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grassrootsFebruary 15,

I N S I D

A journal of the Press Institute of India promoting reportage on the human condition

He lends you a helpinhand to help yourself

pamela philipOse, Banswara (Rajasthan)

How a mid-day meal clight up young lives

Where are the poor,missing children?

Across a borderland:

Chronicles of traffickin

Foreigners in your ow

land?

Providing one meal aday delivering a life

(Continued on page 4)

Child rights defenders

a conflict zone

Bagfuls of nutrition froma women-run unitThere is very little that distinguishes the hamlet of Madri from the innumerable others that dotsouthern Rajasthan. This is a region where the Aravallis make their presence felt in gnarledhillocks, where water is scarce and where the land yields its harvests grudgingly. Peoplehere, including toddlers, know well the edge of hunger. But making a difference is a factory in

Banswara, run by the Shitala Mata Womens Self Help Group. It ensures that the nutritiousfood it produces reaches 7000 children and 3000 pregnant women and lactating mothersevery month through a network of 172 government-run anganwadis

When Ranjani Ashok, 54,who runs the anganwadi(nursery) in this village

perched on the border that separatesDungarpur and Banswara Districts serves her charges their small helping

ofkhichdi (gruel of rice and lentil), itdisappears in a trice. The children inRanjanis anaganwadi are not pickyeaters. Unlike well-fed children fromprosperous city neighbourhoods, thesechildren eat pretty much whatever isserved to them, unless they happen tohave a fever.

In most homes children are givena roti or two, with barely any dal orvegetable to go with it, observesthe spry anganwadi worker. Of late,

Ranjani has also started giving theanganwadi children a nutritious foodsupplement as take-home rations.Its actually a mix of soya beanour, channa dal our, wheat and alittle sugar, and the kids seem to likeit, she smiles.

This nutritious supplement hasits own story to tell. It comes toRanjanis anganwadi from a factoryin Banswara, run by a local womenself help group (SHG). In fact, itreaches 7000 children and around

3000 pregnant and lactating mothersevery month through a network of172 government-run anganwadis.The Banswara unit, which was setup in September 2011, now producesone metric ton of this supplementevery day. The model is a useful onesince it combines two potentiallytransformational interventions aregular nutritional supplement forchildren age between six and 36months and pregnant and lactatingmothers, as well as the generationof sustainable employment forrural women coming from poorhouseholds.

The supplement, which goesunder the label of RajNutriMix, hasbeen developed by the World FoodProgramme (WFP) in partnershipwith the Global Alliance forImproved Nutrition (GAIN), and inconsultation with the Governmentof Rajasthan. It complies with theSupreme Courts guidelines onthe promotion of decentralisedproduction of supplementary foodfor supply under the Integrated ChildDevelopment Scheme (ICDS) as wellas the Apex Courts stipulations onthe daily intake for vulnerable womenand children. Under the project, atake-home ration of 990 grams ofRajNutriMix per week for pregnantwomen and lactating mothers as wellas severely and acutely malnourishedchildren and 822 grams per week for

all other children below the age ofthree years, is provided.

The raw materials for thesupplement are procured locally andthe production process is completelymechanised. They are rst cleaned

in a specially designed unit andthen roasted. Grinding comes next,followed by the nal mixing, withessential micro-nutrients added atthis stage. For the convenience of thebeneciaries, the ration for the entiremonth is given in one go, as onesealed bag. Each of these bags hasfour sealed weekly ration packets.We discovered that producing thissupplement is a perfect t becauseit addresses two urgent needs: anuninterrupted supply of nutritive foodand a regular source of income forpoor rural households. The womenworking in the unit can, through thisprocess, earn at least what they wouldon a MGNREGA site, and that too for300 days in a year, says Nikhil Rajof WFP, who coordinates the project.

One of the aims of the interventionis, in fact, to consolidate the local SHGnetwork and get women members togo beyond the usual micro-lending

or the making ofagarbattis (incensesticks), pickles and papads. Thisseems to have been achieved in theBanswara unit. Today, the 12 factorymanagers/workers, all members ofthe local Shitala Mata Womens Self

Help Group, supervise and run theoperations of the unit.

These are ordinary rural Rajasthaniwomen with just a few years ofschooling. Most are aged anywherebetween 30 and 40 years, althoughthere is an 18-year-old and a 60-year-old on the team. They haveundergone three rounds of training,and were involved in the processfrom its inception. In fact, they evenobserved the machinery of the plantbeing installed. They are capableof procuring the best raw materialslocally, keeping accounts, managingmachines, maintaining registers andattendance rolls, as well as makingwage calculations and doing thebanking. Wages, incidentally, aredeposited directly into banks toavoid any possibility of funds beingsiphoned away.

Ranjani Ashok, 54, runs theanganwadi in Madri Villagein southern Rajasthan. Oflate, she has started giving theanganwadi children a nutritious

food supplement, a mix of soya

bean flour, channa dal flour,wheat and a little sugar, as takehome rations.

Photos:WFS P

hoto:GAIN

Members of the Shitala Mata Womens Self Help Group weighingand lling bags of RajNutrimix, a fortied blended food in their

factory in Banswara. This is what Ranjani Ashok has been givingher children lately.

Change at the grassro

tribal women showthe way

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grassrootsAjournal of the Press Institute of India promoting the human condition

susan philip, Chennai

He lends you a helping hand

to help yourselfToday, Udavum Karangal is a multi-tasker in community service. It is a home for the unwantedand the orphaned. It is a shelter for the mentally challenged. It is a source of solace for thedestitute and the dying. It is a haven for societys rejects, the HIV-infected and the spastics.It is also a stepping stone to mainstream life for those who want to use it as such. And theperson behind it: Paapa Vidyaakar

My name is PavaiVidyaakar. My nameis Champa Vidyaakar.

My name is Rakhi Vidyaakar. The

list goes on, as a long crocodile ofhappily chattering children pour inthrough the gate. Theyre back fromschool, and like any child, the sight oftheir Pappa puts a spring in their stepsand a sparkle in their eyes. But theseare no ordinary children. Nor is it anordinary home. This is Shantivanam,a unit of Udavum Karangal (HelpingHands), a social service NGO. Everysingle child who calls this homecarries the surname Vidyaakar, andthus has an identity something soimportant to every human being.

Vidyaakar is a bachelor technicallyspeaking, but is Pappa to them all, andalso to a motley group of adults, young,middle-aged and old, many of whomdont know much about themselvesor their biological families, but whounerringly recognise him as a sourceof security and love and through him,nd kinship in people with whomthey share no blood ties. Vidyaakarslife has been well documented overthe years. Sufce it to say here thatthe low-prole, reticent man he was

then could not have dreamed of theshape of things to come way back in1983 when he held out his arms fora scrap of humanity found abandonedin a cinema theatre. That ten-month-old boy was the rst of many babieswhom Vidyaakar has rescued andnurtured as his own.

I am inspired by Mother Teresa,says Vidyaakar. She showed how

social work can be done from theheart, done with passion. It canalso be done professionally, usingtechniques that have developed and

evolved over the years. I have triedto combine both in my organisation.Vidyaakar completed his masters inSocial Work from the Madras Schoolof Social Work and went on to acquireother qualications, such as a diplomain Psychiatric Counseling fromCMC Vellore, and work experience,including a stint at the Institute ofMental Health, Chennai.

