The system of statistical data collection in India needs reform in order to meet actual requirements.  * There is a concern that caste-tribe-religion wise data may cause them to be used for political ends * Another concern is that they may consolidate rather than reduce consciousness around identity in terms of caste and religion * These fears are not borne out by experience; if anything, the experience is to the contrary The use...

Kancha Ilaiah’s Post-Hindu India should be essential reading for all who get panicky about Mayawati’s brand of Dalit politics. Unlike the bsp supremo’s bid to empower marginalised groups through the levers of electoral democracy by wooing a wider ‘sarvajan samaj’, Ilaiah wants to launch an all-out civil war between Dalit Bahujans and Hindu society. This is an angry, provocative book written by a leading Dalit thinker, who is convinced that...

The Government is eliciting views of concerned ministries on the Ranganath Misra Commission report, which recommended 10 per cent reservation for Muslims and five per cent for other minorities in government jobs and favoured Scheduled Caste status for Dalits in all religions. The responses would be discussed by the Union Cabinet before a decision on implementing the report is taken, Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said. "We are sending it...

India achieved record annual GDP growth, averaging 8.45%, in the five years, 2004-05 to 2008-09. But was this inclusive, and did it benefit the poor masses? We have no data on poverty beyond 2004-05. But the CSO has current data on the economic growth of the states. Historically, the chronically poor states were Orissa plus the BIMARU quartet (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh), of which three have been sub-divided....

KEY TRENDS   • Suicide by self-employed persons in agriculture as a percentage of total suicides at the national level stood at 15.6 percent in 1996, 16.3 percent in 2002, 14.4 percent in 2006, 13.7 percent in 2009, 11.9 percent in 2010, 10.3 percent in 2011, 11.4 percent in 2012 and 8.73 percent in 2013. Suicides committed in the farming sector (by farmers plus agricultural labourers) as a proportion of total suicides in India was 9.4 percent in...