Inequality in India: Through the Lens of Differences in Water Quality

Authors

  • Aditi Gaur Woodstock School
  • Ms. Kah Ying Choo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i3.1548

Keywords:

Water safety, Socio-economic inequity, Water quality

Abstract

India is ranked as the worst country in the world, in terms of number of people lacking access to safe water. This study examines  the socio-economic inequity of India through the lens of privileged Indian respondents’ perceptions of the water quality accessible to communities of different socio-economic status. To address this aim, a survey was conducted to measure the level of social awareness around this issue among privileged Indian respondents with regards to their ratings of the safety of the water in three different communities: their own, the underprivileged, and India as a whole.   Respondents rated their water quality to be the highest, followed by India as a whole, and then the underprivileged. The main reasons they offered for their ratings were: the government’s failure to set up an adequate infrastructure for piping water without polluting it and the inability of the underprivileged to afford water filters in India. Despite the gravity of the health problems that can ensue from the lack of access to safe water, the lack of accountability for the government, and apathy from the privileged residents, can be attributed to the deeply entrenched discrimination in India, which is founded upon its caste tradition and its pursuit  of the capitalist agenda in the ‘90s. Therefore, it is vital that the Indian government and people take responsibility for providing safe water to all by: increasing awareness amongst all communities;  provision of water filters for all, and the eventual changing of the piping system in the long term.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References or Bibliography

Barik, D., & Thorat, A. (2015). Issues of unequal access to public health in India. Frontiers in Public Health, 3, 245. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00245

Bhaduri, A. (2017, July 10). Budget 2019 talks big on water. India Water Portal. https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/budget-1?utm_campaign=36d5fb7afc-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_07_11_07_59&utm_medium=email&utm_source=IndiaWaterPortal%20List&utm_term=0_5c11b2aed0-36d5fb7afc-231892125

Bureau of Indian Standards. (2019). Report of testing of piped drinking water samples from 20 capital cities and Delhi. https://bis.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Drinking_Water_20112019.pdf

CensusInfo India 2011. (2011). Population size. http://dataforall.org/dashboard/censusinfoindia_pca/

Census 2011. (2011). Gurgaon city population, 2011-2021. https://www.census2011.co.in/census/city/46-gurgaon.html

Eureka Forbes. (n.d.). Water purifiers. https://www.eurekaforbes.com/water-purifiers/technology-ro_uv?amp%3Bproduct_list_order=price&product_list_dir=asc

First Post. (2019, March 12). National Ganga Council chaired by PM Modi hasn’t met once since its start in 2016. https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/national-ganga-council-chaired-by-pm-modi-hasnt-met-once-since-its-start-in-2016-6243611.html

Human Rights Watch. (n.d.). The context of caste violence.

https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/india/India994-04.htm#P555_72581

Jain, M., Fishman, R., Mondal, P., Galford, G., Bhattarai, N., Naeem, S., Lall, U., Singh, B., Defried, R. (2021, February 24). Groundwater depletion will reduce cropping intensity in India. Science Advances. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/9/eabd2849

Lal, N. (2018, March 16). Water scarcity: India's silent crisis. Inter Press Service.

http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/03/water-scarcity-indias-silent-crisis/

Magnus. (2020, October 20). Can I drink the tap water in India?. Tapp Water.

https://tappwater.co/en/tap-water-in-india-2/

National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development. (2017). NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17

https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/1608180417NABARD-Repo-16_Web_P.pdf

No additional budget or specific targets for Jal Shakti Abhiyan. (2019, July 1). The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/no-additional-budget-or-specific-targets-for-jal-shakti-abhiyan/article28253732.ece#

Oxfam International. (n.d.). India: Extreme inequality in numbers.

https://www.oxfam.org/en/india-extreme-inequality-numbers

Pandey, K. (2019, August 7). India world’s 13th most water-stressed country: WRI. Down To Earth. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/water/india-world-s-13th-most-water-stressed-country-wri-66066

Parikh, K. (2013, August 12). India’s Water Crisis: Causes and Cures. National Bureau of Asian Research. https://www.nbr.org/publication/indias-water-crisis-causes-and-cures/

Press Trust of India. (2016, October 3). India has the highest number of people living below poverty line: World Bank. Business Today.

https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/india-has-highest-number-of-people-living-below-poverty-line-world-bank/story/238085.html

Press Trust of India. (2020, February 1). Budget 2020: Govt approves Rs 11,500 cr for Jal Jeevan mission for FY21. Business Standard.

https://www.business-standard.com/budget/article/budget-2020-govt-approves-rs-11-500-cr-for-jal-jeevan-mission-for-fy21-120020100979_1.html

Rajvanshi, A., & Rajvanshi, N. (2018). Low-cost solar water purifier for rural households. Current Science, 115(1), 32-34. http://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v115/i1/32-34.

Sleet, P. (2019, July 16). Strategic analysis paper: What will Modi’s second term mean for the indian water crisis? Future Directions International. https://www.futuredirections.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/What-will-Modis-second-term-mean-for-the-Indian-water-crisis.pdf

Snyder, Shannyn. (n.d.). Water in Crisis - India. The Water Project. https://thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-india

WaterAid. (2018). The water gap - the state of the world’s water 2018. https://washmatters.wateraid.org/sites/g/files/jkxoof256/files/The%20Water%20Gap%20State%20of%20Water%20report%20lr%20pages.pdf

Wendling, Z.A., Emerson, J.W., Sherbenin, A.D., Etsy, D.C. (2020). Environmental Performance Index 2020 —- Global metrics for the environment: Ranking country performance on sustainability issues. Environmental Performance Index. https://epi.yale.edu/downloads/epi2020report20210112.pdf

What is India’s caste system? (2019, June 19 ). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35650616

World Health Organization. (2019, June 14). Drinking-water. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water

World Health Organization. (2019, June 18). 1 in 3 globally do not have access to safe drinking water —UNICEF, WHO. https://www.who.int/news/item/18-06-2019-1-in-3-people-globally-do-not-have-access-to-safe-drinking-water-unicef-who

World Wildlife Fund. (n.d.). Water scarcity. https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity

Published

10-10-2021

How to Cite

Gaur, A., & Choo, M. K. Y. (2021). Inequality in India: Through the Lens of Differences in Water Quality. Journal of Student Research, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i3.1548

Issue

Section

HS Research Articles