Haryana can become a truly ideal state

By

Amar Nath Wadehra and Randeep Wadehra

HARYANA owes its birth to a political agitation launched by the Shiromani Akali Dal for Punjabi Suba. Therefore, after protracted negotiations and political maneuverings the stae of Haryana came into being on 01 November, 1966. This development did immense good to the region comprising the nascent state, which had remained neglected for decades. In fact Haryana became an example of how a small and cohesive political entity can become an economic powerhouse. Successive state governments, especially the Congress ones, made immense contribution to the development of agriculture and industry in the state. However, the Hooda government has taken the state’s development to the next higher level. Instead of merely targeting economic “growth” the Hooda regime has been making all-round inclusive “development” as its politico-economic agenda. And has been quite successful, too! For this, we have to look at only a few of the indicators; thanks to the steps taken by the Hooda government (a) Haryana has been the largest recipient of per capita investment; (b) Gurgaon has emerged as a major hub of automobile and information technology industries; (c) Serious efforts are being made to remove regional imbalances in terms of economic growth by encouraging development of industrial centres and modern townships; (d) The state is one of the wealthiest regions in South Asia as evidenced by the fact that it boasts of the largest number of rural crorepatis in the country; and, more importantly, (e) The Haryana Government’s efforts to reach out to the female population as well as the most vulnerable sections of the society have begun to bear fruit in the shape of better education, health and per capita income figures. 

According to VMW Analytic Service – an online website that provides credible data – Haryana’s estimated per capita income for the year 2010 is Rs. 78,781/-, second only to Goa. We have to remember that Goa’s higher per capita income does not necessarily mean that it is more developed than Haryana. The reason for Goa’s riches is its tourism industry. In the matter of industrial and infrastructural development Goa lags far behind Haryana.

 Truly, Haryana has come a long way from being a nondescript laggard of the united Punjab days. From being a civilizational, economic and political back-of-the-beyond the state is ranked among the most progressive in the country today. Whether it is agriculture, industry or the services sector Haryana is making its mark on the national economy. There was a time when Haryana boasted of nothing but a place in the country’s history and mythology thanks to Panipat, Kurukshetra and a few other places. Today it is known for ultramodern townships, not just in Gurgaon and Panchkula, but other parts of the state too.

The state’s Yamunanagar district, apart from being famous for its traditional timber, brass and steel industries, has some of the largest sugar and paper mills as well as thermal and hydroelectric plants and, arguably, Asia’s largest railways workshop. Gurgaon has emerged as a powerful hub for hardware and software industries based on information technology. Faridabad is another prosperous industrial centre. Panipat, Ambala etc too are important industrial towns. The range of industrial goods produced is impressive, too. Right from heavy engineering to hosiery, automobiles to agro-products – you name it and Haryana produces it. One can gauge the sea change in Haryana’s economic profile from the fact that in 2010 alone the total exports from Haryana in the Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology-Enabled Services (ITES) sectors touched Rs 21,000 crores – and this when the recession has been hitting the economies of various countries.

Moreover, progress made by the farm sector has taken Haryana from the being a deficit state at the time of its birth to its present status of India’s granary. Technological innovations and inputs in the form of high yielding varieties, better farm practices, use of tractors, fertilizers and improved irrigation etc have helped the state attain this standing.

According to experts, the performance in agriculture sector can be improved further if:

1. Small and marginal farmers too are enabled to access the latest farm inputs like seeds, fertilizers, irrigation facilities etc. Here, Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA) Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labour Agency (MFAL), and the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) launched by government can be very useful.
2. More scientific methods are used to conserve water and make it available for irrigation to a wider area.
3. Every effort is made to enable all farmers to have easy access to latest technology and funds etc, which would help them in increasing agricultural productivity.
4. Although the marketing of farm produce is better organized in Haryana when compared to other states, yet there is a need for improving it to cut storage and distribution costs as well as to ensure better returns to farmers.

Nonetheless, today Haryana is ranked among the wealthiest states in the country. However, economic growth should be accompanied by development in other social fields too. Spread of education and provision of various healthcare services at the grassroots level have received a strong support from the government. Various schemes to protect and enable the girl child and other vulnerable sections of the society too are being implemented in all seriousness. The details of all these have been given by us in some of our earlier articles in various editions of this magazine.

