On cattle protection and protein deprivation

While preparing for a larger survey this February in Sitapur, we were recording background information as well as the weights of all members of 20 families in Madhubana, an active sangathan village. Prakash, a senior Saathi, was in charge of this task. He came by later looking a bit upset – 'कोई मेहरूआ ४० किलो से ऊपर हो तो बताना' translating roughly to 'Do let me know if you find any woman weighing more than 40 kg?'.

Dreams and pragmatism in rural UP

I've been wondering what I can say about the Uttar Pradesh elections and YA's ascension. Given the amount of time I have spent there recently (almost 2 months during the election and results period), I should have some insights to share, right? Maybe I should just recount my experiences on one day in late February...

A colleague and I were at the bus stand, bound for a village about 40 km from Sitapur city. With the SP-introduced Lohia buses, services to villages had improved but there were very few buses available during the election period. So we were relieved to see a rickety bus headed to Mishrikh, an intermediate point. The bus was almost full when we were asked to step out so that it could be cleaned. Grumbling, we did. A man standing nearby started off - “When Modi comes to power in UP, such things won't happen. He will kick all the workers into shape – they will not be able to get away with this indiscipline.” The people around him nodded their heads or made sounds of agreement.