Abstract
This study basically tries to understand how far sources of irrigation mediate development outcomes relating to education. This micro-level study based on a comparative study of both canal-irrigated and non-canal-irrigated villages in the Hyderabad–Karnataka region shows that public irrigation plays a major role in achieving inclusiveness in education, especially higher education. Unlike a non-canal-irrigated village, in a canal-irrigated village, along with ‘ dominant castes, a few Scheduled Castes (SCs) also have access to higher education. The access to ‘quality education’, in terms of private institutions and English medium schools, is also inclusive in canal-irrigated villages. On the other hand, access to education is limited to big landowners in a non-canal-irrigated village. However, a gender-wise analysis shows that the above inclusiveness in canal-irrigated villages regarding access to education has failed to reach women. Such outcomes in education are explained in terms of landownership pattern, private investment in irrigation and gendered access to education.
Introduction
Does irrigation mediate development outcomes relating to education, especially higher education? This is the basic question the present study is trying to ask in the context of two villages located in the Hyderabad–Karnataka region. The Hyderabad–Karnataka region (hereafter H–K region), which is situated in north-eastern Karnataka, is considered one of the most backward and arid regions within Karnataka state. According to the Twelfth Planning Commission, some of the poorest districts in India exist in this region. It is also one of the most neglected regions in India in terms of education (Azim, 2005). All the districts in the H–K region have a literacy rate below the state and national average. In this context, the H–K region provides an appropriate setting to understand how far sources of irrigation mediate access to education, especially higher education.
There are studies that underscore the relationship between educational outcomes and size of landholdings. These studies show that as the size of landholdings, both owned and operated, rises, the share of educated persons also rises (for example, Joshi & Rao, 1965; Chaudhuri, 1970). This trend is particularly visible in the context of higher education. Also, intra-caste variations in education are also largely due to the difference in the size of landholdings. However, there are only a few studies that highlight the linkage between irrigation and development outcomes in education. Jacob, Balmurli, and Patil (2015) in their study explain village-level variations in schooling outcomes through irrigation. The villages with positive changes in schooling do have access to canal irrigation which allows people to have settled agriculture. On the other hand, those villages with negative changes in schooling do not have access to canal irrigation, and this has led to a higher incidence of migration.
The present study aims to contribute to the above literature by arguing that sources of irrigation play a major role with regard to access to education, especially higher education. The study shows that a canal-irrigated village is relatively more inclusive in terms of caste with regard to access to education, especially higher education. Apart from traditional land-owning communities and backward communities, a few Scheduled Caste (SC) communities also show a relatively higher share of educated persons. On the other hand, in a non-canal-irrigated village, higher education is restricted to the upper castes and backward communities. However, the above trickledown effect regarding access to higher education fails to reach women in a canal-irrigated village. The male–female gap in higher education in the upper age groups is relatively higher in a canal-irrigated village as compared to a non-canal-irrigated village. The above outcomes in education are explained in terms of landownership pattern, private investment in irrigation and gendered access to education.
The present study is based on the micro-level study of two villages in the H–K region. This region comprises six districts: Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bellary, Yadgir and Koppal. Two villages have been chosen from Gulbarga district since it exhibits general features of the H–K region as regards education. The above villages in Gulbarga district have been selected purposively since one village is canal-irrigated (Janiwar village) and another is non-canal-irrigated (Basawantawadi village) but dependent on private wells for irrigation. However, since both villages belong to the same district and region, they are exposed to similar agro-climatic situations, regional economies, district-/state-level policies and political histories. This helps us control a host of factors that might have otherwise independently explained the developmental trajectories of these villages (Jacob et al., 2015). The literacy rates in both villages are almost similar. Janiwar village, which is canal-irrigated, shows a literacy rate of around 50 per cent, while in Basawantawadi village it is around 53 per cent. Both villages are endowed with one school and have access to educational facilities for higher education (District Census Handbook, 2011). The facilities for pursuing both professional and non-professional courses are available in nearby towns in both villages. The workforce distribution shows that around 75 per cent of the total population in both villages are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.
