Rajeshwari, Alka: Levels of Children Vulnerability in India: A Geographical Analysis
The vulnerability of children in terms of physical and mental abuse, exploitation and discrimination is well recognized and prevalent across nations. Children as a group are vulnerable due to their age. Further, their vulnerability differ in different circumstances, such as poverty, homelessness, children without parents, living on streets and many more. In this context, the present paper is an attempt to trace the children vulnerability in social, economic and health aspects. The study is based on secondary sources of data. Social vulnerability is studied in terms of child marriage, out of school children and crime against them. Economic vulnerability has been measured in relation to - child labour, houseless children, slum dwelling children and BPL population. Vulnerability in health has been examined by six indicators namely infant mortality, under five year mortality, malnourished i.e. stunted, wasted and underweight children and disabled children. A composite index has been calculated to present a comprehensive picture of their vulnerability across states. It may help in order to have a targeted approach towards their rehabilitation.
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Tushar Sarkar, Nuruzzaman Kasemi: Status of Educational Mobility in Lohar Caste: A Case study of Dhupguri Block of Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal
Lohars are one of the scheduled caste communities of Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. The population under study has been recorded with a poor literacy rate of 46.37 per cent and only 4 per cent of them could reach up to secondary level of education. The present study seeks to analyse the educational attainment and mobility across the generations of the Lohar caste in Dhupguri Block of Jalpaiguri district. A field survey has been the core of the present study and data are collected through household survey and personal interviews. It has been found that educational mobility across the three generations of the Lohar population remains quite insignificant. The study reveals that more than one-third proportion of the respondents (37.50 per cent) compared to their fathers of the older generation and about one-fourth proportion of the sons (22.50 per cent) of the respondents of the younger generation compared to respondent’s generation has remained educationally immobile. Lohar females continue to lag behind the males in terms of both literacy rate and level of education. The socially sanctioned discrimination, prejudice, economic marginalization, relative neglect to education, lack of social awareness and dynamism are the main reasons behind such a poor response in education by the Lohar caste in Dhupguri Block.
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K.V. Chamar, S. Bairagi: Quality of Living Space of Scheduled Caste Population in Rural Haryana
Availability of household assets and amenities reflects a household’s quality of life. In modern life, household possessions are both the sign of social status and instruments for a better life among various social groups. Therefore, the present research work is an attempt to analyze the quality of living space of scheduled caste population in rural Haryana. Tehsil- wise census data for the year 2011 on 14 select indicators have been collected and used to derive the levels of quality of living space. The analysis reveals marked regional variations in quality of living space in rural Haryana. Relatively better quality of living space among scheduled castes is observed in eastern parts of the state while low and very low quality of living space is witnessed mainly in central parts and extreme south-eastern part of the state. In respect of tehsils, Gurgaon tehsil attained the highest position, while Punahana tehsil witnessed lowest position in availability of household amenities among the scheduled castes in rural Haryana. Although, 95 per cent households have their own house, yet only 0.30 per cent households have the facility of closed drainage and only seven per cent have four or more rooms in the house.
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H. S. Mangat, L. S. Gill: Sikhs are Loosing Ground in their Home State: A Geographical Analysis
Demography in India is strongly divided into various religious groups. Although, all the religions believe in social co-existence of mankind, yet all the religious groups are very strong in their religious identity and try to dominate others whenever they find any opportunity. Studies on religions are gaining importance with increasing intrusion of religion and caste structure in the political environment of India. The present study reveals that in Punjab the share of Muslim population increased from 1.18 per cent in 1991 to 1.93 per cent in 2011 recording a growth rate of 63.56 per cent, while the share of Sikh population declined by - 8.35 per cent during the same period. It is interesting to note that Punjab, known as the Home State of Sikhs, the share of Sikh population is declining while all other religious communities have witnessed improvement in their share. It has been found that in 25 per cent districts of the state, Sikhs are in minority and in 80 per cent districts, the share of Sikh population has declined in 2011 when compared with 2001.Therefore, this study is devoted to understand temporal trends in the share of major religious groups in Punjab with special focus on Sikh population. The study also highlights the spatial variations in the concentration and change in the share of Sikh population in Punjab.
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Nem Raj, B.R. Thakur, Puran Chand: Levels of Regional Disparities in Socio-economic Developments in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand States
This study examines the trend and pattern of socio-economic development in the two Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The study has been conducted in context of three reference years at an interval of 20 years i.e. 1971, 1991 and 2011. The study is entirely based on secondary sources of data collected from various government agencies. In order to examine the socio-economic disparities in development, z score technique has been used. Coefficient of variation has also been computed to find out the trend in regional disparities. The study reveals that both the states witnessed declining trend in socio-economic development during the study period and pace of reduction is sharper in case of Uttarakhand than Himachal Pradesh. However, regional disparities have declined at almost same pace in both the states in 1971-1991. But in 1991-2011, unlike Himachal Pradesh, the coefficient of variation has decreased at a more rate in Uttarakhand state. Thus, Uttarakhand state has witnessed comparatively less variations in development than Himachal Pradesh in 1991-2011.
