Changing Priorities

Today, numerous Bangladeshi women are taking charge of their personal and professional lives. However, widespread gender bias and violence continue to challenge their dreams of emancipation and empowerment. Have the two women Prime Ministers of Bangladesh made a difference in the life of an average woman?

South Asian politics is dominated by dynastic trends and the presence of women leaders at the helm of affairs. The former is an unfortunate reality but the latter should be a source of pride for developing nations that have traditionally struggled with gender issues to provide their women with some very basic human rights. Whether it is the assassinated former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan and Indira Gandhi of India, or the still vibrant Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, we must credit these women for their determination and persistence against the norms of their male-dominated cultures. Unfortunately, however, that is not a testament to women’s empowerment because not only do most of these women leaders have a strong male connection as primary reason for their rise to power, but also the life of an average woman has remained largely unchanged under their rule.

Bangladesh is a developing nation of 165 million with an adult literacy rate of about 55%. It has been run almost exclusively for the past two decades by Bangladesh’s two Begums – current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Awami League (AL), and opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s independence hero and first prime minister murdered in 1975. Khaleda Zia is the widow of former president, Maj. Gen. Ziaur Rahman assassinated in a failed coup attempt in 1981.

As Prime Ministers, the Begums have been known to run corrupt regimes, and faced criminal charges. In 2007, the army tried to end their monopoly on power when it seized power by splitting their vote banks and trying to create alternate forces. However, the Begums’ parties proved resilient and Sheikh Hasina came back to power in Dec 2008 and promptly resumed business as usual by filing more corruption charges against her opponent.

It is safe to say the last two decades have seen Bangladeshi women become more visible on the social and professional scene, but the gains have fallen short of expectation, especially under successive women Prime Minsters. So while the Begums focus on each other, the majority of women fight their own battles at home and in the social sphere against harassment, assault, kidnapping, acid throwing, and murder over dowry disputes.

Amnesty International reported that in 2010 police had received more than 3,500 complaints of physical abuse of women over dowry disputes, and in 2011, violence against women topped all crimes reported to the police between January and June, and 1586 out of 7,285 complaints were of rape cases. Due to prevalent patriarchal social attitudes, women in general, but especially from low socioeconomic backgrounds, lack access to resources for protection or legal redress. Domestic violence, however, transcends class barriers and acid-throwing is a brutal favoured punishment of spurned suitors or disgruntled husbands. There is also extensive trafficking of women to other countries in Asia and Middle East, lured by job prospects but forced into prostitution.

Moreover, The Daily Star quoted United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP) on International Women’s Day 2012 asserting that much effort was still needed to improve the lives of women in Bangladesh. The report said that almost half of the female population in Bangladesh is married before reaching 16, which results in higher pregnancy rate in adolescence, and undernourished mothers then give birth to underweight babies. Many young girls are still denied schooling and face bleak futures. UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon urged the government, civil society and the private sector to work for gender equality in Bangladesh, which had not kept pace with strides in economic development.

Clearly, Bangladesh’s economic gains are not fully transferred to its women though their contribution to the economy is substantial, especially to the garment industry which is the source of 90% of Bangladesh’s foreign exchange. Institutions like Grameen Bank and BRAC have revolutionized the lives of many rural women by extending micro-credit to them, and have contributed to their economic empowerment, but unfortunately, Grameen Bank founder, the Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, has been attacked by Sheikh Hasina, ironically again, in what is seen as a political move.

Gender bias has also often surfaced through religious expression. In April 2011, CNN reported   that when the government announced its Women Development Policy 2011 about inheritance of property, protests broke out from the radical Islamic parties that considered it a violation of the Quran’s injunctions about inheritance. Ironically, the opposition party BNP of Kahleda Zia was reported to be supporting the protest, undermining the cause of women’s empowerment just to gain some political mileage.

In July 2011, Human Rights Watch reiterated its concern for Bangladeshi women who are increasingly on the receiving end of religious fatwas issued by so-called scholars, even against the rulings of civil courts, in shalishes, the traditional dispute resolution methods. These decrees have resulted in humiliating punishments resulting in death for young girls wrongly accused. The punishments include imposing fines, lashing, cutting hair or blackening faces, and ostracizing families, carried out by vigilantes. While many of these incidents go unreported, human rights groups claim at least 300 such incidents have occurred in the last decade. In 2011, one particular case in Shariatpur district highlighted the seriousness of the issue when the shalish ordered 100 lashes to Hena Akhter for an alleged affair, when she had reportedly been sexually abused. She collapsed while the punishment was being carried out, and later died. Thus, the government’s failure to effectively address such incidences and implement legislation continues to result in grievous harm to women under the watch of their woman Prime Minister.

