Population of Bihar : Challenges & Remedies

Population pressure on the land my load to over-cropping, soil degradation, and poor nutrition for an entire community. It may force people to migrate, with the resulting emotional and physical health problems of social disorganization. Population growth makes it more difficult to provide safe or sufficient water supply, garbage, disposal and sanitation for the community. It increases the cost of providing adequately trained health manpower and medical facilities. when population pressure exists in a community, housing is likely to become congested; while high population density in a favourable social environment may not create major health problems, in an environment of poverty the probability that the infection will spread is very high (Cassel, John : 1971). In fact, demographic factors influence health at the cummunity level as well as at the family level (World Bank : 1974).

 

 

Bihar : Some Socio Economic Characteristics :

 

 

Bihar is the second most population state of India next to U.P. It supports a very large population and the central region alone has more in habitants than the population of states like Punjab and Hariyana. It has a very high density or population much above the national average and ranks third among all the states of India. Its share in country's population in 1991 was 10.2 percent where as its geographical area was only 5.3 percent of India. Bihar is basically a rural and agrestic society as 87.5 percent people live in villages. Economy of the state is predominantly agricultural. Agricultural is the mainstay of the state economy and it account for 45 percent of the state income and above 80 percent people depend on it for their livelihood. Land is the Data is based including Jharkhand primary resource on which rural economy is based. Relation with land decided socio-economic relations between different groups engage d in agricultural activities directly of indirectly and this determines the character of the social structure (A.S. Nimbran : 92).

 

 

The countryside of Bihar, particularly the districts of Central Bihar, has been in turmoil for nearly the last two and half decades. agrarian unrest has frequently led to perpetration of violence on the agricultural labourers and poor peasants by the big land owners and the rising upper middle peasants. Simultaneously, they have also been massive mobilisation by the poor peasants and agricultural labourers in large parts of the state. As a matter of fact, in no other states, except perhaps Andhra Pradesh, is there so great exponse of area under the influence of militant organization working among the rural poor as in Bihar (Sinha : 1987). There are several organisations with different ideologies, from Gandhian to Marxist-Leninist, working in the countryside of the state. Landlords, big peasants and upper middle peasants have also formed their own armed gangs, mostly caste based, with a view to mobilising their caste men. There have been several massacares, some also by the militant organisations of the poor peasants and agricultural labourers, Since the mid-seventies which continue unabated. Pleasant mobilisation is strong mainly in central Bihar, Although in recent year it has spread too, few adjoining districts of Chota Nagpur plateau and even to a few districts in North Bihar.

 

 

Bihar is economically the most backward and has a very high proportion of population below poverty line. Bihar has the lowest percapita income among the major states of India and also fares very badly with respect to most of the other socico-economic indicators of development. With about 87 percent of the population in rural areas (as against 74.3 percent for India as a whole), Bihar is the most ruralised state in the country, next only to Assam. The state has the lowest per capital rural income in the country. It has a very density of population. The average per capital operational holding in the state was 0.87 hectares in 1985-86 as against 1.7 hectares for India as a whole and about 2.8 hectares for Punjab. About three-fourths of the operational holdings are marginal (less than one hectare) in which the average size is merely 0.31 hectare. Further, the fragmentation of land holdings is much more pronounced compared to other states. Although the state has a very low amount of land per capital, in some parts of the state there are still significant numbers of land holders having large amount of land in their possession, in violation of the ceiling law. Most of such land holders are absentees and consequently the state reports one of the largest landed area under tenancy in the country, although a significant amount of land leased out is also by small and petty land holders engaged in a variety of occupations outside the village. According to the NSS survey in 1980-81 the proportion of cultivated land under tenancy was about 10 percent. A study conducted in 1980-81 showed that two fifth of the rural households leased in land in the plains of Bihar and about 28 percent of the total cultivated area was being leased in of which about to percent was on crop-sharing basis (Prasad etal. 1990). A part from 50 percent share in crop output even straw was shared and almost the entire cost was born by the share croppers. The survey further revealed that about three fifths of the rural house holds were indebted for agricultural labourers being more than 80 and for poor middle peasants more than 60. Almost one-third of the agricultural labourers were attached to employers and almost invariably they had to work exclusively for them (Prasad et al., 1990). Significant changes have taken place in the tenancy and agrarian structure since the early 1980. It is reported that due to demographic pressure and other reasons including awareness among tenants, the amount of the tenanted land has declined and the terms of tenancy somewhat improved in favour of tenants. Further the sources of loan for the poor peasants and labour households have also diversified relatively and access to institutional credit, however modest has increased (A.N. Sharma : 1998). Above mentioned so many factors have caused Bihar among the states of a abject poverty. Its qualitative aspect is that people of Bihar do not get 26000 calory energy per day and quantitative aspect is that about sixty percent of the total population is below poverty line. Regarding this third aspect which is also relevant is housing problem. Only at Patna out of 13 Lakhs people have no land even to die. They pass their lives in Summer, Winter and Rainy-season on the grace of God. This is also found that ever increasing population is the genesis of capability deprivation (Sri Nivasan and Burdhan (1974). Ahluvalia (1978, 1990), Agrawal (1986) ).

 

 

Populations, Economic Development And Social Opportunity :

 

 

The census figures for last ninety years are given below :

 

 

TABLE - 1

 

 

Year       Population          Year       Population

 

 

1901       27,311,865           1951       38,372,271

 

 

1911       28,314,281           1961       46,447,457

 

 

1921       28,126,675           1971       56,353,369

 

 

1931       31,347,108           1981       69,914,734

 

 

1941       35,170,840           1991       86,338,853

 

 

This deterioration, arising from constraints on the low-cost expansion of acreage under cultivation, makes it increasingly difficult to accelerate growth rates of output and income in agriculture. This is because raising yields requires a higher level of technology and management as compared to increase output or expanding acreage under cultivation. The increasing pressure of population on the land highlights the issue of absorptive capacity in agriculture which affects employment ratio and production.

