manlion
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Despite being ruled by BJP for the longest time, Hindi belt states lag far behind Jammu & Kashmir on education and various other indicators
There is no doubt that the Narendra Modi government’s decision to remove special rights for Jammu and Kashmir’s administration and to convert the state into two Union Territories is ideological and political. The removal of Articles 370 and 35A has been a lynchpin of the BJP’s political agenda since its Jana Sangh days.
J&K and Hindi belt states
However, the truth is that while Jammu and Kashmir undoubtedly lags in job creation, investment and growth, the state is not nearly as backward on other development indicators as several Hindi belt states that have had no such exceptional laws, and have in fact been ruled for substantial periods by the BJP itself.
In the latest Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) created by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, using official Indian statistics on health, education and access to assets, Jammu and Kashmir does not perform well, but is still ranked 15th out of 36 states and Union Territories, with all the Hindi belt states performing worse. Jammu and Kashmir does particularly well on education indicators.
Yes, there are undoubtedly disparities between the districts of Kashmir division and those of Jammu division. In the MPI and its sub-components, the 10 districts of Jammu lag behind those in Kashmir division, except Jammu and Samba districts.
Being a Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir is often characterised as experiencing a population explosion. The truth could not be further from this mischaracterisation. The state’s total fertility rate – the average number of children that a woman from the state can expect to have in her lifetime – is down to 1.6 as per the latest official data, which is even lower than the rate in Kerala, and lower than those in several developed economies including the United States and the United Kingdom.
Jammu and Kashmir undoubtedly lags behind others in attracting investment, creating jobs, and becoming a manufacturing or services hub. Yet, its poor performance is still better in many aspects than those of the Gangetic belt states. The per capita domestic product of Jammu and Kashmir as of 2016-17 (the year for which all-India data is available) is low, but higher than most other northern states.
Under-developed, Jammu and Kashmir certainly is. But making the case that these body changes to the state’s administration were needed to develop it is a case that will have to rely on propaganda – because the facts do not support it.
The author is a Chennai-based data journalist. Views are personal.
https://theprint.in/opinion/data-do...aqY48vT_UK81ZcK5tkWKG6C-7B76VOR4AK5DhT7QQ6fY4
There is no doubt that the Narendra Modi government’s decision to remove special rights for Jammu and Kashmir’s administration and to convert the state into two Union Territories is ideological and political. The removal of Articles 370 and 35A has been a lynchpin of the BJP’s political agenda since its Jana Sangh days.
J&K and Hindi belt states
However, the truth is that while Jammu and Kashmir undoubtedly lags in job creation, investment and growth, the state is not nearly as backward on other development indicators as several Hindi belt states that have had no such exceptional laws, and have in fact been ruled for substantial periods by the BJP itself.
In the latest Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) created by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, using official Indian statistics on health, education and access to assets, Jammu and Kashmir does not perform well, but is still ranked 15th out of 36 states and Union Territories, with all the Hindi belt states performing worse. Jammu and Kashmir does particularly well on education indicators.
Yes, there are undoubtedly disparities between the districts of Kashmir division and those of Jammu division. In the MPI and its sub-components, the 10 districts of Jammu lag behind those in Kashmir division, except Jammu and Samba districts.
Being a Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir is often characterised as experiencing a population explosion. The truth could not be further from this mischaracterisation. The state’s total fertility rate – the average number of children that a woman from the state can expect to have in her lifetime – is down to 1.6 as per the latest official data, which is even lower than the rate in Kerala, and lower than those in several developed economies including the United States and the United Kingdom.
Jammu and Kashmir undoubtedly lags behind others in attracting investment, creating jobs, and becoming a manufacturing or services hub. Yet, its poor performance is still better in many aspects than those of the Gangetic belt states. The per capita domestic product of Jammu and Kashmir as of 2016-17 (the year for which all-India data is available) is low, but higher than most other northern states.
Under-developed, Jammu and Kashmir certainly is. But making the case that these body changes to the state’s administration were needed to develop it is a case that will have to rely on propaganda – because the facts do not support it.
The author is a Chennai-based data journalist. Views are personal.
https://theprint.in/opinion/data-do...aqY48vT_UK81ZcK5tkWKG6C-7B76VOR4AK5DhT7QQ6fY4
