Conceptual and Methodological Issues of Poverty and Vulnerability: An Ethnographic Study from the So

Advances in Anthropology

2013. Vol.3, No.1, 38-45

Published Online February 2013 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/aa) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/aa.2013.31006

Conceptual and Methodological Issues of Poverty and

Vulnerability: An Ethnographic Study from the South

Eswarappa Ka s i

National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad, India

Email: kasieswar@gmail.com

Received December 20th, 2012; revised Januar y 22nd, 2013; accepted January 30th, 2013

There is a great need to understand, analyse and critically apprise conceptual and methodological issues

of poverty and vulnerability and its underlying relevance in the today’s fast changing rural/urban spaces

of south India. To pursue this academic and epistemological endeavour, we tried to use the existing lit-

erature largely and later tried to relate it to our own regional case for argument and discussion. This has

given us a scope to look at the issues and parameters involved to see how poverty and its contiguous fac-

tors reflect upon the real people’s lives and livelihoods of marginal groups in south India. Poverty should

be seen in the form of loss of livelihoods, lack of access to resources, basic needs and non-availability of

resources and services to the vulnerable sections of the society. Taking the case of Sugalis, one of the

semi-nomadic tribe, of Rayalaseema region of south India it is argued in this paper that poverty and vul-

nerability coexist and strengthen each other and poverty can be understood by analyzing the real life

situations and strategies adopted by the people to manage their lives. Present Paper based on an empirical

research by using anthropological tools of research.

Keywords: Poverty; Vulnerability; Resources; Ethnography; Sugali; South India

Introduction

Poverty should not be viewed merely in terms of poverty line,

calorie intake, etc. There is a need to understand poverty from

the point of view of vulnerability. Vulnerability can be seen

both as a cause and effect of poverty experienced by certain

deprive section of the society. The causes and consequences of

vulnerability can be observed from the ways and means of liv-

ing of the vulnerable sections in the society.

Present Paper based on an empirical research conducted

while carrying out my fieldwork among the Sugalis of Anan-

tapur District of Andhra Pradesh during 2003-2004 and 2007-

2008 as part of my PhD field work. The present paper tries to

proceed answering four questions; what is poverty, who is the

poor, why are they poor and how to resolve it? Based on these

questions the present paper has been organized into three sec-

tions, where the first part deals with an extensive conceptual

and methodological conversation on the existing literature on

poverty and vulnerability. The second part vividly provides an

ethnographic account of Sugalis and the prevailing situation in

the location. The third part tried to discuss and contest the con-

ceptual and methodological issues of poverty and vulnerability

in relation to the Sugali lives and livelihoods. The fourth part of

the paper provides a detailed sketch of interventions of an

agency in the locality and their strategies to address the issue of

poverty and vulnerability. Final part of the paper delineates the

conclusions and observations.

Conceptual and Methodological Conversation

Research and writing on poverty, development and vulner-

ability is largely done by the academicians, researchers and

agencies, both governments and voluntary agencies, across the

countries of south Asia or other countries of the world. These

writings further paved the way to analyze the themes and dis-

courses on poverty and vulnerability which tries to bring mun-

dane aspects of the terms poverty and vulnerability. Keeping

these things into consideration, the present paper tries to ad-

dress the issues concerned while going through the relevant

literature on the themes of poverty and vulnerability; it is fur-

ther linked to the empirical notions of the Sugalis and their

everyday practices to overcome the notions of poverty and

vulnerability (Kasi, 2009: p. 117). In South India, all the state

governments have initiated measures to control poverty and

address the issues of vulnerability among the dalits, dait-bahi-

jans1 (Ilaiah, 2009: p. 5), oppressed women, scheduled castes

and scheduled tribes and other backward classes in a significant

way. These efforts of the governments have brought significant

changes to reduce poverty and cope with vulnerability.

Governments, both at the centre and State, have made con-

certed efforts to alleviate poverty through increased economic

growth by using targeted programmes, land and tenancy re-

forms, participatory and empowerment-based approaches and

the provision of basic services (Mehta & Shah, 2003: p. 504).

