In search of relevance...

My fellowship with CHC came to a close in March. The rest of the fellows wound up in February, but because of my month in US/Canada, I had requested an extension. My report was due at the end of March and I spent a lot of time on it from December onwards. In retrospect, I'm glad I did and am thankful to CHC. Because of the report and my blogging, I have a much better record of what I did during my first year back in India.

The report can be found here. It's 77 pages long, but I think it is an easy read. I will start blogging again, so there should be more to read out here as well.

From victory to celebration... to reflection

After the achievements of the dharna, plans were made to organize a sammelan, a gathering in Sitapur city. The goals of this sammelan were many: to mobilize other villages in Mishrikh and Pisawa blocks as well as other blocks throughout Sitapur dt., to show the people of Sitapur city, media etc. that the Sangathan did more than organize protests, to discuss the problems of the rural poor etc.

In the meantime, some progress had occured after the dharna vis a vis issual of job cards. Further, work had been started in most of the Sangathan villages. After almost a year of almost no work being provided, ponds were being dug, fields were being leveled and labourers were being employed under NREGA for this work.

For me, most of February was spent planning for the sammelan, from discussions at the village level on the reasons for holding a sangathan to the nitty-gritty of the venue, equipment etc. The expected turnout was 2000-2500, so this was a bigger event than any I had worked on in the past. My role was small – mainly helping out with posters and a small photoexhibit, helping out in meetings etc. Dwiji had a bigger responsibility – he was in the logistics team.

The sammelan was held on the 24^th and 25^th of February. Attendees were expected to arrive by noon, but as usual, it was 2:30 pm before the venue began filling up. The sammelan was inaugurated by the lighting of torches held by 5 women and 5 men of the Sangathan. It was followed by slogans, speeches and songs. Activists and supporters who had arrived from MP, Lucknow, Delhi etc. spoke, congratulating the Sangathan and exhorting the audience to continue the struggle. I found the speeches given by the Sangathan Saathis Bitoli and Prakash as inspiring, if not more. Maybe more because I had seen them practicing and had given feedback. To see all their hard work pay off was immensely satisfying.

After the inaugural, we took a break for three hours to relax and have dinner. Incidentally, meals during the sammelan were being cooked using the rice and wheat flour that had been collected during the dharna. At 9 pm, we re-convened to discuss problems with implementation of NREGA, changes necessary to the Act itself and the problems faced by the poor in general. This session continued till midnight after which entertainment commenced in the form of songs. I guess a gathering this size never sleeps! Some singer performed the traditonal 'alhas' while others sangs songs from movements, ghazals and filmi songs. Some performers bagged a good sum of money through requests!

Over in the food tent, events were progressing less smoothly. About 1500 packets of poori-sabzi were to be distributed in the morning (the turnout was less than expected), but by 4 am only 400 had been made! The team hired for cooking may not have ever cooked for this many people and had clearly not anticipated the effort required. Tea was served early, but by the time there were enough packets to distribute, it was almost 11 am. After distribution, a few people started saying that the sabzi was rotten (it did smell a little off, maybe because it was packed tight and because tomoatoes were used). Anyway, that started a commotion and the next hour was not pleasant!

The sammelan was to end in a rally, but first, word was received that the CDO and PD (Program Director) would show up. They did, and spoke as well. The CDO assured the assembled people that overdue payments for work done would be made before Holi and that work would be started in all villages. He said that the government had enough funds to ensure that every family worked for 100 days in a year. There were just a few problems in the system that needed to be fixed, for which he asked the Sangathan to continue working!

Of course, our friends did not let him get away with that! They thanked him for attending the sammelan but also reminded him of the many things that were still wrong. They took on the issue of overdue wages and he assured the assembled crowd of payment before Holi.

Like with other Sangathan events, the sammelan ended with a rally. The resolution that had been approved in the morning was presented to the DM. With a little bit more of slogan chanting, the sammelan was completed.

The sammelan had its highs and lows, but it was clear that this event marked a new phase in the Sangathan's journey. Sitapur had sat up and taken notice of SKMS. And while all the stated goals of the sammelan were not met, such as mobilizing in other blocks, the seeds have been sown. It was a satisfied lot of people brimming with ideas that returned to their villages on 25^th February.

Two steps forward, half a step... forward?

Immediately following the SKMS dharna, I was down with diarrhoea for 2 days. I had been fine during the summer and monsoon in Sitapur, so to be brought low in the winter was surprising. Thankfully, the dharna was over, so I could concentrate on rehydration and rest.

Things were better on the Sangathan front – account numbers were being collected for payment of the unemployment benefits and work had started in many villages. Of course, there are problems. In Mishrikh and Pisawa, the 3-day camp for job cards started off badly with the Block office asking for just the list of people who needed job cards. No application forms were available and no photographer was present. After a little wrangling, the process improved in Mishrikh over the next 2 days.

