Poverty in North -Eastern Context
The number of poor people in rural areas seems to have decreased, both in the national average as well as in the North-East. But there is really a sharp difference in the numbers on urban poverty, with the figures for the North-East (17.34% in 1988) being much lower than the national average (39.34%). A possible explanation for this could be that the urban peripheries in the North-East are not as developed as their counterparts in other parts of the country, thus reducing the inward pull migration factor. Also the character of the work force, unlike other urban centres, is not primarily in manufacturing, but in the services sector, implying existence of a largely self-owned and self-managed business sector, with family labour and minimal hired labour.
Another estimate of poverty, disaggregated for some of the North-Eastern States, has been prepared by R K Chowdhury. He has constructed poverty line data based on analysis of the National Sample Survey (NSS) in its 38th Round. The major findings are significantly different from the Planning Commission estimates. In his calculations, he defines the "poor" in terms of a monthly per capita consumption expenditure of Rs. 100 (at 1983 prices). Poverty estimates vary between 12 per cent in Mizoram to 34.5 per cent in Meghalaya, comparing favourably with the national average of 41.3 per cent.
Both these estimates have been constructed on the crude Head Count Ratio (HCR) basis, which gives no indication of the depth of poverty. We were unable to locate any secondary data that has constructed any of the more refined indices disaggregated for the North-Eastern States, or for the region as a whole. However, this is not a major drawback.

Mode of Mercantilism
Regardless of the depth or the spread of poverty, all the economic indicators of poverty are predicted on the basis of consumption expenditure, as a proxy determinant. In the North-Eastern states, including Assam, the most "marketized" of the seven, the integration of the rural poor into the market place is far from complete. Most transactions, especially in the hill/tribal communities, continue to operate around institutions of barter. Production for home consumption, especially of cereals and clothing, is the norm. The provision of housing continues, in many places, to be governed by community norms of exchange labour. The relatively easy access to forest lands has ensured a regular supply of fruits and vegetables (non-purchased) that meet a significant portion of the protein-calorie requirements of the people.

Agricultural Activities
But perhaps the variable, that confounds such simple economic analyses the most, is the community access to "common" resources of land and water. In most tribal communities in the North-East, privately held land is still an aberration. The rule is that the land is held either by the Clan, the Chief, or the village. According to one estimate3 the area under shifting cultivation (Jhum) is between 2.6% (Assam) and 96% (Mizoram) of the net sown area. The area brought under shifting cultivation annually is 386,900 hectares. The total amount of land under Jhum, at any given time, is 1466,000 hectares. About 443,000 families depend on shifting cultivation for their livelihood.
Such access, that ensures basic food security, is difficult to have a say in poverty-line calculations that are based on an individual’s ability to purchase a basket of goods or services.
Thus, many households may qualify as below poverty line (BPL) on standards of expenditure. But they may still be able to, as a result of community insurance mechanisms, ensure a basic standard of living for their families. Conversely, many families with incomes in excess of BPL standards may, in fact, be in poverty.

The Reality of Poverty
In a series of meetings with development workers in the North-East, we tried to contextualize poverty in the region. Surprisingly, apart from the fact that there was little discussion on the "structural" aspects of poverty, on the factors that reinforce it and keep people and communities poor, there was almost a non-acceptance of the very existence of poverty itself!
In both Assam and Meghalaya, there was no reference to hunger, either of the chronic or the acute variety, and it seemed almost unthinkable that people could go without food for days together. We gave a lot of thought to this. It was not as if our informants were all urban middle class intellectuals, without having a sense of real poverty or having to struggle for a living themselves, many came from remote villages, and spoke hesitantly in their own dialect. We finally concluded that it was a mixture of two factors. Firstly, that the whole issue was culturally sensitive, and the admission of poverty would seem somehow like a loss of face. Secondly, it was so much a part of everyday life, that people had become immune to it, and were not recognizing it for what it was.
In upper Assam, poverty is inescapably linked to the swathe of the Lohit (Brahmaputra), which in one sweep can reduce families from a middle class existence to paupers overnight. The lack of access to essential services, especially drinking water, also figured. It seemed ironical, that in this part of the country, with the highest rainfall in the region, it should be so starved of drinking water during the off-season. But that is the fact, borne out graphically by the sight of water carriers not only in the villages, but also in the capital cities, peddling the precious commodity in tin containers.