The total number of households in Janiwar village and Basawantawadi village are around 160 and 90, respectively. Both villages are multi-caste in nature. The fieldwork for this study was conducted from January 2018 to May 2018, and a census method was used to conduct a door-to-door survey of households. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire schedule consisting of questions relating to education such as the caste of the household, education completed for each member of the household, the number of school-/college-going children, the type of institution attended, total area owned and operated and sources of irrigation. Besides the census, the study also deploys qualitative methods such as interviews to understand the processes involved in outcomes. Apart from primary-level fieldwork, secondary sources, including a District Census Handbook published by Census of India, were also used to delineate information at the village level.
Inclusiveness in Education—Community-wise
Basawantawadi village, which is non-canal-irrigated, shows a very impressive picture of education at the aggregate level. The share of population with higher education is relatively higher in this village ( Table 1 ). Around 17 per cent of the total population has completed higher education in Basawantawadi village as compared to 11 per cent in Janiwar village which is canal irrigated. The share of illiterates is relatively higher in Janiwar village as compared to Basawantawadi village. Also, the share of technically qualified persons (those with ITI certificates and technical diplomas) is also relatively higher in Basawantawadi village as compared to Janiwar village.
Education Completed Among Population in Janiwar and Basawantawadi Villages (in %)
Source: Field survey.
Note: Children are excluded.
However, a further disaggregate analysis in terms of community shows that Janiwar village, which is canal-irrigated, shows a better performance in terms of inclusiveness in education. Along with upper castes and backward communities, a few SC communities also have a population with higher education above the village average ( Table 2 ). The communities in Janiwar village with a share of higher education above the village average are Kabbaliga (Other Backward Castes [OBCs]), Madiga (Scheduled Caste, [SC] ), Holiya (SC) and Lingayat (upper caste). On the other hand in Basawantawadi village, only the upper caste and a backward community have a stake in higher education ( Table 3 ). The communities in Basawantawadi village with a share of higher education above the village average are Lingayat and Pujari.
Education Completed Among Population in Janiwar Village—Community-wise (in %)
Source: Field survey.
Note: Population excludes children.
Education Completed Among Population in Basawantawadi Village—Community-wise (in %)
Source: Field survey.
Note: Population excludes children.
Further, our hypothesis that a trickledown effect in education is relatively higher in a canal-irrigated village is also reinforced by the fact that the share of students attending private educational institutions is higher among marginalised communities along with the upper castes in Janiwar village. Attending private institutions is an important indicator because of the perception that private institutions offer ‘quality’ 1 education and are more or less self-financing. Our analysis shows that the majority of school-/college-going students attend government institutions in both villages ( Table 4 ). However, a further analysis in terms of those attending private institutions in Janiwar village shows that, along with upper castes, a few SCs and Scheduled Tribes (STs) also send their children to private institutions. However, in a non-canal-irrigated village, private institutions are accessible only for an upper caste (Lingayats) and a backward caste (Pujari).
Type of Institution-Attending or School-/college-going Children in Janiwar and Basawantawadi Villages—Community-wise (in %)
Source: Field survey.
Also, an analysis of medium of education shows that the canal-irrigated village is more inclusive in terms of access to English education which is more or less self-financing. Along with upper castes and backward communities, SC communities also send their children to English-medium schools in Janiwar village. However, in the non-canal-irrigated village, that is, Basawantawadi village access to English-medium schools is just confined to the upper castes.