On another front, there were rumours that the BDOs who were to receive suspension orders had gone to court. And soon the news came out that they had indeed filed a writ petition in the Lucknow High Court, claiming conflict-of-interest by committee members, labourers incorrectly deemed eligible for benefits etc. The bench mainly ruled on whether the Commissioner at the Ministry of Rural Affairs was the responsible authority with powers to overrule decisions at the district level. They deemed that he was and asked him to review the additional documentation presented by the BDOs within 10 days. They also asked him to ensure that eligible families received the unemployment benefit as they were entitled to. This was a better outcome than many in the Sangathan and among its supporters had expected and the mood was upbeat.

At the village level, there are still problems with work not being made available, applications not being received etc. But some people, at least, have learnt to demand their rights. In one Gram Sabha, a few hundred people went to the Pradhan's house and demanded job cards. He was forced to bring out cards that had been in his keeping since 2006!

Finally, fights in villages continue. In some cases, they seem to be power plays between Sangathan members and those close to the Pradhan or older powerful families. Nerves are also a little frayed and people are reacting to every little thing that seems out of the ordinary. Until the unemployment allowance reaches the accounts of the beneficiaries, this state of affairs will most likely persist.

On another front, planning has started for a sammelan to be held on the 24th and 25th. Farmer-labourers from across Sitapur district and other areas will be invited to share their experiences, learn from SKMS' journey and plan for collective action to ensure a better life. There is talk of about 1500-2000 people attending from Mishrikh and Pisawa and ~500 from other blocks in the district. I think the numbers will be higher. At any rate, Sitapur city will witness a bigger gathering of the rural poor, without any party backing, than it has been accustomed to!

End on a high note!

January 19^th - 20^th

When we returned to Vikas Bhavan on Monday morning, it was to find messages in limestone written at the gate. Some friends sent me off to read the slogans and messages written at the entrance to the Collectorate building. All 9 demands of the Sangathan had been written out in huge bold script. 'Sangtin Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan Zindabad' was written on the vertical portion of the steps, clearly visible to all who walked up them.

My first action, after congratulating those who made this happen, was to find out who had done the writing. I had found the scribe for the next edition of Sangtin Samachar!

Today, it was a little easier to get some articles, though I still had to work with a few of the writers to improve their work. Some were responsive – others, especially the more educated among the lot were not. But the best part of the day's effort, for me atleast, was finding two teenagers, Akhilesh and Pramod, who were willing to be budding cartoonists. I told them the story we wanted to depict – villagers going to ask their Pradhan and Secretary for work, while the latter were busy preparing forged muster rolls. The two worked together and came with a very good depiction. I had realized the previous day that people here had a unique way of drawing figures. They learnt to adapt that to tell the story, which was great!

Towards evening, everyone was getting impatient with the lack of response from the officials and talk started about gheraoing some officials. We then received the message, via Sharmaji, that the CDO had returned to Vikas Bhavan (he was out all day) and wanted to talk with the Sangathan. There was a brief discussion on whether the negotiation team should go to meet the CDO and the issues that were non-negotiable. The team then set off. The rest of us began a program of songs and slogans. The Sangathan has got this process down pat. As Mukesh bhayya put it, while the CDO is talking to the negotiation team, he should be able to hear our voices and know we are there. It was a good session. We had all eaten and there was a cold wind blowing, so everyone came together inside the canopy rather than spreading out. Some old friends finally made their appearance and entertained us with their songs.

Finally, the negotiation team came out. The CDO had agreed with all of their demands and a notice was being sent out to the BDOs! Camps would be set up to issue new job cards. Work would be started in the Sangathan villages soon and go on till March 31^st so that labourers could do as much work as possible this financial year. Where wages hadn't been paid for work done, the payments would be made immediately and responsible officials punished. And so on. These were the commitments the Sangathan was looking for. The struggle was not over – these changes would have to be implemented at the block and village level. But the purpose of coming to Sitapur was fulfilled. Plans began to be made to organize a sammelan in late February to celebrate the victory and galvanize more people in Mishrikh and Pisawa as well as other blocks in the district.

We decided to end the dharna the next day with another small rally – this one towards the place where jeeps and tempos would be available to ferry people back to their homes. This one was less organized than the earlier rally, but no less enthusiastic. The happiness was visible on people's faces and communicated by their voices.

The road ahead for the Sangathan is new and uncharted. This is the first time it has directly brought money into the villages (if one does not count the work obtained through NREGA and payments for the same). And 15 lakhs worth of it! Sadly, many of the less active people and villages are getting a larger payment. This is largely because the more active villages managed to get work. But this is a potential point of conflict. Further, a lot more people will want to join the Sangathan because of the perceived benefits. So the work will expand dramatically. But these are good problems, I think, and with the renewed energy after this victory, the Sangathan should be able to meet these challenges.

Getting our message across

January 18^th

The third day of the protest was on Sunday, when the officials would be away. Therefore, plans were made to get some work done, especially recording the account numbers of all the recipients of unemployment benefits. Messages had been sent to the listed villages to send passbooks so that the numbers could be accurately recorded. Further, meetings were held with each of the Sangathan villages to record their individual problems.

