25 November 2009 - Imphal - The question, which is more important ‘Right to Education’ or ‘Right to Life’ might sound like seeking an answer to which comes first, the egg or the chicken. Yet, for the past two months the people of Manipur in the northeastern periphery of the world's largest democracy have been entangled without a hope in the clutches of this riddle.
More than 3.59 lakh students from primary to higher secondary levels in 4136 schools in the valley districts of the state have stopped attendance in a mass confrontation with the state government. The non-attendance is a consequence of the conflict situation and counter-insurgency measures such as the impunity granted to security forces under the AFSPA, 1958.
While the academic calendar each year is also often thrown asunder in the state by frequent public agitations against human rights violations and state's imposition of curfew in response, it was the fake encounter killing of a former insurgent and a pregnant housewife in broad daylight in the middle of busiest marketplace in Imphal on July 23 this year that has resulted in the current education deadlock in the state.
The figures are based on 2007-8 numbers from the Planning and Statistics Section of the State Directorate of Education. The actual number of students staying home could be much higher. They do not include students enrolled in 71 colleges listed with the Directorate of Education (U) as well as the Manipur University. Student details for the current academic year are still not available with both the Directorates.
What made the event different from the 'normalcy' defined by the routine of daily killings both by state and non-state forces, was that the killing of former insurgent Chungkham Sanjit was captured on the lens of a photographer who still remains anonymous for obvious reasons of safety. Manipuris claim after seeing the photographs that it was a case of custodial killing. Seven months-pregnant Thokchom Rabina, also killed in the same incident, was shopping for bananas in the crowded market with her two-and-half year old son. Five other civilians were injured in the incident.
The event might have met the same fate and ended after a round of fruitless dharnas and demands as is the case of most conflict related deaths in Manipur, but for the publication of the series of pictures by New Delhi-based magazine Tehelka showing that Sanjit was in police custody when he was killed.
The pictures reproduced in the local papers became new evidence and catalysed the Manipuri fire, made long dormant by continuous killings, denial of justice and systems of reparation. The result was a public movement demanding resignation of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi on moral grounds, punishment to the involved policemen and repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958.
For it's part, the government has not adopted measures of dialogues and negotiations. It responded with curfew and by detaining as many as eight public leaders including three women under National Security Act (NSA) which allows for preventive detention without trial for six months but extendable for up to one year. Bandhs, sit-in-protests and torch rallies were met by stern police action in the form of rubber bullets and tear gas shells.
When all efforts were thus brutally subdued, three major student bodies in the state – All Manipur Students Union (AMSU), Manipuri Students Federation (MSF) and Kangleipak Students Association (KSA) joined the public outcry and called an indefinite class boycott in the state starting from September 9 last in an attempt to pressurise the state government.
While announcing the boycott, the All Manipur Students Union (AMSU) emphasised the necessity of joining the agitation in view of the insecurity of life in the state. Adding that many innocent persons including students have fallen victim to frequent cases of fake encounters, it stated, “When death is hanging over the head of all the people including students, it has become a big question whether the student community should continue with their studies or join the people's movement. Rather than waiting to be killed in fake encounters, the student community too will join the mass movement for a secure future.”
Closure widespread in three valley districts
The present boycott has mostly affected the schools and colleges in three valley districts of the state – Imphal East, Imphal West, and Bishnupur. Of the 785 schools recognised by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur, as on February 2, 2009, Imphal West and Imphal East districts have the highest concentration of 183 and 142 schools respectively. Bishnupur has 71 recognised schools.
Of the 785 schools mentioned above, 224 are government schools, 85 are government aided while 476 are private schools. The BSEM conducts the high school leaving certificate examinations. On the other hand, the Council of Higher Secondary Education, which conducts the higher secondary exams, recognises 138 institutes in the state including colleges and higher secondary schools providing higher secondary courses.
The fourth valley district of Thoubal which has 123 recognised schools remains mostly unaffected perhaps because it is the home district of not only chief Minister Okram Ibobi, but also that of PWD minister K Ranjit who is one of the most influential persons in the state cabinet.
Classes in the five hill districts – which have altogether 266 schools recognised by the BSEM -- are continuing as usual. But there is the fear that if the boycott continues and the state board exams are affected (rescheduled), the hill districts' efforts in keeping schools running might come to nought. This apprehension is fuelled also by the fact that most of the educational institutes in the state are concentrated in the valley districts.
Signs of tiring out, as attempt to end impasse fails
But even while students in Manipur spent the last two months catching up with their games, TV and friends when they should have been preparing for or even giving their final examinations, the government has sat adamantly in a silent vigil waiting for the protestors to tire out.
Indeed, tired out by the impasse, various guardians’ organisations, and private school bodies as another students group Democratic Students Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) started appealing for resumption of classes. What ensued was a debate which became increasingly acidic with each press release and public meeting. The AMSU, MSF and KSA in their defense questioned which one is more important – ‘Right to Life’ or ‘Right to Education’. They asked whether there would be a guarantee for their lives if the class boycott was suspended.
Taking advantage of the developing fracas, on November 7, the Secular Progressive Front (SPF) government led by chief minister Ibobi called for resumption of classes from November 9 onwards with policemen guarding the schools. But as the matter was still unresolved, the boycott continued, and attendance in both government and private schools was minimal. At the time of writing, the boycott stands and schools are still closed.
The Apunba Lup, a conglomerate body of numerous organisations, as well as the three agitating students’ bodies rejected the call for resumption of classes. The body said that main agenda of the SPF government seems to not only confuse the people by pretending to welcome negotiated settlement of the issues at hand but also reflects lack of seriousness and commitment to find solutions.
The government’s decision to prise open educational institutions deploying security personnel was against the spirit of efforts to sort out differences through negotiations, opined the Working Committee of the Apunba Lup, through the local press. This was a clear demonstration that the government would use all its resources to dilute the three months-old movement, said the committee. The All Manipur Recognised Private Schools' Welfare Association (AMRPSWA) has also decried the government's attempt to open educational institutions rather than sorting out and ending the impasse through mutual consultation and amicable settlement.
Parents impacted, school administrators speak out
Both the government’s failure to resolve the issue as well as the continued boycott have irked a sizeable section of the population. Mother of two school-going students, S Tombi Devi of Singjamei in Imphal West district says about the impasse, "When it is hard to cope up when my children does not attend school for even a single day, how will they (parents) ever be able to manage with this boycott for over two months now? We are paying extra for private tuitions now, and above that spending so much time overseeing their studies and their time at home that we can't go about our normal societal and daily duties.”
Dr K Nabachandra, principal of privately-owned Herbert School in Imphal West District states, "We feel that the government has failed to take the initiative they ought to have taken to resolve the current impasse. In all seriousness and sincerity required in dealing with the present imbroglio, they should first create an amicable atmosphere for talks. Only then will this situation be normalised.”
Two lone schoolchildren attending class in a school in Thoubal district. Pic: Sobhapati Samom.
“We are pained by this hardened stand of the government. On the other hand, we don't want the students alone to suffer on a public issue. When all other sections of the society, be it businesspersons, office employees or industrialists are going on with their normal routine, why should only the students who are young, innocent and too immature to understand the pros and cons of the public issue, be penalised," he said, reiterating his appeal for a dialogue between the two parties to speed up resumption of normal classes.
