The Modi government is coming down hard on non-governmental organisations, ostensibly because they are “indulging in anti-national activities”. I suppose the United Nations isn’t exactly an NGO, otherwise its Delhi office would have had its bank accounts frozen and a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry would have been ordered for “misappropriation of funds”. But the UN is too large, and even though sometimes it seems toothless, it is too powerful to be bullied by India. So what does the National Democratic Alliance government do? It suppresses an inconvenient report.
The report is the Rapid Survey on Children (RSOC) which was carried out in 2013 and 2014 by United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund and the Indian government. (Yes, the Indian government, but the previous one.) The survey was not as comprehensive as the census (hence its name “Rapid Survey”), but it was pretty thorough anyway: it involved 210,000 interviews across 29 states and Union Territories over its two years; more than 90,000 children were measured for height and weight. In addition, height and weight of 28,000 teenage girls were also measured (the reason for that follows).
Believe it or not, the survey actually paints a positive scenario: a decade ago, 42.5 per cent of all children under five in the country were underweight. In 10 years, that figure has gone down to 30 per cent. Nearly, a third of our country’s children being malnourished is not exactly a reason to celebrate, but no change — especially when you are dealing with massive absolute numbers — can happen overnight. Surprisingly, the poorer states have done well: in Madhya Pradesh, the proportion of malnourished children went down from a terrible 60 per cent to 36 per cent, while in Bihar, the relative figures are 56 per cent and 37 per cent. One of the best performing states was Maharashtra.
The RSOC report uses two rather unusual terms. It measures “stunting” (children very short for their age group) and “wasting” (children who weigh too little for their height — that, as you can see, is compounded non-development). The report says that the proportion of children who are wasted fell from 20 per cent to 15 per cent and the stunting rate reduced from 48 per cent to 39 per cent. Incidentally — and this one fact really tells us where we stand in the world — children in Africa are much better off than in India! The figure there for underweight children is 21 per cent, way below ours.
We don’t have separate figures for boys and girls in the African study, but predictably, RSOC found that half — and that needs emphasising, we are talking of 50 per cent — of all teenage girls in India between 15 and 18 which the survey measured, had “low body mass index”. Which means that girls more than boys would be “stunted” and “wasted”. We all know why this is so: it’s because girls and female babies are generally always given less milk, food, etc., than male babies. When you think of the fact that all these underdeveloped girls are one day going to become mothers, you realise the horrible reality that’s facing us: in developed societies, each generation produces healthier babies; in our case, it is going to be the opposite.
Uncomfortable the report maybe, but these statistics are important for remedial action, so why has the government sat on it for almost 10 months? The Economist, which got hold of it and from which I have quoted figures, theorises it is probably because “the new data indicate his (Narendra Modi’s) relatively prosperous state (Gujarat) performed worse than many poorer one”. For example, the proportion of hungry children in Gujarat fell from 46.6 per cent to 33.5 per cent, but that’s worse than the national average.
Gujarat’s figures for stunting (42 per cent), severe stunting (18.5 per cent), and wasting (18.7 per cent) are also worse than the national average. Gujarat as a model state? It’s definitely so for Adani and his fellow industrialists, but the disadvantaged would be better off going to some of our “poor” states. By suppressing (or sitting on) the report, the NDA government also shows its reluctance to face facts. Worse, its approach to addressing this massive problem is skewed: Arun Jaitley’s last budget cut down spending on social sectors quite drastically. For example, shamefully only one per cent of our gross domestic product is earmarked for health, far less than most countries.
It’s commonplace to say that Indian children do really well when they are in schools overseas. We are, obviously, talking of well-looked after children. Just imagine where India would be if a majority of its children had enough nourishment going into their bodies, and from there to their brains! We would be a powerhouse like no other. And imagine if India’s daughters were well fed too: what a change that would bring about in the next generation!
The mid-day meal, started years ago in Tamil Nadu, and now a part of most government schools, is a transformative idea for that reason, if only it were carried out as it should be — but as the recent “chiki” scam in Maharashtra shows, politicians and their cronies think nothing of adulterating meals meant for poor children so that what’s on paper and what’s on the plate, are worlds apart. If the government concentrated on just this one programme, it would be a wonderful service to the nation. While doing this, a stop should be put to crackpot ideas like Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who banned eggs from mid-day meals because they are “non-vegetarian”, when they are actually the most concentrated (and unpolluted) source of protein.
Simultaneously, Mr Modi’s big-ticket programme of providing toilets all over the country is an idea that will help in transforming India. It’s not just a question of dignity; it has also been proven that defecation in the open, still practised by a staggering 45 per cent of the population, spreads diseases through the soil as well as the air. So even if by some miracle real nourishment reaches children, its benefits are negated by intestinal diseases so that we are back to square one.
To carry out these programmes, the government needs outside help, especially in monitoring expenditure and implementation. That outside help can be provided by NGOs, many of which are run by dedicated individuals. Instead of looking at them as adversaries, the government should look at them as allies. Much needs to be done; this way at least, an important start can be made.
The writer is a senior journalist