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Map Series-XII: R.C. Chandna: Punjab-Haryana Region: Spatial Pattern of Work Force, 2011
In tune with other less developed countries of the world, India continues to have high dependency ratio as a by-product of poor participation rate. Only 4 out of every 10 persons could claim a working status. This low proportion of workers in the country was partly associated with country’s continuing high rate of natural increase of 1.4 per cent per annum (2018). It results in bulging out at the base of population pyramid. Prejudices against female participation in work outside the four walls of the house especially among some segments of India’s populace (Muslims) could be another important factor. No wonder, one major factor that differentiates India from the developed world is this wide disparity between participation rates of males and females. While in the developed countries, the females are equal partners in economic struggle, in case of India female participation is only nominal, only half that of males.
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Doctoral Abstract: Jagdeep Singh: Causes and Impacts of Spatial Variability in Erosion and Sediment Yield of Suketi Catchment, Himachal Pradesh
Soil erosion due to water is one of the major factors responsible for degradation of land resources. It has far reaching impacts on land, crop production, hydrological systems, water quality and environment. Civilizations that have neglected their lands had either to migrate en masse or gradually disappeared, resulting in total extinction. There is a reason to believe that parts of the Sahara, the Central Asian deserts, parts of Palestine, Mesopotamia and the Gobi have been once fertile lands and therefore, have been heavily populated. The forces that led these lands to be converted into deserts must have originated from the problem of soil erosion, which have not been recognized at right time in the right perspective and manner.
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Doctoral Abstract: Jitender Kumar: Development and Accessibility of Ground Water Resources in Haryana
Groundwater has emerged as a key resource input in India’s agriculture and food security in recent years. Over the past three decades it has become the main factor of growth in irrigated areas. At present tube wells account for over 60 per cent irrigated area in India. With the advent of Green Revolution technology in farming followed by the adoption of modern water extraction mechanisms, there has been a spurt in the rate of extraction of groundwater to meet agricultural needs. However, such rapid development of the resource along with lack of well-defined property rights has made it vulnerable to overexploitation. The state of Haryana has also passed through similar experiences. It is mostly a semi-arid region with limited rainfall ranging from 300 mm in the south-west to 1100 mm in the north-east. Currently, about 85 per cent of total cultivated area in the state is irrigated. The rapid expansion of groundwater use has been a major factor contributing to the increase in irrigated area. The readily availability of this irrigation source continued to enhance the intensive cultivation of water intensive crops on an extensive scale notwithstanding the hydro-geological thresholds of this resource. Intensification of groundwater exploitation and fall of water tables have reduced access to groundwater irrigation to a large number of small and marginal farmers who can neither use traditional techniques nor are able to use new technology so as to pump out water economically. Despite its huge significance and importance, groundwater irrigation is heading for a crisis and needs urgent attention and understanding.
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Doctoral Abstract: Sanjay Kumar: Differentials in Levels of Educational Attainment among Scheduled Castes: A Study of Select Villages in Jind District
Education is a basic requirement and ‘Fundamental Right’ of the citizens of a nation. The attainment of basic education is important both due to its impact on the living standards of the people and also in augmenting their capabilities. Education helps people in their activities and enables them to get better employment. Educational attainment, especially of women, is regarded one of the important indicators of modernization and status of women in the society. Recognizing this role of education, the Indian government has invested resources to strengthen the educational programmes and make it accessible to the people from the deprived and backward sections of Indian society; scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Education is considered as the most essential indicator of human development.
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Doctoral Abstract: Ravinder Jangra: Assessment of Tourism Carrying Capacity in Selected Destinations of Cold Desert Area of Kinnaur District, Himachal Pradesh
The present study seeks to estimate the tourism carrying capacity of selected destinations in cold desert area of Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. These destinations have the potential to emerge as a hub of tourist activities in near future. The unplanned development of infrastructure has affected the natural aesthetic attractions of these destinations and created a situation of losing recovery capacities of eco-system. The estimation of Tourism Carrying Capacity (TCC) will help to establish mechanisms leading to the participation of tourists connected to the high altitude areas of Kinnaur district. It will thereby contribute to development of eco-friendly tourism proposals that would be important for the welfare of Kinnaur district.
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