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By Naren Karunakaran It is money, and the power to influence its deployment, that is key to securing livelihoods and the rights of the marginalised, says M D Mistry, the grassroots activist who has traversed the distance from Gujarat's tribal heartland to parliament house in Delhi
 It took over three long decades for Madhusudan Devaram Mistry, the grassroots activist from Gujarat, to traverse the distance from the state's tribal heartland to parliament house in Delhi . And this he did not by taking the easier Rajya Sabha route but by plunging headlong into the treacherous waters of electoral politics.
Mistry, a Congressman for five years, represents the backward Sabarkantha in the Lok Sabha. He started out in politics in the late-'90s by teaming up with Shankarsinh Vaghela of the erstwhile Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP). He was also the party's state president for a brief while. Mistry sees his dalliance with politics as merely an extension of the work he started years ago to uphold the rights of tribals, landless labourers, marginal farmers and also the urban poor. From fighting the system and policymakers all these years, he believes, he is now well placed to influence policies that will impact large swathes of the country's poor and marginalised, his true constituency. Only now the canvas is bigger, responsibilities more onerous and expectations sky high. Mistry, who started his career as a geography lecturer, continues to be actively involved in the scores of grassroots organisations he has helped spawn over the years. His organisation, DISHA (Developing Initiatives for Social and Human Action) is a household name in Gujarat 's northeastern belt. Although his grassroots work has been lauded and recognised, Mistry caught the imagination of the development sector in the early-'90s with his pioneering work on analysing state budgets, starting with his own state Gujarat. Since then he has trained scores of NGOs in budget analysis, with a view to influencing policymakers to draw out pro- poor budgets. "I am biased," he says, "in favour of the poor". Mistry is absolutely certain that only a deeper understanding of budgets and budgeting can help turn the tide in favour of the poor. And for this to happen, NGOs and activists have to study and comprehend the intricacies of budgets, at all levels, from the municipal to the union. It's a vital tool in the long struggle to eradicate poverty. When and why did you find the need to steer DISHA towards budget analysis and advocacy, traditionally the domain of academics and researchers?
After a period of struggle to establish the rights of communities living in the tribal areas of Gujarat in the '80s, we realised the need for information on money spent by the national and state governments on tribal development. For years, the Gujarat government claimed large amounts had been spent in tribal areas, but I found no material change in the penurious condition of the tribals and workers I worked with. Where was the money going? So, in the early-'90s, we gingerly embarked on probing the complexities of the state budget to ferret out figures on expenditure in tribal development schemes. What were your initial experiences? Were you really equipped for such an exercise, and who were your allies in this effort?
The word budget is enough to put off most social activists. Number-crunching is alien territory. Perhaps that is the reason why we received little support from other activists and civil society organisations in the early years. Only a handful of retired bureaucrats, sympathetic to our cause, led us through the maze of the budget-making process. Activists, especially those with a Left orientation, were intensely sceptical and derided us for our so-called capitalistic inclinations and our fascination for money. It's about time the Left realised that power does not flow from the barrel of a gun anymore. Money, and the power to influence its deployment, is key to securing livelihoods and the rights of the marginalised. So, organisational re-structuring was inevitable"¦
Yes and no. We were faced with a dilemma. We debated hard and finally decided to remain a people's movement, armed with the knowledge of budget and money matters. The rigour of research and the power of knowledge is a potent tool. Though tempted, we didn't want to turn into an organisation solely devoted to budget analysis and advocacy. We continue to remain a people's movement. Activism, bolstered by this potent tool, has shifted the power dynamics in our favour over the years. All people's movements ought to adopt this route, instead of merely limiting themselves to street demonstrations and slogan shouting. If one were to analyse activism in terms of cost-benefit, our route and approach delivers the best results. Coping with the complexities of the task must have been difficult. How did the DISHA strategy unfold? Did the power elite hit back at this perceived invasion into their territory?
When we first saw the budget documents we were overwhelmed. We had to classify the data, scour it for the kind of information we wanted and also try and comprehend the government's accounting system. We had to build our self-confidence and ascertain whether our interpretation of the figures was correct. We are often surprised by the efficacy of our new- found skills! In one particular year (1997-98) we pointed out 172 mathematical errors in the state budget documents. The same year, we began publishing a series of four-page documents on numerous aspects of the budget, which became an instant hit with Gujarat legislators, especially the opposition that's always on the lookout for sticks to beat the government with. Our much-sought-after notes eventually began to shape budget discussions in the assembly, forcing ministers to reply to pointed queries, all backed by numbers. The secretive apparatus gradually turned more responsive and, above all, the issues of the poor found a place in the agenda of legislators. The government, of course, was highly embarrassed initially, but it could do little to silence us as we were quoting from its own documents. Our standing and credibility in society also stood us in good stead. The budget strategy worked marvellously well, as our access to the corridors of power became easier, enabling us to raise issues and resolve problems. Could you cite an instance where budget activism actually led to tangible benefits for the poor?