 It should be a matter of pride for Bangladesh that in November 2010 it was elected to the board of UN Women, but to do justice to this role Bangladesh’s Begums need to shift focus from personal and political gains and use their position to aggressively to work towards emancipation and empowerment of the average woman. Only then can the Bangladeshi women be truly proud of their Begums. 

A version of this article was published in SouthAsia, April 2012, as Changing Priorities

India - a Quest for Identity

Living in a melting pot of races, religions and cultures, the inhabitants of Northeast India continue to struggle with an identity crisis while battling decades of ethnic conflict.

Northeastern India consists of the seven sister states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, and parts of North Bengal. This is a very diverse region and has strong ethnic and cultural ties with Southeast and East Asia while it is officially a part of India since 1947. These states constitute a special category which is officially recognized by the Indian government. The major religions practiced here include Christianity, Hinduism and Islam.  

Northeast India has seen a steady flow of immigrants throughout history, which accounts for its ethnic, linguistic cultural and religious diversity. Linguistically, the Bengali and Assamese speakers have been the most in numbers, as Subir Bhaumik pointed out in Ethnicity, Ideology and Religion: Separatist Movements in India’s Northeast, and the statistics regarding linguistic majority have been influenced by political affiliations e.g. in Assam, the migrant Muslims of Bengali origin registered as Assamese speakers between 1947 and 1982 to become part of the larger community, but after the 1983 riots, many of these Muslims began to register as Bengali speakers, changing the statistics about the number of Assamese speakers in the 1991 and 2001 Census.

There are three main groups inhabiting the Northeastern region which have been at odds with each other: the Assamese, the Bengalis and the tribal communities. Historically, wave after wave of migration towards the region was directed from the Eastern Asian countries like Tibet, Burma and Thailand, and the 1947 Partition led to increase of Bengali Hindu and Muslim refugees. As happens with demographic change and tipping of ethnic balance in any region when also accelerated by political maneuvering, a feeling of discrimination and deprivation slowly established itself and hatt has led to a constant sparking of ethnic violence for decades, uprooting families and claiming lives.

This sense of discrimination has been aggravated to a level that the resulting agitation has led to accusations of changed political loyalties of the Assamese towards the Indian government. This attitude of distrust has sustained in the minds of some politicians and policy makers and has prevented implementation of policies for social uplifting and effective conflict management. The fact that is conveniently ignored by politicians is that the historical differences and resulting conflict actually originate from the Colonial era discriminatory treatment of Assamese, and has continued due to mismanagement by the government and exploitation by political leaders.  

Several reasons are acknowledged by economists and policy makers to be the cause of conflict in this region. One of them is the region’s geographical location as a poorly integrated remote corner of the country. Assam is landlocked by Bangladesh, Bhutan and Tibet and is joined by a narrow corridor with India through Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Some blame successive economic and political policies of the Indian government relying on use of force to suppress conflict rather than to manage and understanding it, and sometimes even just focusing on temporary political gains.  Dr. Shakuntala Bora of Gauhati University finds in the course of her research that the reasons for the identity crisis of the ethnic groups in Assam include their awareness of being different from the majority group, a sense of being discriminated against and a strong desire for a significant share in political power – all of which are legitimate concerns for self-assertion.  Dov Ronen, who has been affiliated with Harvard University’s Centre for International Affairs, also suggests that ethnic nationalism is just an expression of self determination and, “ethnicity is politicized into the ethnic factor when an ethnic group is in conflict with the political elite over such issues as the use of limited resources or the allocation of benefits.”

