Time flies, thankfully with some publications

It's been more than two years since I last posted here! Can't believe how bad I have been about this. Well, before I start blogging again (after yet another hiatus), let me record some publications (yay!) over the last couple of years. It's a small list, but will hopefully grow:

1. Citizen Matters republished my open letter on mob violence: http://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/lawyers-human-rights-bangalore-20029

2. I finally managed to write an article on how the ban on cow slaughter is playing out in UP, thanks to nudging by Richa K:
https://thewire.in/agriculture/gau-raksha-bovine-economy-agricultural-produce

3. We finally (!) published a paper on our research in Bangalore on referrals of women for obstetric care. Many of these referrals happened after the onset of labour - imagine traveling through Bangalore in an auto rickshaw at such a time! And yet it has been experienced by many women. The paper can be found here:
http://www.jfmpc.com/article.asp?issn=2249-4863;year=2019;volume=8;issue=7;spage=2378;epage=2383;aulast=Nagavarapu
Thanks to Varsha for making this happen!

I am going to re-start blogging - hopefully with some readers!

In the Age of Indiscriminate Violence - an Open Letter

This past Saturday, I was on my way to a workshop 'In My Name - Open Letters in the Park' organized by the Fearless Collective, when I became a witness to an incident of violence and joined others in resisting it. Unlikely coincidence or a sign of our times? I feel that this incident can best be described through the Open Letter I wrote later at the workshop.

                                                                                                        15th July, 2017

Open letter to the lawyers who thrashed a motorist at Cubbon Park this morning

Dear Advocates,

I don't know you and you don't know me. Our paths crossed coincidentally this morning when I entered Cubbon Park at the Hudson Circle gate (near the High Court) on my way to a meetup. A policeman was arguing with a motorist who had left his car in a wrong spot. You were outraged at the motorist's language and yelled at him – he yelled back. The argument quickly escalated into violence and you started raining blows on him. One of you kept hitting the motorist on his head with your helmet. The ladies in his car got out screaming and begged you to stop. Bystanders, the policeman and park security guards tried to intervene. I also stepped in when you refused to back down.

A shameful national policy

A post from Facebook dated June 20th. I had posted this after a man was beaten to death in Rajasthan for protesting photos being taken of the women in his family defecating in public. Jan Swasthya Abhiyan's press release on the incident can be found here .

The 'naming and shaming' tactics being used in Swatch Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) are taking Indian polity to a new low. Whistling at defecating women is now common. Recently, when activists went to meet the District Magistrate in Sitapur to ask her to help protect their village from submergence (by the Sharada river) this monsoon, she asked them what they were doing to help SBA. Any and all tactics, including murder, are being used to bring down open defecation.

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.

'Left Out' - a short film on denial of health rights in Karnataka

Over the past few years, I've helped organize meetings and consultations, produced reports and participated in research studies which documented various forms of denial of health rights in India, mainly Karnataka. Recently, while documenting cases for a planned public hearing with the National Human Rights Commission (which was later cancelled), I had the opportunity to collaborate in a project to video-document some testimonies. Thanks to Dipti Desai's persistence, these testimonies have been compiled into a short film 'Left out', which is available on YouTube here.
The stories are from across Karnataka and reveal how hard it continues to be to access health care and to pay for it...

The Universal Health Coverage Numbers Game

Some years ago, during a sojourn in Sitapur, we began discussing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), the National Health Insurance Scheme which provides 'cashless care' for hospitalisation at 'empanelled' private hospitals. The RSBY coverage limit is Rs. 30,000 per year for a family of five. I was already involved in the research of government-supported insurance schemes in Karnataka, and knew that while they gave poor families 'access' to private hospitals (there are denials as well), the devil was in the out-of-pocket expenditure that followed.

Here the tale was different:
"हमने उनको भगा दिया", "किन को ?”  "अरे, कार्ड छापने वालों को!"
which roughly translates to: “We chased them away”, “Who?”, “The card printers!”

Every year, the RSBY card has to be re-issued, so Third Party Administrators (TPAs) go to these villages to enrol people in the scheme at a cost of Rs. 30. But my friends in SKMS (Sangtin Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan) were fed up of getting a useless card - “We go to Sitapur city with this card to all the private hospitals, but no one gives us free treatment”. So they refused to get enrolled and asked the TPA to leave. One year, the District Collector got involved – he went to some villages and requested the villagers to cooperate! But as far as I know, some are still holdouts.