 

 

Economic development can, in fact, be seen in terms of expansion of opportunities that the individuals in the society enjoy. That will also be the occasion to distinguish between (1) the intristic importance of opportunities (one of the main objectives of economic development is to expand the effective freedom that different individuals enjoy). and (2) the extensive instrumental role of individual opportunities in the promotion of other objective opportunities, thus, have direct and indirect significant (sen : 199).

 

 

In fact, Bihar population explosion have caused retardation in economic development as well as people's opportunities in different aspects for the last sixty five years. Having been set in the format of the mixed economy adopted by the centre as the head of teh federal system the Bihar economy seems to have landed itself in the twilight zone of backwardness cum growth, being limited in extent, slow and leisurely in pace, cramped and spordic in character. The quality of life has shown signs of improvement but insufficiently. The absolute size of Bihar's population has from right beginning of planning has been an encumbrance rather than a help since the other resources, endowed by nature and created under the aegis of planing have been lower in proportion to it, and all the social engineering largely faulty, by the state has so far failed to tackle the situation in the desired degree. This has also been mentioned that ever increasing population is the genesis of 'capability deprivation'. (Srinivasan and Burdhan (1974), Ahluwalia (1978, 1990), Agrawal (1986)).

 

 

As of today, we have in Bihar the will of the people to develop but it is doubtful it firm. Equally questionable is the people's response to the challenge and compulsions of development.

 

 

Factors And Remedies :

 

 

Acknowledge that literacy, growth rate of Bihar is so poor that it will complete 85% literacy till 2034 and hundred percent literacy upto 2043 if the population growth rate follows the norms of 1991 census and the awareness activity is continued through different literacy campaign going on in different districts; otherwise neo literates become illiterate day by day.

 

 

If we take a glance of SC literacy, it is more alarming. There 7.1% literacy in rural areas and 5.5% among women. That is why family planning programme proved futile phantom. To some extent religious out look is impediment in population control. Let us take an example of Hindus who have faith in the proverb 'Doodh Poot se man Nahi Ubata Hai' and without male child one is not authorized to get 'Moksha'. This is the reason daughter / female child is not recognized in tuneralrrites. There are many a couples who has 5-10 daughter in the expectation of male child.

 

 

Now come to Muslim religion which is associated with certain taboos regarding checking population. Social evilness are other factors which affect ever increasing population. Dowry is a major burning problems and an obstacle in getting education for girls as higher educated bride requires higher amount for her marriage. This alarming situation compels those middle class girls student to stop their education at most doing high school. But people should understand that girls's education gives empowerment to the women which highly affects dowry system and gives broad out look pertaining to population.

 

 

Christians have progressive out look so they are better in literacy growth and controlling the population explosion. This phenomena has empowered females in different aspects of life as we find in Christian populated regions.

 

 

Taking all above responses it seems that a number of constraints play a vital role in the process of population control.

 

 

A . Socio-Economic & Cultural constraints

 

 

(i)            Poverty of the majority population.

 

 

(ii)           Illiteracy, particularly female illiteracy.

 

 

(iii)          Son preference.

 

 

(iv)         Religion and ethnic diversities.

 

 

(v)          Unwanted fertility.

 

 

(vi)         High level of infant mortality.

 

 

(vii)        Social-cultural customs and beliefs.

 

 

(viii)       Low age at marriage, particularly rural areas.

 

 

B. Administrative Constraints

 

 

(i)            Inadequate/inefficient health family planning services particularly rural areas.

 

 

(ii)           Negligence of quality of mother-children.

 

 

(iii)          Regional variations in population control.

 

 

(iv)         Inadequate uniform policies and programme in population control.

 

 

 

 

 

Existing various political system and their different principles. Among them poverty of the major population, female illiteracy and various political systems and their principles are in first ran (Nagrajan : 1998)

 

 

Remedies :

 

 

Family welfare programmes need to become people's programme with convergence of different development programmes in the area of education, nutrition, poverty alleviation and provision of minimum needs under this programme through the existing infrastructure at the grass roots level.

 

 

Therefore, a differential policy and programmes inputs for the population control based on the performance at the grass root level is to be introduced with continuos political backing coupled with bureaucratic co-operation along with community participation to succeed birth control programme in the state. Here it is essential to note that the problem of population is not merely quantitative but also qualitative in nature as the implications of populations growth on the quantity of life and the well-being of the people are of paramount importance. If the present trends continue future of Bihar will be more crowded, more polluted, less stable ecologically and more vulnerable (Nagrajan : 1999).

 

 

References :

 

 

1.            A.S. Nimbran (1992), Poverty, land and violence, Layman's publication, Patna.

 

 

2.            Sinha, Arun (1987), Peasant Movement and change, in sharma Alakh N. and S. Gupta (ed.), Bihar stagnation or growth, spectrum Publishing House, Patna/Delhi.

 

 

3.            Prasad, P.H. (1987), Land Reforms in Bihar (A case study), A.N.S. Institute of social studies, Patna, (Mimeo).

 

 

4.            Prasad, P.H. (1987), Geroy Radgers, Alakh N. Sharma and S. Gupta (1990), Dynamics of Poverty and Employment in Bihar, A.N.S. Institute of Social Studies, Patna (Mimeo).

 

 

5.            Sharma, Alakh Narayan (1998), Empowering Rural Labour in India, Institute of human Development, New Delhi.