The Northeasterners also suffer discrimination due to their physical appearance. Racially, they are considered to be closer to Southeast Asia, and have trouble fitting in and being accepted by the larger Indian population. The discrimination has resulted in a steady increase over the years in trafficking of, and sexual violence against, women which is seen, based to a 2011 study of North-East Support Center and helpline (NESCH), by Madhu Chandra as “a reflection of India's caste practices and social system as majority of North-East Indians come from Scheduled Castes and Tribes and ethnically Mongoloid race, which falls out of caste hierarchy.” Though the Indian constitution protects right of minorities, practically, there has been little protection from hate crimes and exploitation for the Northeasterners even in the capital, Delhi. Northeasterners working or studying in Delhi have complained of having little support from the police or legal system. Hence, it is seen that most of the cases go unreported. Even when reported, however, they are often denied FIRs or their cases are delayed by the police and courts. According to the NESCH, of the cases studied less than half were taken up by police, out of which only 1% actually made it to court. Derogatory terms are also in common usage for referring to Northeastern men and women. To add to their misery, Northeast Indians face identity crisis not only in their own country, but due to their East Asian looks but Indian passports, they are also meted out the same treatment when they travel to adjoining Bhutan, Nepal, China and Myanmar. This discriminatory behavior often fuels anger and sense of deprivation among the inhabitants of this region and contributes to socio-political unrest and communal violence. It is no wonder that the Northeast has been India’s most insurgency affected region.

A crisis in multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies may result from suppression or exploitation of any group. To prevent it from blowing into a full-fledged conflict, we need policies that prevent polarization and encourage integration. Politicization of ethnicity which turns it into ethnic conflict has to stop. Without effective solution, or continuance of discriminatory policies, the situation only leads to insurgency and militancy as observed in Northeast India for the last many decades.

 Published : SouthAsia Magazine, as India: A Quest for Identity Dec, 2011 

South Asia - Potential and Prospects

Feature

Social indicators of development in the dynamic South Asian region are not always promising. However, the South Asian economy is resilient as are its people, and can do well with sustained international focus in lending and knowledge investment to supplement efforts of local governments.

South Asia comprises seven countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, representing the largest concentration of the world’s poor and also of the highest number of the conflict-afflicted. Over-population, environmental issues and bad governance feature high on development challenges, as do internal and external conflict.

 Nepal’s stability is affected by decades of Maoist insurgency. Sri Lanka has struggled through years of ethnic conflict. India has had to deal with major internal insurgencies and the political and military challenges with neighboring countries. The arms race in the region between the two largest countries of the region, India and Pakistan, which started in the 80s and grew to include nuclear capability, continues to challenge relations between them. Also, the power politics of major world players over the years, the US and the former USSR, has caused huge instability in the region and Pakistan battles serious repercussions in the form of drugs and terrorism, and the fallout of War on Terror in neighboring Afghanistan.

Not surprisingly, South Asian countries have extensive areas of inequality and extreme poverty directly connected to the conflict areas. The inclusivity of development logically depends on reducing this inequality. Since conflict is a major deterrent to political stability, no sustained growth policies have been successfully applied over the decades. However, domestic reforms and external assistance has helped provide some relief in phases.

A brief overview of the economic outlook of South Asian countries is as follows:

Bangladesh is an agricultural country, and one of the world’s most densely populated nations (164 million). A wide majority works in agriculture, though service industries contribute over half of GDP. Bangladesh has a flourishing garment industry. However, weak institutions, poverty, frequent cyclones and floods and corruption (CPI 2009: 139^th/180) undermine economic development and increase unrest despite reasonable inflow of aid from international donor, including around $100 million a year from the United States. Unemployment rate is currently closer to 5.1% and inflation 6.0% (CIA Fact Book 2011).  Still, from the '90s to 2010 industrial production increased to 30% from 20%. The increase in demand for power and other infrastructure has not been successfully met with and the country's industries and manufacturing sector have suffered greatly.

Bhutan is ranked among the top 10 happiest countries of the world. This has been achieved due to its unique five-year national development plan series based on ‘Gross National Happiness’. Bhutan is well into achieving its objective to reduce poverty to 15% by 2012-13 in its Tenth Five-Year Plan (2008-2013). Bhutan has not only been successful at most of the original MDGs but in some cases, it is going beyond the MDGs. However, trade and finance need some policy planning to facilitate more foreign investment. Regionally, the economy is closely aligned with India’s and hydropower exports to India have boosted Bhutan’s overall growth. The World Bank has been assisting Bhutan since the early 80s and projects worth US$73 million focused on education, health, private sector, and rural development and infrastructure are underway. The Global Fund is also committed to programs to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The per capita income has exceeded US$2000, making Bhutan third only to the Maldives and Sri Lanka in South Asia. (WB, 2011)