Starting with a thatched hut in aninsalubrious slum as base, UdavumKarangal has grown into a multi-unitorganisation with branches in otherplaces in Tamil Nadu, and chapters inthe UK and USA. In Chennai itself,there are many centres and branchorganisations such as a school andseveral training centres. Shantivanam,an oasis of peace in the harried bustlethat is Chennai, is appropriately

named. Within its walls, many womenand children who have experiencedunconscionable horrors which haveleft them battered and broken, havefound the courage to face life withhope again.

Vidyaakar has a team of dedicated,qualied people to care for hisfamily. There are psychiatrists andpsychologists, social workers andparamedical staff. They work withhouse mothers and other concernedpeople and treat, counsel and guidethe troubled, traumatized andmentally challenged into better lives.Many of the women at Shantivanamare psychiatric patients. Some haverecovered fully, some partially. Manyothers are disabled, some signicantly,others less severely. There are spastic

and multi-handicapped women andchildren who need to be lookedafter as carefully as newborns.Those who can, care for others lessfortunate. Ours is an interdependentsociety, stresses Vidyaakar. In anormal home, the parents care forthe children and encourage them totake on responsibilities and becomeindependent. Ours is a different setup. We are dependent on society, andmust take care of each other.

Udavum Karangal is funded entirelyby public contribution. It doesnt doany aggressive fund-raising, nor doesit go after publicity and government

grants. But contributions in cash andkind come in regularly, and are put togood use. The buildings housing thedifferent groups in Shantivanam are

all spacious and airy, and scrupulouslyclean without being aseptic in aninstitutional way. There is a feeling ofhome everywhere, and camaraderieamong the residents, young andold, t and unt. Everyone wantsa word with Pappa and Pappagives everyone a patient hearing,addressing each by name, joking withsome, asking a concerned question ofanother, drawing yet another out totalk about her feelings.

Adding to the atmosphere isShantivanams gardens and well-laidout play areas for children, completewith swings and slides. They growsome of their own vegetables too.And then there are the animals. Theyare therapeutic as well as functional.There are ornamental sh, dogs,cows, goats, hens, rabbits and evena donkey named Karuppiah. Ganesh,who was rescued when he was sevenmonths old with burn injuries after hismother committed suicide, has a waywith animals though he couldnt copewith his lessons very well. He andsome of the less mentally-challengedwomen nd fullment in takingcare of the animals, all of which theyaddress by name.

So far, 48 girls have been givenin marriage to people outside theUdavum Karangal family. One ofthem, picked up when she was justabout a year old, along with hermother, a psychiatric patient, is atrained ophthalmic nurse while herhusband holds an MBA degree. Sheis back at Shantivanam now for herconnement, and Vidyaakar is a

Grandpappa.A sense of happiness and peace

pervades the campus. It is a far cryfrom the hut in the slums where thestory began. Nor has the story ended.But it is slowly changing direction,in keeping with changing needsand perceptions. We do not take inabandoned babies anymore, saysVidyaakar. Instead, they are referredto certied adoption agencies. Thisis because there is a genuine demandfor adoption. Only babies born topsychiatric patients on campus arekept and looked after, as Vidyaakarbelieves there is a possibility of the

mother recovering, or of the childultimately assuming responsibilityfor the mother.

Also, Udavum Karangal isincreasingly trying to encouragefamilies to be responsible for thecare of their mentally challengedmembers. We go to villages, identifypeople with problems, and helpthe families, the society, to care forthem, says Vidyaakar. It is easy topass the burden to us, but that cantbe a permanent solution. Many ofthese problems are created by society,and it is up to society to provide theanswer too. Screening programmes

are regularly held and children withlearning disabilities and problemssuch as muscular dystrophy areidentied. Their families are advisedhow to care for them. A communityhealth centre has been opened,where anyone can receive treatment.The focus is also on equipping theunderprivileged to cope with life.Training centres offer courses innursing, tailoring and computers,helping young men and women toarm themselves with qualicationsthat will get them a reasonably goodstart in life.

Homes on the lines of SOShave been set up to housechallenged students from alTamil Nadu. They are provboard and lodge for the dutheir education. Also, partne

a senior paediatric cardiac Udavum Karnagal offers freaccommodation for poor from remote areas needinsurgeries in Chennai. A tie-ucity hospital to provide boarlodging for children with clewho need extended surgical therapy is being worked out.

The School on Wheels signicant milestone on themotivating society to take cown. It was started as an programme for the children olabourers from states likePradesh and Orissa. Two

Vidyaakar, who established Udavum Karangal, says he is

by Mother Teresa. His heart drtives him in his work, passion and even new techniques. At Shantivanam, animalstherapeutic and functional relief.

Vidyaakar with teachers Shalini

and Neelam and a staff member,against the backdrop of a paintingon a bus used in the School onWheels outreach programme.

Shalini and Neelam, both rpsychiatric patients, are the and immensely proud of theThey go to three sites, and children in each for three houday, six days a week. The probegins by giving the childrbelow 7, a good oil bath. Oncclean, theyre taught the thran hour. Theyre also givenof milk, and then the teachethe parents about their conceoriginal idea was that the would have their classes inBut the construction compso enthused about the sch

they now provide space on for the classes, pay the tesalary, and also provide snackchildren. It has become theinot ours, says Vidyaakar.

Hundreds of children havand come up in these 30 ysays. A couple of them in charge of our centres. Mworking in good organisatisupport us. Some are in mjobs, others work as shop assmaids. I dont measure theiin terms of their occupationterms of being self-reliant, aable to support others.

Photos:SusanPhilip

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February 15, 2013 grassrootsAjournal of the Press Institute of India promoting the human condition

neena bhandari, Jodhpur

How a mid-day meal canlight up young livesIts a meal that matters. In Jodhpur, thanks to the Mid Day Meal Scheme, children in Classes1 to 5 get 12 grams of protein and 450 calories and those in Classes 6 to 8 get 20 grams ofprotein and 700 calories every day. Its a scheme that runs even during summer holidaysand in times of drought. The meal is not only an incentive for children to come to school, it isalso the only wholesome meal they get on any given day. More than 3.5 lakh students havebenefited from the scheme. They have learnt to eat with a spoon and respect food. And as thechildren sit and eat together, there are no caste barriers

As the clock chimes 11am, Neetu Yadav, 10, andher classmates eyes turn

expectantly from the blackboard tothe school gates. As the roar of theautorickshaw carrying their mid-day

meal grows louder, the 35 students atthe government-run Rajkya PrathmikVidyalaya, Ghanchiyon ki Gufa,Saraswati Nagar, erupt into a loudcheer. Jodhpur, located in the vastThar Desert of western Rajasthan, isthe states second largest city, witha population of around 3.68 million(2011 Census). The city prides itselfon its educational institutions andthe average literacy here is 81.56 percent with female literacy registering73.93 per cent. Impressive gures,given that average literacy rate in thestate is 67 per cent.

Thats the reason an initiative likethe Mid Day Meal Scheme assumesso much importance here. No one canput it better than little Neetu. Themeal is certainly an incentive for meto come to school, she says with abeaming smile. A Class V student, sheparticularly loves the khichadi (daland rice cooked together with spices)on todays menu. Her parents, whowere once farmers in Bihar, migratedto the city in search of work. Herfather is employed in a steel factory

and her mother does odd stitchingjobs to supplement the meagre familyincome.

