higher than the ST households in 2001 which increased to 17 per cent in 2011. The inequality in possession of car/jeep/van increased from 1 percentage point in 2001 to 3 percentage points in 2011 between the SC and the ST households. Similarly, there has been a widening inequality between SCs and STs in all indicators of living conditions except electricity as a source of lighting during 2001–11. From the analysis of data from 2001 and 2011 Censuses, it is evident that the fruits of development have accrued more to non-SCs and non-STs, followed by SCs, and the least by the ST communities. However, the large variations within the SC and the ST communities cannot be assessed only with the help of census data as census does not publish information on living conditions and assets by individual SCs and STs, although demographic data are available. As per state-specific lists declared by the President of India, there are 1,221 individual castes within the SC category and 663 individual tribes within the ST category. These scheduled categories are not homogeneous, and availability of data by individual scheduled caste/tribe will be further helpful in enhancing the utility of census based studies.
Conclusion
Using the census data on the living and economic conditions of SCs and STs as an example this chapter has shown the utility of census in knowing the social world. It is argued that census data has some obvious advantages as they are based on
17 complete enumeration unlike sample surveys, which suffer from varying amounts of sampling error. Census provides data on the composition and characteristics of population. The population characteristics combined with housing characteristics, which also census presents, are useful in knowing the changes in the economic and social structure. In this sense, census is mirror of society, but is also deeply influenced by politics, which is evident in the availability and non-availability of data by social and religious groups. In the era of globalisation and rapid economic growth, inclusive growth and distributive justice is a major concern of the political masters and policy makers. The results show that SCs and STs have made considerable progress during the last decade as India kept on moving on the path of economic growth, but the gap has widened between them and other social groups. Also, the gap between STs and SCs has widened in most of the indicators of living conditions and ownership of assets, which shows SCs having benefitted more as compared to STs. This is in contrast to survey based findings which show convergence among the various social groups.
Note
1. The census started in India during 1867–72. This was not a synchronous census covering the entire territory controlled by the British rulers. This series of census was, in fact, known as census of 1872—the first census of India, The next census was conducted in 1881 and, thereafter, every ten years. The fifteenth census was conducted in 2011. On the other hand, National Sample
18 Surveys are conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India usually once every five years, called NSS rounds. The National Family Health Surveys are conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. The first NFHS was conducted in 1992–93; the second, in 1998–99; and the third, in 2005–06. The fourth survey is being planned.
References
Anderson, Benedict. 1991. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso. Appadurai, Arjun. 1994. ‘Number in the Colonial Imagination’, in Peter van der Veer and Carol Breckenridge (eds.): Orientalism and the Post-colonial Predicament (314–39). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Béteille, André. 1974. Studies in Agrarian Social Structure. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Bhagat, R.B. 2006. ‘Census and Caste Enumeration: British Legacy and Contemporary Practice’, Genus, 62 (2): 119–34. ––––. 2011a. ‘Demographic Strength and Inequality among Castes in India’, in Sandeep Anand, Ibha Kumar and Anjula Srivastava (eds.): Challenges of the Twenty-First Century: A Trans-disciplinary Perspective (154–63). New Delhi: Macmillan. ––––. 2011b, ‘Urbanization and Access to Basic Amenities in India’, Urban India, 31 (1): 1–13.
19 Census of India. 1971, Special Tables for Scheduled Castes: Series 1, India, Part V–A (I). New Delhi : Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. ––––. 1991. Primary Census Abstracts: Scheduled Castes: Series 1, India, Part II–B (II). New Delhi: Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. ––––. 2001a. Primary Census Abstract: Series 1, India, Data Product No: 00-732001-Cen-CD. New Delhi: Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. ––––. 2001b, Primary Census Abstract: Scheduled Tribes – Table A-9, Series 1, India. New Delhi: Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. ––––. 2001c. Tables on Houses, Households Amenities and Assets: Series 1, India. New Delhi: Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Cohn, Bernard. 1987. ‘The Census, Social Structure and Objectification in South Asia’, in Bernard Cohn (ed.): An Anthropologist among the Historians and Other Essays (224–54). Delhi: Oxford University Press. Desai, I.P. 1984. ‘Should Caste be the Basis of Recognizing Backwardness’, Economic and Political Weekly, 19 (28): 1106–16. Deshpande, V.N. 1996. ‘Some Methodological Issues in the Study of Caste and Class in the Indian Village/Rural Social Structure’, in M.S. Dhadave, K.G. Joshi and S.G. Melkundi (eds.): Rural and Urban Studies in India (23–38). Jaipur: Rawat Publications. Dirks, Nicholas B. 2001. Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Ghurye, G.S. 1932. Caste and Race in India. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. High Level Expert Group. 2011. Universal Health Coverage in India. New Delhi: Public Health Foundation of India.
