SCs unhappy with Nitish Kumar-led NDA, claims Dalit intellectual

Dalits in Bihar live in abject misery, claims Chairman of the National Confederation of Dalit Organisations Ashok Bharti. In the interview featured above, he explains the 'plight' of Dalits in Bihar to Bhupendra Chaubey, highlighting development disparities and examining budget allocation patterns for social welfare programmes. The discussion concluded with an analysis of the political landscape in Bihar, including considerations about electoral dynamics and the role of the Dalit community in upcoming elections.

The Squirrelspublished on 8 October the complete study findings on Dalit community development indicators in Bihar with Bhupendra, based on the NACDAO data on how the 40% reduction in social welfare expenditure for Scheduled Castes has been reallocated.

Dalit development in Bihar: Challenges

Bharti alleged that despite Nitish Kumar's 20-year rule, development indicators for Dalits remained low compared to the national average. He noted that literacy rates, health data, and nutritional indicators for Dalits in Bihar are worse than both the national average and Bihar's general average, suggesting that development has not reached the Dalit community effectively.

Bharti dealt with the allocation and utilisation of budgetary expenses in Bihar, particularly focusing on social welfare expenditure. He highlighted that only 93% of the total spending was directed towards specific sections, such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and religious minorities, while the remaining 40% was unclearly distributed.

Suggesting that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had some good ideas of universally accepted development indicators, such as the Human Development Index, which considers education, health, and life expectancy, Bharti touched upon the disparities in development across different social classes in Bihar, with Bharti emphasising the need to address these issues effectively.

Bharti also discussed the political landscape in Bihar, focusing on Chirag Paswan's ambition to contest all seats and the Dalit community's dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs. He explored the implications of multiple political actors and the challenges of bipolar elections in the region.

Bhupendra noted that despite the complexities, the Dalit population's concerns should not significantly affect the overall election outcome.

Bharti complained about development disparities in Bihar, sharing his view of how the Dalit community is likely to vote in the November assembly election.