So what do children like Neetueat before coming to school? DoesIndia really need the Mid Day Meal

Scheme? Neetu can only have tea anda couple of Glucose biscuits beforesetting out for school. For her, and forinnumerable others like her, the mid-day meal is the only wholesome mealthey get on any given day. At RajkyaPrathmik Vidyalaya, SaraswatiNagar, 54 students are enrolled, butan average of 35 students attendeach day. Principal Beena Tiwaridetermines the amount of foodrequired for the mid-day meal on thebasis of the previous days attendanceand she tastes the meal before servingit to the children.

In the adjoining Rajkya PrathmikVidyalaya, Madhuban Housing Board,children sit in rows on the cementedplatform at the schools entrance,as teacher Mooli Tolani is helpedby some older students in carryingthe food containers and serving themeal to the 84 students present. At11 am, this is a sight replicated acrossthe 467 schools in Jodhpur locatedwithin a 26-kilometre radius, whichare provided food directly from acentralised kitchen. Other schools

have their own kitchen, utensils andcook, depending on the number ofenrolments. According to ofcialrecords, a total of 353661 students

in the 4052 government schoolsin Jodhpur District have benetedfrom the Mid Day Meal Scheme inDecember 2011.

Talking to other children, most ofwho live in small rented rooms in thecitys narrow by-lanes, a similar storyunfolds. If it werent for the mid-daymeal, Class V student at the RajkyaPrathmik Vidyalaya, MadhubanHousing Board, Kanchan Yadav,12, who has ve siblings, would gohungry most times. But Kanchan, andher friend, Pushpa Kumari, 11, wouldlike milk to be included in someform in their meal, either as kheer(rice pudding) or as a wheat and milkporridge or as chhach (a yogurt drinkwith salt andjeera).

Milk, fruits and dal (lentil) are

markedly absent in the normal dietof these children. Under the Mid DayMeal Scheme, there is provision foronly one fruit per child per week.With dal presently costing Rs 80 akilo and milk anywhere between Rs20 and Rs 25 a litre, most families canafford to cook one seasonal vegetableand buy milk sufcient only for tea.Some children are a little fortunate.We have milk with a spoonful ofghee and bread for breakfast. Myfather pays a monthly sum to thekirana (grocery) store so we can pickup a packet of Maggi noodles onthe way home from school to havewith afternoon tea, says PanchuSingh Rawat, 14. He is the eldest offour children, all studying at RajkyaPrathmik Vidyalaya, MadhubanHousing Board.

The food provided under theNational Programme of NutritionalSupport to Primary Education commonly known as the Mid DayMeal Scheme is customised to localtaste. When the scheme was launchedon August 15, 1995, students weregivenghughari (boiled wheat porridgewith jaggery). Since 2002, cookedmeals are being provided comprisinga set menu of local favourities dal-bati, dal-roti, roti-sabzi, sweetor savoury rice and khichadi, on aweekly rotational basis.

Approximately Rs 6 per childper day is spent by the government

on each meal, with the CentralGovernment contributing 75 per cent,and the state picking up the rest ofthe tab. Costs are kept down by usingsubsidised food grains from the publicdistribution system (PDS). Under the

PDS, wheat that is sold at Rs 21 perkilo in the open market is priced atRs 4.15 and rice otherwise sold at Rs25 is subsidised to Rs 5.65 per kilo.The cooking conversion cost, whichincludes fuel, oil and spices, of 100grams of wheat/rice given to everyClass 1 to 5 student per meal is Rs2.89, while the cooking conversioncost of 150 grams of wheat/rice givento each Class 6 to 8 student per mealis Rs 4.33.

The Mid Day Meal Scheme hasbrought several benets in its wake.Anita Rohatgi, principal, RajkyaPrathmik Vidyalaya, MadhubanHousing Board, makes an interestingobservation, Our students have learntto eat with a spoon and respect food.Watching the children carefully washtheir hands and steel plates usingmugs from water stored in buckets- in the absence of tap water in theschool - qualies her statement. Sherecalls a time, before this scheme wasintroduced, when children were lessactive and often fell ill.

The scheme is helping tosupplement nutrients in the daily diet

of our children. One balancevery day has reduced deof vital nutrients like vitamcalcium, making them less suto diseases, says Rohatgi. TMedical and Health Deconducts a regular medical of students, and those with deare given medical assistance

as micro-nutrients like Vitiron, folic acid, and multi-vitThere is room for impr

though. The machine made rthe centralised kitchen arstiff and the children have as biscuit or break it into pisoak it in dal or vegetable cuchur ke). Rohatgi suggerather than using machines, iare employed to make thewould not only improve the tthe rotis, but also become a income for the women.

Despite the occasional cothe efcacy of the Mid DScheme, as a source of supplenutrition and a stimulus teducation, cannot be According to Jodhpur Collector Siddharth Mahaja

has been one of the better for its usefulness and

implementation. It has alsbreak caste barriers sincechildren sit and eat togetherclinching argument is that day meal has emerged as source of nutrition for mawere getting very little to eat

Mahajan says, If theremid-day meal, children in Cto 5 would not be getting 1of protein and 450 calories ain Classes 6 to 8 would hadeprived of 20 grams of pro

700 calories. Thats the rehave been running the Mid DScheme here, even during theholidays and in times of drou

(Courtesy: Women's Featur

Anita Rohatgi (fth from left) , principal, Rajkya Prathmik VidMadhuban Housing Board, Jodhpur, with students. Rohatgi fethe one balanced meal every day, thanks to the Mid Day Meal Shas reduced deciencies of vital nutrients such as vitamins and in children, making them less susceptible to diseases.

Photos:NeenaBhandari/WFS

Children sharing the mid-day meal. For innumerable children in thedesert city of Jodhpur, the meal is the only wholesome one they geton any given day.

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February 15,4 grassrootsAjournal of the Press Institute of India promoting the human condition

shOma a. ChaTTerji, Kolkata

Where are the poor,missing children?

Where are the missing childrenwho never return? Whathappens to their distraught,

desperate and anguished parents?What is the responsibility of the

police in such situations? All this andmore comes through in a documentarylm called 110002 made by youngactivist-journalist Vivek Asri. 110002is the story of Kunwarpal, father of

a 11-year-old who has been missingsince November 2010. For one year,Kunwarpal is been driven from pillarto post only to be left disappointedand empty handed

Through Kunwarpals search forhis missing child, 110002 documentsthe pain and misery of millions ofparents such as him. It speaks aboutthe trauma that they have to undergo

each day of their lives; they live inthe hope that their loved ones wouldreturn some day. 110002 presentsthe melancholy of those who havelost their children. It is a story ofhelplessness and uncertainty. It isa tale of parents, who have no faithin their present and little hope aboutfuture, says Vivek.

Why a number for a title? ExplainsVivek, 110002 is the pin code inOld Delhi, the area where the ofceof central missing persons squadis located. This is the ofce whereevery parent of a missing child runsto, where their hopes lie and areshattered by the insensitive system.The title comes from the address ofthis ofce: Missing Persons Squad,New Police Station, Daryaganj, NewDelhi 110002.

The location is peopled by thelower middle-class who do not havethe means to reach the media, whereNGOs and social workers complainabout how the sudden disappearanceof a child from the family can spelleternal tragedy for the family involved.In the lm, a grieving mother tells theviewer how she keeps going to thedargah andmasjid(mosque) to praywhile practical fathers admit theywill perhaps never nd their missingchildren because they are poor,

marginalised and completely ignoredby the police.