          India inherited 90% of the industry in the sub-continent at partition. Due to land reforms introduced shortly after partition, the Indian economy continues to move in the right direction. With an average growth rate of 8% in the last three years, it is recognized as one of the world's fastest developing economies. However, the CIA Fact Book’s figures challenge the inclusivity of India’s economic policies as people living below poverty line remains at 41.6%, and India’s levels of child under-nutrition are double that of Sub-Saharan Africa. (WB, 2007). Despite government’s extensive welfare policies, social progress has also been hampered by Hindu caste system and anti-Muslim sentiment. The Industrial activity in India has, however, helped accelerate economic growth in the urban areas, creating jobs and increasing exports significantly. The revenue generated through tax collection has also helped create increased public spending on education, health care and various social programs to fight poverty.

Maldives comprises 1191 islands in the Indian Ocean of which almost 200 are inhabited. Tourism is its main industry, contributing almost 20% to the GDP. The Maldives economy is growing at an average of over 10% since the past two decades, although the 2005 tsunami caused a temporary setback. In 2009, the global financial crisis also caused decline of tourist arrivals and investment. However, the thorough policy planning of government, aided by International financial institutions like World Bank, continues to draw substantial investment through economy-friendly incentives. Over the longer term though, a bigger threat to Maldivian economy is seen to be the impact of erosion and global warming as 80% of the area lies 1 meter or less above sea level. Bhutan has urged the developed countries to help by reducing their carbon emissions.

Nepal is among the least developed countries in the world, and was ranked 29th on the Global Hunger Index 2010. It is a landlocked state bordered by China and India. Nepal's GDP for 2008 was estimated at over $12 billion making it the 115th-largest economy in the world. Agriculture accounts for about 40% of GDP, services comprise 41% and industry 22%. Nepal has considerable potential in hydropower, but political instability has hampered foreign investment. Civil strife and labor unrest, and its susceptibility to natural disaster continue to be a challenge. Nepal meets its energy demands through India and is contracted to import all its petroleum products through the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which also means paying extra duties and taxes. Foreign aid accounts for more than half of the development budget. Government priorities over the years have been the development of transportation and communication facilities, agriculture, and industry. The export-oriented carpet and garment industries together now account for approximately 70% of merchandise exports. A positive note from World Economic Outlook 2010 reported Nepal’s inflation at 6.8% in 2010-1.

Pakistan's economy is predominantly based on agriculture, and has seen growth since the early 1950s despite internal strife, external conflict, sanctions, global recession, and natural disasters (2005 earthquake, 2010 floods). It is the 27^th largest economy in the world. 17.2% population lives below poverty-line (WB 2011). The tax collection in Pakistan remains at less than 10% of GDP and the lack of revenue restricts Pakistan’s spending on development programs. Textiles account for most of Pakistan's export earnings, but the government’s failure to address power issues and hence expand a viable export base has left the country’s economy vulnerable. However, in 2005, Pakistan was named the top reformer in its region and in the top 10 reformers globally (WB), and included by the Goldman Sachs Global Economics Group as one of the “Next Eleven” (N-11), a group of countries with sizeable economic potential for global impact. Unfortunately, the internal strife and fallout of War on Terror and global financial crisis has forced massive capital flight from Pakistan. Still, Pakistan was ranked 83 among 181 countries around the globe in Ease of Doing Business Index 2011, much higher regionally than countries doing better in other areas; Bangladesh is ranked 107, Bhutan 142, India 134, Nepal 116 and Sri Lanka is 102.

Sri Lanka has an economy of $56 billion (IMF, 2011) and GDP of about US$7000. Sri Lanka has shown strong growth rates in recent years, and is far ahead of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Its main economic sectors are tourism, and agricultural products. Overseas employment also contributes highly in foreign exchange. Since 2009, Sri Lanka is among the world's fastest growing economies after its civil war against the Tamil Tigers ended. In 2010, Sri Lanka's GDP was estimated at 8% and is expected to grow by another 8.5% in 2011. Improvements in security and infrastructure projects have lead to a return of foreign investment. For many years, the United States has been Sri Lanka's biggest market for garments, taking more than 63% of the country's total garment exports, and China has invested in multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects. International investors in the tourism and hospitality industry have also shown interest to invest in Sri Lanka due to its obvious tourism potential.

