Dr. Shamsher Singh, Research Associate at the Foundation for Agrarian Studies, presented a seminar on the topic, “Access to Drinking water in Rural India: A Sociological Study of Factors and Processes”, on October 27, 2016 at the premises of the Foundation. The presentation was based mainly on primary data collected from the village surveys conducted by the Foundation over the years.

Dr. Singh began his presentation by highlighting the increasing intensity of the problem of access to drinking water among rural households. This was followed by a detailed description of the issue of differential access to drinking water among different social groups. Based on his analysis of village level data from 11 villages in 5 States of India, Dr. Singh attributed the differences across household to caste-based discrimination, still prevalent in the Indian countryside. Dr. Singh used case studies from different villages to exemplify the inequality in access to drinking water across social groups.

The presentation showed the relationship between different socio-economic factors, including size of landholding, occupation, income etc., on the one hand, and access to drinking water, on the other hand. In addition, he also discussed the role of panchayats in improving the access to drinking water for rural households across all social groups. Dr. Singh cited a couple of case studies to highlight the positive impact made by the active intervention at the level of local governance.

In conclusion, Dr. Singh reemphasized the precarious condition of availability of drinking water in rural India, with Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim households being the worst sufferers. Dalits faced the most severe forms of discrimination in respect of access to drinking water. He asserted the importance of public investment to improve the access to drinking water among the marginalized sections of rural society.