A Study of Poverty Alleviation Programmes and Issues of Tribal Livelihood in Lakhimpur District with Special Reference to Mising Tribe

Abstract

As poverty is an enduring problem, poverty alleviation has been a key component of the development strategies over the past 50 years. Over the years, the strategies and approaches to tackle the problems arising out of poverty have changed. In 1950s and 1960s, efforts often involved investments in large scale infrastructural projects, while in the 1970s, the focus shifted to the development of human capital. During the 1980s, the emphasis moved towards decentralized decision making, trade liberalization and economic reforms. In the recent years, focus has been on good governance. However, despite all attempts at meeting politico economic problems to eradicate poverty, the issue remains in the same, although some progress in addressing poverty is not altogether absent. The tribal communities, who are already underprivileged, are severely impacted by poverty and its various manifestations in the form of hunger, malnutrition, low levels of literacy, lack of health care etc. They suffer social and political marginalization and remain vulnerable to exploitation. This study therefore takes the case of Mising tribe of Assam, in order to understand the effectiveness of the poverty alleviation programmes in a tribal community in terms of objectives of realizations. The primary objectives of the study are: to study the socio-economic conditions of the Mising people to examine the nature and process of implementation of the various Poverty Alleviation programmes implemented in the Mising villages to find out the nature and extend of participation of Mising households of the villages under study in various Poverty Alleviation programmes and to suggest measures for development of the Mising people.