But development remains unattainable for 350 million of its

poorest citizens. Gandhi’s vision of development has been un-

dermined through large-scale industrialization, urbanization and

modernization (Saxena, 2000a: p. 6). Since 1951, Five Year

plans have been adopted to propel India’s development in in-

dustry and agriculture, and to remedy the political dissension,

debt, and infrastructural disarray that plagued the newly inde-

1The nomenclature of Dalit-Bahujan concept has come into vogue in

academia after Kanshi Ram started Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)and he

want to include all the oppressed and under-privileged castes from the

backward classes into his party. For wider discussion and debate on the

concept Dalit-Bahujan see Kancha Ilaiah (2009), Gopal Guru & Geetha

(

2000

)

E. KASI

pendent country (Indian Social Institute, 1988). Development

actions have succeeded in exponentially increasing India’s

industrial, military and agricultural production, its national

income and middle class. Yet, in 2001, almost fifty-four years

after independence, development has failed to alleviate poverty

and related socioeconomic oppressions within the most disen-

franchised caste, class and tribal (adivasi) communities (Chat-

terji, 2001: p. 2).

Several social anthropologists working in the field of post

colonial research, globalization, development and movements

tried to argue that globalization minimised the government role

in developmental interventions of the poor and marginal com-

munities (Chatterji, 2004; Kasi, 2008). For instance, Escobar

(1995) viewed that development institutions continue to assert

processes that systematically delegitimize traditional liveli-

hoods by impoverishing the natural resource base upon which

the lives of subsistence communities depend. In response to

such neglected communities across India are operationalizing

frameworks of developmental strategies that link social, cul-

tural and economic well being of the communities. While an-

thropologists have made an art of integrating themselves into a

local community, increasingly community has been defined less

by physical contiguity or geography and more by epistemo-

logical affinity, shared meanings and common interpretative

tendencies (Schwegler & Powell, 2008: pp. 2-3). Further, it

should be in accordance with the needs and aspirations of the

tribal communities which would enhance their livelihood sys-

tems and strengthen their coping mechanisms in relation to

vulnerability context.

Vulnerability refers to a person’s state of being liable to

succumb, as to persuation or temptation. Vulnerability is a con-

cept that links the relationship that people have with their

environment to social forces and institutions and the cultural

values that sustain and contest them (Kasi, 2007). Moser de-

fines vulnerability as “insecurity and sensitivity in the well-

being of individuals, households, and communities in the face

of a changing environment, and implicit in this, their respon-

siveness and resilience to risks that they face during such nega-

tive changes” (Moser, 1998: pp. 2-3). Bankoff et al. (2004) ob-

served that “the concept of vulnerability expresses the mul-

tidimensionality of disasters by focusing attention on the tota-

lity of relationship in a given social situation which constitutes

a condition that, in combination with environmental forces,

produces a disaster”.

Few writings suggest that poverty and vulnerability must be

addressed with much more vigor and needs greater analysis and

elaboration. For instance Pritchett et al. (2000) find that most

poverty measures consider shortfalls in current income or con-

sumption expenditures to determine the poverty line. They

argue that these measures do not indicate the vulnerable among

the population and therefore propose a “vulnerability to poverty

line (VPL)” that is the level below which a household is vul-

nerable to poverty. A household with a risk of experiencing at

least one episode of poverty in the near future or has a greater

than 50 percent chance of falling into poverty is considered

vulnerable.

Some examples of vulnerable populations are small-scale

farmers, fishermen, pastoral nomads, forest populations, slum

dwellers, women-headed households, traditionally marginalized

groups, landless, and refugees (Mani, 2001: p. 7). Vulnerability

analysis tried to address the risk and risk coping mechanisms of

the poor and under privileged.

Vulnerability and Risk

Key to the discussions of vulnerability and ri sk in the CPRC

literature is the suggestion by Hulme et al. (2001: p. 9) that:

“What poor people are concerned about is not so much that

their levels of income, consumption or capabilities are low, but

that they are likely to experience highly stressful declines in

these levels, to the point of premature death. This approach

suggests that poverty can be seen as the probability (actual or

perceived) that a household will suddenly (but perhaps also

gradually) reach a position with which it is unable to cope,

leading to catastrophe”.

This definition of poverty can also be seen as a particularly

accurate proxy for a definition of vulnerability, especially due

to its emphasis on the risk (whether real or imagined) of being

unable to cope. However, in the CPRC literature risk and vul-

nerability are viewed in different ways. For example, in a dis-

cussion of the “Risk of Market Failure” Bird et al. (2002: p. 18)

highlight that vulnerability to risk may be greater in remote

rural areas. This “vulnerability to risk” is similar to the con-

ception of “vulnerability to shocks” and views vulnerability as

a cause of poverty. In the same way risk appears to be placed as

a precursor to vulnerability. This almost comes across in a lin-

ear fashion with risk being the initial step in an assumed chain

of events: “there are numerous sources of risk… which make

households more likely to suffer shocks and experience an ero-

sion of assets, deepening their vulnerability to future shocks

and damaging their ab i l it y to e sc a p e poverty”.