While this was going on, I was busy trying to get 'Sangtin Samachar' going. The previous day, we had written out some news items on chart paper and posted it on some boards facing outward so that passersby could read them. We received the feedback to paste a number of chart papers together and make a consolidated newspaper. I started going around the venue asking people to contribute articles and discovered the challenges with a group of mainly illiterate folk. In many cases, I asked people to get someone to write down their opinions, but that didn't always happen. I also tried to get some people to draw – my idea was to make cartoons. But most people had no concept of cartoons and even that was challenging. I ended up drawing my first cartoon ever! Overall, we managed to get a decent paper together.

Dwiji was busy presiding over the cooking (surprise, surprise!). A number of women kept asking me throughout the day whether we were married or brother and sister, whether we had children, who cooked at home etc. etc. I also got a lot of ribbing from Bitoli and her enthusiastic group for 'allowing' Dwiji to grow a beard!

Starting with a victory!

January 16th

While we were preparing for the dharna in Sitapur, efforts were underway in Lucknow, mainly through Arundhati Dhuru, to get the order for payment of unemployment benefits issued. And these were successful - on the morning of the 16th, Hindustan Hindi reported that the Commisioner at the Ministry for Rural Affairs had signed the order to release almost Rs. 15 lakh in unemployment benefits and it had been sent to the District Administration. My first reaction to this news was that we could call off the dharna. But during further discussions, it dawned on me that the struggles of workers at the village and block level to get work, get new job cards, be paid for work already done etc. did need resolution.

We set off to the dharna site to find the shamiana up and a few villagers already there. Action picked up around 2 pm, with speeches, slogans and songs. Richa talked about the order issued in Lucknow. The Sangathan hadn't received a copy yet. Further, there were 9 more demands that had to be met. Should the dharna be called off? The answer was a resounding no!

At some point, I took a break to have a snack – the villagers had brought food from home, but we hadn't cooked anything. When I came back, it was to find that the P.D. (Program Director) had read out the order on unemployment benefits with the list of recipient villages and the amount to be paid out! Officials at the Collectorate have finally learnt that all such announcements need to be made in public, in front of the Sangathan, rather than privately with one or two representatives...

January 17th

The victory over unemployment benefits is not a small one – this is the first time such a payment has been announced in Uttar Pradesh and perhaps the only place where a committee with equal representation from the aggrieved parties was set up. To celebrate, a victory rally was planned at noon. But first, the negotiation team went to parlay with the CDO. They came back with disappointing news – the CDO had promised to look into the issue and had not offered any concrete proposals.


Anyway, the rally set out with all of us standing in 2 lines and streaming out onto the road. The two lines spread out and effectively blocked traffic. We first went to the nearby Gandhi statue to offer our prayers and commemorate the Father of the Nation. We then headed to the market area, chanting slogans and distributing pamphlets about the issue. In the market, the head of the Merchant's Guild, who has been supporting the Sangathan, showered flowers on all the marchers.

I was at the rear of the procession, helping to keep the line in place and prevent any vehicle from entering between the marchers. We didn't have a mike due to a last-minute snafu, so all slogans were chanted with sheer lung power. Different Sangathan saathis took up the lead in chanting slogans and others enthusiastically joined in. The way in which people struggling for their daily existence have taken ownership of the Sangathan is truly heartening.

Preparations for the heart, mind and stomach

On 11^th and 12^th January, I attended the regional meetings in Qutubnagar and Pisawa. Here, plans for the dharna were again discussed – the wheat flour, rice, potatoes etc. each village would be contributing, dos and don'ts during the dharna etc. A good amount of time was also spent on other issues such as compensation for collapsed houses. A number of people still haven't received the Rs. 1500 that was promised for houses that collapsed during the severe monsoon from June to September. Plans were made to submit these lists on the 13^th at the tehsil in Mishrikh.

Another major point of contention was the manner in which work was being conducted at worksites. As a number of people put it, those who had not filed applications for work were still getting it because they are close to the Pradhan. Surbala tried to explain (and I joined in) that we had no way of making this case. If we complained, work applications could be made up on the spot. We need to pick our battles and this one wasn't worth engaging in. Further, if other people were getting work, what is the harm in that? Didn't they need the extra income as well? This point of dissent highlights the divisions along caste and/or party lines that exist in villages and that prevent mass mobilization at the village level. On the bright side, some older Sangathan saathis seem to have understood this and are promoting the message.

One poignant moment occurred in the Qutubnagar meeting when an active Saathi, Prakash, talked about how a group in his village challenged their Pradhan and wrested back the 'commission' he had taken to get old-age pensions and the like done. This group then got the work done legally, without any extortion. Prakash got a pension for his mother as well. One day, when he was away from home, the Pradhan came to his house and demanded Rs. 500 as commission from her. She gave it to him without a murmur! How hard it is to reverse decades of subservience!!

At any rate, the preparations for the dharna were proceeding at full strength. On the evening of the 15^th, a tractor deposited all the collected provisions at the Sangathan office. A whopping 20 quintals (2000 kg.) of wheat flour and rice had been collected, as well as potatoes, salt, oil and other supplies and about Rs. 3000 in cash. What a thrill to start a dharna knowing that you have food supplies for atleast 20 days at hand!