Inclusiveness in Education in the Two Villages—Gender-wise
Our analysis of education through the lens of gender shows that the above trickledown effect in education in terms of caste in a canal-irrigated village has failed to reach women. Age-wise and gender-wise enrolment in education shows that a male–female gap exists in all age groups in Janiwar village ( Table 5 ). This gender gap in enrolment in education increases as the age rises. The gap is relatively higher in higher age groups such as 15–20 years and 20–25 years. On the other hand in a non-canal-irrigated village, the gender gap in enrolment in education is relatively less in all age groups. In fact, higher age groups such as 10–15 years and 15–20 years show more female enrolment as compared to male enrolment. However, the highest age group of 20–25 years shows a gender gap in education.
Age-wise and Gender-wise Enrolment in Education in Janiwar and Basawantawadi Villages (in %)
Source: Field survey.
Also our analysis, in terms of the type of institution being attended by school-/college-going children, shows that women mostly attend government institutions as compared to private institutions in both villages. Out of the total students attending private institutions, women constitute only 34 per cent in Janiwar village while in Basawantawadi village it is around 47 per cent. What explains these outcomes in terms of caste and gender in education in both villages? This is explained in terms of landownership pattern, private investment in irrigation and gendered access to education.
Landownership Pattern in the Two Villages
Our study shows that access to education, especially higher education, is very much conditioned by the landownership pattern in both villages. The analysis reveals that feudal hierarchies in landownership are very much reproduced with regard to access to higher education in a non-canal-irrigated village. Only those communities which own land above 10 acres have access to higher education in Basawantawadi village. Access to education is very much confined to big landowners in the non-canal-irrigated village. So communities such as Lingayat and Pujari are big landowners, and only they have access to higher education in this village. Like access to land, access to higher education is also just limited to upper caste and backward communities in Basawantawadi village. On the other hand, in the case of the canal-irrigated village, access to higher education is more or less inclusive and is not conditioned by the landownership pattern. Access to education, especially higher education, is not just restricted to big landowners. Apart from an upper caste community (Lingayat) and a backward community (Kabbaliga), SC communities (Madiga and Holiya) also have access to higher education.
Land Reforms
Access to higher education is largely linked to land distribution, especially in the non-canal-irrigated village. The more skewed the land distribution, the more unequal the access to education. Land reforms in Karnataka, especially in the H–K region, have failed to dismantle feudal land relations despite several radical measures. The state of Karnataka was formed in 1956 by unifying the Kannada-speaking areas of Bombay province, the Nizam’s state of Hyderabad, Madras Presidency, Old Mysore state and Coorg province. These different regions had different sets of laws relating to land and agrarian relations, and as a result, the biggest challenge before the amalgamated Karnataka state was to evolve a set of uniform land reform measures. Land reforms during the post-Independence period had a differential impact on different regions because of the diversity of agrarian relations that prevailed in the various regions of the state.
As pointed out by Thimmaiah & Aziz (1983), land reform measures in Karnataka state could be divided into four sub-periods: 1947–1956; 1956–1971; 1971–1977; and the post-1977 period. During 1947–1956, inam was abolished. Brahmins held most of the inam lands, and these were granted by erstwhile rulers in return for their priestly services. The need for uniform land reform measures after the reorganisation of the state led to the passage of Mysore Land Reforms Act in 1961. The major features of the act were as follows. First, it allowed landlords to resume half the area leased out to tenants for personal cultivation. Second, ceilings of landownership were kept very high. However, given the strong presence of landed interests in the government and bureaucracy as well as loopholes in the act itself, the implementation of Land Reforms Act of 1961 was a major failure of the state (Ramakumar, 2017). Names of the tenants were not entered in the land records, and the high ceiling made sure that only little land was available for redistribution. Another set of land reform measures was enunciated in 1974 which were considered as very radical in nature. The important provisions in the 1974 Act included: first, a total ban on the resumption of leased land by the landlords; second, abolition of tenancy except in the case of soldiers and seamen, third, reduction of land ceiling to ten standard acres; and fourth, constitution of Land Tribunals in each taluk to decide on claims made by tenants on the land cultivated by them.