AMRPSWA further appealed to both the government and the agitators to make concerted effort for resolving the crisis within November 19 so as to enable resumption of normal academic activities. The government has ignored this deadline too, and the agitating parties are continuing their protests. One can only wait and see whether both sides will work in sincerity to settle the matter, but it goes without doubt that a stitch in time probably would have saved nine.
If the government had acted firmly and judiciously two months ago by booking those involved in the July 23 case -- one of the most atrocious cases of custodial killing -- perhaps things would not have come to this pass. Young Manipuris are now forced to choose between the ‘Right to Life’ and ‘Right to Education’ -- a choice which probably no one, especially one living in a democratic state like India, should be forced to make.
http://www.indiatogether.org
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Kerala mangrove island under threat, cabinet divided
21 November 2009 - The early morning sun emerging from the clouds brightens the narrow strip of land, which suddenly broadens and a house or two appear and then again narrows down to a three feet path. Birdcalls break the silence and different kinds of them flutter around. Surrounded on all sides by water and with estuaries curving into the land mass and mangroves weaving exotic pitch green patterns in the water and on the shores, it is an exhilarating visual experience. This is the island of Valanthakad in the Vembanad backwater, in the suburbs of Kochi, Kerala.
This unique eco-system is now threatened. It may vanish altogether or at least be marred beyond recognition if the project of Sobha Developers to setup a knowledge park, housing and commercial complex, multiplex, star hotels, IT research centre, oceanarium and a ropeway, comes through.
Mangroves weaving exotic green patterns in the water and on the shores in the Vembanad backwaters. Pic: Manilal Padavoor.
The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has strongly objected to the setting up of the High Tech City at Valanthakad and has urged the chief minister - who is also the chairman of the Single Window Clearance Committee constituted for speedy approvals of mega projects - to reject the project. Valanthakad constitutes a mangrove ecosystem comprising of 644 acres, the highest such concentration in the state.
Sobha Developers had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kerala government in August 2007 to set up the Rs.5,000-crore hi-tech city. As per the MoU, the company was to develop seven million square feet built-up area. The government, in turn agreed to bring the project under single-window clearance and to facilitate land development, limited land acquisition and environmental clearances, as well as provide utilities such as electricity, gas, water, sewage and communications.
The high-tech city is one of the four mega projects (Knowledge City, Kochi, a joint venture programme in Kozhikode with Grasim Industries, and an Integrated Township in Kozhikode are the other three) that have been short listed and submitted to the committee for clearance, following a decision by the state committee of the Communist Party of India, Marxist (CPIM), which leads the coalition, the Left Democratic Front (LDF), to speed up pending developmental projects.
There have been allegations from one faction of the party that Chief Minister V S Achutanandan is sitting on proposals citing environmental and population displacement problems. The CPI(M) has been riven by factionalism during the past years, Achutanadan leading one group and Pinarayi Vijayan, the state party secretary heading the other. Even though mostly personality driven, observers attribute certain ideological differences too. The Achutanandan group supposedly represents the 'conservative', 'ideology bound' Marxism, while the other group is seen to be more 'modern' and 'pragmatic'. The latter has a penchant for 'development' disregarding the human and environmental cost, and it is this group that alleges 'anti-development' trends on the part of the chief minister.
Furthermore, Achutanandan’s relegation from the politburo of the party and the strictures by the top committee to strictly abide by the party decisions is reportedly being used by interested sections of the party to get these mega projects approved. In the meantime, however, Binoy Biswam, Minister for Forests of the Communist Party of India (CPI) too has come out against hasty clearance of mega projects overlooking rules and regulations and shot off a letter to his party’s national secretary asking for intervention in the matter.
The proposed project would violate a series of national and state laws, the note, by KSBB has cautioned the chief minister. These include the Coastal Regulation Zone notification, Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act 2008, National Environment Policy, 2006, Kerala Forest Policy 2008 and the National Wetland Conservation Programme. The company has apparently acquired 320 acres of land including onetime paddy fields and vast fish farming lakes, according to the KSBB. But it is reported that the purchases have been made in the names of 18 different companies to overcome the Land Reforms Act. Hence the note to the chief minister points out that the project if given the green signal, will be in violation of the Kerala State Land Reforms Act, 1963, apart from going against the Kerala State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, and the Ramsar Convention.
“Valanthakad is part of the Vembanad backwater, which is one of the Ramsar sites and any such activities as has been proposed will be a gross violation and would lead to disastrous consequences,” pointed out Purushan Eloor, an environmental activist and a member of the Environmental Protection Group (Paristhithi Samrakshana Koottayma) which had filed a PIL against the project in 2007. The case has hardly made any progress because of prevarication by the government, alleges Eloor, who is in his mid-forties. The court had issued notices to the state government and the state industries department. But the government has been delaying further progress by citing various excuses like ‘the final project report is not yet ready’ etc.
Notwithstanding all the objections raised by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board, Minister of Industries Elamaram Kareem is quite confident that the High Tech City project will be given the nod without much delay.
• AP crisis: fishermen marooned
• Biodiversity: The downward spiral
94 per cent of the mangroves that was there in Kerala till the 1980s have been destroyed, according to the Board. Almost half of the backwater that surrounded Kochi is no more there and Valanthakad is the lone survivor with its rich bio diversity. 77 plant species and 27 water organisms have been identified here.
The report says in no uncertain terms that the destruction will be irreversible. “It is just impossible to recreate the mangrove system elsewhere; biological science has not yet grown for such a feat.” The KSBB notes that “the biodiversity of the area is quite rich and it is a traditional waterfowl area attracting a large number of migratory species.” The report goes on to say that the people of the area would lose the indirect benefits worth Rs. 77.28 crores annually. Dr V S Vijayan, chairman of the KSSB, clarified that this is the gross value of 14 eco-system services, like regulation of groundwater, that are invisible, but very much assessable.
Vembanad backwaters in evening light. Pic: P N Venugopal.
Only 48 families live in the island now. “Initially they had approached us too for buying land,” says Chandran, a local man, who supports his family by fishing in the backwaters. None of the families sold out to the builder. “We cannot even think of a life elsewhere,” he adds. Sahajan, another island dweller confirmed that most of the land/water logged area were purchased from absentee landlords who had given up Pokkali farming (a unique practice of paddy cultivation in saline water) and fish farming. There is a ferry-a country boat- connecting the island with the mainland where many of the younger people study or work.
Notwithstanding all the objections raised by the Board, the Minister of Industries, Elamaram Kareem is quite confident that the Sobha City project will be given the nod without much delay. Responding to the questions on the views of the KSBB, the minister said in a press meet that the project would provide employment for 75000 people. He stressed that none of the existing rules needs be amended for this, instead ‘relaxations in the existing rules’ could be offered.
When confronted with this, Dr Vijayan responded: “If relaxations are made, then there is no point in having acts and laws. And this project is not for any public good. Instead it’s only for the profit of one or few individuals.”