20 Institute of Applied Manpower Research and Planning Commission. 2011. Human Development Report 2011: Towards Social Inclusion. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Ministry of Finance. 2012. Economic Survey: 2011–12. New Delhi: Government of India. Mishra, Vinod; R. Retherford and K.R. Smith. 2002. ‘The Indoor Air Pollution: The Quiet Killer’, Asia Pacific Issues: Analysis from East–West Center No. 63. Honolulu: East–West Center. Mukherjee, Ramkrishna. 2000. ‘Caste in Itself, Caste and Class or Caste in Class’, Journal of World Systems Research, 6 (2): 332–39. Pinto, A. 2001. ‘The Great Forgery’, Mainstream, March: 15–16. Planning Commission. 2011. Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth: An Approach to the 12th Five-Year Plan. New Delhi: Government of India. Sacher Committee. 2006. Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India: A Report. New Delhi: Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India. Sharma, K.L. 2001. Reconceptualising Caste, Class and Tribe. Jaipur: Rawat Publications.
21 Table 2.1: Household Living Conditions in Rural and Urban Areas, India, 2001 to 2011 (Percentage of households) Amenities House with concrete roof Tap water Electricity as a source of lighting Latrine facility within the premises Connected to drainage With bathroom LPG/PNG
Rural 2001 2011 11.9 18.5 24.3 30.8 43.5 55.3 21.9 30.7 34.1 36.8 22.8 25.4 5.7 11.4
Urban 2001 2011 44.4 52.9 68.7 70.6 87.5 92.7 73.7 81.4 77.8 81.8 70.4 77.5 48.0 65.0
Source: Census of India (2001, 2011)
Total 2001 2011 21.2 29.6 36.7 43.5 55.8 67.2 36.4 46.9 46.4 51.1 36.1 42.0 17.5 28.5
22 Table 2.2: Household Assets and Banking Services in Rural and Urban Areas, 2001 and 2011 (Percentage of households) Assets Availing banking services Television Telephone Mobile Computer/Laptop Scooter/Motorcycle/Moped Car/Van/Jeep None of the assets including Radio/transistor/cycle
Rural 2001 2011 30.1 54.4 18.9 33.4 3.8 3.1 NA 47.9 NA 5.1 6.7 14.3 1.3 2.3
Urban 2001 2011 49.5 67.8 64.3 76.7 23.0 5.9 NA 64.3 NA 18.7 24.7 35.2 5.6 9.7
Total 2001 2011 35.5 58.7 31.6 47.2 9.1 4.0 NA 53.2 NA 9.4 11.7 21.0 2.5 4.7
40.5
19.0
34.5
22.9
Note: NA = Not available Source: Census of India (2001, 2011)
7.0
17.8
23 Table 2.3: Household Living Conditions by SC and ST Status, 2001 and 2011 (Percentage of households) SC
Amenities House with concrete roof Tap water Electricity as a source of lighting Latrine facility within the premises Connected to drainage With bathroom LPG/PNG
2001 13.1 32.1 44.3 23.6 42.8 22.2 7.9
ST 2011 21.9 41.2 59.0 33.8 46.6 27.7 16.9
2001 6.1 20.0 36.5 17.0 21.8 15.0 5.3
Source: Census of India (2001, 2011)
2011 10.1 24.4 51.7 22.6 22.7 17.2 9.2
Total 2001 2011 21.2 29.6 36.7 43.5 55.8 67.2 36.4 46.9 46.4 51.1 36.1 42.0 17.5 28.5
24 Table 2.4: Household Assets and Banking Services among SC and ST Households, 2001 and 2011 (Percentage of households) SC
Assets Availing banking services Television Telephone Mobile Computer/Laptop Scooter/Motorcycle/Moped Car/Van/Jeep None of the Assets including Radio/transistor/cycle
2001 25.1 21.2 3.4 NA NA 5.3 1.0
2011 50.9 39.1 3.0 47.5 6.4 12.0 1.8
2001 19.1 12.0 2.5 NA NA 4.1 0.8
ST 2011 44.9 21.8 1.9 31.1 5.2 8.9 1.6
Total 2001 2011 35.5 58.7 31.6 76.7 9.1 4.0 NA 53.2 NA 9.4 11.7 21.0 2.5 4.7
42.6
22.6
54.0
37.3
34.5
Source: Census of India (2001, 2011)
17.8