In her paper titled ‘A Secular Democracy in Practice’, EAC-PM member Shamika Ravi said that the government is responsive to the needs of the marginalized section of society irrespective of religion, caste, or place of residence, which is an alternative and more robust indicator of strengthening democracy in India. The focus of the study was on the bottom 20% of households.
Based on a nationally representative sample of more than 1.2 million households across 2015–16 and 2019–21, the paper said there is no evidence that the government catered only to one community (Hindu majority) or discriminated across households based on districts where one religious community was dominant.
With respect to electricity, bank accounts, mobiles and access to toilets, the gains were widespread across religions and social groups. As a matter of fact, in some instances, minorities have gained more than the majority, it said.
“However, the government must do more to uplift the poorest 20% of households across religions and social groups by focusing on amenities like LPG and water on-premises,” it added.
Talking about the target achievement or the ratio of increase in the proportion of households that got access to amenities in 2019-20 compared to 2015-16 and those without access, the paper said target achievement in case of electricity was 68% but in case of Muslim households it was 71%.
Likewise, in the case of bank accounts, while the target achievement was 73%, it was 77% for Muslims, 75% for OBCs and 70% for SCs and STs, it said.