Determinants of Poverty
But while returning to the NSS and other economic data that use consumption expenditures as proxy variables to estimate poverty, two simple cases will illustrate the complexity of the problem. In one village in Majuli, Ketaki Das makes a living from practicing "pohari". Her husband brings the fish-catch home around ten in the morning. She sets out with the fish to nearby Rongashahi, and "exchanges" the fish for ranga-lou, a locally grown vegetable. The exchange rate varies day-today, depending on the quality of the fish that she has to offer, and the type of vegetable (or sometimes grain, or edible oil) she needs. In addition, while she was waiting for the transaction to be completed, she would also be expected to help out with the household chores of the place she was visiting - it could mean cleaning the rice, or other jobs around the home - but all in the form of unpaid labour. Although her family owns just under two bighas of land, they have managed to hire an additional three bighas, where they practice very low-input agriculture.
In another case, from a village called Salmora, not very far from Natun Kamlabari, the major occupation of the people is pottery and boat-building - a well selected combination of occupations. The pottery sees them through the winter months, and into the summer, and the boat building thereafter. They are confined to earning Rs. 40 per thousand pots fashioned, about twenty rupees a day - less than the minimum wage. But they are few wage earning opportunities anyway.
How would these cases show up on the NSS data? In the case of Ketaki, it would show her family as much below the poverty line, though in real terms, they are nearly self-sufficient in food grains and clothing. In the case of the Salmora women, with an average daily wage of Rs. 20, but almost a hundred percent spent on food and other essentials, it would show them as above the poverty line. True, both families are on the margin. A long episode of ill-health could upset the economics. But the crux of the matter is that in order to define poverty line, in highly community-centred, barter-based economies, many other factors need to be taken into consideration.

Factors Unique to the North - East
Apart from the two factors mentioned above i.e. the relatively low degree of monitization and the strong social fabric that acts as a social safety net and insurance against absolute poverty and hunger, there are other considerations such as:-

Social status
Most tribal communities in the region are relatively egalitarian, and not differentiated economically unlike in other parts of the country where we would find pockets of accumulation and affluence even in the "backward" areas. 78 per cent of the total holdings of land in the North-East are less than 2 hectares in size and those owning over 5 ha. of land constitute only 4 per cent of the population, making the spread quite even. People are perceived as "powerful" or "weak" depending on their standing in the community, regardless of their financial standing. A medicine-man in the Adi Dony-Polo religion enjoys a pride of place along with the priest at the ritual services, and is entitled to choice portions from the village sacrifices. Though he may be "poor" as per the BPL definition of the Planning Commission. In his own village and community, he would not be considered weak. Each society similarly has sets of persons considered weak and in need of protection. In many cases these are female-headed households (more widows than destitute women), handicapped persons, orphaned children and others.
In urban areas, of course, as the market has begun to take root, a social division is beginning to be visible. Accompanied by high literacy rates and access to cable television, this divide had serious repercussions like the youth taking to violence and drugs.

Lack of infrastructure
All the seven States of the North-East lag behind the national average in terms of infrastructure. Sixteen variables were considered by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (1992) to arrive at these figures, including roads and railways, irrigation, per capita consumption of electricity, fertilizer consumption and others. The lack of infrastructure inhibits the productive capacity of people, and reduces access to basic services of health, education and the public distribution system. This burden is disproportionately borne by the poor, who cannot afford the private alternatives, if they exist at all.

