Haryana’s prosperity belies social fault lines

ON November 1, Haryana entered its 60th year of formation. Unlike many other states in India, which emerged from regional and linguistic identity movements, the birth of Haryana was primarily an outcome of the Punjabi Suba movement.

In the post-Partition period, a section of the Punjabi population, mostly Sikhs, demanded the reorganisation of the province on linguistic lines, even though they intended to make Punjab a Sikh-majority state. As advocates of the Punjabi Suba movement had wanted, the non-Punjabi-speaking areas in southern Punjab were separated to form the new state of Haryana, with Hindi as its official language.

The newly carved-out state of Punjab soon emerged as a vibrant state with the highest per capita income in the country. Besides a better agricultural infrastructure, it also inherited some of the major cities of the region. The introduction of the Green Revolution technology transformed it into India's 'food basket'. In comparison, the area that became Haryana was poorer, less urbanised and lacked a clear vision for its growth.

Over the nearly six decades, the tables have turned. Haryana has emerged as one of the most vibrant regions of the country, surpassing Punjab in many aspects. It is considered one of the wealthiest states in India, with its per capita income being nearly double the national average. In contrast, Punjab ranks far below, barely above the national average per capita income. Haryana's economy, too, has been growing at a much faster pace as compared to the national average. However, a closer and critical examination of the Haryana growth story continues to throw up many questions.

Like most other states, Haryana too has its sub-regions. These regions have had distinct histories and are socially diverse even in terms of their caste profiles. For example, the dominant landowning caste in the central pockets of Haryana is mostly that of the Jats, while in the southern regions, it is mostly the Ahirs/Yadavs. Likewise, the state also has Gujjars, Rors and Bishnois, who have their pockets of dominance. Sikh Jats, Hindu Punjabis and Meo Muslims too have substantial landholdings in some places.

The social profile of the towns and cities of Haryana has also been very different from that of rural/agrarian Haryana. Besides the trading caste of Banias, a substantial part of the urban economy of the state has been with the Punjabis, most of whom are Partition migrants. Even though the Punjabis have rarely been in a conflictual relationship with the 'natives', they were, for a long time, viewed as outsiders, often called/treated as 'refugees.' The Punjabis, in turn, saw themselves as being culturally superior to the 'natives'. They used the term 'locals' for them, which often implied rural, rustic and uncouth. But over the past 75 years, the Punjabis of Haryana have become well-integrated into the local economy and politics. Rarely would they hesitate to identify themselves as Haryanvis. In electoral analysis, they are often counted as a distinct caste-cluster. One of them has even been the chief minister of the state for a decade.

The rural 'natives' too have become far more mobile. The prosperity brought about by the Green Revolution and the changes associated with the larger process of development have enabled some of them to move to urban centres for education and employment. The rural rich have also invested in urban property and have set up businesses, making the towns and cities of Haryana far more diverse than they were five or six decades ago.

However, the story of Haryana over the past six decades is not simply that of integration and prosperity. It is also marked by unprecedented widening of disparities and, more importantly, of social alienation.

Closely following the farmers of Punjab, cultivators in Haryana also adopted the Green Revolution technology, which significantly enhanced the productivity of their land, increasing their incomes and mobility. However, the excitement brought about by the Green Revolution was short-lived. As with Punjab, in Haryana too, the farmers saw their debts grow, producing anxieties and a sense of impending (agrarian) crisis.

However, unlike Punjab, Haryana's growth trajectory diverged. While the agrarian hinterlands were complaining about shrinking incomes from farms, its proximity to the national capital emerged as a new avenue of its economic dynamism.

The economic reforms of the 1990s opened up unprecedented opportunities for the peripheries of national capital. The sleepy town of Gurgaon (later renamed Gurugram) was transformed into one of the most happening places of the country by the corporate capital, turning it into a Millennial City. Gurugram has continued to grow over the past three decades. The northern and western borders of the national capital have also been incorporated into the emerging corporate economy.

The rise of Gurugram and the incorporation of other peripheries of Haryana into the National Capital Region (NCR) economy have indeed benefited the local farmers, whose lands were purchased by the new generation of builders at prices much higher than what they could have ever imagined. Other residents of the region too have benefited. Many of them have found employment as property dealers and suppliers of a range of services to global companies.

However, very few of them have been able to join the mainstream of the corporate world. The new class of cosmopolitans who inhabit valued positions in the 'new' economy rarely identify themselves territorially. To put it differently, even though they live in Haryana, they are unlikely ever to see themselves as Haryanvis, even when they have built a house of their own or purchased an apartment in a condominium.

Beyond the social dynamics of identification, this also reflects a structural transformation in the Haryana economy. From an agrarian state, Punjab’s neighbour has rapidly evolved into a region where nearly 85 per cent of its economy comprises manufacturing and services.

This is not merely a reflection of the growing marginalisation of its agriculture; growing economic and spatial disparities also accompany it. As Deepanshu Mohan, Professor at OP Jindal Global University, Sonepat, has recently pointed out, the per capita income of an average resident of Gurugram is over 11 times that of a resident of the neighbouring district of Nuh. Driven by corporate capital, Haryana has indeed moved ahead, but it may be leaving Haryanvis behind.