Discussions of risk and vulnerability can also be found in the

overview papers on Sri Lanka and India. Tudawe (2002: p. 28)

in his observation in Sri Lanka argues that a lack of financial

capital limits the ability of poor people to “manage risk and

vulnerability”. This idea of managing vulnerability is important,

and indicates the agency of people in limiting uncertainty

through having enough capacity to deal with any exposure to

risk and vulnerability. Mehta and Shah (2001) highlight the

relationship between risk and vulnerability through the work of

Kozel and Parker (2001). They categorize the “poor” into three

groups; the destitute poor, the structural poor, and the “mobile”

poor. Interestingly, Kozel and Parker (ibid) assert that, while

risk and vulnerability were important for all three categories, it

is particularly important for the destitute and structural poor.

Further, Baulch and Hoddinot (2000: p. 19) highlight the

states role in modifying the “economic, legal and political set-

tings within which the household is embedded” and provide the

examples of how macro-economic instability and the rule and

law can be important sources of risk. Wisner (1993: p. 130)

illustrates how the state can also be seen as a risk itself through

denying the existence of hazard, directing violence towards

sub-groups within the population, or orientating intervention

efforts towards or away from particular locations or popula-

tions.

An attempt is made in the next section to describe about an

ethnographic and empirical account of Sugalis and their loca-

tion vis-à-vis in relation to their livelihoods and resources in the

region.

Ethnographic Account of Sugalis

The present paper tries to describe Sugali tribe (also called

Lambadi in the area), of Andhra Pradesh, which is principal

tribe numerically, educationally, economically, politically and

otherwise. They are concentrated in Chittoor, Cuddapah and

E. KASI

Anantapur districts of the State. According to Reddy (1991: p.

613) Sugalis are not the autochthones of South India. Their

original home is believed to be Marwar in Rajasthan. They

came into Deccan as transporters of supplies or merchandise for

the armies of Delhi emperors in their raids in the south early in

the 17th century. Some of the Sugalis returned to the north but

some stayed behind and carried on petty trade with their pack-

bullocks. They became a useful medium of transaction between

the South and the North during periods of peace until 1850’s. In

the 18th Century they had also taken up service under the

Maratha rulers of Satara, Peshwas of Poona, the Nizam of Hy-

derabad and the British in their Mysore and Maratha wars

(Bhukya, 2010).

With the advent of the British rule, the Sugalis gave up much

of their traditional occupation of transporting goods due to

introduction of mechanized transport, laying of roads and rail

lines by the then government. Being poor, illiterate and lacking

technical skills, they degenerated and took to crimes like rob-

bery, dacoity, cattle-lifting and kidnapping of children until the

middle of the last century. To reform them through persuasion

and education was considered impossible by the British ad-

ministration. There fore, in order to control their criminal ac-

tivities, they were brought under the purview of the Criminal

Tribes Act XXVII of 1871 (cited in Rao, 2004). According to

Rao (2004) after India became independent, the Criminal

Tribes Act was repealed in 1952 and the Sugalis were denoti-

fied. Till 1977, they were treated as nomadic tribe in all parts of

Andhra Pradesh except Telangana region. However, the list of

Scheduled Tribes has been revised by the Scheduled Castes and

Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment Act) 1976 in order to

remove area restriction in respect of the Sugalis.

Location of Sugali Tribe

The village/settlement under study is Adadakulapalle Thanda.

Adadakulapalle Thanda is situated in the Adadakulapalle vil-

lage Panchayat of Penukonda Mandal in Anantapur district,

about 10 kilometers from Penukonda, the Mandal headquarters,

of Andhra Pradesh, South India. Sugali is the numerically pre-

dominant tribe in Adadakulapalle. Among 218 households, 110

households belong to Sugali tribe with a population of 929

comprising 497 males and 432 females (Table 1). Sugali is a

semi-nomadic tribe. They are still largely employed in trading

service. Over a period of time their occupations, in the settle-

ment, have changed due to changes that have come about in

local conditions and technology. Traditionally Sugali are petty

traders, supari (betel nut) traders, and were army personnel

during Mughal period, and during the British rule they were

notified as criminal tribes and after independence they were

denotified. Now they are practicing settled agriculture in both

the settlements (Bhukya, 2010; Kasi, 2007; Reddy, 1991).