Low productivity in agriculture.
Although the communities in the North-Eastern States depend on cultivation of their own or community land for a large percentage of their cereal requirements, the gap between production and consumption at an aggregate level is very serious. This poses one of the most serious threats to food security in the region.
Unless the North-East can improve food grain productivity to achieve an annual compound growth rate of over 7 per cent, the region will continue to be a net food importer. In a scenario where the States are increasingly under pressure to trim their subsidies, the first casualties of this open market purchasing by the Government will be the really poor, who now have at least a limited access through the Public Distribution System.
One of the main causes for the low productivity has been the decline in quality of Jhum lands. The other is lack of inputs in agriculture, again a consequence of incomplete market access. If fertilizers and pesticides are bought, the necessary consequence would be sale of the crop to pay for the inputs, and this kind of economic rationality would phase out the low productivity Jhum cultivation. But in the case of tribal societies in the region, Jhum is as much an economic as a social necessity, and what seems economically irrational actually turns out to be quite well considered in the overall analysis.
In addition to the general picture above, there are specific communities that are over represented while counting the poor which include:

• Tea garden and ex-tea garden labour
  Indentured labour brought in from the neighbouring states of Bihar and Orissa in the early part of this century, have now become a sizable number. The last census estimated a number of 9,86,781 persons employed on a daily wage basis in tea gardens. Of these, 6,84,218 were resident, and had over 10 lakh dependents6. In addition, there would be the dependents of those staying outside, and the vast number of ex-tea garden labour and their dependents, estimated to be around 50 lakh, accounting for almost 25 per cent of the State population, living in pitiable conditions. Few have access to health and education. They are usually the first to succumb to the post-flood epidemics of gastro-enteritis that ravage Upper Assam periodically. Much has been written and researched about their condition, but little has been done to ameliorate it.

• Environmentally vulnerable/displaced people
  One of the primary forces affecting poverty is the frequent floods that cause erosion and displacement. Forced to move from closed, self-sufficient communities to a situation of an entirely monetized system, displaced peoples, without required skills and resources, everywhere get badly hit. Man-made problems such as beckoning of private capital and foreign direct investment, with the "benefits of the majority’ argument would continue to worsen the plight of moving communities.
  Environmentally vulnerable communities are those living in the char areas and river islands, and on the banks of the Brahmaputra. For the most part, these are the people of Mising tribes. But a fair number of other Assamese plains tribes also live there. The difficulty of the river people is easy to understand. The annual flooding, when it is "normal" flood, leaves behind fertile alluvial soil, allowing them to cultivate any crops with very little input. Other locations cannot match the fertility of the soil, and naturally they are reluctant to move. At the same time, there is a regular supply of fish, most of which is consumed at home, and the rest sold. But because of the inherent uncertainty of the location, and the relative inaccessibility, there is little availability of Government services - electricity, clean drinking water, health, or primary education.
  Other environmentally vulnerable communities are those living in the hills, faced with a reduction in size of jhum land, with rapid population growth as well as a reduction in the fallow period.

• Women-headed households
  In Arunachal, among the majority Adi tribe, women are excluded from the Kebangs, or traditional councils that are used to settle disputes. Not only can women not be part of the decision-making process, but they are also not permitted to be near when the proceedings are underway. They are not allowed to inherit immovable property. This is the case in almost all the tribal communities in the region, with the possible exception of the Khasis. It is also not true that this situation has not created any problems, and, therefore, should continue in its present form. Many women ask for the right to inherit, faced with hostile families, and difficulties in supporting themselves. Women who have been deserted face the most serious problems in Arunachali society. They are neither welcome in their brother’s homes, nor are they entitled to inherit or acquire any of the husband’s property. With the rise in the consumption of alcohol, and the money that has come in from tree permits and illegal felling, women are the worst affected, having to bear the burden of bringing up the family and managing the work in the fields and the home on their own.
  Going by available evidences, the position of women is perhaps the worst in Tripura, with reports of rampant violence against women. Sreelekha Ray, an activist working in Tripura, traces the genesis of the violence to the riots of 1980, in which over 9000 people lost their lives, in a frenzy of murder on the part of both tribals and non-tribals. She feels that the "rehabilitation" of these persons had made martyrs of them, and they were now breaking the rule of law with impunity. But the manifestations are not always very obvious. Yet interestingly, the women’s issue rarely figures on the activist agenda for reform.
  The condition of women in the North-East has been the subject of debate since the last decade. In her seminal study on gender and land rights, Bina Agarwal7 persuasively argues that merely having a matrilineal system has not been sufficient in itself. Among the Garo tribes, families increasingly switch over to a combination of Jhum and wet-rice cultivation. This and the linkages with the market and the new skills acquired have benefited the men disproportionately.
  The increased monitization and market linkages have led to a situation where women are becoming economically dependent on men for cash income. This could see the reversal of the informal status that women had held in tribal societies till date.
  A sample survey in the seven North-Eastern States, interviewing a total of 3500 women, revealed that the vast majority (64%) felt that their lack of access to cash income contributed to their lower status within the household8.

