Case9-July-2017
Gandhiji had a vision of Gram Swaraj in independent India. He said that India’s future is in the villages and insisted our focus on village economy. Swaraj lays stress on local governance, not a hierarchical government, but selfgovernance through individuals and the community.
Gandhi explained his vision in 1946. “This structure composed of innumerable villages there will be ever-widening, never-ascending circles. Life will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose center will be the individual always ready to perish for the village, till at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals, never aggressive in their arrogance, but ever humble, sharing the majesty of the oceanic circle of which they are integral units. Therefore, the outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle but will give strength to all within and derive its own strength from it. I may be taunted with the retort that this is all Utopian and, therefore, not worth a single thought. If Euclid's point, though incapable of being drawn by human agency has an imperishable value, my picture has its own for mankind to live.”
Now the question before me is, is this possible in today’s India? Can a community-driven model be sustainable? Answers to all these questions are not so promising.
As a development worker, I am sharing some experiences from the field which is alarming for development workers who really wish to see the villages getting developed. I have been working in a community banking project since a year in Maharashtra. I have seen successful community-driven models of development in South India, especially the Kalanjiam Model of SHG in Tamil Nadu and Kutumbshree Model of Kerala. Both are two of the most successful models as the community plays a major role.
When I began to work in Maharashtra on the same models, I was continuously thinking about why such models are not successful in Maharashtra. I have visited many women from 9 districts of Marathwada on different occasions such as training, workshops, Mahasabha, etc. These experiences with all stakeholders of development make me wonder whether Gram Swaraj or communitydriven models are a myth or real. Here, I reflect on the three crises for the Gram Swaraj or community-driven village system.
After listening to communities, social workers and government officials, I came to a conclusion that all of us do not have share the same understanding and perspective of what it means. I feel that this lack of shared perspectives needs serious attention. Unity among the community members: When we speak about shared vision, unity plays an important role it. In Gram Swaraj, the concept of unity is not just collective action; it is something beyond collective action. There are certain things which are act as catalyst for Gram Swaraj.
Addressing the problems of the needy: When a bank provides credit to SHGs, the loans are expected to be disbursed according to the needs of members as provided by-laws of SHGs. However, in a few of the SHGs, members avail loans of equal share. The reason for such equal disbursals may be to avoid conflicts while sharing, but it denotes people’s unwillingness to spare money for the needy and wait for their turn.
Spending for constructive works: In Maharashtra, people spend money in lakhs of rupees for celebrating the leader’s birthday, but are unwilling to pay for the development of schools. The same condition prevails in Odisha too. In one of the villages in Odisha, where I conducted micro-research to assess socioeconomic conditions of the village, average income of the family was not more than Rs. 2,000 p.m; but collectively, they have spent Rs. 15,00,000/- during festivals. Instead of celebrating Dr. Ambedkar’s birthday, why cannot people develop a good library for students? Instead of celebrating Ch. Shivaji’s birthday, why cannot people conduct a programme to disseminate the work of great leaders? Unity lies in the rituals, celebrations, and social obligations but it has no takers in development.
Casteism, a big enemy: Whenever I visited any community group or any family, their first question is “tumhi konachya samajach” (what is your caste?). It is very painful that even after 70 years of independence, we are unable to make a dent in such a system. People are being respected based on Jati and not on Karma. Gram Swaraj demands development based on maati (soil) not based on Jaati (caste).
Ownership: Without ownership, one cannot expect community involvement in the development process. But, how is it possible when people are pessimistic about development? How many are ready to participate in the development of the village without any vested interest? Ralegaonsidhi village and Hiware Bazaar village are two of the best model villages in Maharashtra but what happened to those villages which are surrounding such ideal villages. These two villages took 25 years to come at this stage. One can imagine how many years will we need for 600,000+ villages in our nation to improve.
Enabling is the key: People are asking for subsidies, loan waiving, freebies, and donations and so on. Delivery would make them dependent for many generations and only through enabling a good model of development, we can liberate them.
Development should first take a deep root in all our minds. Collective will power is needed to fight the evils. Gram Swaraj needs unified action from all the stakeholders such as communities, government, NGOs and private organisations. Let us look at the functioning of School Management Committees (SMCs). Are our teachers ready to empower SMC? Even latest amendment in the Right to Free and Compulsory Education 2012, Sec. 21 has defined SMC as “advisory body” only. How are parents empowered to ensure quality education to their children? Since the five-year plan, there is no single year where the Indian government has spent more 5% of the GDP on education.
Swami Vivekananda said that world’s empowerment is not possible unless the woman is empowered. Our governments have introduced many schemes for women. Have these schemes been critically reviewed to examine whether they empower women and what is their impact? The first step of women empowerment lies in the psychology of men, not women. In Gram Swaraj, women play a major role but in reality, gramasabha is always male-dominated even though its president is female.
Reflecting on these three impediments to Gram Swaraj from my short exposure to developmental work, I realise that it is a really an ideal concept and it should not be seen as a utopian concept. Our great leaders have left us their dream of an ideal nation, ideal society. But, how much have we achieved? And how are we going to achieve their dreams is the matter of my concern.
As developmental workers, we need to assume an important role in enabling the communities to bring about changes in their perspectives and practices seen as roadblocks for Gram Swaraj. We should work with a conviction that Gram Swaraj could be realised through deeper engagement with the communities and continuing it for a longer period.
The current situation may look grim, but we should not forget the turnaround stories of Alwar, Anand, Ralegansidhi or Hiware Bazaar that happenned becaouse of committed works. All these stories reinforce us the need for development workers to work hard and enable the people towards positive growth with a vision. Of course it is easily said, but in reality, it needs a Movement spearheaded by committed leaders and concerned youths to achieve it. Together we can make it.