Some studies argue that the 1974 land reforms were successful as more than 60 per cent tenants secured occupancy rights over their leased-in land. However, other studies argue to the contrary. Damle (1989) points out that popular opinion that the tenancy legislation of 1974 was a success is more a myth and less of a reality. He highlights that the extent of tenancy varied between districts. Coastal regions had a high incidence of tenancy in 1957, while the H–K region had a lower incidence. During 1957, out of the roughly 1.8 million registered tenancies in the state, around 1.3 million registered tenancies were in the districts of Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Belgaum, Dharwad, Shimoga and Bijapur. Also, the nature of tenancy relations varied between districts. In the coastal and southern districts, tenancy involved big landlords leasing out land to small holders or to those who were landless. On the other hand, in the eastern and northern districts, there was ‘reverse tenancy’, with large landholders leasing-in land from small landholders. During the early 1970s, in the northern and eastern districts, around 28 to 29 per cent of the total area leased in was by those who owned more than 10 acres of land. These big landowners, through this legislation, could acquire ownership rights over their leased-in land and reduce the small and poor landowners to the position of landless labourers. It was mostly in Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Shimoga districts that small tenants benefitted from the tenancy law.
The H–K region is one of the regions in Karnataka with the lowest success rates in tenancy legislation. The share of recorded tenants was one of the lowest in Karnataka state even in 1957 (Damle, 1989). The percentage of success in terms of number of applications decided in favour of tenants was relatively lower in the districts of the H–K region. In Bidar district, only 5 per cent of tenants in 1957 had their applications decided in their favour Similarly in Gulbarga, the number was 12 per cent, in Raichur 12 per cent and in Bellary 15 per cent of tenants got their applications decided in their favour. Similarly, the success rate of tenancy legislation was lower in the districts of H–K during the year 1987 also (Damle, 1989). The existence of a large number of unrecorded tenants, together with reverse tenancy, may be the reason for the failure of land reforms in the H–K region. This is reflected in the high concentration of landholdings in a few hands in this region.
During the post-1977 period, land reform measures suffered a severe setback. Those who formulated these policies were either themselves landlords or their representatives. The ceiling legislation had only a little impact on the skewed landownership pattern, especially in the northern part of Karnataka (Deshpande & Torgal, 2003). In fact, Karnataka is one of the states in India to reverse the land reform laws (Ramakumar, 2017). A land reform bill was introduced in the legislative assembly in the 1990s. First, it raised the land ceiling from 10–54 acres to 40–216 acres. Second, the bill legalised leasing which was banned in the original land reform act. Third, restrictions on the acquisition of agricultural land by non-agricultural ‘sources’ were removed. Also, the bill gave permission to convert agricultural land to non-agricultural land. Hence, land reforms as an important instrument of social justice failed to provide adequate land to the actual tillers of the soil in Karnataka, especially in the H–K region.
Private Investment in Irrigation
As mentioned earlier, access to education, especially higher education, is largely linked to the landownership pattern in the non-canal-irrigated village. Only big landholders have access to higher education in this village. On the other hand in the canal-irrigated village, access to higher education is not conditioned by the landownership pattern. Such a dissimilar pattern in the developmental trajectory of the two villages is explained through the differences in the sources of irrigation.
An important source of irrigation in Janiwar village is a public source—the canal—while in Basawantawadi village, it is private sources, including private wells. Around 72 per cent of the total households in Janiwar village depend on the public canal for irrigation, while in Basawantawadi village access to public sources of irrigation is almost nil. A majority of households in Basawantawadi village depend on private sources, including wells and tube wells. Also, around 50 per cent of the total land in Basawantawadi village remains unirrigated, while in Janiwar village it is only around 26 per cent.
