Introduction

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The present study attempts to assess the livelihood and human security among women in Manipur. The study also tries to understand the context of women towards vulnerability and to explore the relationship between livelihood assets, problems, coping strategies and human security. Every aspect of human life changes so fast in all directions – in terms of social, cultural, economic, political, ecological, intellectual, professional, psychological, and technological dimensions in human living. These kinds of shift make people change in their living conditions, perspectives and belief system – looking forward to a new way of life expecting more comfortable and improved, but it is neither easy to reach that condition of living nor enough at once if one can. Simultaneously, there is an emergence of new problems and challenges – to achieve the goal as well as to make the achieved sustainable. Sustainability becomes significant considering questions on livelihood so that one has to be in a position to cope with any kind of precarious situations and disturbances in continuing those ways of living. At the same time, the human population is increasing day-by-day, leading to a context where there is a rapidly growing demand for resources for human consumption. There is a huge difference between educated-uneducated, trained-untrained, skilled- unskilled and professional-nonprofessional in grasping the opportunities in various fields like employment, accessibility and public distribution systems. As a result, the class difference has become wider in every society. In other words, as poverty becomes one of the biggest challenges in the developmental process of every society, there is a growing socio-economic and developmental gap regionally and politically. A large section of people has been left out even without basic resources which are required to ensure a 1 minimum level of survival – in terms of material, psychological and social inputs such as food, water, shelter and minimal security of an individual. Therefore, what is required is to build such kind of a secure environment in which everyone can be ensured a minimum level of survival. India is also one of the leading countries facing challenges of rapid population growth and trying to meet the needs of its people in an integrated approach – through technological change, social reformation, modifying economic and political systems, and upraising sustainable livelihood strategy. But still, there is a large section of people who are more prone to poverty and other unsecured conditions of living through various social and political factors – no access to basic requirements, innate poverty, unequal distribution of resources or public services, human rights violence, conflict and war (Manchanda, 2001). Women are one among the most vulnerable groups, who are more vulnerable and insecure. There are various reasons – social, customary, political and economic factors, which are discussed in detail in later chapters. In terms of livelihood and human security issues, they are still lacking behind than their male counterparts in assessing resources and acquiring freedom and supports. These facets hamper women to fully contribute their socio-economic and political roles in the overall developmental process of society. Most of them are still passive beneficiaries rather than contributors to policy making, knowledge, experience, and other resources. Thus, it tends to acquire a comprehensive approach to deliver „security' to each individual, especially women enabling to obtain a sustainable livelihood – utilizing a wide range of new opportunities to tackle such problems in an integrated manner. This is the headlamp of the present study. The present chapter tries to build the foundation of the study by introducing a brief theoretical understanding and conceptualisation of the two ideas i.e. „Livelihood’ and ‘Human Security’, on this basis each chapter of the study is constructed. But, the 2 theoretical understanding and conceptualisation would again be discussed extensively in the next chapter. This introductory chapter then discusses the statement of the problem or the rationale of the study, by drawing what to be done, why and how to offer in the trend. This section is followed by objective, hypotheses and chapter schemes of the study. 1.1 Overview of Literature The main focus of the study is located at the intersection between two concepts, Sustainable Livelihood and Human Security in the context of women in Manipur. Although a broad range of literature on each concept is available, there are very few empirical studies on the relationship between Sustainable Livelihood and Human Security. 1.1.1 Concept of Livelihood The concept of sustainable livelihood was first officially introduced in the Brundtland Commission on Environment and Development, and further, expanded in the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) by advocating the achievement of sustainable livelihoods as one of the ultimate goals for the eradication of poverty in the world. It was first formulated to link between socioeconomic conditions of people especially focusing on rural areas and ecological considerations by making the relevant policy of a nation, especially underdeveloped and developing countries. Further, the 1992 UNCED emphasised sustainable livelihoods as „an integrating factor that allows policies to address development, sustainable resource management, and poverty eradication simultaneously‟ (quoted by Krantz, 2001). By Robert Chambers and Gordon Conway, in their jointly written paper, Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts for 21st Century (1992), the definition of a sustainable livelihood was given in a composite and precise form for the first time, like the following: „a livelihood comprises the capacities, assets (stores, resources, claims, and access) and activities required for a means of living: a livelihood is sustainable which can cope with 3 and recover from stresses and shocks, maintain or enhance its capacities and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation; and which contributes net benefits to other livelihoods at the local and global levels and in the long and short term.‟ (Chambers, R. & Conway, G. 1992: 6) A livelihood is not simply the means of an individual or household to fulfill the basic requirement and achieve well-being but it is significant to make it sustainable so that it can be carried out repeatedly fulfilling the requirement constantly. Therefore, it is a unified activity and a way of life that every human being inherently developed by implementing strategies, resources, and skills for ensuring their survival, by which they cope themselves even though any form of challenges comes in front of them. The given definition of livelihood is also applied at different institutional levels – such as individual, household, community, social group, and even society. It is because there is a wide range of variations within a single level, or even, between one level to another in terms of wellbeing and access to resources. For instance, a family or a household may be considered affluent, but within the same household, it is possible that there are different subsystems among the family members (such as, gaps between male and female, or between boys and girls, or young and old, and so on so forth) in entitling their rights on properties, assessment, and socio-political status. Besides, its complexity and horizon based on subsystems still become broader when external bodies like national/international organisations, government, or civil society gradually become necessary in assisting for those people whose means of living is under threat because, nowadays, livelihood itself is no longer a mono-dynamic but it is set by a range of factors such as sources of livelihood, environment, socio-economic contexts, existing policies or program framed by the state and various strategies of obtaining the livelihood outcomes. 4 1.1.2 Evolution of the concept of Sustainable Livelihood Livelihood studies have become prominent in development studies in the late 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium when the Department for International Development (DFID), the British state development cooperation agency started promoting the so-called Sustainable Livelihood Framework, by applying the approach in development interventions on its own account, and financing a number of research projects and interventions of international developmental NGOs (De Haan, 2012: 346). Other institutes like the International Development Institute in Sussex (IDS), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the Overseas Development Group of the University of East Anglia produce influential contributions and research on diversification. Besides, developmental organisations like UNDP, OXFAM, CARE and the Society for International Development (SID) also adopted the concept of sustainable livelihoods, and support numbers of NGOs and local organisations in developing and underdeveloped countries, in working with the issues. All these above agencies have developed their own understandings and frameworks on the issue called livelihood approaches according to their corresponding objectives and operational experience in implementation. However, the common and original idea of uniting all the agencies is the above-mentioned definition of livelihood given by Chambers and Conway (1992) and the most famous „Sustainable Livelihood Framework' by Carney

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