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A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details 1 Governing Nutrition, Performing State: Workers of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Programme, India Shilpa Deshpande Submitted for PhD Development Studies University of Sussex February 2019 2 UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX SHILPA DESHPANDE SUBMITTED FOR PhD DEVELOPMENT STUDIES GOVERNING NUTRITION, PERFORMING STATE: WORKERS OF THE INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS) PROGRAMME, INDIA SUMMARY The failures of state implemented development programmes have been largely attributed to governance issues. I study one of the largest child development programmes in the world, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme of India to understand how its governance is determined and gaps between design and practice produced. Building on a non-normative concept of governance, my research ethnographically examines the everyday processes and practices of the ICDS, through ten months of fieldwork in a community development block of Aurangabad District, Maharashtra. State practices have been studied but the role of state functionaries has not been adequately addressed. I research everyday state practices as performative - negotiated and constructed by ICDS functionaries in interaction with the local politics of caste, vertical systems of ‘corruption’ and initiatives of bureaucratic reform. I find that ICDS functionaries use state practices to: (a) perform caste, exercising dominance but also contesting caste-based subordination, (b) develop and manage informal systems of financial practices, and (c) stage performance to make it appear as if targets have been met and rules followed. The improvisation of programme practices by ICDS functionaries generates gaps and variations from programme design including the dominant caste capture of field level ICDS positions, exclusion of Scheduled Caste beneficiaries and localities from programme benefits and manipulation of programme records and performance audits. But such improvisation is also facilitative providing sites for challenging the dominant political and social order and enabling the delivery of ICDS services despite resource poor contexts and unsuitable programme rules. These findings suggest that ICDS governance at the sub-district or implementation level is determined in interaction with the politics of caste and the un-implementability of bureaucratic rules. Additionally, I highlight that implementation gaps do not always reflect the incapacity of state functionaries but may also represent their ingenuity in constrained circumstances. 3 I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature………………………………….. 4 Acknowledgements This thesis has benefited greatly from the help, advice and input of individuals in both India and UK. At the outset, I must acknowledge the deep debt that I owe to the anganwadi workers, supervisors and officials of the ICDS project, which I have referred to as ‘Sundar’ block, where I conducted my fieldwork. Sundar is the Hindi and Marathi word for beauty and I have named the project, thus, for them. This research would not have been possible if they had not opened up their workplaces, homes and hearts to me. I am grateful to the Tranform Nutrition project at IDS for providing part funding for this PhD, Aurangabad district officials for giving their permission for this study, and to faculty at the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University at Aurangabad who helped me in the initial stages of fieldwork. I also owe a big debt of gratitude to my Supervisors Nick Nisbett, Filippo Osella and Richard Longhurst without whose analytical, insightful and patient academic guidance as well as timely understanding and support, this thesis would not have been completed. Thank you! I would also like to thank Angela Dowman, Julia Brown and Stephanie Watson at the Teaching and Research Office at IDS who helped me navigate the many rules of the PhD programme. My friends and colleagues in the IDS PhD room, Aparna John, Hadeer El Shafie, Syed Abbas, Camilla Lindstorm and Sungkyu Kim offered their time, help and advice, whenever I was in need, for which I am very grateful. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my support system – friends and family in UK and India who have encouraged, motivated and supported me throughout this journey and without whom I would not have been able to either start or stay through the PhD. Thank you Mili, Sunil and Siddharth! Anumeha, my daughter, has been my driving force and energy through this endeavour and Aseem, Aai and Baba my hull and keel. I would also like to thank Renuka for her patient care of Anumeha, without which I would not have been able to work at all. 5 Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................. 11 The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Programme ....................... 13 Governance, government and governmentality .................................................. 19 Ethnography of ICDS governance ......................................................................... 21 Chapter Sketches .................................................................................................... 32 The vexedness of implementation ............................................................................ 35 Development Programme Implementation ........................................................... 36 The socially embedded Indian state ..................................................................... 37 1. The Dominated State ..................................................................................... 37 2. The Modern State ........................................................................................... 39 3. The Imagined State ........................................................................................ 40 The socially embedded state functionary ............................................................ 44 Shaping everyday state practices ......................................................................... 47 1. Local Political relations ................................................................................... 48 2. Informal financial practices ............................................................................. 55 3. Reforming the Indian Developmental State .................................................... 59 Summing Up ............................................................................................................ 61 Performing Caste, Performing State: Maratha Dominance & Dalit Assertion in the ICDS ............................................................................................................................. 65 Maratha dominance in Maharashtra ...................................................................... 67 Dominating the ICDS: Of political patronage and mediation .............................. 70 Contesting dominance: Dalit assertion and mobilisation ................................... 77 Re-constituting Caste, Re-imagining State: Dalits in the ICDS .......................... 82 Using bureaucratic means: Meera Kale – the Dalit Anganwadi Worker ............... 82 Using political means: Usha Thorat – the Dalit Supervisor ................................... 89 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 92 Percentages & Promotions: Informal Incomes & Payments in the ICDS ............. 94 The takkewari system ............................................................................................. 95 Formal Monitoring through Informal Fines .......................................................... 110 Political mediation ............................................................................................... 112 Promotions, transfers and postings ................................................................... 113 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 121 Staging Standards: ISO Certification in the ICDS .................................................. 123 The ISO Certification Initiative ............................................................................. 125 Implementation of ISO certification in Sundar block ........................................ 133 1. Staging ISO requirements ............................................................................ 135 2. Political patronage ........................................................................................ 145 3. Investment .................................................................................................... 146 The struggle for regularisation ...........................................................................