Even though Achutanadan has become less vocal and less forthcoming on various issues after the disciplinary action taken against him by his party, the Sobha City project is seen by many as an acid test of the veteran. It remains to be seen whether these troubled tracts will stay protected. (The Quest Features & Footage) ⊕
This unique eco-system is now threatened. It may vanish altogether or at least be marred beyond recognition if the project of Sobha Developers to setup a knowledge park, housing and commercial complex, multiplex, star hotels, IT research centre, oceanarium and a ropeway, comes through.
Mangroves weaving exotic green patterns in the water and on the shores in the Vembanad backwaters. Pic: Manilal Padavoor.
The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has strongly objected to the setting up of the High Tech City at Valanthakad and has urged the chief minister - who is also the chairman of the Single Window Clearance Committee constituted for speedy approvals of mega projects - to reject the project. Valanthakad constitutes a mangrove ecosystem comprising of 644 acres, the highest such concentration in the state.
Sobha Developers had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kerala government in August 2007 to set up the Rs.5,000-crore hi-tech city. As per the MoU, the company was to develop seven million square feet built-up area. The government, in turn agreed to bring the project under single-window clearance and to facilitate land development, limited land acquisition and environmental clearances, as well as provide utilities such as electricity, gas, water, sewage and communications.
The high-tech city is one of the four mega projects (Knowledge City, Kochi, a joint venture programme in Kozhikode with Grasim Industries, and an Integrated Township in Kozhikode are the other three) that have been short listed and submitted to the committee for clearance, following a decision by the state committee of the Communist Party of India, Marxist (CPIM), which leads the coalition, the Left Democratic Front (LDF), to speed up pending developmental projects.
There have been allegations from one faction of the party that Chief Minister V S Achutanandan is sitting on proposals citing environmental and population displacement problems. The CPI(M) has been riven by factionalism during the past years, Achutanadan leading one group and Pinarayi Vijayan, the state party secretary heading the other. Even though mostly personality driven, observers attribute certain ideological differences too. The Achutanandan group supposedly represents the 'conservative', 'ideology bound' Marxism, while the other group is seen to be more 'modern' and 'pragmatic'. The latter has a penchant for 'development' disregarding the human and environmental cost, and it is this group that alleges 'anti-development' trends on the part of the chief minister.
Furthermore, Achutanandan’s relegation from the politburo of the party and the strictures by the top committee to strictly abide by the party decisions is reportedly being used by interested sections of the party to get these mega projects approved. In the meantime, however, Binoy Biswam, Minister for Forests of the Communist Party of India (CPI) too has come out against hasty clearance of mega projects overlooking rules and regulations and shot off a letter to his party’s national secretary asking for intervention in the matter.
The proposed project would violate a series of national and state laws, the note, by KSBB has cautioned the chief minister. These include the Coastal Regulation Zone notification, Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act 2008, National Environment Policy, 2006, Kerala Forest Policy 2008 and the National Wetland Conservation Programme. The company has apparently acquired 320 acres of land including onetime paddy fields and vast fish farming lakes, according to the KSBB. But it is reported that the purchases have been made in the names of 18 different companies to overcome the Land Reforms Act. Hence the note to the chief minister points out that the project if given the green signal, will be in violation of the Kerala State Land Reforms Act, 1963, apart from going against the Kerala State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, and the Ramsar Convention.
“Valanthakad is part of the Vembanad backwater, which is one of the Ramsar sites and any such activities as has been proposed will be a gross violation and would lead to disastrous consequences,” pointed out Purushan Eloor, an environmental activist and a member of the Environmental Protection Group (Paristhithi Samrakshana Koottayma) which had filed a PIL against the project in 2007. The case has hardly made any progress because of prevarication by the government, alleges Eloor, who is in his mid-forties. The court had issued notices to the state government and the state industries department. But the government has been delaying further progress by citing various excuses like ‘the final project report is not yet ready’ etc.
Notwithstanding all the objections raised by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board, Minister of Industries Elamaram Kareem is quite confident that the High Tech City project will be given the nod without much delay.
• AP crisis: fishermen marooned
• Biodiversity: The downward spiral
94 per cent of the mangroves that was there in Kerala till the 1980s have been destroyed, according to the Board. Almost half of the backwater that surrounded Kochi is no more there and Valanthakad is the lone survivor with its rich bio diversity. 77 plant species and 27 water organisms have been identified here.
The report says in no uncertain terms that the destruction will be irreversible. “It is just impossible to recreate the mangrove system elsewhere; biological science has not yet grown for such a feat.” The KSBB notes that “the biodiversity of the area is quite rich and it is a traditional waterfowl area attracting a large number of migratory species.” The report goes on to say that the people of the area would lose the indirect benefits worth Rs. 77.28 crores annually. Dr V S Vijayan, chairman of the KSSB, clarified that this is the gross value of 14 eco-system services, like regulation of groundwater, that are invisible, but very much assessable.
Vembanad backwaters in evening light. Pic: P N Venugopal.
Only 48 families live in the island now. “Initially they had approached us too for buying land,” says Chandran, a local man, who supports his family by fishing in the backwaters. None of the families sold out to the builder. “We cannot even think of a life elsewhere,” he adds. Sahajan, another island dweller confirmed that most of the land/water logged area were purchased from absentee landlords who had given up Pokkali farming (a unique practice of paddy cultivation in saline water) and fish farming. There is a ferry-a country boat- connecting the island with the mainland where many of the younger people study or work.
Notwithstanding all the objections raised by the Board, the Minister of Industries, Elamaram Kareem is quite confident that the Sobha City project will be given the nod without much delay. Responding to the questions on the views of the KSBB, the minister said in a press meet that the project would provide employment for 75000 people. He stressed that none of the existing rules needs be amended for this, instead ‘relaxations in the existing rules’ could be offered.
When confronted with this, Dr Vijayan responded: “If relaxations are made, then there is no point in having acts and laws. And this project is not for any public good. Instead it’s only for the profit of one or few individuals.”
Even though Achutanadan has become less vocal and less forthcoming on various issues after the disciplinary action taken against him by his party, the Sobha City project is seen by many as an acid test of the veteran. It remains to be seen whether these troubled tracts will stay protected. (The Quest Features & Footage) ⊕
The futility of hope
25 November 2009 - If you walk a few minutes along the filthy, open drain skirting Madubhai Machuware's house in Chikhalda village of Madhya Pradesh, it will lead you to the mighty Narmada, his mother goddess. Before the Bargi, Narmada Sagar and Sardar Sarovar dams were built, Madubhai earned his dal-roti by cultivating melons, vegetables and flowers on its riverbed, and fishing in its waters. Now living his life in the shadow of these large dams, he can manage neither.
The reservoir of Sardar Sarovar has submerged the riverbed, and the ensuing siltation along with other factors, ensured that he can never catch enough fish to feed his family of eleven - sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren included. On days when he returns home without a catch, he doesn't even feel like drinking his cup of chai. And when water begins to flow in the panchayat taps in the neighbourhood, the drain adjoining his house which carries human excrement, fills his nostrils with a repulsive smell. Yet he refuses to move to a resettlement site of the Sardar Sarovar Project at Narmadanagar six kilometres away, where he has been allotted a house plot. Here's why.