In conclusion, given the scale of South Asian development issues, development planners and practitioners need to take various approaches to help the regional economy find a solid footing in the global market. However, economic strategies must balance security solutions, and work through welfare programs to reduce poverty, strengthening local government, civil administration, improving health and education infrastructure, and providing incentives for international funding sources. To ease the burden of this deprived but dynamic region, the international community needs to continue its support for development projects through its funding and knowledge assistance and help them move into a new era of sustained growth.

Social indicators of development in the dynamic South Asian region are not always promising. However, the South Asian economy is resilient as are its people, and can do well with sustained international focus in lending and knowledge investment to supplement efforts of local governments.

South Asia comprises seven countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, representing the largest concentration of the world’s poor and also of the highest number of the conflict-afflicted. Over-population, environmental issues and bad governance feature high on development challenges, as do internal and external conflict.

 Nepal’s stability is affected by decades of Maoist insurgency. Sri Lanka has struggled through years of ethnic conflict. India has had to deal with major internal insurgencies and the political and military challenges with neighboring countries. The arms race in the region between the two largest countries of the region, India and Pakistan, which started in the 80s and grew to include nuclear capability, continues to challenge relations between them. Also, the power politics of major world players over the years, the US and the former USSR, has caused huge instability in the region and Pakistan battles serious repercussions in the form of drugs and terrorism, and the fallout of War on Terror in neighboring Afghanistan.

Not surprisingly, South Asian countries have extensive areas of inequality and extreme poverty directly connected to the conflict areas. The inclusivity of development logically depends on reducing this inequality. Since conflict is a major deterrent to political stability, no sustained growth policies have been successfully applied over the decades. However, domestic reforms and external assistance has helped provide some relief in phases.

A brief overview of the economic outlook of South Asian countries is as follows:

Bangladesh is an agricultural country, and one of the world’s most densely populated nations (164 million). A wide majority works in agriculture, though service industries contribute over half of GDP. Bangladesh has a flourishing garment industry. However, weak institutions, poverty, frequent cyclones and floods and corruption (CPI 2009: 139^th/180) undermine economic development and increase unrest despite reasonable inflow of aid from international donor, including around $100 million a year from the United States. Unemployment rate is currently closer to 5.1% and inflation 6.0% (CIA Fact Book 2011).  Still, from the '90s to 2010 industrial production increased to 30% from 20%. The increase in demand for power and other infrastructure has not been successfully met with and the country's industries and manufacturing sector have suffered greatly.

Bhutan is ranked among the top 10 happiest countries of the world. This has been achieved due to its unique five-year national development plan series based on ‘Gross National Happiness’. Bhutan is well into achieving its objective to reduce poverty to 15% by 2012-13 in its Tenth Five-Year Plan (2008-2013). Bhutan has not only been successful at most of the original MDGs but in some cases, it is going beyond the MDGs. However, trade and finance need some policy planning to facilitate more foreign investment. Regionally, the economy is closely aligned with India’s and hydropower exports to India have boosted Bhutan’s overall growth. The World Bank has been assisting Bhutan since the early 80s and projects worth US$73 million focused on education, health, private sector, and rural development and infrastructure are underway. The Global Fund is also committed to programs to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The per capita income has exceeded US$2000, making Bhutan third only to the Maldives and Sri Lanka in South Asia. (WB, 2011)

          India inherited 90% of the industry in the sub-continent at partition. Due to land reforms introduced shortly after partition, the Indian economy continues to move in the right direction. With an average growth rate of 8% in the last three years, it is recognized as one of the world's fastest developing economies. However, the CIA Fact Book’s figures challenge the inclusivity of India’s economic policies as people living below poverty line remains at 41.6%, and India’s levels of child under-nutrition are double that of Sub-Saharan Africa. (WB, 2007). Despite government’s extensive welfare policies, social progress has also been hampered by Hindu caste system and anti-Muslim sentiment. The Industrial activity in India has, however, helped accelerate economic growth in the urban areas, creating jobs and increasing exports significantly. The revenue generated through tax collection has also helped create increased public spending on education, health care and various social programs to fight poverty.