Vivek found no funding sourcefor his lm. So he made it using hissavings. Arpna, the associate director,researched for nearly six months,met the parents, visited orphanagesand red light areas in and aroundDelhi. Since it was a low budget

self-nanced documentary, Vivekplanned to nish the shoot quickly.The lm was shot in December 2011and January 2012 mainly in Delhi,Meerut, Hapur and Bulandshahar. Itwon the 2nd Best Documentary FilmAward at the recently held SiliguriInternational Short and DocumentaryFilm Festival.

The lm focuses on the anguish ofthe parents and their disillusionmentwith the law and order system. The

visuals are ush with emotiopoor and that is why the pnot lifting a nger to help I been rich, the same polichave eaten out of my handKunwarpal, who says he haevery nook and corner of thlook for his missing child.

Says another father: If a

dead, there is certainty in thBut if a child goes missparents are never certain abhe is, where he is, how he and whether he will come baparents some day. A father street tea shop where a workehas seen the boy in the picturein a hotel. Another hunt begiof the parents ever tire of sand waiting for their lost owhen all hope seems lost. Tdo not really care. They say ta lot to do. They are only intecases that could fetch them complains an activist in the

As many as 100000 chimissing every year in Indipoints to a study where policsay that around 60 per cent ofgo unreported. Even after a

case is registered, it not copriority. The lm shows parents of the missing chDaryanagar are uneducaignorant to know how to the concerned authoritiescomplaint, etc.

The eye-catching 110002 lm poster.

Media must be part of thesolution, not the problem

The Network of Women inMedia, India, celebrating its10th anniversary at a nationalconvention attended by about 80media women from across thecountry, discussed various aspectsof the theme, Women, Violenceand the Media, over a weekendmeeting in Mumbai (1-3 February2013). A public meeting on 2February 2013 focussed on howthe news media can better reportissues of women, violence andpublic space.

Taking note of the public outrageover, and media coverage of,the recent brutal gang-rape andmurder of a 23-year-old womanin Delhi, the NWMI expressesgrave concern over the increasingincidence of violence against girlsand women all across India, inpublic as well as private spaces.As women journalists, we believeit is important to recognise thatthe Delhi case exposed onlythe tip of the iceberg of genderviolence, much of which does notreceive adequate media or publicattention. We appreciate the fact

that the media responded to thegang-rape in Delhi and the publicoutcry that followed with prominentand largely sympathetic coverage.

However, we recognise thatmedia coverage is often a double-edged sword. On the positiveside, it increases public awarenessabout such crimes and putspressure on the authorities totake action. On the negative side,incessant coverage of certain cases,particularly sensationalised casesof sexual violence, can obscure the

widespread prevalence of manydifferent forms of daily violenceagainst women all over the country.Unless it is balanced and sensitivelyhandled, such coverage can alsobe voyeuristic and titillating; it canincrease the sense of vulnerabilityand insecurity among girls andwomen (including survivors of suchviolence), and lead to restrictions ontheir freedom and rights.

In addition, some of the mediacoverage in the immediate aftermathof the gang-rape in Delhi provokedand amplied strident calls forharsher punishments for such crimes

capital punishment, chemicalcastration, and so on despite thefact that most womens groups withlong experience in dealing withgender violence have consistentlycautioned against such knee-jerkreactions that could worsen thesituation.

We recall the thousands of girlsand women all over the countrywho have been physically, sexually,psychologically abused and injuredor killed. As journalists, we urge themedia to pay due attention to sexual

violence perpetrated on Dalits andAdivasis, as well as women inmilitarised zones, where securityforces are granted impunity by law.We renew our commitment toworking towards ensuring thatmedia coverage of violenceagainst women is more sensitiveand nuanced, enabling victimsand survivors to get justice in anenvironment where women feel safeand can exercise their right to equalcitizenship.

The change is striking, whenyou consider that these women hadbarely stepped outside their village.Their status within their own circleshas grown immeasurably. Hands arewashed, scarves are worn, glovesare used. They have succeeded inmaintaining a system of qualitycontrol that has amazed even the labtechnicians to whom we send samplesof the material produced, observesRaj. The National AccreditationBoard for Testing and CalibrationLaboratories is involved in testing thequality of the material produced.

The women have now starteddreaming big. They know their planthas come to them in the form of agrant, so they have learnt to workout depreciation costs and addressbreakdowns promptly. They realisethat if they slip up, if their productgets rejected in terms of quality, the

whole project could be in jeopardy.So they make sure that all proceduresare followed and everybody is onboard the effort. And just to makesure this happens, almost everyoneis trained in basic numeric work andadministrative functions and canhandle every task on the shop oor.The responsibilities are rotated toavoid drudgery, prevent hierarchiesfrom forming and to create a cohesivework environment. Village womenthey may be, but each one of themnow has the mien of a successfulentrepreneur.

The Banswara unit is among seven units that WFand the Government of have planned. These will

at other sites in Banswara, athe adjoining districts of DuPali and Udaipur, all of whbeen identied as food-insecThere are challenges of coutraining women to run the utake effort. But once each uoff, its benets are manifold

Explains Mihoko Tarepresentative and country WFP India, Food insecuritynot just the body but the bgeneral neuro-physical groalso know that if children dthe right nutrients before two, they will never be ableup. This is why we see the Binitiative as an important one

Meanwhile, in Ranjanisanfar away in Madri village, Sialmost three years old stre

thin arms to be picked up. Laform in her saucer-like eyestranslucently pale face. The of a farm labourer, malnutralready put its footprint on hSita needs to be picked up, sense of the term - and quicdelivering proper nutrition the crucial rst step.

Bagfuls of nutrition ....

(Courtesy: Women's Featur

(Continued from page 1)

In the lm, a distraught fathersticking posters of his missingson.

Network of Women in Media.

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February 15, 2013 grassrootsAjournal of the Press Institute of India promoting the human condition

Across a borderland: Chroniclesof traffickingThis excerpt from a recent book trains the light on the tragic phenomenonof trafficking across the Bengal-Bangladesh border

Women from Bangladesh arelargely trafcked to India.From India they might then

be taken to Pakistan or the MiddleEast. In a research by Sanlaap, in two

red light areas of West Bengal it wasrevealed that most of these womenmigrate from one place to another.Ninety per cent of the red light areasthat they have identied as places thatthey have worked in are situated in thestates that border Bangladesh. Mostof these are either in the Northeast orin West Bengal.

In one particular red light areanamed Changrabandha about 66 percent women said that they have comefrom Bangladesh. In Dinbazar manyof the sex workers have said thattheir mothers came from Bangladesh.

The report clearly states, the rateof trafcking in Changrabandha isremarkably higher than Dinbazar.The red-light area of Changrabandhais adjacent to the Bangladesh border

and women are trafcked through thisborder like any other commodity.

Most of the women in sex workwere illiterates. Many of these womenentered prostitution when they wereyounger than 18 years of age. Mostof these women came from familiesof either wage earners and cultivatorsor their mothers were sex workers aswell. The mothers who are themselvessex workers nd no alternative exceptletting their daughters take up thesame profession because as childrenof sex workers they are stigmatisedand discriminated against. They are

deprived of education or even a socialenvironment with any promise orhope.

