Sarah Jacob

LIVES A
HEAD
...moving to nowhere!

November 2013

Seemi Rehman
A newsletter which addresses the issues of malnutrition in children and why Delhi is the hub of
migrants.

From nowhere to somewhere

SEEMI REHMAN

igration may be
considered as one
of the pathologies of
modern society. In the past two
to three decades, migration
has ceased to be an indicator
of industrial development.
There is hardly any difference
between migration and displacement. In both the instances, people are pushed out
of their homes on account of
difficult living conditions created by programmes for economic development.
Currently the rapid
growth and development of
Delhi is resulting in opportunities of livelihood support for
poor, unskilled, semi skilled
rural population in the secondary and tertiary sector of economy within Delhi. Other
contributory factors are negligible demand of such workers including traditional artisan
groups in the rural areas; low
wages, etc. All these people
are pulled into the city. A large
portion of this population is
forced to settle in extreme unhygienic clusters (temporary

shelter) called jhuggi jhopri

cluster.
There are a good numbers of poor migrants who
have made railway stations,
bus terminals, wholesale markets and also construction sites
etc., as their temporary
home/shelter.
Migration from other
places has made Delhi over
populated and an extremely
polluted modern city. There is
hardly any residential space
left in the city that is not occupied by citizens and dwellers.
According to Indian institute of
Human Settlement (IIHS) director Aromar Revi, high per
capita income and income
growth has made Delhi as the
hub of migrants compared to
other Indian metro cities. Delhi

concentrates more on wealth,

resources , infrastructure and
quality of urban services than
other metros. The national capital offers a relatively higher education and health system, he
added. Delhis population has
grown over 40% in the last 10
years and the population now
stands close to 14 million.
Migration from rural to
urban areas is up from 27.8%
to 31.9% since 2001. It is estimated that approx. 2 million
people are shifting from rural to
urban areas annually and 22
million people have migrated
from rural to urban areas since
2001.
In the last 50 years,
rural population has decreased
from 82 % to 668.9 %. Large
numbers of people are moving
from rural areas to urban because there are few employment opportunities back home.
Many dont get employment
throughout the year and commute between urban and rural
areas. However for the landless farmers who are always in
debt, migration is the only
choice of livelihood.

In this issue...
Happy in Delhi, does not
want to go back

PAGE 2

Malnourished to the
extent of illness

PAGE 3

Empty stomachs
SARAH JACOB

n a country which is one

of the fastest growing
economies and has the
sixth largest super-rich community of billionaires, its GDP
going into trillions, is one of the
largest producers of rice,
wheat, pulses, etc., it is ironic
when we have one-third of the
worlds malnourished children
in our country.

Yes, around a quarter of

the worlds hungry lives in
India. Our levels of malnutrition
are worse than those of subSaharan Africa. Around 50 percent of children in India are
malnourished. According to the
recent HUNGama report, 59
per cent children were stunted;
42 per cent underweight and
11.4
percent
wasted.
HUNGama report was released after surveying 1,09,093

Malnutrition in children
is not caused by food intake
alone. It is also influenced by
access to quality health services, good hygiene practices,
and good quality attention and
care for the mother and child. It
not only affects the body, but
also the mental, social and
children aged 0 to 5, in 100 emotional development. These
most backward ditricts of six children grow up to be adults
states - Bihar, Jharkhand, Mad- who are unable to contribute to
hya Pradesh, Orissa, etc.
the economy.

Cleans for a living

SEEMI REHMAN

anjay, was born and

brought up in Ambedkar Nagar which is located in Tanda District of Uttar
Pradesh. He left his home and
came to Delhi 10 years ago to
get a good job. He thought that
he would get a good place to
stay in Delhi but landed up
staying on railway tracks near
Okhla railway station.