Maldives comprises 1191 islands in the Indian Ocean of which almost 200 are inhabited. Tourism is its main industry, contributing almost 20% to the GDP. The Maldives economy is growing at an average of over 10% since the past two decades, although the 2005 tsunami caused a temporary setback. In 2009, the global financial crisis also caused decline of tourist arrivals and investment. However, the thorough policy planning of government, aided by International financial institutions like World Bank, continues to draw substantial investment through economy-friendly incentives. Over the longer term though, a bigger threat to Maldivian economy is seen to be the impact of erosion and global warming as 80% of the area lies 1 meter or less above sea level. Bhutan has urged the developed countries to help by reducing their carbon emissions.

Nepal is among the least developed countries in the world, and was ranked 29th on the Global Hunger Index 2010. It is a landlocked state bordered by China and India. Nepal's GDP for 2008 was estimated at over $12 billion making it the 115th-largest economy in the world. Agriculture accounts for about 40% of GDP, services comprise 41% and industry 22%. Nepal has considerable potential in hydropower, but political instability has hampered foreign investment. Civil strife and labor unrest, and its susceptibility to natural disaster continue to be a challenge. Nepal meets its energy demands through India and is contracted to import all its petroleum products through the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which also means paying extra duties and taxes. Foreign aid accounts for more than half of the development budget. Government priorities over the years have been the development of transportation and communication facilities, agriculture, and industry. The export-oriented carpet and garment industries together now account for approximately 70% of merchandise exports. A positive note from World Economic Outlook 2010 reported Nepal’s inflation at 6.8% in 2010-1.

Pakistan's economy is predominantly based on agriculture, and has seen growth since the early 1950s despite internal strife, external conflict, sanctions, global recession, and natural disasters (2005 earthquake, 2010 floods). It is the 27^th largest economy in the world. 17.2% population lives below poverty-line (WB 2011). The tax collection in Pakistan remains at less than 10% of GDP and the lack of revenue restricts Pakistan’s spending on development programs. Textiles account for most of Pakistan's export earnings, but the government’s failure to address power issues and hence expand a viable export base has left the country’s economy vulnerable. However, in 2005, Pakistan was named the top reformer in its region and in the top 10 reformers globally (WB), and included by the Goldman Sachs Global Economics Group as one of the “Next Eleven” (N-11), a group of countries with sizeable economic potential for global impact. Unfortunately, the internal strife and fallout of War on Terror and global financial crisis has forced massive capital flight from Pakistan. Still, Pakistan was ranked 83 among 181 countries around the globe in Ease of Doing Business Index 2011, much higher regionally than countries doing better in other areas; Bangladesh is ranked 107, Bhutan 142, India 134, Nepal 116 and Sri Lanka is 102.

Sri Lanka has an economy of $56 billion (IMF, 2011) and GDP of about US$7000. Sri Lanka has shown strong growth rates in recent years, and is far ahead of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Its main economic sectors are tourism, and agricultural products. Overseas employment also contributes highly in foreign exchange. Since 2009, Sri Lanka is among the world's fastest growing economies after its civil war against the Tamil Tigers ended. In 2010, Sri Lanka's GDP was estimated at 8% and is expected to grow by another 8.5% in 2011. Improvements in security and infrastructure projects have lead to a return of foreign investment. For many years, the United States has been Sri Lanka's biggest market for garments, taking more than 63% of the country's total garment exports, and China has invested in multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects. International investors in the tourism and hospitality industry have also shown interest to invest in Sri Lanka due to its obvious tourism potential.

In conclusion, given the scale of South Asian development issues, development planners and practitioners need to take various approaches to help the regional economy find a solid footing in the global market. However, economic strategies must balance security solutions, and work through welfare programs to reduce poverty, strengthening local government, civil administration, improving health and education infrastructure, and providing incentives for international funding sources. To ease the burden of this deprived but dynamic region, the international community needs to continue its support for development projects through its funding and knowledge assistance and help them move into a new era of sustained growth.

Published: SouthAsia Magazine, as Potential and Prospects, Sept 2011

The challenge of Slums

Feature

Some of the largest slums in the world adapt innovative, if indeed short term, solutions at the hands of slumlords to fulfill basic needs where States fail

The slums of India are not a recently discovered phenomenon but came into focus more so when Danny Boyle’s 2008 blockbuster, Slumdog Millionaire, appeared on box-office to enthrall audiences across the globe. The tough lives of the slum-dwellers were highlighted through the plight of child stars, who travelled all the way to the red carpet of Oscars and back to the reality of their disease-infested slums, to join 60 million other slum-dwellers of India in a life they would probably never be able to escape.