Madubhai is one of thousands of fishworkers, riverbed cultivators and boatmen whose livelihood has been snatched away by the Sardar Sarovar dam. The Government has never bothered to conduct a survey of these categories of the displaced, hence no official count is available. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) - the movement fighting for the displaced for more than two decades - puts the figure at about 10,000 families pursuing these occupations. Customary usage of land - as in Madubhai's case - has been recognised by the resettlement and rehabilitation policy of the Madhya Pradesh Government, which states that persons with encroachments prior to 1987 will be entitled to agricultural land.
Instead of being allotted agricultural land, Madubhai has to be content with about a lakh of rupees in cash compensation for his house which will also be submerged, and a 500 square metre house plot. This plot was first allotted to him at the Nanakbaydi resettlement site, on saline, black cotton soil unsuitable for construction. When he applied for a change of resettlement site from Nanakbaydi to Narmadanagar - closer to the river - he encountered more hurdles. The road is three to four feet higher than the house plot at his new resettlement site, and the construction of a high enough plinth such that rainwater will not enter his house, will cost him forty thousand rupees. How does the Government expect him to build a house with the sixty thousand he'd have left over, he wonders. But not having a roof over his head in the near future is not the only cause of Madubhai's anxiety.
Since Bargi - the first major dam on the Narmada - was built upstream near Jabalpur in 1990, Madubhai's occupation of cultivating watermelon, muskmelon and vegetables on the sandy banks of the river has been continually disrupted. Watermelon and muskmelon are cultivated exactly at the level of the water table in the sand on the riverbed. These fruits grow on creepers. If the water level increases even by a foot, on the one hand, the creepers are completely submerged. On the other hand, if the water level goes down by a foot, their roots do not penetrate deep enough to be able to draw water.
Since the turbines of the Bargi dam became operational more than a decade and a half ago, the water adjoining Madubhai's riverbed land has been fluctuating by two to four feet in its level. When water would be released to run the turbines, it would enter the land. His saplings would rot. When the water would recede, he would make another attempt - sow again, only to be faced with another failed crop. His livelihood was buffeted in this manner by the capricious release of water from the Bargi dam, till the reservoir of the Sardar Sarovar dam downstream filled up. Now the riverbed was completely submerged, once and for all.
"Hamara to dhanda hi khatam ho gaya," he says matter-of-factly. From now on, he would have to rely solely on fishing to feed his family.
When the gates of the upstream Narmada Sagar dam were closed in 2003, the flow of the river near Madubhai's village reduced greatly. Further downstream, it dried up. Crocodiles, tortoises and fish died. Because this happened during the breeding season for fish, their eggs were destroyed as well. Since then, Madubhai has been unable to find enough fish in the river.
To add to his woes, his small shikari nav - about a foot and a half in height - can't ply the deep waters of the reservoir. With the equipment he owns - small nets, hooks and strings - he can't possibly fish in the dammed river, its nature having changed completely since its natural flow was hindered. This forces him to fish nearer to the riverbank. But when he puts out his strings with hooks in the water, they get stuck in the silt. Besides, fish prefer to stay within the reservoir instead of swimming to its muddy banks. And the few fish that are present at the boundaries can't be spotted.
As a result, Madubhai's income from fishing has plummeted as well. He can't even catch two kilos of fish in a day's work. His eleven member household needs two hundred rupees for their daily expenses. He is unable to procure loans from his contacts to meet these expenses, because without an income, he can't be trusted to repay them. For almost twenty years, his life and livelihood has been caught in the vortex of so-called development in the name of one dam or another. Some people might benefit from these dams, he admits. But for him, there was only loss, and more loss.
A view of the lane adjoining Madubhai's house
In spite of his grave predicament, Madubhai does have a little to be thankful for today, which will soon slip out of his hands too. Today, he is still able to catch some fish which keeps his house running, however unsatisfactorily. But in the near future, he fears that the Government will contract out fishing rights in the reservoir to a big player. Instead of hiring local fishworkers, this new contractor will prefer to bring labour from outside the area. Migrant labourers are easier to exploit, work longer hours and for lesser pay, as they can't form unions, don't have local contacts and can't speak the language of the region.
Such contracting of fishing rights to an outsider will destroy what little is left of Madubhai's earning potential. And despite his repeated requests and protests as a member of the NBA, the Government has so far refused to conduct even a preliminary survey of fishworkers, leave alone rehabilitating them.
When Madubhai first heard that a big dam would control the waters of the river he revered, he didn't believe the news. Navagam, the site of the proposed dam, was about 150 kilometres from his village along the Narmada. How could they build something so big that the river would rise to his doorstep? Only after the dam was built though, did he realize that the impossible was also possible. Besides, all through the years after he first heard about the dam, he never knew that its waters would drown his little world.
Did the Government not tell him anything about the catastrophe he'd have to face? Nothing. Not a word, he replies calmly. If only the Government had told him the truth, he would have joined the NBA many years before he did.
When the riverbed submerged for the first time, Madubhai's musk melons had grown, each weighing from a quarter to about three quarters of a kilo. That's when they had released water from the Bargi dam, he remembers bitterly. Along with other fishworkers, Madubhai had applied for compensation in the tehsil office. He and his co-workers were compensated anywhere between two and five thousand rupees. Since that first time, Madubhai's riverbed land was submerged often, but he never got a rupee in compensation. Nor is he able to find fish in the river now, unlike the time of that first submergence. Now only God can lead him to the other shore, he concludes helplessly.
To meet his expenses in such an extreme situation, Madubhai has had to resort to the last option: selling about a kilo of silver from his savings. Since his riverbed land completely submerged three years ago, the game is over for him. Before the waters of the dam drowned his livelihood, he remembers, his family would eat with joy. He was a carefree man then. But now, he has to borrow for everything from weddings to illnesses. He has a loan of about forty thousand rupees on his head. How will he repay it? Only God can find a way for us, is his only answer.
At the end of the day, does Madubhai have hope?
"What can I hope for?" he asks. "Hope is not of any use. God only shows good days. When the time comes, everything happens for the good. God is giving us dal-roti, life goes on, that is the biggest hope. No one has seen what happens tomorrow. Our children are not educated. We can't hope that our children will get into some service and progress in life. They are all fishermen. They eat whatever they can get by fishing in the Narmada and continue to live."
http://www.indiatogether.org/
The reservoir of Sardar Sarovar has submerged the riverbed, and the ensuing siltation along with other factors, ensured that he can never catch enough fish to feed his family of eleven - sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren included. On days when he returns home without a catch, he doesn't even feel like drinking his cup of chai. And when water begins to flow in the panchayat taps in the neighbourhood, the drain adjoining his house which carries human excrement, fills his nostrils with a repulsive smell. Yet he refuses to move to a resettlement site of the Sardar Sarovar Project at Narmadanagar six kilometres away, where he has been allotted a house plot. Here's why.
