The Story of Ravi Bharti

Bhaskar Majumdar on March 6th, 2017

This morning I asked one person engaged in painting work in my Social Science Research Institute at Allahabad who among you all are most poor. He immediately replied all are poor. This proved they are not Economists or Statisticians.
One of them entered my academic office this morning. He is Ravi Bharti living with his family in the Allengunj area of the city – he does not own land but has managed to construct a one-room Jhopri/khaprail (dilapidated cottage) on the Railway land. Ravi and his parents and grandparents used to live on the same Railway land – so the living was inter-generational. He is a manual worker, illiterate, and ready to be engaged in any work. His immediate employer is the local sub-contractor who knows them since past. His wife is illiterate engaged as a domestic assistant. He has three sons and a daughter. His daughter is around 18 illiterate. Ravi is determined to get his daughter married soon for which he needs to borrow from Thekedars/Mahajans though he has a Jan Dhan Yojana Account in the Bank with zero balance. His eldest son is an occasional seller of vegetable earning. His youngest son was admitted to a scool but dropped out for non-payment of school education fees.
Ravi opines that food need was to be met first in family and hence in the trade off between food and education, food gets the priority. Ravi earns Rs. 250 to Rs. 300 per day, the higher income is because he also works as a mason. He gets the chance to be engaged on average 20 to 25 days per month. His wife earns around Rs. 1500/- per month. His vegetable vendor son hardly adds to family income.
Ravi reported absence of domestic violence in his family. The major concern for him remains to get his daughter married. Education remains a non-priority for his next generation also. So the poverty cycle seems to continue for him.

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Bhaskar Majumdar

Bhaskar Majumder is at present Professor of Economics in G.B. Pant Social Science Institute. Previously he served as Professor and Head of the Centre for Development Studies, Central University of Bihar, Patna. He got his Graduation, Master's Degree, M. Phil., Ph.D., all in Economics, from the University of Calcutta. He is engaged in teaching and research for more the past 39 years in Calcutta, Allahabad and Patna in a number of Institute and Universities.
Professor Majumder has written and published so far nine books on social sector. He has authored so far sixty nine research papers in around twenty referred journals. In addition, he has contributed thirty chapters in books on social sciences, apart from several review articles for journals and magazines, plus publications in national and international Conference proceedings. He has so far completed 23 research projects sponsored and supported by World Bank, Ministry of Rural Development (GoI), Planning Commission, ICSSR (GoI), Industries including NTPC and Tata Chemicals. Many students got D.Phil. from the University of Allahabad under his supervision.