Livelihoods of the People

The major livelihoods activities (Table 2) of Sugalis are

Cultivation, followed by dairying, petty business (running

owned and rented autos and kirana shop and hotel). Sugalis do

go to agricultural labour, construction or repair works.

The primary livelihood activity of Sugali is cultivation, fol-

lowed by daily wage labour, and petty businesses such as run-

ning one’s own or rented auto-rickshaw, kirana (provisions)

shop or angadi (tea and snacks stall). The majority of Sugali

Table 1.

Population distribution by sex in the settleme nts.

Sex

Caste Male Female Total

Sugali (Tribe) 497 (53.5) 432 (46.5) 929 (64.5)

Madiga (S.C.) 96 (51.6) 90 (48.4) 186 (12.9)

Kuruba 44 (50.6) 43 (49.4) 87 (6.04)

Kummari 4 (50) 4 (50) 8 (0.55)

Chakali 39 (52) 36 (48) 75 (5.21)

Valmiki Boya 17 (50) 17 (50) 34 (2.40)

Reddy 50 (56.8 ) 38 (43.2) 88 (6.11)

Muslim 13 (52) 12 (48) 25 (1.73)

Vaisya 4 (57) 3 (43) 7 (0.48)

Total 764 (53.1) 675 (46.9) 1439

Note: Parentheses indicate percentages. Source: Field data from the villages/

settlements.

Table 2.

Livelihoods of Sugali households in the two s et tl ements.

Sl. NoType of Li velihoods Total HHs in

ADP* ADP Than da

1 Wage Laboure rs/Land Less People 237 124

2 Agriculture 225 80

3 Govt. Employees 35 8

4 Petty Business/Liquor Shops 25 (9) 14 (9)

5 Migration 35 35

6 Others/Dependents 25 10

Note: *ADP means Adadakulapalle.

depends on agricultural labour and construction or repair works

in and outside the settlement. Cattle, goat, and sheep are the

major livestock in the area. Several varieties of grass along with

stocked paddy straw; maize stalk, groundnut and bhoosa

(powdered rice husk mixed with dried groundnut kernel and

molasses) are used as fodder. Individual households raise coun-

try chicken in their houses.

The type of land available in the settlement is dry land and

only one Sugali farmer has a bore well in his land as against 90

borewells owned by persons of other communities in the set-

tlement. The rest of the Sugali depend upon the monsoon. Fre-

quent failure of the monsoons has caused out-migration of peo-

ple to Bangalore and Mumbai to work as construction labour or

petty traders. People from the Settlement explained that sea-

sonal migration is high among them as the majority of them are

marginal farmers and landless agricultural labourers. It is worth

mention here that seasonal migration does supplement investa-

ble surplus when cash needs are high and sources of institu-

tional borrowings are few (Sah & Sisodia, 2004, pp. 32-33).

Almost half of the households in the Settlement migrate to

towns in the off-season, according to the Gram Panchayat Sar-

panch. One informant stated that they are helpless and there is

no solution except to migrate to other areas. Younger people

migrate to towns in the off seasons and come back to the Set-

tlement during the rains, to cultivate the land or work as farm

labourers. In the cities and towns the Sugali face social dis-

E. KASI

crimination as migrants and also face political disenfranchise-

ment as non-locals.

Available Resources in the Locality

Following are the common property resources available in

the Adadakulapalle.

1) Village Tank

2) Forest (Unreserved/Revenue)

3) Temple land

1) Village Tank: Village tank covering the villages of Ada-

dakulapalle and Adadakulapalle Thanda, both come under the

same Panchayat. Majority of the lands situated under village

tank belong to Adadakulapalle Village farmers. People felt that

the tank was important as it helped in cultivation of crops like

Pkm Chinta (Tamarind), sunflower and often groundnut crops.

They also said that due to the tank, they are not facing the

problem of shortage of power; the tank also helped increasing

ground water level in the bore-wells and water levels of open

wells.

People who did not have lands (irrigated) under the tank, also

said that it also helped in washing clothes (women), watering to

cattle etc. Grass (Jammu-local name), which is present in the

water is used for making mats, covering of roof (houses or huts),

and construction of sheds to small ruminants. It is also used for

fencing of houses. Another important benefit from the tank is of

fishing. Fishing activity is for domestic purposes where people

of the village fishing activity individually and also as a group.

People, who take part in the fishing as a group, share the out-

come equally, and give an extra share who brings the nets.