Madubhai is one of thousands of fishworkers, riverbed cultivators and boatmen whose livelihood has been snatched away by the Sardar Sarovar dam. The Government has never bothered to conduct a survey of these categories of the displaced, hence no official count is available. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) - the movement fighting for the displaced for more than two decades - puts the figure at about 10,000 families pursuing these occupations. Customary usage of land - as in Madubhai's case - has been recognised by the resettlement and rehabilitation policy of the Madhya Pradesh Government, which states that persons with encroachments prior to 1987 will be entitled to agricultural land.
Instead of being allotted agricultural land, Madubhai has to be content with about a lakh of rupees in cash compensation for his house which will also be submerged, and a 500 square metre house plot. This plot was first allotted to him at the Nanakbaydi resettlement site, on saline, black cotton soil unsuitable for construction. When he applied for a change of resettlement site from Nanakbaydi to Narmadanagar - closer to the river - he encountered more hurdles. The road is three to four feet higher than the house plot at his new resettlement site, and the construction of a high enough plinth such that rainwater will not enter his house, will cost him forty thousand rupees. How does the Government expect him to build a house with the sixty thousand he'd have left over, he wonders. But not having a roof over his head in the near future is not the only cause of Madubhai's anxiety.
Since Bargi - the first major dam on the Narmada - was built upstream near Jabalpur in 1990, Madubhai's occupation of cultivating watermelon, muskmelon and vegetables on the sandy banks of the river has been continually disrupted. Watermelon and muskmelon are cultivated exactly at the level of the water table in the sand on the riverbed. These fruits grow on creepers. If the water level increases even by a foot, on the one hand, the creepers are completely submerged. On the other hand, if the water level goes down by a foot, their roots do not penetrate deep enough to be able to draw water.
Since the turbines of the Bargi dam became operational more than a decade and a half ago, the water adjoining Madubhai's riverbed land has been fluctuating by two to four feet in its level. When water would be released to run the turbines, it would enter the land. His saplings would rot. When the water would recede, he would make another attempt - sow again, only to be faced with another failed crop. His livelihood was buffeted in this manner by the capricious release of water from the Bargi dam, till the reservoir of the Sardar Sarovar dam downstream filled up. Now the riverbed was completely submerged, once and for all.
"Hamara to dhanda hi khatam ho gaya," he says matter-of-factly. From now on, he would have to rely solely on fishing to feed his family.
When the gates of the upstream Narmada Sagar dam were closed in 2003, the flow of the river near Madubhai's village reduced greatly. Further downstream, it dried up. Crocodiles, tortoises and fish died. Because this happened during the breeding season for fish, their eggs were destroyed as well. Since then, Madubhai has been unable to find enough fish in the river.
To add to his woes, his small shikari nav - about a foot and a half in height - can't ply the deep waters of the reservoir. With the equipment he owns - small nets, hooks and strings - he can't possibly fish in the dammed river, its nature having changed completely since its natural flow was hindered. This forces him to fish nearer to the riverbank. But when he puts out his strings with hooks in the water, they get stuck in the silt. Besides, fish prefer to stay within the reservoir instead of swimming to its muddy banks. And the few fish that are present at the boundaries can't be spotted.
As a result, Madubhai's income from fishing has plummeted as well. He can't even catch two kilos of fish in a day's work. His eleven member household needs two hundred rupees for their daily expenses. He is unable to procure loans from his contacts to meet these expenses, because without an income, he can't be trusted to repay them. For almost twenty years, his life and livelihood has been caught in the vortex of so-called development in the name of one dam or another. Some people might benefit from these dams, he admits. But for him, there was only loss, and more loss.
A view of the lane adjoining Madubhai's house
In spite of his grave predicament, Madubhai does have a little to be thankful for today, which will soon slip out of his hands too. Today, he is still able to catch some fish which keeps his house running, however unsatisfactorily. But in the near future, he fears that the Government will contract out fishing rights in the reservoir to a big player. Instead of hiring local fishworkers, this new contractor will prefer to bring labour from outside the area. Migrant labourers are easier to exploit, work longer hours and for lesser pay, as they can't form unions, don't have local contacts and can't speak the language of the region.
Such contracting of fishing rights to an outsider will destroy what little is left of Madubhai's earning potential. And despite his repeated requests and protests as a member of the NBA, the Government has so far refused to conduct even a preliminary survey of fishworkers, leave alone rehabilitating them.
When Madubhai first heard that a big dam would control the waters of the river he revered, he didn't believe the news. Navagam, the site of the proposed dam, was about 150 kilometres from his village along the Narmada. How could they build something so big that the river would rise to his doorstep? Only after the dam was built though, did he realize that the impossible was also possible. Besides, all through the years after he first heard about the dam, he never knew that its waters would drown his little world.
Did the Government not tell him anything about the catastrophe he'd have to face? Nothing. Not a word, he replies calmly. If only the Government had told him the truth, he would have joined the NBA many years before he did.
When the riverbed submerged for the first time, Madubhai's musk melons had grown, each weighing from a quarter to about three quarters of a kilo. That's when they had released water from the Bargi dam, he remembers bitterly. Along with other fishworkers, Madubhai had applied for compensation in the tehsil office. He and his co-workers were compensated anywhere between two and five thousand rupees. Since that first time, Madubhai's riverbed land was submerged often, but he never got a rupee in compensation. Nor is he able to find fish in the river now, unlike the time of that first submergence. Now only God can lead him to the other shore, he concludes helplessly.
To meet his expenses in such an extreme situation, Madubhai has had to resort to the last option: selling about a kilo of silver from his savings. Since his riverbed land completely submerged three years ago, the game is over for him. Before the waters of the dam drowned his livelihood, he remembers, his family would eat with joy. He was a carefree man then. But now, he has to borrow for everything from weddings to illnesses. He has a loan of about forty thousand rupees on his head. How will he repay it? Only God can find a way for us, is his only answer.
At the end of the day, does Madubhai have hope?
"What can I hope for?" he asks. "Hope is not of any use. God only shows good days. When the time comes, everything happens for the good. God is giving us dal-roti, life goes on, that is the biggest hope. No one has seen what happens tomorrow. Our children are not educated. We can't hope that our children will get into some service and progress in life. They are all fishermen. They eat whatever they can get by fishing in the Narmada and continue to live."
http://www.indiatogether.org/
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Food fight over hunger - Prasenjit Maiti
March 2003 - A few state governments in India have of late waged a war of attrition with the Union Government over the contentious issue of providing cooked mid-day meals to underprivileged primary school children. This is primarily a central government-funded public welfare scheme where the center provides uncooked cereals (and transportation of food grains) free of cost. However, “cash-strapped” state governments plead inability to provide cooked meals to children in the below poverty level category, and seek to provide uncooked cereals instead (that too on an irregular basis), although it costs about Re.1 per child per day to provide cooked meals for the stipulated 200 days a year.
"The Calcutta High Court has ordered the Government of West Bengal to file a criminal law suit against the Inspector of Schools of Midnapore district on charges of selling mid-day meal rice in collusion with a local Block Development Officer"
The Supreme Court of India, the country's apex federal court, in an interim judgment, has recently ordered these state governments to immediately comply with the Union Government's regulations or else the center's aid to the states will be diverted to sponsor the mid-day meals project in primary schools. NGOs like the Right to Food and Work Network, Campaign against Child Labour, West Bengal Education Network and the Calcutta NGO Forum of Street and Working Children organised demonstrations by underprivileged children on 14 November 2002 — Children’s Day — in Calcutta and across West Bengal to protest against the state government’s inability to provide mid-day meals to primary school students.