He works as an ear
cleaner in Nehru Place near

Paras Cinema and earns between Rs 300-400 per day. He

used to work as a construction
labourer in his own village and
earned between Rs 100-150
per day, which could not fulfil
the basic needs of his family.
His family moved here a month
ago. Earlier he bought a jhuggi
for Rs 20,000, but that too was
taken away as he did not have
the legal papers of that jhuggi.
His jhuggi was not registered and he neither has a ration card nor a voter ID card.
He mentioned that people
came to take their photographs, details and even made
promises to provide them
home, but nothing happened.
Sanjay tells that people said
that if higher authorities give
approval then only something
can happen.He sends his children to a government school
and wants them to get educated.

Mindset changed
SEEMI REHMAN

pair the grindstone and thats

how she earns her living. She
araswatis life is very used to work the same in her
wistful. The 60-year- village too but couldnt earn
old woman lives much. She had a hut in her vilalone with her ailing husband. lage but that was destroyed in
She came to Delhi around 30 a heavy rainstorm. She had a
years ago. She is from Hardoi ration card in her village which
district near Lucknow. She cur- was lost.
rently lives under a flyover near
railway tracks. She faces a lot
of problems. She has to go
miles to get water. There is no
toilet facility. She has to go in
the bushes. She hasnt visited
her village for the last 20 years
as she doesnt have enough
money to pay the train fare.
She cant afford to pay rent for
a better place to live as the rent
in Delhi is around Rs 1,500 Migrants: How many?
2,000, according to her. She
earns Rs 100-150 a day. She Migration from rural to urban
had a son who died of health areas is up to 31.9%
problems a few years ago. She Delhis population has grown
cant sleep properly due to the over 40% in the last 10 years
noise of the trains passing by. Delhis population increased
She goes place to place to re- to 14 million
SEEMI REHMAN

Happy in Delhi
SEEMI REHMAN

mmati who originally

belonged to Mirzapur,
in
Uttar
Pradesh,
moved to Delhi
about 35 years ago. She lives
in Harijan Colony near R K
Puram. She came with her
husband who died a few years
ago. She has 3 sons. She has
seen Delhi transform from a
forest to a city of royals. She
tells that earlier, Gujjars used to
live here. Houses were less
and now the population has increased tremendously. She
and her husband used to live
with her brother-in-law initially
when she came to Delhi, but
now has her own house. Ummati, as of now, does not face
any problem, but initially she
faced a lot. There was sewage
as well as water problems. She
used to get water from the 8th
floor and sometimes had to go
miles to get water from handpumps. The roads were bad.

Works for the family

She used to work as a

maid when she first came here
but now her sons dont allow
her to work. One of her sons
works as a peon in a private organisation and earns between
Rs 8,000-9,000 a month. She
used to cover her face earlier,
but after looking at the dressing
of people here she stopped
covering her face.

uraan Bhaat who

hails from Nagor district of Rajasthan has
been living in Delhi for the last
50 years. He is a traditional
artist. He makes puppets and
lives in Kathputhli colony near
Kirti Nagar. He is also involved
in a theatre called Aakar Puppet Theatre. He is a well known
artist and is among the few
who are carrying the traditional
Rajasthani puppet art. He has
never gone to school and goes
form place to place to show his
puppetry skills.
He owns a house in that
locality. His children are also
involved in the same traditional
work. He came to Delhi as
there is not much scope of

puppetry in Rajasthan and he

earns double the amount of
money that he used to earn in
Rajasthan.

Migrants: Why do they

migrate to Delhi?
42% said they came
for studies
58% said they came looking for job

Sapna nahi dekhta toh aadmi

Dilli kyu aata?
(Why would someone come to Delhi if he doesnt
have a dream?) - Sanjay, from Uttar Pradesh
LIVES AHEAD| 2