• Physically, mentally and socially disabled
  There has been no comprehensive survey of physical or mental disability in the region, but even a cursory examination will reveal the serious nature of the problem. In the absence of care facilities provided by the State, and the neglect by family members, the disabled are the worst affected by poverty, especially in the urban centres and semi-urban peripheries. Small attempts are being made by the voluntary sector - the Donyi Polo Mission in Itanagar has perhaps the best facility for hearing-impaired persons in the region; and Guwahati, Shillong and Aizawl have active branches of the Spastics Society. But these efforts are at best drops in the ocean.
  The socially disabled are those falling outside the social safety nets. One obvious group would be drug users and another the commercial sex workers. The Chakma refugees in Arunachal and Tripura, as well as Chakmas in Mizoram may also be classified as socially disabled. Living as refugees in Tripura, they cannot even get formal school certificates because they are not "citizens". They cannot get proper wages for their work, because it is illegal for them to work. Since they are forced to support themselves by working for logging contractors, they have to face the wrath and ire of the local community as "smugglers". In Arunachal, they are restricted to the small district of Changlang, but because their numbers (60,000) constitute almost 10 per cent of the present population of the State, they are seen as infiltrators who are trying to exercise their political rights.
  All such groups, that are perceived as being harmful or dangerous, and consequently not entitled to any form of social protection, are more likely to be in poverty than others. While such a list of socially disabled would vary from State to State - indeed from place to place - this is one of the important tools in understanding the structure of poverty and dealing with it in the North-East.

• New Immigrants
  In Assam, the massive infiltration of Bangladeshis is a major issue. These are the economic refugees of today. Fleeing from grinding poverty in their home country, they stream across the border, prepared to work harder. They do most of the menial jobs, and live in the worst of conditions. From what we could tell from our interviews and discussions, was that their presence has not actually meant any real decrease in wage rates, or work opportunities for the local inhabitants. But their arrival has engendered a sense of insecurity as the vast majority of the new arrivals are Muslims.
  A different and equally complex issue is on social investments by the State in the "Char" areas, where the concentration of immigrants live. There is a widespread resentment among the local people about development funds being spent on "non-citizens". This creates a particular dilemma for voluntary agencies operating in these areas. The humanist motivation would compel them to address the issue, especially in areas of food security, health and education. Yet improvement in the material condition of the new immigrants might act as an incentive for the next wave of immigrants, whose further influx would almost inevitably lead to deterioration in the standard of living of those "citizens" already occupying a rapidly shrinking land space.
  In addition to these general issues of poverty in the North-East, there is another dimension of poverty that has not been explored as yet. That relates to the measurement of poverty in a different ethnical sense. Here the focal variable for measuring deprivation is neither the achievement of a certain material standard of living nor the achievement of other criteria such as good health, literacy and self-respect. But it is freedom of capability to achieve these functionings 9. To some extent the latest Human Development Report (1996)10 has taken this into account in constructing their Capability Poverty Measure, but once again, it seems to have succumbed to the temptation of using easily available, measurable, quantifiable data to draw conclusions, rather than develop a richer, textured presentation of the reality that often cannot confine itself to these narrow walls.
  In the North-East today, all the insurgent groups have banded together under a common philosophy, of violent change to a social order that is perceived as unjust. Simply having industrial development, or increasing employment will not solve the problems, unless it is accompanied with a sense of ownership, control and participation.
  What is urgently required now in the North-East is to deal with the issue of natural resource exploitation in a sustainable manner, with true control in the hands of communities. Unless this can become a reality, we have to be prepared to live with the the backslash of violence and poverty.

References

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