Addressing health inequities through community-led advocacy in Bangalore – experiences, successes and challenges

For some reason, I have not written much about my work in Bangalore. Maybe because it was 'paid' work and I spent so much time writing reports, updates etc. in the style that the organization and funders required. Well, now that the project has wound up, here goes... Below is a paper I submitted for the Medico Friends Circle (MFC) annual meet in February - I modified it slightly for this post. It is a long write-up (almost 2500 words) and a bit technical. But I think there are interesting stories in there...

The return of Mayawati...

After the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2012, it seemed like the era of Mayawati was over. All the scams in her government, plus the massive statues in the parks she built - these are routinely tolerated from other leaders, but for a Dalit woman at the head of a Dalit party to do so! Her upper caste support evaporated...

Now her star is on the rise again. Which is good. As a health activist, I am dismayed at what happened to the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) under her. Almost all the funds were siphoned off during her tenure - though some accused are behind bars and others committed suicide, crucial time and money were lost. Since the Samajvadi Party (SP) government took over, health services have improved slightly, as has rural transportation among other things.

But, at the heart of it, the SP is a Yadav party in a society that is relentlessly casteist. A few days after it came to power, a Yadav farmer in Pisawan block, Sitapur dt. fired at a neighbouring farmer (who happened to be Dalit) because apparently the latter's cow had entered the former's field. There may be a back-story to this, but the general feeling was that the Yadav farmer would not have dared to take up a gun when the BSP was in power. Later, Sangtin Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan (SKMS) activists were beaten up by police in Qutubnagar when they had just gone to the chowki to give their side of a village dispute. The policemen asked which caste they were before thrashing them. To get an FIR filed in this matter, SKMS had to agitate for more than a month.

I don't think I need to state what the BJP stands for in its 'karmabhoomi' UP.

Coming back to Mayawati, maybe most of what she did when in power was symbolic, but symbolism matters in a society that is so unjust and unequal. Security and respect are pre-conditions for any social improvements. So here's hoping that if BSP comes back to power in the 2017 elections (and there is now at least a chance for it), that they will not squander this opportunity. Because, like it or not, unless the challenges of our most populous state can be tackled, our nation's progress will always be incomplete.

Note: After I posted this on Facebook, my nephew (Vishesh) remarked that what remains of the Congress UP state unit could fit into a Nano! Strangely, I didn't even think about the Congress when writing this :)

Empathy begins at home

Another original post on Facebook, September 5th:
 
Teacher's Day has got me reminiscing...

My mother passed away 5 years ago this month. While she formally trained as a teacher (for kindergarten and then middle school Maths and Science) and worked for some time, she did not enjoy the test-driven, regimented curriculum of most traditional schools. For her, sharing the joy of learning was most important. She enjoyed babysitting and tutoring and, with patience, was able to help 'difficult' children improve their performance and enjoy learning. When I was unable to grasp some concepts, she would ask questions and lead me to clarity even though she was not familiar with the subject/topic herself.

And she taught me empathy. I don't remember specific incidents from my childhood, but I can clearly recall one from about 7 years ago. By then, she was already ill and increasingly turning inward. I was telling her about the deepening communal and religious divides in India and how the 'other' is being dehumanized. Generally, when I have talked to my relatives about such issues, they either say 'oh, how great that you work on this' (again making me the 'other') or ask me why I'm wasting my time and not working in IT.

My mother, instead, related to me her conversation with a maid who worked for us in the 80s: When this young woman came to meet my mother the first time, she set her terms and then said 'I should let you know, I am a Muslim. Please decide if you want me to work for you'. My mother said that it was fine and Saira went on to work for us for many years. Recounting this incident, my mother said, "I felt so very bad - why was it even necessary for her to have to say this, to anticipate rejection?"

My mother wasn't a scholar or a radical. She wasn't as brave as her dreams and aspirations needed her to be, and so was dissatisfied with her life. But she gave the best of herself to guide others, as any good teacher does. And today, in the midst of so much indifference to human suffering, I wish more people could have her basic decency...

On rational thought in India...

