Nuh violence: A look at one of India’s poorest districts
Nuh, where communal clashes broke out on Monday, is one of the poorest districts in Haryana. Forty per cent of the population there is multi-dimensionally poor, according to Niti Aayog.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Aug 2, 2023 20:42 IST
Communal clashes broke out in Haryana's Nuh during a religious procession on Monday (Image: India Today)
By Subham Singh, Samrat Sharma: Nuh, a small district in Haryana and a part of the National Capital Region (NCR), has been in the spotlight after deadly communal violence broke out on July 31 during a religious procession taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). At least six people, including two home guards, three civilians, and an Imam lost their lives during the violence.
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Nuh is among the only 33 districts in India where Muslims constitute more than half the population — according to 2011 Census data, Muslims made up 79.2 per cent of the population, and Hindus, 20.4 per cent.
Nuh is also the poorest district in Haryana. Forty per cent of the population there is multi-dimensionally poor, according to Niti Aayog. Multidimensional poverty is determined by three broad factors: health, education and standard of living.
Within these three categories fall other parameters such as nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, years of schooling, sanitation, housing, assets, etc.
Considering the backward status of Nuh, the government has also included Nuh in the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP), which aims to quickly and effectively transform the 112 most under-developed districts across the country. The programme focuses on the strength of each district, identifying low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement and measuring progress by ranking districts on a monthly basis.
In 2018, the year of the programme’s inception, Nuh fared worst among all the districts. It had secured the 101st rank among 101 districts back then. The ranking was based on the incremental progress made across 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under five broad socio-economic themes of health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development, and infrastructure.
The district, however, deteriorated further in terms of education, agriculture and basic infrastructure in May 2023. Compared to the baseline of April 2018, education deteriorated by 43.8 per cent, agriculture by 14.2 per cent, and basic infrastructure slid by 18.1 per cent.