Presently, the efforts are on to take the state to the next level of development. At this level the focus should be to improve the happiness quotient of the state’s population. Indeed, several developments at the national and international levels have helped Haryana’s impressive growth. India’s Five Year Plan model of development laid firm foundations for Haryana’s well-structured progress in various fields – especially agriculture and industry. Later, when the country decided to become part of globalization and adopt market economy Haryana’s politico-administrative leadership was astute enough to take advantage of this development. This helped the local industry as well as various government agencies and undertakings to access latest technologies, machines and processes to acquire state-of-the-art infrastructure and make the economy strong and vibrant.

 Now, there is a need for greater stress on improvement in educational standards as is sought to be done by implementing projects like the Rajiv Gandhi Education City at Sonepat. It is also important to ensure affordable and ready access to electricity, clean drinking water, medical and sanitation apart from various other public services like transport, banking, postal services etc; in fact, everything that would have a positive impact upon the quality of average Haryanvi’s life. In all this the needs of vulnerable sections of the society must be given top priority. It is only inclusive development that will provide momentum and durability to Haryana’s prosperity.

But economic growth cannot be taken as the sole criterion of a state’s progress. Its cultural aspects cannot be ignored. It is a matter of common sense that prosperity will fetch happiness for the aam Haryanvi only in a progressive and benign social environment. Although Haryanvis have exhibited admirable dynamism while adapting to ultramodern technological-economic progress their societal attitudes have lagged behind. Indeed, education has made the average Haryanvi youth aware of the drawbacks in some of our traditional precepts and practices. Consequently, they are increasingly challenging the age-old belief systems. It is good to see that caste barriers are being assaulted with increasing frequency. Similarly, outcry against “honour killings” is having a sobering effect on those wantonly resorting to vigilantism. But, still, the patriarch’s proprietorial attitude towards women remains strong – as epitomized by recent intolerance of the screening of a movie on khaps in Haryana. Violence against women persists in various towns and villages of the state. Recognizing the need to challenge these societal drawbacks more and more people are making their protests count. Moreover, socioeconomic trends also indicate that tendency to shed anachronistic attitudes is gathering momentum, which may positively affect the social environment. This is becoming manifest in several ways. Most iconic is the manner in which young lads and lasses from small towns and villages have become national and international sports celebrities. When you see a young woman wrestler training with a male you realize the seismic shift that has quietly taken place in the psyche of aam Haryanvi. Of course, this may well be dismissed as mere symbolism that is controlled by the state’s patriarchs. After all, even today, gender based segregation is a reality in rural Haryana. Inter-caste marriages and even same caste love marriages can provoke bestial reprisals.

But all is not darkness in this regard. The new urban townships are more cosmopolitan in nature. Since the traditional social structures do not exist in these urban centres a more liberal ethos is evolving. This is evidenced by the fact that there have been increasing instances of inter-caste and inter-community marriages that often have blessings of the respective families and elders. Similarly, one’s identity is not based on birth-based caste system but on one’s professional and academic achievements. This is a healthy trend. With the rate of urbanization accelerating with further economic growth the traditional social structures are bound to get marginalized. This is a major spin-off from the current economic development in Haryana. That day is not really far off when a Haryanvi stereotype would not be bigoted rustic but an educated, urbane and cultured individual.  

Clearly, the state’s policymakers, the educated elite and opinion makers need to put in sincere and unflagging efforts to bring about a change for the better in the attitudes of those who are still clinging to values of the medieval – even Stone Age – vintage. In this respect performing arts – be it cinema or theatre – with modern and progressive themes should be encouraged. Similarly, other forms of art like painting etc too need to be popularized. Tolerance of dissent on social issues must be given due protection. Proactive engagement with the orthodox elements by governmental as well as NGOs will certainly help in this matter.

The day when average Haryanvi is able to live in peace with himself/herself and earn his/her bread with dignity in a social environment free of fear and prejudice, that day Haryana will truly become an ideal welfare state. The potential is there; it is waiting to be tapped.