I have been writing more than usual in the past few months - problem is, it's mostly on Facebook! In the interests of better archiving, I'm posting a couple of original writings from there. The following was posted on August 31st, soon after I heard of the shooting of Prof. M. M. Kalburgi, a rationalist and scholar:

My mother's brother is visiting today - my astrologer cum Vaasthu-consultant uncle who has magical abilities. He can influence people to tear down newly built houses/offices because the way they were built has caused marital strife, business losses, deaths... He advises people to perform all kinds of rituals to ward off their impending 'bad times'. He even re-writes history - yesterday he told me that my late mother became a veena virtuoso in a few months (and after that, never touched a veena again because she didn't have one after marriage - WTF?). And he claims that he never told me the world was ending in 1999 - the gravitas with which he laid out the destruction from tidal waves, earthquakes etc. had scared the sh** out of the childhood me for years. Now he says that half of India's population will die in 2037 and a messiah will come forth to lead them to a better future...

Oh wait, he does admit his mistakes occasionally. We had had a raging fight 12 years ago because I said that chillies came to India in the 15th century and he claimed that they were mentioned in the Vedas. A few months ago, he came back and told me I was right - wow!

I do care for my uncle, but I think it outrageous that he earns lakhs of rupees for a few days' work, is revered by many and considered a great man. And what happens to people who point out the flaws in such beliefs, who try to get our blind-ritual following, mob-mentality type people to think on their own for a change? Bang Bang! The truth hurts, so let's destroy the truth tellers..

Health care in India - making the poor pay

A few days ago, I visited a government hospital in Bangalore. The staff we talked to were unusually open and frank - possibly because some are new hires! I will give no specifics about this facility to protect them, but also because the problems they face are not unique.

The building has been recently renovated using crores of rupees, but there is barely any furniture, even for the staff. The operation theatre is not functional because of poor planning and construction, so while specialists are on staff, even minor operations cannot be conducted. For these expenses, the doctors were waiting for the release of Arogya Raksha Samiti (ARS) funds - these are untied funds that are to be used for repairs, emergency medicine purchases etc. We said that these were construction-related issues, so why should ARS funds be used for them? They said that they had asked the MLA and corporator, but hadn't received any support as yet, so this was their only recourse.

The hospital has a functional lab and lab technician, but only pregnancy and HIV tests are being conducted. For other tests such as thyroid and haemoglobin tests, reagents are required which have to be purchased. The hospital started collecting user fees recently and these will be used subsequently for such purchases. The one fund that they do have in abundance is the one for maternity benefits, which amount to Rs. 2000 per BPL (Below Poverty Line) woman, paid out in 3 instalments. The on-duty doctor mentioned that she had been generous in handing out these cheques earlier, disregarding some documentation requirements if the woman seemed genuinely poor. Also, she was allowing the woman's relatives to collect the final cheque (which had to be collected after delivery within a month). After all, the cheque is in the woman's name. But an audit of the hospital had generated multiple objections. The auditor had said that the documentation was incomplete and the signatures in the register did not match! The doctor said she would have to be more strict in the future.


The latest round (71st) of NSS data collected in 2014 shows that rural families spent, on an average ₹1587 for childbirth in a government hospital and urban families ₹2117. Major expenses include ultrasound scans (3 are required during pregnancy) and diagnostic tests, which are done in private labs. Neo-liberal economists and policy-makers might argue that these expenses are reimbursed for BPL families through maternity benefits, but as shown above the requirements get tougher and tougher for beneficiaries. Further, are only BPL card holders poor or vulnerable? Wouldn't it be cheaper and simpler to provide all these diagnostics under one roof? And user fees, among the most regressive forms of taxation (this actually discourages people from seeking essential health care, further impoverishing them) are being used to buy essential products!

I also realized how staff, especially the dedicated (of fresh!) ones, interpret the expenses of the hospital and its sources of revenue. They have little to no control over the funding from above. All they have are the user fees. One example - the fee for a rabies injection is ₹ 100 - apparently half goes to the department and half stays with them. Along with patients, front-line staff are also made responsible for funding health care! 

How do we talk about Universal Health Coverage?