People also revealed that, they use the tank for cultivation of

cucumber crop in the tank and cattle grazing whenever the tank

dried up. Majority of the beneficiaries were land less laborers,

marginal and small farmers. Because of the tank landless peo-

ple are getting more number of wage days as said by the infor-

mants. So villagers felt that the tank has given them both direct

and i ndirect benefits.

2) Unreserved/Revenue forest: People of the village/ Tha-

nda benefited by the forest as it promotes them fuel wood col-

lection, cattle grazing, collection of Bandaru Aku (which are

used for roof/leaves purposes and house fencing) and bodha

grass (roof and sale purposes). But some people felt that, since

they do not have cattle, it is not that important for them. Finally

people believed that forest benefited them but, landless people

are not much benefited due to lack of resources.

3) Temple land: According to people there are 20 acres of

temple land available in the village. Earlier land was given to

any farmer for a one-year duration based on auction. According

to informants auction was based on a meeting, which was at-

tended by village elders and where modalities, terms and condi-

tions, money/amount, etc decided. The amount they got from

the farmers was used for development activities of the temple

and celebration of temple festivals, rituals in that particular

year.

After the watershed programme was initiated into the village,

the situation changed completely. Villagers conducted Gram-

sabha and decided to go for raising commercial crop (Pkm

Chinta) in temple land. Now it is called as “chinta Topu”

(Tamarind Topu2). Even though they are still using the temple

land and development activities, it is used differently, so that

percentage of income is more than before. They also felt that

there are other benefits from tamarind Topu/Trees like chiguru3

(used for curry and also they mixed it with Dal) etc. Generally

women collect the chiguru and dry it for few days and use it

during non-availability of vegetables or scarcity of vegetable

seasons. It is also beneficial as it provides people with fuel

wood. Social anthropologists works on poverty and vulnerabi-

lity indicated mostly issues related to the poor and the margin-

alized. In the following section an attempt is made to discuss

the reflection of social anthropologists from the etic perspec-

tive.

Poverty and Vulnerability from the

Etic Perspective

People who live in extreme poverty, in which the very basics

of life—food, security, sanitation, healthcare, education, hous-

ing and employment—are denied, are automatically denied also

the right to live without fear and want. In extreme situations,

these conditions might even threaten their right to life itself.

Poverty is not mere income alone. It is the social, cultural,

political, and even seasonal factors that affect well-being from

time to time. Women and girls are often particularly vulnerable

groups in poor and marginal communities. It is evident in our

case that women and children become more vulnerable due to

the absence of men due to their out-migration. Men migrate to

towns and cities in search of livelihoods and stay away from

their family for longer duration which brings social and struc-

tural changes in the family life of Sugali tribe. Here, it is ob-

served that women has to cope-up with partner absence and has

to manage the family independently since there is lack of social

safety nets such as kinship relations and social bonds.

The poor are found in every village, block and district of ru-

ral India and in every town and city. They are most numerous

in areas where the land is less productive, where water is scarce,

where communications are poor or where certain castes or

tribes predominate. The poor are increasingly found in towns

and cities as people migrate from less productive rural areas, to

urban areas, where they aspire for better life. It is in this context

that the relevance of anthropology and its emic engagement

matters in the developmental discourse and policy formulations.

Further, in its Human Development Report (HDR, 2000), it

categoricall y st ated that

“To be poor is still to be powerless and vulnerable. Life re-

mains a torment for children in the teeming barrio of a devel-

oping country’s city, for refugees caught up in conflict, for

women in a society that still denies them eq uality and freedom—

every day bringing physical and psychological threats. And still

too many of the 1.2 billion people living on less than a dollar a

day lack even the most basic human security”.

The primary objective of the Indian Constitution is social

justice. It tries to uphold the dignity of the individual, guaran-

teeing citizens a fundamental right to equality before the law. It

promises that they will not be discriminated against, on the

grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. It guar-

antees equality of opportunity in public employment, and as-

sures personal freedoms such as the right to speech, life, liberty

and religion.

The Directive Principles take this commitment a step further

by instructing the state to secure a wide range of measures,

including free legal aid and the citizen’s right to work, educa-

2It is local name used by the informants to refer full of trees in a same loca-

tion. 3Tender leaves of t amarind.

E. KASI

tion and public assistance. They also enjoin the state to ensure a

living wage for all workers. Though non-enforceable, the Di-

rective Principles declare: The state shall… strive to minimize

the inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequali-

ties in status, facilities and opportunities (Unnikrishnan, 2001).