Children mobilised a symbolic fund-raising drive with banners stating: “Our state government claims it doesn’t have the necessary money to provide us with food in our schools, so we’re begging for money from the common people. We shall send this money to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee so that he can provide cooked meals to hungry children.” However, the government, citing financial shortages, hasn’t yet sanctioned Rs. 190 crore to provide cooked meals to about 95 lakh students in the state. The West Bengal government, in response to a Supreme Court ruling that states should not compromise with children’s food, had earlier petitioned that it was unable to implement the central government-funded mid-day meals project due to a severe funds crunch. But the apex court rejected the petition and cautioned on 3 September 2002 that Central aid to the states would be diverted for the meals project if cooked meals were not duly provided in schools.
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (Rajasthan) filed a petition In May 2001 in connection with the “right to food” in the Supreme Court, demanding that the country’s food stock should be used without delay to prevent hunger. The Supreme Court, in its “interim order” passed on 28 November 2001, converted the benefits of eight nutrition-related federal schemes into legal entitlements and directed the state governments to provide cooked mid-day meals for all children in government and government-assisted schools:
“It is the case of the Union of India that there has been full compliance with regard to the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. However, if any of the States gives a specific instance of non-compliance, the Union of India will do the needful within the framework of the Scheme.
“We direct the State Governments to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme by providing every child in every Government and Government assisted Primary Schools with a prepared mid-day meal with a minimum content of 300 calories and 8-12 grams of protein each day of school for a minimum of 200 days. Those Governments providing dry rations instead of cooked meals must within three months [28 February 2002] start providing cooked meals in all Government and Government-aided Primary Schools in half of the Districts of the State (in order of poverty) and must within a further period of three months [28 May 2002] extend the provision of cooked meals to the remaining parts of the State
“We direct the Union of India and the Food Corporation of India to ensure provision of fair average quality grain for the Scheme on time.
“The States and the FCI are directed to do joint inspection of food grains. If the food grain is found, on joint inspection, not to be of fair average quality, it will be replaced by the FCI prior to lifting.”
This judgement revised the earlier arrangement under which primary school students were to be provided with 100 gm of wheat or rice for a minimum of 200 days in a year free of cost. However, states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand have violated the order of the Supreme Court by not implementing the project. Manipur also plans not to introduce the scheme. It has even submitted an interim application to the Supreme Court to this effect. Both Manipur and Mizoram have argued that mid day meals are not part of the eating habit of the people, and that children do not like to eat in the middle of the day, according to the Voice of the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Network.
The Tribune reported on 29 September 2002 that “The states did not have the money and the Center did not assist. The matter was taken up by the states with the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Human Resource Development leading to delay in filing affidavits by states, including Punjab.” The mid-day meal scheme happens to be one of the most resisted central schemes in federal India. This happens to be a central government scheme, but the states have to bear the costs of implementing it. This is one of the prime reasons for stiff resistance by the states.
The Hindu reported on 13 September 2002 that “Since the start of the new academic session a few months ago, the mid-day meal scheme is not being adequately implemented to nearly nine lakh children studying in 1,800 primary schools of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Whatever is being given to the students is unhygienic and sub-standard, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged, a charge denied by the ruling Congress. Further, services of private contractors are being taken for distributing fresh fruits to the students.”
The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, an NGO, has reported that the Maharashtra government has issued an order to the effect that contributions for the scheme will come "voluntarily" from the villages themselves. Local bodies have even been cautioned that they will not receive the benefits of other central government schemes if they do not contribute to the mid-day meal scheme. The Times of India, a national daily, reported on 8 July 2002 that “The Maharashtra government has decided to wash its hands off the mid-day meal scheme for primary schools, claiming that it has no funds to provide cooked meals to students. The onus of running the scheme has been passed on to the gram panchayats (village-level institutions of decentralised governance).
Jean Dreze, Visiting Professor at the Delhi School of Economics, argues that “60 million tonnes of grain are lying idle in public warehouses. These food mountains have become a resilient national embarrassment. Grain withdrawn from these warehouses is effectively costless, since the procurement expenses have already been borne. In fact, using idle food stocks for school meals would save money, by reducing storage costs” (The Hindu, 21 May 2002).
There is something deeply defective about a democracy where people's basic needs count for so little in electoral politics.
Collective demands for mid-day meals were raised in more than a hundred districts of the country by way of public hearings, protest demonstrations, hunger rallies and the like on 9 April 2002. The unwilling states, however, are yet to comply. Demonstrations were held in each and every district of Bihar. Thousands of children clamored for mid-day meals in Patna, the capital city, with empty plates.
“One might have expected State Governments to welcome the school-meal programme as an opportunity to win votes at relatively low cost. Indeed, the scheme is likely to be quite popular, and it is not very expensive for the State Governments, given that the Central Government is supplying the grain for free. In most States, however, there is no sign of such enthusiasm. There is something deeply defective about a democracy where people's basic needs count for so little in electoral politics,” adds Dreze.
"The Calcutta High Court has ordered the Government of West Bengal to file a criminal law suit against the Inspector of Schools of Midnapore district on charges of selling mid-day meal rice in collusion with a local Block Development Officer"
The Supreme Court of India, the country's apex federal court, in an interim judgment, has recently ordered these state governments to immediately comply with the Union Government's regulations or else the center's aid to the states will be diverted to sponsor the mid-day meals project in primary schools. NGOs like the Right to Food and Work Network, Campaign against Child Labour, West Bengal Education Network and the Calcutta NGO Forum of Street and Working Children organised demonstrations by underprivileged children on 14 November 2002 — Children’s Day — in Calcutta and across West Bengal to protest against the state government’s inability to provide mid-day meals to primary school students.
Children mobilised a symbolic fund-raising drive with banners stating: “Our state government claims it doesn’t have the necessary money to provide us with food in our schools, so we’re begging for money from the common people. We shall send this money to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee so that he can provide cooked meals to hungry children.” However, the government, citing financial shortages, hasn’t yet sanctioned Rs. 190 crore to provide cooked meals to about 95 lakh students in the state. The West Bengal government, in response to a Supreme Court ruling that states should not compromise with children’s food, had earlier petitioned that it was unable to implement the central government-funded mid-day meals project due to a severe funds crunch. But the apex court rejected the petition and cautioned on 3 September 2002 that Central aid to the states would be diverted for the meals project if cooked meals were not duly provided in schools.
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (Rajasthan) filed a petition In May 2001 in connection with the “right to food” in the Supreme Court, demanding that the country’s food stock should be used without delay to prevent hunger. The Supreme Court, in its “interim order” passed on 28 November 2001, converted the benefits of eight nutrition-related federal schemes into legal entitlements and directed the state governments to provide cooked mid-day meals for all children in government and government-assisted schools:
“It is the case of the Union of India that there has been full compliance with regard to the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. However, if any of the States gives a specific instance of non-compliance, the Union of India will do the needful within the framework of the Scheme.
