Hope in rural India

The Wall Street Journal has published an article about an example of improving economic conditions in rural Bihar. In my head (I do not know if statistics corroborate this or not), rural Bihar and Orissa are the economically most underdeveloped regions of India.

The article ("India Defies Slump, Powered by Growth in Poor Rural States") focuses on a community called the Mushahar (literally, rat eaters) which it claims include rat meat in their diet to survive. It documents how recent government initiatives to spread education and provide public infrastructure are improving the lives of people. The full article requires paid subscription to read, but I'll quote an excerpt here to give its flavour.

"As the sun came up on a recent day, a group of Mushahar gathered round a water pump to wash clothes. Later in the morning a long line of Mushahar children made their way up a mud embankment and, in a profound departure from community tradition, headed to primary school.

The government has repaired the school's roof in recent months, hired a new teacher and added an extra bathroom to provide privacy for girls. Even so, the school doesn't have chairs or desks, so students sit on empty grain bags and write on a cement floor covered with dirt.

Each day, a group of government-hired Mushahar, known as "motivators," roust children from their homes and escort them to class. Motivator Phulwanti Devi, a recent and rare Mushahar college graduate, says she battles parents almost every morning to release their children from farm work.

"We tell them, 'It will improve their future,'" says Ms. Devi, 25 years old.

"They reply, 'We don't see that you have such a good job.' I tell them: 'I have a diploma, and so I can get a better job. What about you?'"

Still, Ms. Devi and other motivators say attendance at the school has grown. Teachers say about 150 children are enrolled. On a recent day, the motivators rounded up about half that many."

The article also claims that according to the Bihar Institute of Economic Studies, the number of people migrating out of the state dropped 27% in the 2006-08 period compared with 2001-03. Such articles give me hope - if Bihar can progress, India must be on the right path.