Malnourished to the extent of illness

SARAH JACOB

miling at us when we
entered her house,
Rita, a 6-year-old girl,
stood near the door, wearing a
tattered T-shirt. She showed us

her dolls and her toys. Her

mother, a young woman of 22
years, told us all the toys were
given by a woman who employed her as a maid. With two
daughters, her mother is pregnant with the third child.
Born in Jharkhand, Rita
is the eldest daughter. They
moved to Delhi when Ritas father came here in search of a
job. They do not avail government welfare schemes, like
Below Poverty Line (BPL) card
and Antyodaya Anna Yojana
(AAY) card as they are not
aware of formalities for accessing them.
Ask her why Rita
doesnt go to school and she
says that no school is ready to
take her in. She also adds that
her familys monthly income is
Rs 3,200; her husband rides a
cycle rickshaw. They pay Rs
1,000 for electricity, only be-

cause it is illegal connection,

Rs 1,000 for the house with asbestos sheet and another Rs
500 as rent for the cycle rickshaw. Ritas mother very well
knows her daughter requires
essential nutrition to be healthy.
But, she asks me, Didi, aap hi
bataaiye, itne kam paiso mein
mere bachchon ko kaise
khaana khilaaungi?
Recently, Rita was down
with viral fever. Her mother had
to take advance salary from her
employer. She says she is worried about her daughters
health as she frequently falls ill.
She does not have the energy
to run around like children of
her age. There is no strength in
her voice. Her mother says nobody is being responsible for
her little girl. She has no one to
comfort her when she cries for
her daughters thin frame of
body.

New hope for a lost childhood

SARAH JACOB

medical treatment for her.

Recently an
NGO,
Tejas Asia, got to know the
plight of Manju and her siblings, and contacted her parents and took the children
under their care.
They are now studying
in the informal school run by
the NGO. In the school, they
are provided nutritious food
along with education. Manjus
health is improving, but her sad
looks speak of a childhood lost.

anju, the 8-year-old

girl stared into our
eyes when we
asked her to tell her name. Her
frame was frail and voice
feeble; she stood there, leaning
against a wall, wearing a torn
T-shirt and with uncombed hair.
Manju lives in a slum
near Tughlaqabad fort in Delhi
with her parents. She has three
brothers and three sisters. Her
parents are rag pickers. They
leave their shanty early in the
morning and return late in the
night. They sell whatever they
could manage to collect during
the day to a nearby shop; usually they manage to earn about
Rs 50 every day. Manju and
her siblings see their parents
only in the night.

She and her siblings

normally do not have anything
to eat throughout the day.
They have to wait for
their parents to return at night
and cook something for them.
Manju was severely malnourished and fell ill frequently. But
her parents could not afford

Food Security Act

Implemented by the government to ensure food security to
people below poverty line
The beneficiary will be entitled to 5 kg of rice at Rs 3,
wheat at Rs 2 and coarse cereals at Re 1 per month

Aap hi bataaiye, itne kam paiso mein mere

bachchon ko kaise khaana khilaaungi?
(Tell me, how can I feed my children with such a small amount of money?)
- Ritas mother
LIVES AHEAD|3

Malnourishment
levels
Indias malnutrition levels
are worse than Sub-Saharan
Africa
The prevalence of malnutrition varies across states, with
Madhya Pradesh recording the
highest rate (55 per cent) and
Kerala among the lowest (27
per cent)
As much as 59 percent of
children under the age of five
in the country are stunted,
around 42 per cent are underweight and 11.4 per cent are
wasted
Nearly four million people die
every year in India from malnutrition and related causes

Govt
schemes for
curbing malnutrition
Integrated Child
Development Services
(ICDS)
The main beneficiaries of the
programme were aimed to be
the girl child up to her adolescence, all children below 6
years of age, pregnant and lactating mothers
To reduce instances of mortality, malnutrition and school
dropouts among children

Midday Meal Scheme

A part of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
It seeks to address issues of
food security, lack of nutrition
and access to education
The primary objective of the
scheme is to provide hot
cooked meal to children of primary and upper primary
classes

Bihar to Delhi, educated and empowered

Interviewer: When did you
come to Delhi, and why?
Priya: I came here in April in
2010 to complete my studies in
journalism. I was always inclined
towards journalism.
There is no scope of journalism
in Bihar, and neither there is
any college which offers journalism. Also the people of my
area dont see journalism as a
good career option. All the
people think of making their
children engineers or doctors.
Priya Baid migrated temporarily from Bihar, to complete her education from the
prestigious Delhi University.
She is currently looking for a
job in the media industry.
She was interviewed by
Seemi Rehman.