“We direct the State Governments to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme by providing every child in every Government and Government assisted Primary Schools with a prepared mid-day meal with a minimum content of 300 calories and 8-12 grams of protein each day of school for a minimum of 200 days. Those Governments providing dry rations instead of cooked meals must within three months [28 February 2002] start providing cooked meals in all Government and Government-aided Primary Schools in half of the Districts of the State (in order of poverty) and must within a further period of three months [28 May 2002] extend the provision of cooked meals to the remaining parts of the State
“We direct the Union of India and the Food Corporation of India to ensure provision of fair average quality grain for the Scheme on time.
“The States and the FCI are directed to do joint inspection of food grains. If the food grain is found, on joint inspection, not to be of fair average quality, it will be replaced by the FCI prior to lifting.”
This judgement revised the earlier arrangement under which primary school students were to be provided with 100 gm of wheat or rice for a minimum of 200 days in a year free of cost. However, states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand have violated the order of the Supreme Court by not implementing the project. Manipur also plans not to introduce the scheme. It has even submitted an interim application to the Supreme Court to this effect. Both Manipur and Mizoram have argued that mid day meals are not part of the eating habit of the people, and that children do not like to eat in the middle of the day, according to the Voice of the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Network.
The Tribune reported on 29 September 2002 that “The states did not have the money and the Center did not assist. The matter was taken up by the states with the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Human Resource Development leading to delay in filing affidavits by states, including Punjab.” The mid-day meal scheme happens to be one of the most resisted central schemes in federal India. This happens to be a central government scheme, but the states have to bear the costs of implementing it. This is one of the prime reasons for stiff resistance by the states.
The Hindu reported on 13 September 2002 that “Since the start of the new academic session a few months ago, the mid-day meal scheme is not being adequately implemented to nearly nine lakh children studying in 1,800 primary schools of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Whatever is being given to the students is unhygienic and sub-standard, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged, a charge denied by the ruling Congress. Further, services of private contractors are being taken for distributing fresh fruits to the students.”
The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, an NGO, has reported that the Maharashtra government has issued an order to the effect that contributions for the scheme will come "voluntarily" from the villages themselves. Local bodies have even been cautioned that they will not receive the benefits of other central government schemes if they do not contribute to the mid-day meal scheme. The Times of India, a national daily, reported on 8 July 2002 that “The Maharashtra government has decided to wash its hands off the mid-day meal scheme for primary schools, claiming that it has no funds to provide cooked meals to students. The onus of running the scheme has been passed on to the gram panchayats (village-level institutions of decentralised governance).
Jean Dreze, Visiting Professor at the Delhi School of Economics, argues that “60 million tonnes of grain are lying idle in public warehouses. These food mountains have become a resilient national embarrassment. Grain withdrawn from these warehouses is effectively costless, since the procurement expenses have already been borne. In fact, using idle food stocks for school meals would save money, by reducing storage costs” (The Hindu, 21 May 2002).
There is something deeply defective about a democracy where people's basic needs count for so little in electoral politics.
Collective demands for mid-day meals were raised in more than a hundred districts of the country by way of public hearings, protest demonstrations, hunger rallies and the like on 9 April 2002. The unwilling states, however, are yet to comply. Demonstrations were held in each and every district of Bihar. Thousands of children clamored for mid-day meals in Patna, the capital city, with empty plates.
“One might have expected State Governments to welcome the school-meal programme as an opportunity to win votes at relatively low cost. Indeed, the scheme is likely to be quite popular, and it is not very expensive for the State Governments, given that the Central Government is supplying the grain for free. In most States, however, there is no sign of such enthusiasm. There is something deeply defective about a democracy where people's basic needs count for so little in electoral politics,” adds Dreze.
Voices of the marginalised - Pratibha Jyoti
In the poorest part of Jharkhand, community radio has become an important instrument for the development of neglected communities. If access to their own media were freer, the villagers believe, things could be even better. Pratibha Jyoti reports on the progress made even without government support for community stations.
14 March 2005 - The villagers of the Angada Block in Jharkhand's Ranchi district had for long been asking for the basic facility of a school - an appeal that had been expressed, until now, through letters and invitations to the local administration and the government. What finally drew the attention of Savra Lakra, the MLA of the Khijli Vidhan Sabha, was a play performed by the villagers on the dire need for schools in the village. This programme was aired on FM Ranchi, as part of a community radio initiative in Angada Block, on the day of its inauguration on 31st October 2004. It forced the legislator to come all the way and promise the villagers that they will soon have schools in their village.
As Etwa Bedia, the field coordinator of the Community Radio initiative, enthuses, "The villagers have been given a new life with this initiative. The Community Radio has become a tool through which the villagers can now have their voices heard by the policy makers." "Radio is a medium that is cheap and has an excellent reach. Most villagers already have or have now bought a radio set. It is our forum where we can reflect on our every need and problem," says Malya Bedia, a resident of one of the villages.
Initiated by Charkha Development Communication Network, this Delhi-based NGO aims to empower the rural poor and the disadvantaged communities and to articulate voices that highlight the local issues to the opinion leaders and policy makers. Initially as part of a Pilot Project Community Radio initiative in Jharkhand, in association with the regional partner, Manthan Yuva Sansthan, a need-based study was conducted of selected community people, who were then trained to develop and design a half hourly radio programme in a magazine format. As Mohammad Shakeel, the Associate Coordinator of Manthan, explains, "It is the villagers themselves who choose the issues to be aired in a programme". The residents of these 17 villages are not only the listeners, but also the directors of and performers in this half-hour programme.
It is the villagers themselves who choose the issues to be aired in a programme. The residents of these 17 villages are not only the listeners, but also the directors of and performers
The popularity of the show is evident by the fact that every Sunday at 6:30 pm the villagers are glued to their respective radio sets and small transistors. Expressed through issue-based plays, folk songs, development news and discussions, the initiative has made the residents not only socially aware but has also made them confident enough to take their local issues and challenges to the concerned officials. The final script is anchored by the two sutradhars -Etwari Behan (in the voice of Rita) and Somra Bhai (narrated by Ramdhan Bedia).
Now it is through radio that news on various government schemes, Panchayati Raj and news on rural development, is being aired in the local dialect of Panch parganiya. The villagers now know the number of houses being made under the Indira Awas Yogana and the quantity of food grain being distributed among shopkeepers under the public distribution system.
Rita, one of the narrators, begins her day by practicing her script, for which she has to walks down a whole 3 kms, to the Mungadih village. "Since the day community radio has entered the village, the inequality between the men and women of this village has lessened. When Manthan approached me with the suggestion to present the programme, my husband and mother-in-law were totally against it. But I had made my decision and quietly came for the recording of the programme. Now my husband is very proud of me," grins Rita.
As Rita explains, earlier the women of the village were hesitant to discuss their personal problems and local issues. But the community radio has given them a platform to share their views confidentially and seek guidance on the same.