The socio-economic proles ofsex workers of at least Dinbazaarand Changrabandha portray thatthese women and children did nothave too many options to take upother professions. Even while in theprofession their lives are never secure.Basically there are three to fourmodes of operation. They can workindependently, or on contract basis oreven under a madam. Women in the

third category had to give up all theirearnings to the madam, and they weregiven room, food and some othernecessities in lieu of their payments.Even on contract basis they givehalf of their payments to madams.The best of them earn about Rs 5000per month. This takes care of theirnecessities and their children.

Some of them even send moneyhome. Their insecurity is portrayedby the fact that they are trafckedoften from one centre to another.These women are at the mercy ofboth criminals and the police. Beingnear the border often they are forcedto give shelter to criminals fromeither Bangladesh or India. Also, thepolice use them for sex without anypayment. They often cater to truckers

crossing zero point and to attract themthey take to the roads.There are cases where women

who are brought from Bangladesh tothe metropolitan towns in India facetremendous brutality. One such case isthat of Hamida, a young Bangladeshigirl, who was brought to India at theage of 10. She suffered a series ofbrutal rapes at the hands of the manwho brought her to New Delhi, alongwith some of his friends who wereDelhi policemen . Only one of theaccused men has served jail time.

That this is a region of extremeinsecurity for men and womencrossing the border has beendramatically portrayed by the case ofone Jayanti Bala Das of Bangladesh.In January of 2003 ve Bangladeshinationals, of whom two were minor

children, crossed the Indo-Bangladeshborder and entered India. The BorderSecurity Force (BSF) arrested themfrom a Baro Bridge across theIchhamati River. The area in whichthe incident took place is under thejurisdiction of the Basirhat PoliceStation in the North 24 Parganas.

The Bangladeshi nationalsincluding one Jayanti Bala Das wereall taken to the Soladana BSF campat around 5 pm on the same night (10January 2003) one BSF personnelallegedly raped Jayanti Bala.Thereafter, these inltrators wereput in a small boat with holes and

efforts were made to push them back.Allegedly, when the boatman refusedto go he was threatened at the pointof a gun. The boat capsized in themiddle of the river and only JayantiBala and her one-year-old son couldsave themselves.

On 13 January the villagers ofBagundi, who had given her shelter,

handed her over to the police ofBasirhat. She was charged underSection 14 of the Foreigners Act. On21 January a dead body was foundin the Brickkiln Canal in SouthBasirhat. The man was identied asJayantis husband Basudev. Whena case was lodged against veBSF personnel, the BSF men wereunwilling to hand over their personnelto the Basirhat police. Although theBengalBangladesh Borderland BSFdisagreed that Jayanti was raped, theofcer-in-charge of this case statedthat initial examinations proved thatshe was molested.

On 27 January, the sub-divisionaljudicial magistrate of Basirhat issued

warrants against ve BSF July, Jayanti was handed ovSromojibi Mahila Samity custody and on 15 Septembewrit petition was led on heThe cases are still pending. case reects the situation owho are trying to cross theTheir status of being a fore

woman increases their vulnNo one is willing to shouresponsibility for these womstate that they leave is glad tof them and the state that thnds them unwanted.

(Excerpted from WomIndian Borderlands, edited Banerjee, associate pUniversity of Calcutta, andBasu Ray Chaudhury, associate, Mahanirban Research Group, Kolkata; Pby Sage Publications; PgPrice: Rs 595. Courtesy: Feature Service)The cover page of Paula Banerjee and Anasua Basu's book, which

describes how women are trafcked like commodities, and how theyare at the mercy of criminals and the police.

Women living along the 2000-km-long porous Indo-Banborder ( a long shot seen here) often end up as victims of traf

Photo:SwapnaMajumdar/WFS

:

Read the journal from thePress Institute of India

that covers issuespertinent to the media.

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February 15,6 grassrootsAjournal of the Press Institute of India promoting the human condition

pushpa aChanTa, Bengaluru

Foreigners in your own land?India is multi-centric. You should not label a part of it as northeast or southwest, well-known writer U. R. Ananthamhad said at a festival of the Naga Students Union of Bangalore a couple of years ago. But many of us in

unwittingly refer to people belonging to Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and TripuChinese or people from the north-east. Despite the fact that people from these states, particularly the youth, studywork in Indias metros, the states figure in the news only during assembly or parliamentary elections or when therdisturbances of one kind or another

Nagas, Mizos, Manipuris andothers belonging to the sisterstates in Indias northeast are

a friendly and cheerful lot. Not manyare aware that there are many distinctcommunities in each of these states.

In fact, our identity and traditions

are based on the tribe we hail from,says Hrangthan Chhungi, a Mizo whoworks with the Tribal Affairs Divisionof the National Council of Churchesin India. For instance, there are Khasiand Garo tribes from Meghalaya,Meitei and Kuki from Manipur andBodos from Assam. Only some tribesallow members to practise religion,according to Ladbasuk Lyngdoh, atheologian from Meghalaya. Due tothe minimal avenues for employmentand higher education, many peoplefrom the northeast relocate to townsand cities elsewhere. However, owingto differences in language, food,clothing and practices, they nd itchallenging to blend into the localmilieu.

Organisations such as the Naga

Students Union of Bnagalore (NSUB)and the Bangalore Mizo Association(BMA) play an important role inhelping Nagas and Mizos to integratewith the locals, while keeping in touchwith their roots. Established in 1984,BMA has a registered membershipof 3000. The organisation gathers afew hundred Mizos in the city every2nd October during Vangpui Kut,the autumn festival when they enjoytraditional food, indoor games andcultural activities together. BMA alsohosts a yearly football tournament forits active league that has more thanten teams, and publishes an annual

magazine focussing on the latestissues in Mizoram.

NSUB organises an eveningsocial for Nagas in Bangalore everytwo years, in October. Started fourdecades ago, the body has around

6000 members, most of who come to

Bangalore to study. The body assistsyouth hailing from Nagaland, Assamor Manipur in nding job or educationoptions, says Trichao Thomas. ANaga youth who worked in the cityfor three years, he is associated withNSUB.

Rumour, spread via mobile phonetext messages and word-of-mouth,resulted in the departure in Augustlast year of hordes of people from thenortheast from many cities in India.Anti-social elements took advantageof the situation and threatened them,verbally and physically. There weresome Tibetan youth in Karnataka,either working or studying in college,who bore the brunt. After thingssettled down, those belonging to theeconomically disadvantaged sections

found it difcult to return, and thuslost jobs and income. I was able toget another job with the help of mynetwork of friends who are also froma nearby village in Assam. But myprevious employer was unwilling topay for the month I had been away.Some of my acquaintances who leftfound it hard to secure employment;those who remained experienceda constant feeling of insecurity,explains Narayan Singh (namechanged). A 29-year old of Nepaliorigin, with a son age three and awife, a domestic worker, he hadbeen working as a security guard in

a residential complex in one of themiddle-class areas of Bangalore formore than four years.

A number of NGOs, educationaland social research institutionsand individuals who campaignfor human rights, came togetherto form the Peace and SolidarityForum in Bangalore in mid August2012. They set up a mobile phonehelpline that was available round-the-

clock; it helped hundreds of people,especially from low-income familiesto get their salary. The volunteersworked with the police to provideassistance to those who returned regarding employment, salaryarrears, accommodation, recoveringadvances, etc. Volunteers ManoharElavarthi and Tejaswini S. say thehelpline received about 3000 calls forsupport.