Interviewer: Why did you

choose Delhi only?
Priya: I always wished to study
in Delhi. I came here before
2010 and gave entrance test of
11th standard of Manav Bharti
School but due to my health issues, I had to go back to my
home town. I always had a deInterviewer: Which place do sire of studying in Delhi Univeryou belong to?
sity and got selected too. I got
Priya:I belong to Kishanganj
admission in Kamla Nehru
district in Bihar. It is the last dis- College. I graduated in 2013,
trict after which is Siliguri. I was but unfortunately couldnt get
born and brought up in Bihar.
selection for Post Graduation.

REPORTERS DIARY
SARAH JACOB

t all started with the day I

chose this topic of malnutrition. I started with finding out case studies and then,
realised that this isnt tough because almost every child living
in the slums of Delhi is malnourished.
Delhi, being the capital
of India, has seen many migrants from other states. These
migrants seldom have roofs
over their heads and food in
their stomachs. Their children
suffer the most because the
crucial years of their lives are
being ruined, because of negligible nutrition. These children
lose the energy to play and run
around, something which is
very important in their formative
years.
The children I met
surely had the spark in their
eyes. They were innocent and

care-free, but what they lacked

was the physical energy to live
a childs life. For no fault of
theirs, they are born into families that are unable to fend for
themselves. They grow up with
poverty as their companion.
With no outside intervention,

Presently, I am struggling to
start as a trainee in media
houses.

much more open-minded.

Interviewer: Were your parents happy about you coming
to Delhi?
Priya: My mother was a little
apprehensive of me coming to
Delhi because of all the crimes
that have taken place in the
past. She was a little afraid, but
my father supported me a lot. It
is because of my father that I
am here.

Interviewer: Did you face any

problems or difficulties while
staying in Delhi?
Priya: As such I didnt face any
difficulties or problems while
staying here, as my sister also
lives here. Since childhood I
wanted to visit Delhi. Yes, people of Delhi look down upon Biharis. They think of Bihar as a
backward state, and for some Interviewer: How often do you
people in Delhi, the term Bihari visit your place in a year?
Priya: I visit my home town
is used as a gaali .
twice in a year. Once in MayInterviewer: Difference be- June when I have my summer
tween Delhi and in your home vacation and the other during
town regarding education and winter break in December.
job?
Priya: In Delhi, you have vari- Interviewer: If you find a good
ety of options whereas in Bihar, job in your home city, would
you dont have much. Very few you go back there?
people of Bihar are interested Priya: I will prefer to stay in
in media. They want their sons Delhi because of the choices
or daughters to be engineers and progress that Delhi offers.
or doctors only. They hardly go
beyond that. Delhiities are

the government have not

helped reduce malnutrition. Efforts by NGOs have not helped
fully curb it. I recently saw this
post on a social networking site
which says, The worlds
hunger is getting ridiculous.
There is more fruit in a rich
mans shampoo than in a poor
mans plate. Well, this made
me realise how irresponsible
our society has become. When
majority of our population is
malnourished, we do not care
to be their caretakers. The societys attitude has to change.
It is not only the duty of the
they become individuals left government or NGOs to take
with a tough life to look forward care of the malnourished children. We can do our duty by
to.
The fact that every sec- feeding at least one child every
ond child in India is malnour- day. thus we can be part of
ished, made me go for this helping the under-privileged
topic as I wished to spread children. Because every drop
awareness among the urban counts.
folk. Innumerable schemes by

AJK MASS COMMUNICATION RESEARCH CENTRE, JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA

LIVES AHEAD|4