These slums – centers of healthcare nightmares battling diarrhea, TB, maternal mortality and domestic abuse and child labor living in what the UN terms ‘unacceptable living conditions’ – characterized by lack of water and sanitation, overcrowding, non-durable structures and insecure tenure, feature in the UN-HABITAT report, The Challenge of Slums: Global report on Human Settlements 2003, as one of the biggest challenges of urban living. According to the report, the 2% annual growth rate is expected to double so that one in every three people in the world will end up in a slum within 30 years unless urban growth is checked through rigorous planning. This study of global urban conditions also finds that the 30 richest countries host only 2% of slum population while in the 30 least developed countries, this percentage is almost 80%. In India, though not exclusive to Mumbai, slums have been a major challenge, and an overwhelming 55% of the population of Mumbai lives in slums, which cover only 6% of the city’s land.

The generally understood and accepted reason for formation of slums is massive migration of workers to cities and production centers in search of job opportunities. Naturally, the new workers from poverty ridden areas who are already struggling to survive cannot afford renting new housing and make temporary shelters which get transformed rapidly into semi-permanent housing colonies. Since these are unplanned and basic amenities are missing, there is not only an increased strain on the existing resources of the region, but leads to further deterioration of services outside the slums as well. Moreover, slums also serve as breeding grounds for all sorts of criminal activities.

Many slum-dwellers of India diligently shun any re-housing or development plans because they believe the corrupt politicians and developers will go back on their promises and leave them hung out to dry. Years of encroachment on the vast stretches of public land owned by official agencies but neglected in development planning, these slums also represent billions of dollars worth of dead capital. Unfortunately, the slum residents get the raw end of the deal either way. They suffer humiliation and battle constant health risks while forced to house twice as many people in spaces barely enough for half the number of residents. On top of that, the slumlords that control all services provided in slums, including rent and electricity, are harsh and sometimes worse than criminals, extracting their full share while boasting of providing a service that the State has not been able to deliver.

To start with, the slum mafia starts out with one small hut at a time, slowly gaining strength using bribes and coercion to grow into a whole colony. Funded or coerced by the slum mafia, politicians make a pretense of working to provide basic services for slum dwellers including water supply, drainage, electricity and roads. Within a few years of official red-tape the colony is regularized and slums become permanent growing, developing entities. A stark example in this regard is that of Mumbai’s 1900 acres of land for airport complex, widely reported in the media for losing almost 150 acres of land to encroachment. Ultimately, when relevant government agencies took notice and the process for re-location of slums started with planned surveys, many of the surveyors were attacked by the slumlords, which also simultaneously started evicting residents if they met any resistance to their designs. Gangsters earned profit by forcing slum-dwellers to partition their already cramped and small units into multiple ones, and surveyors were either bribed or forced to record the divisions as new units so that the government would have to provide four free flats to four different families when in actuality there was only one. The slumlords would then give only one new flat to the family, increase rents, and sell remaining three flats at a market price and pocket the profit too.

Despite the horror of slum dwellers existence, the level of entrepreneurship displayed by slumlords and the hope, however small or distorted, it offers to millions for a better life merits recognition. Where governments failed to deliver to their citizens with adequate provision of basic civic facilities and infrastructure, these slumlords stepped forward to fill the vacuum and proved to be William Drayton’s ‘Social Entrepreneurs’, described as, “where others see barriers, [Social Entrepreneurs] delight in finding solutions and in turning them into society’s new and concrete patterns.”

However, as asserted in the UN report, what is truly needed is not just finding opportunity in adversity through manipulation or extortion, but by getting to the root of the problem that gives rise to slums in the first place: absence of adequate employment opportunities to improve the economic condition of slum dwellers. Some helpful steps in this regard would certainly have to include development of industrial areas close to smaller towns so people don’t have to migrate to large cities in search of better work opportunities, developing and promoting transportation facilities to encourage free movement to and from urban work areas to living centers in rural communities, and considering upgrading existing living spaces as a more cost effective solution in the long run to re-location options. Unfortunately, lack of political will and opportunistic approach of corrupt government officials might need to be addressed before any positive change can be seen in the countries hosting huge populations of slums around the world.

SouthAsia Magazine, The Challenge of Slums Feb 2011