Islamic groups based in Bangaloretook the initiative to host a meetingthat saw people from different faithsand communities from the north-east

A gathering of young Mizos in Bangalore.

states participating. Says youngsterTenzin D. from Tibet who was there atthe meeting: As we are from anothercountry, we have refugee statushere. We are given an identication

document which must be annually. Many of us comeat a very young age to live ain Dharamshala. We have noour families for over a decadmiss them. Communication idue to technological and lchallenges as people rein Tibet do not have tconnections and speak dialecwe have lost touch with.

Zamsei Thouthong, a 21-undergraduate student in Bfrom the Kuki Tribe of ManiAs I have been here for sevI know Kannada and Hindtime of the exodus in 2012, Iscared nor did I try to leaveof the protection offered by thOf course, my parents bacwere anxious about my well

Young Naga women wearingtraditional jewellery many

youngsters from the Northeasthave settled comfortably in India'smetros.

Flying like butterflies, touching the sk

When Meera Devi's husband diedshe did not know where to go withher two small children. She was anorphan and her husband's family

had treated her badly. Now that hewas dead her entire world seemedto crumble. However, some kindlyneighbours in Sultanpur ChilkanaVillage of Saharanpur District whereshe lived, guided her to a voluntaryorganisation, Disha, that battlessocial injustice. Today not only hasshe stabilised her own family but, inaddition, she has been able to helpseveral women almost as helpless asshe once was.

When Naseema came to herhusband's home she hoped to geta reprieve from the ill-treatment by

her foster mother. But her husbandbeat her even more. Naseema wasilliterate and did not know whereto go. Then she heard of Dishaand joined its literacy classes. Shebecame literate and even impartedliteracy to her husband (despite allhis beatings). Then she becamea full-time activist and worked inseveral villages of Saharampur andDehradun Districts, helping severalwomen in need.

Ramrati is Dalit woman whoovercame adverse conditions inher family to play a very activerole in an anti-liquor agitationin Pather Village. Despite graveeconomic hardships in her family,her commitment to the movementdid not diminish.

Shahnaaz suffered poverty andill-treatment but she could riseabove her problems to get trainedas a midwife and take up severalresponsibilities with Disha. Shecontributed to reducing the distressof several other women.

Says Naseema, "Before takingup social struggles, we had beenwaging struggles within ourfamilies. Our sufferings as womenhave built in us a rm resolve toprotect other women. This is whatgives us the extra strength to goall out in struggles, to put in all we

have." Adds Naseema, oppressed women get a to get out of their narrow cothey want to turn the earth athey want to y like buttertouch the sky."

Muslim women activists flot of opposition from the reorthodoxy. The extent cgauged from what Nasays: "The hell you talk cant be worse that my liviin the present. So let me uopportunity to escape." Shahnaaz was rst selecthealth-camp training, sheneither read alphabets nothem. But Disha did nother for this reason. Shencouraged to learn the and she improved later.

Bharat Dogra

Disha activists hear cases ofviolence against women.

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sharmisTha Chaudhury, Bhubaneswar

Providing one meal a daydelivering a lifelineThe Bharatpur slum in Odishas capital is a picture of despair: Mud houses with plastic sheetsfor roofs, refuse scattered around and the stench of human excreta everywhere. But whatcatches the eye more than the general squalor are ragged, hungry-looking children wanderingaround listlessly. It is against this backdrop that the Swatantra Jatiya Shishu Sramik Vidyalayaand its principal Sukanti Mohanto stand out like a beacon of hope

Every morning, SukantiMohanto, the schoolheadmistress, Swatantra Jatiya

Shishu Sramik Vidyalaya (SpecialNational Child Labour School), isout of her home by 9.30 am. For halfan hour before her school begins, she

walks the lanes of the Bharatpur slumin Bhubaneswar to coax, cajole andeven intimidate the children there intoattending classes. Thats because mostparents are not keen on sending theirchildren to school they prefer theirdaughters to stay back and look afterthe younger siblings, while the boysdo some income-generating work. Itsonly when Mohanto turns up at theirdoorstep that they have no option butto let them go.

Hers is a non-formal schoolcatering to working children anddropouts in the 9-14 age group, withthe ultimate aim of sending them toregular schools. The school has a

small but committed staff of ve ateacher for vocational training, twoteachers for the education process,one clerk and one cook apart fromthe indefatigable headmistress. Oneof the most notable contributions ofthis school to the slum community isin terms of general nutrition. Goodfood is clearly an urgent requirementin Bharatpur slum. Crushing poverty,illiteracy and the pressure to earna livelihood have all impacted onthe scrawny bodies of the childrenhere. Mohanto remarks, Most of thepeople here are construction workers.Both men and women go out in search

of work and there is no one to ensurethat the child eats, if at all.

Children like Trupti Das, BholaPradhan, Parvati Maharona and JiliPradhan, who are now students atMohantos school, would earlier havespent their entire day doing various

odd jobs. The boys would go andcollect wood from the nearby elephantsanctuary, and the girls would remaincaught in a never-ending cycle ofdomestic work. Some of the childrenwere even sucked into working inthe local zari (embroidery) unit fora pittance. Both boys and girls herewould also rummage through thegarbage heaps in search of bottles andplastic to sell, or aluminium wiresto burn in order to extract the metal.None of them knew what regularmeals were about. Always ravenous,they would eat anything they couldlay their hands on, even if it was froma garbage heap. If nothing turned up,

they would go hungry.However, the small, menial jobs

they did would fetch them somemoney. A portion of their earningswould be handed over to the parents,but a little something was alwayskept back and that was how manygot inexorably drawn into gutkha(chewable tobacco)-addiction andgambling. Substance abuse runs highamong the children here, playinghavoc with their already malnourishedbodies.

The Swatantra Jatiya Shishu SramikVidyalaya, a part of the District ChildLabour Project (Khurda District)

of the Odisha Government and runby Vishwa Jeevan Seva Sangha, anNGO, has always emphasised thenutritional aspect of its intervention.The mid-day meal served here is farmore nutritious than anything thechildren get at home. Every childis allotted 100 grams of rice and 20

grams of dal (pulses) per day. OnMondays and Saturdays, they areserved rice and vegetables cookedin dal - the vegetables consistingof potatoes, brinjal and seasonalgreen vegetables. On Tuesdays andThursdays, the emphasis is on proteinwith the children being given acurry of soyabean and potatoes withrice. Every child gets 100 grams ofsoyabean and 20 grams of potatoes.On Wednesdays and Fridays, theyused to serve egg curry (one egg each)with rice. But after the authoritiesof a nearby temple objected to anon-vegetarian item being cookedand served, it was decided that thechildren be given the eggs to takehome with them, while at school theyare served vegetables, dal and rice.

The question to ask is what wouldthese children have been eating if theydid not have access to this meal? SaysPuspa, 11, When there is no school,I usually have no lunch, although mymother leaves some rice from theprevious night for me and my brother.After my parents return home fromwork, I have dinner with my family.But even this one family meal issometimes in jeopardy. As a teacherput it, sometimes Puspas fathercomes in drunk and life suddenlyturns very fraught, with her motherinevitably getting beaten, which also

means that nothing gets cooked in thehouse and nobody eats.

Another student, Puja Maharona,declares that the food at school is muchtastier than what she has at home. Sheloves vegetables, but at home theonly vegetable she eats is potatoes.

According to the headmistress, thereis very little awareness about thevalue of green vegetables amongthe slum families, and it is not just aquestion of affordability. In contrast,animal protein, like meat and milk,are universally desired but generallyconsidered as unaffordable.