In spite of this, the World Development Report says that over

40 per cent of the population in India lives below the poverty

line, and nearly half are still illiterate. The overall figures for

every aspect of development, when broken down, indicate that

the poor and those who face discrimination are the worst suf-

ferers and lack access to the basics. As the World Development

Report puts it, “Poor women face a double disadvantage in

access to resources and voice—they are poor, and they are

women” (World Bank, 2000).

The Human Development Report 2000 found “extreme dep-

rivation” especially among rural women from scheduled tribes.

In its study of human poverty, the report says that 19 percent of

India’s population still lacks access to safe drinking water, a

quarter does not have access to health services and as much as

71 per cent lives without access to sanitation. More than half—

53 percent—of all Indian children below the age of five are

underweight. There are only 0.4 telephones to every thousand

Indians. The top 10 percent of India’s people account for 33.5

per cent of income or consumption. The 10 per cent at the other

end of the scale account for a mere 3.5 per cent. Although pro-

gress has been made in areas such as literacy and life expec-

tancy, a very large number of people remain excluded from the

development that others in the country enjoy.

The World Development Report 2000-2001 noted that “Evi-

dence from India shows that scheduled castes and scheduled

tribes are among the structural poor who not only lack eco-

nomic resources but whose poverty is strongly linked to social

identity, as determined by caste. They also have worse social

indicators.”

The World Development Report (2000) estimated that 44 per

cent of the Indian population still lives on less than $1 a day.

Eighty six per cent live on less than $2 a day. Poverty figures

are said to be declining but, there are more poor people in India

today than the population of the country in 1947. Yet, the go-

vernment celebrates the swift decline of poverty. Figures can-

not communicate what “living in poverty” means or how it af-

fects human dignity (Sainath, 1996).

The Voices of the Poor study carried by the World Deve-

lopment Report 2000-2001, says: “In India, the characteristics

of credit institutions can deter poor people from seeking loans.

Poor people in many regions also report widespread corruption

in healthcare systems. But when facing serious health condi-

tions, they feel, they have no choice but to comply with de-

mands for bribes” (World Bank, 2000-2001).

Mehta and Shah (2003: p. 495) has rightly viewed that po-

verty seems to be disproportionately high among historically

marginalized groups such as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes. Particularly women from these groups are more vul-

nerable than their male counterpart. The multiple deprivations

suffered by these groups make it harder for them to escape from

poverty. Caste and tribe are structural factors that predispose

certain groups to long-term poverty and deprivation. The sche-

duled castes are a collection of castes and some of them are

small and marginal farmers, most of them in rural areas work

largely as agricultural labourers. The scheduled tribes were

identified on the basis of certain well defined criteria including

distinctive culture and pre-agricultural modes of production.

Sankaran (2000: p. 509) has rightly stated that the two thirds of

India’s bonded laborers are from scheduled castes and sched-

uled tribes.

Further, Mehta and Shah (2003: p. 496) mentioned that

quailtative research validate the greater vulnerability of sched-

uled castes and scheduled tribes to poverty. Kozel and Parker

(2001) identified a typical poor household as one which is at

the low end of the caste hierarchy—most often a member of the

scheduled tribe… Lanjouw and Stern (1991) also postulate a

strong correlation between caste and poverty in India. Based on

a study, they report that among this group, poverty remains

endemic. This is a reflection not only of poor endowments of

productive assets, but also of low educational standards, vul-

nerability and little access to any kind of regular employment.

According to Hulme et al. (2001: p. 7) Poverty has many di-

mensions and the poor suffer deprivation in multiple ways and

not just in terms of income. Several forms of human depriva-

tion, including poor survival chances, unjust employment of

children, bonded labor; environmental pollution and social

exclusion are not related to income in a predictable manner

(UNDP, 1997; cited in Mehta & Shah, 2003). The poor also

lack access to assets such as credit, literacy, water, and forests.

Broch-Due (1995) emphasises that the concepts of poverty

employed in most development analysis are very “thin”, focus-

ing on material and measurable elements, such as income and

nutrition. In contrast “thick” ethnographic work reveals far

more complex, multi-layered pictures. The various concepts

and definitions of poverty and wealth, or more broadly, ill be-

ing and well being, which policy agencies have emerged in

specific cultural and historical contexts. Material deprivation—

lack of food and income, poor health—may be important eve-

rywhere. But ideas employed by African peoples in particular

contexts and selected aspects of material life and also group

them with other attributes in distinctive ways, form the natural

focus of anthropological work in or around the topic of poverty

(cited in Booth et al., 1999).