Where health provisioning is concerned, Universal Health Coverage (UHC) has been the defining term for the past few years. WHO has taken it up with enthusiasm and the Indian government likes the word a lot too. In fact, recently Karnataka announced that it had achieved UHC!

I was at a meeting organized by WHO earlier this month, where a film was screened that talked about what UHC 'was' and 'was not'. But there were few specifics and all the visuals focused on antenatal and postnatal care. It is true that we, especially in India, have not yet achieved these basic targets. An example - the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Pisawan, where Sangtin Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan (SKMS) is active, does not have access to running water and its sole hand pump stopped functioning 2 years ago. Recently, a woman in labour left the CHC to find a place to urinate (the toilets there are always locked). She ended up delivering there.

But can UHC remain limited to ante- and post-natal care, deliveries, immunizations and some communicable diseases? When people have to go elsewhere for their other health needs, they will not necessarily return to government services for these. Barely half a kilometre from the Pisawan CHC is a private practitioner that even the poor in these parts rely on. He most likely does not have an MBBS degree (those who do display the information proudly!). A few years ago, he sat in a small shop-front clinic. Now he has an immaculate waiting room, a ward of sorts with a few beds and an examination room. Once as we waited to speak to him, he examined patients with all kinds of symptoms with the attention and 'human touch' that they do not get in the CHC. He wrote up long lists of medicines for most of them. This is the health care most Indians rely on.

To move from what we have to a system that promises true UHC (many health activists instead use the term Universal Access to Health Care), we have to better explain what we envision. I hope to work more on this in the coming months...

    

Back again!

Dear Friends,

It's been four years since I've updated my blog. Four eventful years on the personal front with a birth, a death, moves and multiple changes in plans for the future. I thought of starting a new blog, but since I'm still grappling with fundamentally similar issues and concerns, decided to continue here. So here's to phase 2 of slipping and sliding, hopefully featuring better, more improved posts!

On the professional / social front, I have been working in Bangalore for the past 2 years with multiple organizations with the goal of building a strong network to campaign for health rights. I also continue to work with Sangtin Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan (SKMS) in Sitapur dt., UP from a distance, augmented by occasional visits.

I am restarting my blog on the eve of assembly elections in Karnataka. I was away for most of April, so missed a lot of the campaigning and politicking. Yet, one can't miss it completely, so here are some questions and observations:

• What does one do with one's vote and does it matter? Some communities facing dire situations and fed up with the status quo have decided to boycott the elections. The Aam Aadmi party suggests we vote for 'none of the above'. In a community meeting I attended recently, attendees were advised that they could enter the voting booth and not press any button. But they would still get their finger marked and need not fear any backlash from the goondas etc. A woman stood up and replied that a group from her slum had gone to visit their MLA with some urgent requests – he responded asking why he should help them when no one in their area voted for him. In the marketplace of electoral politics, principled stands have to be chosen by a significant number of people to have any chance of being taken seriously.
• Are the so-called alternative parties and candidates serious enough about winning? Observing some of these candidates, I am reminded of an incident from about 4 years ago. In the last Lok Sabha elections, a coalition of 'progressive' groups decided to field a few candidates across the country. One of those candidates' constituency included parts of Sitapur district. He came to an SKMS meeting to canvass for votes, with an insoucant manner and a bewildering conviction in his 'rightness'. The sangathan saathis listened patiently to his speech and asked him some insightful questions, which he could not answer satisfactorily. For example, for the questions – 'How are you different from any other candidate who comes and promises everything under the sun? How can we be sure that you will remain honest once you come to power?' - he had no answer beyond 'I work for so-and-so, the greatest organization blah-blah-blah and have an amazing man as my guru'! Here, in Bangalore, one candidate from a party claiming to be different visited our area for the first time 2 days ago. Hardly an improvement over the status quo! 
   
• Have advocacy groups, NGOs etc. had any effect during the campaign phase? From what I can see, very little. Many have not worked on a consistent basis and are focusing on awareness sessions, petitions, press meets etc. Others have decided to organize rallies and other shows of strength after the new government takes over – after all, the major parties are very similar. So why not use resources wisely and focus on the party in power?!

Well, seems that the elections are inspiring enough to resume blogging! Wish me luck in the coming days and months as I try to articulate the challenges, insights, frustrations and hope in my current endeavours.

Regards,
Sudha

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.