Along with the food comes anotherworld. During the six hours from 10am to 4 pm that these children arein school, they are happily divorcedfrom their seamy surroundings. Theychant prayers, repeat lessons, practisewriting and learn vocational skills.In fact, some are engaged enoughto revise their lessons at home.Since all our students are working

children, we do not follow formalschool courses. We teach through themethods of joyful learning, explainsMahapatra. That is what makeslessons so attractive to them.

Despite the big difference thisschool has brought about in the livesof the children, challenges remainand nobody knows them better thanMohanty. For one, parents are, byand large, still extremely reluctant tosend their wards to school, preferringthat they work and bring home somemoney. Construction workers earnaround Rs 175-200 and usually bothhusband and wife go to the site, so

This is the Swatantra JatiyaShishu Sramik Vidyalaya(Special National Child LabourSchool) that delivers non-formaleducation, and good food, toworking children and dropoutsin the 9-14 age group, in the

Bharatpur slum in Odisha'scapital, Bhubaneshwar.

These are some of the slum children who are led to the school by the

headmistress everyday. Crushing poverty, illiteracy and the pressureto earn a livelihood have adversely impacted the children.

Photos:SharmisthaChaudhury/WFS

(Courtesy: Womens Featur

Shift to e-jour

Dear Reader,With increasing printing coPress Institute of India, a nontrust, has been compelled publication of the printed of Grassroots. Grassrootspublished only as an e-journ

annual subscription to the e-(which can be assessed by cthe Grassroots section on thpage) will be Rs 300 and p(in the form of DD favourinInstitute of India) can be the Director, PII-RIND, Premises, Second Main Taramani CPT Campus, C600 113. Existing subscribereceive either a PDF versipassword to log into the e-vWe look forward to your always.

D

it is not as if the small incchildren make is essential the family from starving. Hwhat generally happens is money keeps getting fritterA lot of the money goes intoand gambling and that mhousehold budget for food observes Mohanty.

The impact of alcoholism

abuse on the nutrition levechildren in the family has neseriously studied nor has tmade it into any policy framinterventions on the ground. this is the social dimension worked working mothers nable to spare appropriate timefeeding, caring and rearing pThis would also require intervention if the nutritionof Indias children is to be imBut there can be no denyinthe Bharatpur slum, poor levels among children aclosely linked to broader lifedependencies and addictions

Mohanty, despite her bessometimes feels despondenthopes for the best. We can

children one meal a day, buit we try to deliver a lifelisays.

The mid-day meal at the Swatantra Jatiya Shishu Sramik Vidy

cooked in a little yard outside the schoolroom.

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swapna majumdar, Jamui (Bihar)

February 15,

Child rights defenders ina conflict zoneEvery morning when Sunila Hazda sets off to work, she is not sure what time she will returnhome. Her work as a defender of child rights, or Bal Bandhu, requires her to traverse throughdense forests and steep hills. She has also to be on guard against snakes and other animalsas she walks from village to village in the remote Naxal-affected Harkar Panchayat in KhairaBlock of Bihars Jamui District. Although she has been born and brought up in the Santhal-doiminated panchayat, the lack of roads and electricity makes her wary and unsure at times.However, there is one thing that Sunila is sure about she will stop at nothing to see that everychild in the panchayat goes to school

Having gone through a longand difcult struggle to study,Sunila Hazda, 19, the daughter

of a woodcutter, doesn't want others

to face the obstacles she had tonegotiate. Her parents sold rewoodto garner resources for her educationand allowed her to stay in a hostel 110km away from home to pursue her

dreams. If I had not studied, I, too,would have been selling rewood.Education has given me a job and anidentity, says Sunila, the rst girlin her Santhal Community to reachClass 11.

Sunila is today pursuing higherstudies and is, at the same time,helping other children of thecommunity access their right toeducation. It was this zeal that ledto her being chosen as a Bal Bandhuunder the government's Bal Bandhu

programme. Introduced in December2010 by the National Commissionfor Protection of Children (NCPCR),after getting the nod by the prime

minister's ofce, the Bal Bandhuprogramme aims to protect children'srights in areas of civil unrest with thehelp of Bal Bandhus chosen fromwithin the community. Two resource

persons for each district have alsobeen deputed to facilitate the three-year programme being piloted in 10districts in nine states impacted bycivil unrest. In Bihar, four districts,Jamui, Sheohar, Rohtas and EastChamparan, have been selected forits implementation.

In Jamui, the programme is beingpiloted in Khaira Block. Here, theBal Bandhus are slowly and steadilymobilising the community to takeresponsibility for upholding the rights

of their children and convincing themto send their children to anganwadis(nurseries) and schools not just inSunilas Harkar Panchyat but in 20 of

the 22 panchayats in the block. Whathas helped immensely is that of the20 Bal Bandhus chosen one for eachpanchayat by the two Bal BandhuResource Persons (RPs), nine arewomen. Although the Bal Bandhushail from different backgrounds, theyall share a common passion to dosomething for their community and acommitment to work for children.

And their hard work has paid off.Since they began work in January2011, they have, with the help ofthe two RPs, catalysed change inthe block. They have managed toturn around almost half of the non-operational schools. Before theonset of the programme, 48 of the226 schools in the block were non-functional. By making 23 of the 48non-functional schools operational

again, they have managed to motivate798 children, who were alreadyenrolled in school but irregular, toattend classes regularly.

But it's not been an easy ride.To achieve this, they have had tohandle delicate situations as well.For instance, in August 2011, whenBal Bandhu Savitri Kumari wentto the Parati Primary School inArnuwabank Panchayat of KhairaBlock to participate in the aghoisting ceremony on IndependenceDay, she found that the villagerswere very agitated. They told her thatthe neighbouring school had beenwarned by the Naxals not to unfurlthe ag. Seeing the uncertainty andfear among the community, teachersand students, Savitri sought the help

of her mentor RP, Srinivas Chakli.After Srinivas reached the school,the duo calmed the villagers down. Oninquiring whether or not Parati Schoolhad received a specic warning andnding it had not, they left it to thecommunity to decide what should bedone. Considering that their childrenwere looking forward to the event,the villagers decided to go ahead. Infact, a village elder was nominated bythe community to do the honours inthe absence of the principal.

Like Savitri Kumari, Nazrhwa Naz,too, has understood what it means tobe a Bal Bandhu. In March 2011,

the lives of 553 students in GarhiPanchayat had come to a standstillwhen their middle school was targetedby extremists. A big part of the school

was destroyed by a bomb they plantedto prevent the government fromhousing a battalion of the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF) on the

premises. The CRPF had moved outin January, two months before theincident, and were expected to returnin time for the panchayat elections tobe held in the state that month.

According to Nikhat Parveen,the schools headmistress, the blastcreated panic and fear within the

community, particularly amongstudents and their parents. I had to gofrom door to door to convince them toreturn. But it took a long time to gaintheir condence, she recalls. It wasNazrhwa Naz, who helped Parveenpersuade the community to send theirdaughters back to school. Incidentally,Naz is Parveens daughter. At 19, Nazhas been critical in raising awarenessabout the importance of educationin the Garhi panchayat area. Havinggrown up in a district where girls aremarried young, Naz has concentratedon reaching out to the mothers.Simultaneously, she made efforts

to form Bal Mitra Sangatchild support groups, colike-minded boys and girlage who have pledged to wchildren. These efforts helpdelay the marriage of a sistformer schoolmate and get to school.