In discussions about the multi-dimensionality of poverty, it is

commonplace that the ways people experience material condi-

tions are mediated through social relations and institutions. Yet

anthropological studies emphasise that well being is frequently

also conceived or defined in terms of social relations and kin

networks, and a person’s place in them.

Anthropological work focuses attention on how experiences

of poverty and well being vary over the course of people’s life-

times. The developmental cycle of domestic groups (Goody,

1971) was a key concept which drew attention to how opportu-

nities and vulnerabilities might shift through the processes of

establishing marriage, having children, children growing up,

and ageing. There are links here with economists’ ideas about

the importance of household size, dependency ratios and so on.

However, anthropologists pay attention not only to changes in

economic status within developmental cycles, but also to how

members at different ages and life stages may be differentially

linked into wider kin networks and social relations, and hence

be more or less secured and “supported”.

In the following section, n attempt is made to look at the ef-

forts made by the local agency to address the issue of poverty

and also helping the needy in order to improve their livelihoods

and which would make them to cope up with any unforeseen

incidents.

E. KASI

NGO Intervention in the Locality

Social Education Development Society (SEDS), an NGO,

has been working in the area for the last twenty five years. It

was started in the year 1980; head office is located in Mekala-

palle village, which is 15 kilometers from the Mandal head-

quarters. SEDS facilitates government sponsored programmes

and they have their own programmes in the villages. Initially,

they were working in the two Mandals and now their coverage

has risen to five Mandals (Penukonda, Somandepalle, Gorantla,

Roddam, and Chilamathur) covering 209 villages. According to

the Manager of SEDS, their main concentration is Scheduled

Tribes, Scheduled Castes and other weaker sections in all their

villages. In each village they have a community level organizer

who is based in the village and looking after their works. Like-

wise, Adadakulapalle is one of their main concentrated villages

in the area. Currently, the major activities of the NGO are Land

Development Programmes, School Development programmes

where, they construct toilets and plant trees in the school sur-

roundings, Horticulture programmes, Women Empowerment

through the formation of Self Help groups (SHGs), Water har-

vesting schemes and to provide minimum wage works to assist

the marginal people and landless agricultural labourers (Table

3). They have initiated the unit where, all SHGs in the village to

start organisation called “Village Organisation”. Village Or-

ganisation has started with two people from each SHG in the

village. At preset, the total strength of Village Organisation is

32 in the village. Village Organisation acts as a nodal agency in

the village and undertakes all the developmental works (SEDS,

2004; Kasi, 2009).

SEDS is working for the upliftment of Scheduled Tribe and

Scheduled Caste in the village. It is observed from the table that

their concentration is more on wasteland plantation, Horticul-

ture, water conservation and land development programmes of

Sugalis and SCs in the village.

Land Development Programme

Under this programme, waste lands have been converted into

agricultural fields through soil conservation. Soil conservation

works include Stone Bunding, Gully checks, Spill ways, Wood-

lots, fire tracing, ploughing, and trenching activities (Table 3).

All these works are being undertaken in the summer season

which provides some wage works to the people of the village.

Some of the works like stone bunding, ploughing, fire tracing,

and trenching, are carried by collecting some contribution from

the beneficiaries. Likewise, ploughing, fire tracing and trench-

ing activities where both have to share the work as well as

money. The land development programme has benefited the

Sugali in the Thanda to a certain extent only. The implementa-

tion of the programme was initiated in the year 2001 and some

benefits were derived in the following year. Subsequently, due

to failure of monsoons, the programme did not take off. More-

over, as mentioned before, since majority of the Sugali are

landless, this programme has not been of much relevance to

them. Here is a case, where the beneficiary is under the Land

Development programme.

Case Study of the Bene fi ci ary from Adadakul apalle

Settlement

Ranga Naik, 55 years old, studied 5th class, has two sons,

Table 3.

Works undertaken by SEDS dur ing 1996-2007*.

S. No Activities Undertaken in Adadakulapalle Settlement Parima namu Expenditure Total Working Days

1 Matti Gatlu (Mud Tanks) 71,929 meters 719,290 17,983

2 Rathi Gatlu (Rock Dams) 17,216 meters 172,160 4307

3 Rathi Maravalu 811 (No) 145,980 3649

4 Gulli Checks 371 296,800 7420

5 Water Storage Ponds 45 45,000 1125

6 Kuntalu 5 200,000 2500

7 Check dams 11 1,122,550 18,064

8 Tree Plantation 390,701 24,808,000 62,020

9 Seeds Implantation 2500 Kgs 52,800 1320

10 Horticulture 80 Acres 387,600 9690

11 Roads 20 Kms 100,000 2500

12 Social Protection of Forests 4000 Acres 650,000 16,250

13 Wells Repairing 3 (No) 24,000 6000

14 Pudika Thisinadi (Check Dams and Kuntalu) 16 165,000 4125

15 Round Sheds and Com mittee Ha ll 4 61,000 1500

16 Bores 7 140,000 -

17 Supply Channels 8 Kms 23 2 ,000 5800

18 Fish Rearing - 50,000

Total Expendi ture 7,044,980

Note: *Source: SEDS Office, Mekalapalle.