Access to private sources of irrigation in a non-canal-irrigated village are largely linked to the landownership pattern. The access to irrigation, especially groundwater irrigation such as private wells, is limited by the size of landholdings. The marginal farmers are completely excluded from groundwater irrigation due to the heavy private investment involved in it ( Table 6 ). Those who can afford private wells are small farmers, medium farmers and large farmers. Such a situation creates disabling conditions for poor farmers to break the vicious cycle of distress and to access mobility options such as education, especially higher education. Marginal farmers mostly belong to depressed communities—SC, SCs and Muslims.
Size of Landholdings and Private Wells Among Households in Basawantawadi Village
Source: Field survey.
The unequal access to irrigation creates a vicious cycle of distress among marginal farmers. Our fieldwork reveals that unlike the canal-irrigated village, a major source of debt in the non-canal-irrigated village is irrigation. The above distress is compounded by the fact that farmers depend on moneylenders for credit. Our fieldwork reveals that the common rate of interest charged by moneylenders is around 3 per cent per ₹1000. These moneylenders usually reside within the village. The collateral security usually given to moneylenders is gold, land, houses and so on. Sometimes, villagers get credit from moneylenders without collateral securities, too. Many villagers have reported that they approach moneylenders since it is easy to get money during emergency situations. The dependence on moneylenders is almost complete among marginalised communities.
The access to public sources of irrigation such as canal water provides opportunities for accumulation in the canal-irrigated village. Along with subsistence crops such as jowar the people in Janiwar village are able to cultivate commercial crops, including cotton. Villagers have reported that the availability of water through canals throughout the year has enabled them to cultivate commercial crops along with food crops. The profits thus accumulated are reinvested in education in Janiwar village. On the other hand, in Basawantawadi village, due to an unequal access to water and heavy dependence on private sources of irrigation,villagers, especially those from the marginalised sections of society, increasingly resort to the cultivation of subsistence crops and thereby impede their opportunities for profit accumulation.
Gendered Access to Education
As mentioned earlier, access to education is very much gendered in a canal-irrigated village as compared to a non-canal-irrigated village. The share of women in higher education is relatively less in a canal-irrigated village as compared to a non-canal-irrigated village. Also women are discriminated in terms of unequal access to ‘quality’ educational institutions such as private institutions and English-medium schools. This is quite surprising as the canal-irrigated village shows relatively more inclusiveness in education in terms of caste as compared to the non-canal irrigated village.
Our fieldwork reveals that the availability of water through the canal has intensified the agricultural activities in Janiwar village as compared to Basawantawadi village. Due to crop diversification, there is a rise in demand for agricultural labour in Janiwar village. Households in the village to a certain extent compensate this increase in demand for labour by deploying family labour, especially women. Such a situation might have badly affected women’s access to education, especially higher education.
Also, social institutions such as a patrilineal system, patrilocal residence and dowry system play a major role in household decisions regarding women’s education. Our fieldwork reveals that most households perceive the benefits of educating a woman within the cost–benefit framework. When we asked many parents why they were not sending their daughters for higher education, they countered by asking, ‘What benefit we would get by educating a daughter?’ According to them, apart from education, they need to spend on her dowry too, and even if she were to get a job, since she would be residing with her husband’s family after marriage, all the benefits would flow to his family. Hence, a household’s decision regarding women’s education is very much conditioned by social institutions.