Engaging the local representatives has been on

main strategies that havethe Bal Bandhus bring girlsschool. Bachchi Devi used toa domestic help before she cfrom Scheduled Caste seat in Panchayat, Sheohar, in telections. When Bal BandhKumari, in charge of the pawent to greet her and disprogramme, Bachchi confesince she was uneducated,not understand such issues. Neetu to the house of heemployer. As Neetu spoke aprogramme, Bachchi sat on near her employer's feet anlistened.

Later, when Neetu asked she did not sit on the chair,revealed that she could notsit with her employer. It to

several interactions with Babuild her condence and conthat, as mukhiya, she was thethe panchayat and that she wa

Sunila Hazda, 19, of Harkar Panchyat in Khaira Block of JamuiDistrict, Bihar, is the rst girl in her Santhal community to reach Class11. Now, as a government-appointed Bal Bandhu, or defender of child

rights, she has taken it upon herself to ensure that every child in herpanchayat goes to school.

This is the school in Garhi Panchayat in Jamui District, whicdestroyed by the Naxals. Nazrhwa Naz, the Bal Bandhu for Gartogether with her mother, Headmistress Nikhat Parveen, to con

parents to send their children back to school after the incident

(Courtesy: Womens Featur

to none. Now, not only doesDevi sit on the chair, she hasactively engaged in upholdirights. After participating inawareness meetings on chilshe organised and led ralliechild labour on Internatioagainst Child Labour.

Whether it is Sunila orNeetu, the young Bal Bandmany challenges. Not onlyhave to work amidst conictthey also have to stand upbureaucratic delays and coThe lack of buildings for no provision of residential hostels, particularly for girlsdifcult terrain have only their problems. But, despite these young Bal Bandhu ctrue friends of children livingof conict.

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Change at the grassroots tribal women show the wayR

ekha Talmaki has made aserious and commendableeffort at conducting survey-

based research on the socio-economicstatus of tribal women in Valod(South Gujarat) where committedworkers have dedicated more thanve decades of their lives in villagedevelopment activities based onGandhian principles. Her eld visitshave played a crucial role in bringingnew insights and analysis, backed bya gender lens. She has examined tribalwomens predicaments in the contextof the status of women in India, wherethe main factors in determining socio-economic status are income, educationand occupation. Talmaki has providedan exhaustive essay, focusing on theoccupational life and health prole of

tribal women and their status in thefamily in decision-making. She goeson to evaluate the situation to nd outto what extent the Gandhian ideologyof Antyodaya is implemented fortribal women, who are the poorest ofthe poor in the economic ladder and atthe bottom of the pyramid.

The author has rightly used aconceptual framework that includessocio-economic parametersof inequality, poverty and socialexclusion. She has provided adenition for tribe and highlightedindicators such as working statusand demographic aspects of tribesin Gujarat as well as the size anddistribution of Scheduled Tribes. Shereveals that the sex ratio of tribalwomen in Gujarat is relatively higher

compared to other parts of India.Does it indicate better status on thesocio-economic, cultural, educationaland political platforms? The socialgeography of Surat shows volatilechanges due to industrialisation,urbanisation and globalisation. Inwhat way have these factors affectedthe lives and survival strategies oftribal women? The author has madean honest attempt to answer suchdifcult questions.

With the help of aquestionnaire administered to498 women in the 18-59-year agegroup, in 11 select villages in Valod,Talmaki has tried to analyse variousdevelopmental efforts. She says alarge number of Halpatis or Dublas isfound prominently in Surat District.They are very poor because they

do not get permanent employment.They are good in taking care ofanimals; local milk cooperativesencourage them in animal husbandry.It emerges from the study that thetribal communities, particularlywomen, have been excluded from themainstream economic developmentfor the past many decades. Therefore,it is necessary to pay attention tomany other aspects that can lead tothe overall development of tribalwomen.

The study brings to the forethe efforts of veteran Gandhians

such as Babubhai Shah, SavitabenChaudhari and Dashriben Choudhari.Popularly known as Dashariba, theeminent Gandhian and freedom-ghter who was born in 1918 in atribal family has been the role modelfor all tribal women in the region.She now resides in Vedchhi. Shetook part in the freedom struggleand taught Kasturba Gandhi readingand writing a good example ofhow tribal men and women activelyparticipated in the freedom struggle.After Independence, Dasharibendevoted her entire life to educating

people.In the book, Talmaki says that

women in Valod perform variousincome-generating activities. Theyare either engaged in agriculturalactivities or in producingpapador indairy production. Very few womenamong those surveyed were engagedin anganwadis (nurseries); only fourwomen had government jobs. Womenassociated with agricultural activitywere also engaged in papador milkproduction. For example, Halpatiwomen are basically agriculturallabourers but they do well in dairy

production. The women do notpossess land but those who aremembers of self-help groups managelivestock and have their own bankaccounts. These are empoweredwomen. Their economic status hasimproved thanks to entities such asLijjat Papad and milk cooperatives.More than 50 per cent women knowthe market value of their products.

Decision making, economic statusand empowerment go hand in hand.More than 70 per cent women in thestudy say their status has changeddrastically and they see themselves

in a different perspective now; theythink about the empowerment of theirown daughters and the well-being ofthe family. More than 50 per centwomen say improvement in economicstatus gives them status in the familyand in society as well. The women donot want their children to suffer asthey have. What they want is goodeducational and job opportunities fortheir children. They want decent,educated husbands for their daughters.Alcoholism is common in tribalcommunities; hence, mothers do notwant such men for their daughters.

It is encouraging to note in thebook that respondents from Vedchhiwant to do something for theircommunity and village. Respondentsfrom Ranveri want their daughters tobe educated, so that they would teachtheir children. It shows that womenhave understood the importance ofeducation. In the sample, there werevery few widows, but nearly 50 percent women said that there shouldbe some special schemes only forwidows.

Education of tribes started withthe Vedchhi Movement and it laterourished, thanks to Jugatram Dave,who founded of Swaraj Ashram Vedchhi in 1930. The UdyogwadiUnit started in 1954 and variousprogrammes were undertaken by

Babubhai Shah. A separate womenssection was started in the UdyogwadiUnit. Women started getting guidancein income generating activitiesand vocational training. The LijjatPapad Unit, for instance, providesoccupation based on self-sufciencyand contributes to empoweringwomen in Valod.

Self-help groups, milk cooperatives,the increasing participating of womenin political activity, agitation againstdeforestation and alcoholism by self-help groups, the educational status ofwomen and their children, accessibilityto infrastructural activity, improveddecision-making capacity, and theknowledge and use of contraceptivesshow positive changes in the socio-economic status of tribal women in

Valod. The improvement has nottaken place overnight. Gandhianideology denitely played a veryimportant role. So, too, did self-helpgoups who are emerging on a largescale in Valod Taluka. Developmentfrom the grassroots, a dream ofGandhiji, is now becoming a reality.

It noteworthy that the authorsrecommendations emphasisethe need for investment in tribalwomens education, vocationaltraining, meaningful participationof tribal women in local selfgovernment bodies, anti-alcoholefforts and prevention of domesticviolence among tribal familiesthrough collective efforts and socialintervention.

(Vibhuti Patel, who has reviewedthe book, heads the Departmentof Economics, SNDT WomensUniversity, Mumbai.)

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