There is usually a huge gap between the claims and announcements made by the government and the ground realities. Programmes are usually not backed by the expected allocations. Except for programmes like the mid-day meal scheme, several government programmes are attempts at pulling the wool over the eyes of the poor. On one occasion, we stumbled upon the fact that the government was paying only Rs 42 per person under the Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana (SGRY.) How could the government pay less than the minimum wages of Rs 82 and 5 kg of grain -- norms stipulated by the government itself? The idea was to surreptitiously bloat the number of man-days on the scheme. We were appalled and had to extend our resources and reach to set matters right. In one stroke, however, we secured the rights of thousands of rural poor. Does your work on the budget merit description as some sort of social audit of the state government and its programmes?
Certainly. Our work has percolated to the lowest levels. Over the years, we have devised a mechanism wherein, on the basis of our analysis, we send out letters to village sarpanches about development work earmarked for the particular village or cluster. A road link or percolation tank, for instance. We then seek feedback on the work done or not done. If the road hasn't materialised and the figures prove otherwise, we immediately approach the estimates and vigilance committees. An independent civil society monitoring mechanism is in place. Have you done work on district and municipal budgets? Is governance in urban conglomerates also cause for concern?
We are now analysing district budgets too. When we started looking at municipal budgets, we hit numerous potholes. Unlike state budgets, municipal budgets didn't really work on standard accounting systems, with the result that municipal bodies adopted varied sets of systems and approaches. We realised the need for a uniform coding system and lobbied hard for it. Now we see the benefits. We have worked with other groups on the Bangalore municipal budget and the city today has a fine set of civil society organisations working on budgets and budgeting. Your work on budgets prompted you to undertake a study on the contribution of the poor towards a state's revenue. What did it reveal?
Gross inequity. The poor, even as they struggle to make ends meet, contribute to a state's revenue significantly... in terms of sales tax, excise, lottery"¦ and even by way of liquor-consumption. Andhra Pradesh, which often showcased its Rs 2/kg of rice scheme, earns over Rs 700 crore from liquor sales alone. And which is the largest section of society that consumes liquor? The poor. While the government draws huge revenue from the poor, it is eventually distributed in an unjust manner. The poor only get a small portion of the overall pie. Powerful interests and lobbies usurp the rest. Has the condition of the poor and their circumstance changed at all since you and others like you started work? How has the budget initiative impacted you, as an individual, and your organisation?
Money always goes to those who hold power. Our work on budget analysis has shifted the balance of power in favour of the poor, to a certain extent. We not only engage in post-budget analysis, we are now beginning to actually influence the budget-making process itself. We approach the government with concrete proposals and programmes, all worked out to the minutest financial detail. It is indeed gratifying to see our proposals finding a place in the budget when it is finally announced. Our pioneering work has spawned several budget groups across the country, in the last decade. The Tamil Nadu group, led by Manu Alphonse, has been doing good work in examining the state's budgets. Much more however needs to be done, especially in the central, northern and eastern parts of the country. As an individual it has prepared me to examine wider issues. All this work has lent me a broader vision. Instead of looking at one segment of society (tribals) I am now inclined to look at the macro issues affecting the poor. It's now easy to link issues to the policy framework, and perhaps this is the reason why I gravitated towards politics. As my constituency expanded and as I began representing a wider section of the poor, I thought it fit to leverage electoral politics. I see a certain congruence between my role as an activist and as a politician. I can do much more sitting in parliament. What now? Where does the movement go from here?
I have a small confession to make. My involvement in electoral politics these last few years did not allow me to concentrate fully on my work as an activist. Now that I have a full term ahead of me, I hope to revive 'People's Bias,' the budget initiative, on a national scale. I am also firming up plans for an anti-corruption campaign. I am now engaged in seeking likeminded parliamentarians interested in lobbying on behalf of the poor and the disadvantaged. I have not made much headway though. Egos come in the way and not many members of the house want to bare their ignorance of the budget and the budget process. This is a handicap. I hope to start by aligning with and strengthening the Forum of Farmers, a ginger group of 52 members of parliament interested in upholding the interests of farmers. (Naren Karunakaran is an independent journalist and researcher based in New Delhi . He was earlier with the Indian Express and Outlook Money.) InfoChange News & Features, June 2004
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