But why Angada block? Sudhir Pal, the local coordinator of the community radio initiative, explains, "Despite the formation of the new state, none of the villages have witnessed much positive change. But Angada is such a block, where none of the development work has yet reached. Here people do not have even the basic facilities of roads, electricity, education and basic health care.
The community radio initiative is a platform for these voices of the marginalised, which will help the community to fulfill their needs and aspirations." Moreover, the block is placed strategically, for the nearest town to the region is the capital city of Ranchi, which is also the political seat of the state.
Statistics show that this block is one of the poorest and the most backward regions of Jharkhand. Here, of a total population of 1 lakh people, 45% are scheduled castes, and 15% are scheduled tribes. Sustaining themselves on forest and farming, the residents, with difficulty, grow crops of wheat and Marua, for there is just one source of irrigation, which is the hand pump. Although many hand pumps have been built in the region, only one or two actually have a water connection. Under such circumstances, rainwater becomes the more viable option for the farmers. There is one PDS shop that opens rarely and that too only for few hours. For the past 20 years, one can see electricity poles, but till today the villagers are yet to witness the electricity connection.
In such a situation, the community radio - a social, cultural and political tool - has become an important instrument for the development of the marginalised communities. "The impact of the community radio shall be greater when the government gives organisations and communities the access and the freedom to own radio stations. One cannot hope for much social change until community radio enjoys the same freedom as does the television, newspapers and other magazines," comments Charkha Chairperson, Shankar Ghose.
There are many obstacles to the growth of the radio, he explains. In 1995, P.B. Savant, the noted Supreme Court Judge had claimed that the public had full right over the airwaves. Despite this, Prasar Bharti still has control over the free airwaves. In the process, one needs to have a license for the community radio and the process to acquire it is so complex that one needs to gain permission from at least four Ministries (Home, Defence, Human Resource and Foreign). The Broadcasting Review Bill, which has not been cleared for the past four years, can bring new hope to more initiatives such as these, in every district of every state. Meanwhile, one may only hope that the sounds of silence in the Angada Block, Ranchi are broken for good by the voices from the marginalised. (Charkha Features)
references: http://www.indiatogether.org/
14 March 2005 - The villagers of the Angada Block in Jharkhand's Ranchi district had for long been asking for the basic facility of a school - an appeal that had been expressed, until now, through letters and invitations to the local administration and the government. What finally drew the attention of Savra Lakra, the MLA of the Khijli Vidhan Sabha, was a play performed by the villagers on the dire need for schools in the village. This programme was aired on FM Ranchi, as part of a community radio initiative in Angada Block, on the day of its inauguration on 31st October 2004. It forced the legislator to come all the way and promise the villagers that they will soon have schools in their village.
As Etwa Bedia, the field coordinator of the Community Radio initiative, enthuses, "The villagers have been given a new life with this initiative. The Community Radio has become a tool through which the villagers can now have their voices heard by the policy makers." "Radio is a medium that is cheap and has an excellent reach. Most villagers already have or have now bought a radio set. It is our forum where we can reflect on our every need and problem," says Malya Bedia, a resident of one of the villages.
Initiated by Charkha Development Communication Network, this Delhi-based NGO aims to empower the rural poor and the disadvantaged communities and to articulate voices that highlight the local issues to the opinion leaders and policy makers. Initially as part of a Pilot Project Community Radio initiative in Jharkhand, in association with the regional partner, Manthan Yuva Sansthan, a need-based study was conducted of selected community people, who were then trained to develop and design a half hourly radio programme in a magazine format. As Mohammad Shakeel, the Associate Coordinator of Manthan, explains, "It is the villagers themselves who choose the issues to be aired in a programme". The residents of these 17 villages are not only the listeners, but also the directors of and performers in this half-hour programme.
It is the villagers themselves who choose the issues to be aired in a programme. The residents of these 17 villages are not only the listeners, but also the directors of and performers
The popularity of the show is evident by the fact that every Sunday at 6:30 pm the villagers are glued to their respective radio sets and small transistors. Expressed through issue-based plays, folk songs, development news and discussions, the initiative has made the residents not only socially aware but has also made them confident enough to take their local issues and challenges to the concerned officials. The final script is anchored by the two sutradhars -Etwari Behan (in the voice of Rita) and Somra Bhai (narrated by Ramdhan Bedia).
Now it is through radio that news on various government schemes, Panchayati Raj and news on rural development, is being aired in the local dialect of Panch parganiya. The villagers now know the number of houses being made under the Indira Awas Yogana and the quantity of food grain being distributed among shopkeepers under the public distribution system.
Rita, one of the narrators, begins her day by practicing her script, for which she has to walks down a whole 3 kms, to the Mungadih village. "Since the day community radio has entered the village, the inequality between the men and women of this village has lessened. When Manthan approached me with the suggestion to present the programme, my husband and mother-in-law were totally against it. But I had made my decision and quietly came for the recording of the programme. Now my husband is very proud of me," grins Rita.
As Rita explains, earlier the women of the village were hesitant to discuss their personal problems and local issues. But the community radio has given them a platform to share their views confidentially and seek guidance on the same.
But why Angada block? Sudhir Pal, the local coordinator of the community radio initiative, explains, "Despite the formation of the new state, none of the villages have witnessed much positive change. But Angada is such a block, where none of the development work has yet reached. Here people do not have even the basic facilities of roads, electricity, education and basic health care.
The community radio initiative is a platform for these voices of the marginalised, which will help the community to fulfill their needs and aspirations." Moreover, the block is placed strategically, for the nearest town to the region is the capital city of Ranchi, which is also the political seat of the state.
Statistics show that this block is one of the poorest and the most backward regions of Jharkhand. Here, of a total population of 1 lakh people, 45% are scheduled castes, and 15% are scheduled tribes. Sustaining themselves on forest and farming, the residents, with difficulty, grow crops of wheat and Marua, for there is just one source of irrigation, which is the hand pump. Although many hand pumps have been built in the region, only one or two actually have a water connection. Under such circumstances, rainwater becomes the more viable option for the farmers. There is one PDS shop that opens rarely and that too only for few hours. For the past 20 years, one can see electricity poles, but till today the villagers are yet to witness the electricity connection.
In such a situation, the community radio - a social, cultural and political tool - has become an important instrument for the development of the marginalised communities. "The impact of the community radio shall be greater when the government gives organisations and communities the access and the freedom to own radio stations. One cannot hope for much social change until community radio enjoys the same freedom as does the television, newspapers and other magazines," comments Charkha Chairperson, Shankar Ghose.
There are many obstacles to the growth of the radio, he explains. In 1995, P.B. Savant, the noted Supreme Court Judge had claimed that the public had full right over the airwaves. Despite this, Prasar Bharti still has control over the free airwaves. In the process, one needs to have a license for the community radio and the process to acquire it is so complex that one needs to gain permission from at least four Ministries (Home, Defence, Human Resource and Foreign). The Broadcasting Review Bill, which has not been cleared for the past four years, can bring new hope to more initiatives such as these, in every district of every state. Meanwhile, one may only hope that the sounds of silence in the Angada Block, Ranchi are broken for good by the voices from the marginalised. (Charkha Features)
references: http://www.indiatogether.org/
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