Adolescent marriage is always considered as the main reason for a persistent gender gap in schooling. A study conducted in the context of rural Bangladesh shows that the delay in marriage for girls has resulted in better schooling outcomes in terms of more years in schooling (Field & Ambrus, 2008). However, if social norms require that husbands have higher education levels than wives, then parents have less incentive to invest in their daughter’s higher education, since they have to pay more dowry. In fact, studies show that there is a gender gap in educational expenditure and this gap becomes more important with the rise in the age of the child (Chaudhuri & Roy, 2006). Labour market discrimination in the form of a persistent gender gap in earnings also acts as a disincentive for parents to invest in their daughter’s education (Kingdon, 1998)
Summary and Conclusion
The present study based on the micro-level study of two villages in H–K shows that access to public irrigation plays a major role in development outcomes relating to education, especially higher education. There are differences between the canal-irrigated and non-canal-irrigated villages with regard to the developmental trajectory in education. The canal-irrigated village is more inclusive in terms of caste in education. Apart from landowning communities, non-landowning communities, including SCs, also have access to higher education. Also, access to ‘quality’ educational institutions, such as private institutions and English-medium schools, is also inclusive in terms of caste in the canal-irrigated village. On the other hand, in the context of the non-canal-irrigated village, access to higher education and ‘quality’ educational institutions is just limited to landowning communities. However, an investigation through the lens of gender shows that the above inclusiveness in education in terms of caste in the canal-irrigated village has failed to trickle down to women. The share of women in higher education is relatively less in the canal-irrigated village compared to that in the non-canal-irrigated village. Also women do not have access to ‘quality’ education defined in terms of private institutions and English medium schools. These outcomes in education are explained through raising three issues: land distribution pattern, private investment in irrigation and gendered access to education.
There is a strong relationship between landownership pattern and access to higher education. As the size of landholdings increase, the share of educated persons also rise. The marginal landholders do not have any access to education, especially higher education. Only big landowners have access to higher education in the non-canal-irrigated village. The big landowners in this village are mostly from upper castes and backward communities. The hierarchies in landownership pattern are reproduced with regard to access to higher education in the non-canal-irrigated village. On the other hand, in the case of the canal-irrigated village, access to higher education is not conditioned by landownership pattern.
The sources of irrigation play a major role in influencing dissimilar patterns in the development outcomes in education in the two villages. The major sources of irrigation in the non-canal-irrigated village are private wells and tube wells. The level of indebtedness is very high, and a major source of debt is irrigation, unlike in the canal-irrigated village. Our study shows that marginal landholders who are mostly SCs, STs and Muslim are completely excluded from private sources of irrigation as it involves huge private investment. The unequal access to irrigation has created barriers for sustainable livelihood strategies for marginal farmers. Such a situation has created restricting conditions for depressed communities to access mobility options, including education, in the non-canal-irrigated village. Our study also shows that access to education, especially higher education, is highly gendered. Social institutions such as a patrilineal system, patrilocal residence and dowry system and the age at marriage mediate women’s access to education, especially higher education.
Land is the pivot around which opportunities in basic rights such as education are structured in a non-canal irrigated village. Access to education is limited only to the upper strata of rural society in the non-canal-irrigated village. On the other hand, education has, to a certain extent, reached the grassroots level of the society in the village where there is state intervention in the provision of irrigation. Rather the relationship between land and access to basic rights, such as education is relatively slack in the canal-irrigated village. However, it does not mean that development has reached its full potential in the canal-irrigated village. As evident from this study, women are excluded from the above inclusiveness in education in the canal-irrigated village.
The public provisions of irrigation, along with land reform measures, have a major role in generating development outcomes. As evident from the study of the canal-irrigated village, state intervention in the provision of irrigation along with more equal distribution of land has led to more inclusiveness in education. On the other hand, unequal access to irrigation and land has reproduced ‘unfreedoms’ 2 in education in the non-canal-irrigated village. Since development is often mediated by social institutions such as caste and gender, deliberate interventions on the part of the state are essential for achieving more ‘freedoms’ in agriculture and education. These ‘freedoms’ do not stand apart from each other but, as this micro-level study shows, are often interlinked. Hence we need a development model that prioritises social justice more than economic growth rather than a model solely based on economic growth in a region such as the H–K region where access to basic ‘freedoms’ is still missing for a large share of the population.
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
I want to sincerely thank Mr Devendra for his excellent research assistance during my fieldwork.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
This study is part of a major research project titled, ‘Growth and Inclusiveness: Land, education, health and women in two villages in Hyderabad–Karnataka region’ funded by the Indian Council for Social Science Research, New Delhi.