E. KASI

who are separated after their marriage, has 16 acres of land in

the village. The type of land is dry land and do not have water

facility before. SEDS have chosen him as beneficiary and

started the land development programme in the year 2000. Fur-

ther, Soil conservation works were initiated with the help and

support from the NGO. NGO also assisted him to go for dig-

ging bore well in his land. Later, SEDS suggested him to adopt

horticulture cropping by providing saplings of Mango, Chinta

(Tamarind), Eucalyptus, etc. He also reported that there are 340

mango plants in 8 acres of land, 240 tamarind plants in 6 acres

of land and eucalyptus in 2 acres of land. Watering to these

plants is provided through water tanker of NGO. Ranga Naik

has complained that there is severe problem of forest wild pigs

and cows in the area. To protect the seedlings from the forest

pigs and cows, the NGO has appointed watcher, beneficiary

only, by paying Rs 600/per month as a salary. Due to this prob-

lem he has to stay and sleep there in the polam (Agricultural

Field) leaving his wife at home, who stayed alone in the house.

His polam (land) is far off from the village, which is nearly 3

kms and electricity is not there for the land. They have com-

plained number of times to the officials but so far they have not

done anything. Officials have conveyed to them that providing

electric facility to the fields is difficult since the lands are far

away from the village and power lines are not available in the

nearby area.

Ranga Naik said that children live in independent, separate

houses post-marriage leaving parents alone. This is because of

the demands and dreams of the young couples as felt by the

informant. Further, he mentioned that, the traditional way of

marriage is no longer practiced. Majority of the families of

Sugalis are following modern type of marriages, which just last

for two days and that too in marriage halls. This change is due

to the improvement of communication facilities like News Pa-

pers, Television, Radio and also due to the education of the

people.

In order to ensure the services of the local agency and its

impact on the needy, it is also necessary to see the existing

resource base and utilities, usages by the people. This will give

us a scope to address the issues of resource scarcity in the study

area. Hence, the next section tries to look at the available re-

sources in the villages of study area.

Conclusion/Observations

As we said earlier, there is a need to understand poverty from

the point of view of people’s experiences with vulnerability and

its risk factors. Vulnerability can be seen both as a cause and

effect of poverty experienced by certain deprived section of the

society. The causes and consequences of vulnerability can be

observed from the ways and means of living of the vulnerable

sections in the society. Poverty in the area is closely associ-

ated with land, available resources base and asset base and

rainfall, but as agriculture is only a part of livelihood, the dy-

namics of poverty consists of a complex mix of processes, in-

cluding migration (Kasi, 2010).

The development programmes and schemes, of NGO and

available natural resource base, encompassing various issues,

integrative and is idealistic efforts to address the issue of po-

verty by creating opportunities and offering support to indi-

viduals and individual households. At the bottom level, the

programmes are burdened with problems relating to coordina-

tion of various elements that necessarily intervene and intersect

the areas of operation. These include human elements—dis-

charging the duties of the functionaries, location of the ins-

titutions, power politics and natural local conditions. There is a

complex relationship between these elements. For success of

any programme, proper configuration, manipulation and ex-

ploitation of these elements for advantage become necessary.

Whoever, whether an individual or agency, is able to handle

these judiciously will be a successful player. To some extent in

this case the NGO has played more successfully than the go-

vernment: an economic focus while ensuring support of cultural

elements seems to yield better results.

Poverty in the area is closely associated with land and rain-

fall, but as agriculture is only a part of livelihood, the dynamics

of poverty consists of a complex mix of processes, including

migration. In order to understand the impact of the develop-

mental interventions of the government and the NGO in ame-

liorating poverty, this study has taken an anthropological per-

spective of contextualizing development processes at the

ground level. To conclude Kasi (2009b, 2011a) argued that

poverty and vulnerability coexist and buttress each other and

poverty can be understood by analyzing the real life situations

and strategies adopted by the people to manage their lives.

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