The Transformation of a Himalayan Mountain Village Under the Rapid Economic Growth in India: a Case Study of the State of Uttarakhand OKAHASHI Hidenori
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Journal of Urban and RegionalThe Studies Transformation on Contemporary of a Himalayan India 2(2): Mountain 11–24 Village(2016) under the Rapid Economic GrowthThe Center in for India Contemporary India Studies, Hiroshima University Article http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/hindas/index.html The Transformation of a Himalayan Mountain Village under the Rapid Economic Growth in India: A Case Study of the State of Uttarakhand OKAHASHI Hidenori Professor; Department of Geography, Hiroshima University; 739–8522, Japan. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract is paper aims to examine the socio-economic changes in rural areas of the underdeveloped regions of India, focusing on Uttarakhand State. e state has been characterized by “Money Order Economy” depending on the money sent from migrant workers. However the state has shown a new development tendency such as industrialization and tourist development aer the economic liberalization since 1991. We made an intensive household survey of a mountain village near Nainital that has grown rapidly as a hill resort. e results obtained are as follows. Various employment opportunities were provided in this village. is is due to the development of commercial agricultural production in the village and the availability of various o-farm employment chances oered in the labor market of Nainital. In terms of household economy, a number of households typically have an economic dependence on income from o-farm employment. On the other hand, there are an extremely high number of households engaged in agricultural work like growing vegetables. e expansion of employment opportunities and subsequent improvement of the household economy are mainly attributed to higher educational levels. is case highlights a notable example of a village in India’s underdeveloped region that has grown out of a backward situation and has shown a development tendency. Key words India, Uttarakhand, underdeveloped region, economic growth, Mountain village, empoyment opportunity, household economy Introduction growth has been a critical issue. Research on the local economy of Uttarakhand has Since the economic liberalization that commenced in produced fruitful results (Khanka, 1988; Mehta, 1996; 1991, India has undergone rapid growth as part of the Bora, 1996; Dobhal, 1986). Okahashi (2014) appointed the globalization of its economy. For developing countries signicant common ndings of these studies in terms of confronted with poverty, it is important to consider the the issues of underdevelopment. ese studies highlight eects that economic development on the national level that although the number of agricultural population is has on public life and whether such changes can lead overwhelmingly large, in subsistence farming it is dicult to the improvement. As a result, extensive macro-scale to overcome obstacles such as irrigation inadequacies and research has been conducted on modern India in relation low productivity. erefore, although it is necessary to to these issues. is national-level research has identi- increase employment opportunities in the industrial sec- ed an increase in regional disparity in India brought tor, the rate of expansion is low. Consequently, a high rate on by recent economic growth that requires attention of population migration to other regions to seek employ- (Ahluwalia, 2000; Bhattacharya & Sakthivel, 2004). ere- ment has persisted. Remittances from migrant workers fore, when evaluating India’s economic development, it is support households and local economies, but the outow also essential to shed light on the vast extent of rural areas of the active workforce has a negative impact on industrial in the country. development. As roads in mountainous areas are under- is paper focused on underdeveloped, mountainous developed, poor access was exacerbated. us, a vicious regions, specically on Uttarakhand state located in the cycle of problems of underdevelopment in Uttarakhand Himalayan Mountains of northern India. e economy was assumed to persist. of the villages in this region has been based on little more Yet, such observations dose not seem reasonable than small-scale subsistence farming, along with a high presently. In India, since the 1990s, along with eco- outow of population seeking employment outside the nomic growth, development has been witnessed in such region and a dependency on remittances. In a region with underdeveloped regions as well. Large-scale industri- such external dependency, the socio-economic changes alization was progressing, in the plains at the foothills that could be accomplished amidst India’s economic of Uttarakhand, and the advancement of the tourism © 2016 The Center for Contemporary — 11 India— Studies, Hiroshima University OKAHASHI H industry, including resort facilities, could be seen in the mountain state, Himachal Pradesh, it stayed at 10% (3.4% inner mountainous areas of the region as well. Focus- in urban areas and 10.7% in rural areas). Such disparities ing on Uttarakhand, Ghosh et al. (2008) indicated that in economic levels cannot be ignored. the progression of regional dierentiation commenced On the other hand, political dependency has also with the increase in disparities between urban and rural been investigated. Aer India gained independence, this areas, but in the same province, various changes under region became part of a large state mainly located on the the inuence of economic development were expected plains, that is, Uttar Pradesh. e union of dierent states to have occurred. In particular, if rural villages exhibited resulted in the Uttarakhand’s weakened political auton- signs of development, then this could contribute to future omy and economic underdevelopment. Indeed, Himachal strategies for development; nevertheless, it is necessary to Pradesh became a Union Territory at the time of India’s investigate the actual circumstances and mechanisms of independence. ereaer, as early as 1971, it proceeded these changes. with a progressive plan to promote economic develop- Considering these issues and focusing on Uttarakhand, ment, and as seen in the poverty line and population ratio this study examines villages in this underdeveloped region data, the plan yielded signicant economic progress. that exhibit development and attempts to elucidate from In 2000, Uttaranchal (renamed Uttarakhand in 2007) an employment standpoint the realities of changes result- separated from Uttar Pradesh as a result of a violent sepa- ing from economic growth. ratist movement1 and achieved political independence. To this end, we focused on one mountain village. e en, in order to overcome the low level of develop- area we studied was K Village, located near the provincial ment, the state executed ambitious development policies. city of Nainital that developed from the colonial period Advancements in large-scale industrial development were as a highland summer retreat (hill station). We chose this especially made in the foothills by relying on the central study area as we expected to nd spread eects of the government’s industrial development policy (Tomozawa, growth of this city. e survey was conducted in Septem- 2014). ber 2007, and it covered all households (89 homes) in the While Uttarakhand had an economy characterized by central settlement (KT) of K Village. A detailed data anal- underdevelopment and political dependency, the growth ysis in this paper exclusively covers this KT settlement. of the Indian economy since the 1990s has resulted in the progression of industrialization in the foothills and The State of Uttarakhand’s Underdevelopment the plains, the expansion of the tourism industry in the and Development Problems mountainous regions, and the commoditization of agri- culture, among other aspects of growth. Moreover, the Uttarakhand state is a mountainous province in north- independent state had begun to implement aggressive ern India in the central part of the Himalayas (total popu- development policies. Bora (1996) raised the policy rec- lation: 8,489,000 as of 2001; 53,000 km2). e eastern half ommendations in order to overcome underdevelopment is called the Kumaon region, and the western half, the in agricultural commodities, non-agricultural employ- Garhwal region. ment, industrial development, industrial training, and Because most of the region was characterized by the regional urbanization, which were already beginning to practice of subsistence agriculture and low economic materialize. Owing to such developments in Uttarakhand, development, historically, the region has witnessed a not only urban areas but also rural areas were expected steady outow of people seeking employment opportuni- to experience an economic impact. erefore, in the next ties, especially householders and family members seeking section, we elucidate the actual conditions of the economy migrant-specic employment outside the region. As a by focusing on a sample rural area. result, a type of economic dependency known as a “money order economy” (Khanka, 1988) was also a prominent Expanding Employment Opportunities: aspect of the region’s economy. Progress in Agricultural Development & e underdevelopment of Uttarakhand is obvious if we Non-Agricultural Employment look at the percentage of the population living below the poverty line in 2004. In the province, it was 39.6% (36.5% Overview of K Village and the KT Settlement in urban areas and 40.8% in rural areas), whereas for India K Village is around 12 km by road from Nainital, which overall, the percentage was 27.5% (25.7% in urban areas is