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By Deepti Priya Mehrotra From organising a two-day workshop on NREGS for the Noniya (dalit) community to meeting the chief minister to get a primary healthcare centre sanctioned and organising an all-castes community bhojan in a harijan basti, dalit women panchayat leaders are making a real difference in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh
Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are among India’s so-called ‘Bimaru’ states: they are ‘ailing’ in that they lag behind with regard to most parameters of development. Yet, within these states, working class dalit women have not only won panchayat elections but have worked tirelessly to empower dalit communities in their villages. These are shining examples of grassroots action that can ultimately change the face of the country. Ramsakhi Devi, 36, is ward member of the Baiju Barhoga gram panchayat, Basantpur block, Sewan district in Bihar. She won elections on a post reserved for extremely backward castes. Devi belongs to the Noniya caste and has used her position to take up cudgels on behalf of the entire community. She explains: “This is the most backward and oppressed community in our area. Who can understand the sufferings of the Noniya people better than me? The upper castes beat up our people on the smallest pretext. Once, when a goat strayed into one of their fields, they beat up the owner and broke the goat’s legs. Such incidents are very disturbing and humiliating. We have no assets. They force us to work in their fields at extremely low wage rates, giving direct or veiled threats. Because of all this I wanted to do something that would bring justice and equality to the Noniyas.” Ramsakhi Devi has never attended school. When she was elected she had no idea what her role was in the local governance system. So, when Aagaz Academy asked her to join their training sessions she agreed, and through the NGO she learnt about the role, responsibilities and powers of an elected representative. She began moving around her constituency, taking up people’s issues. The ration dealer was using a faulty scale; she took him a proper one and told him to weigh everything again. Caught cheating, the dealer apologised. Ramsakhi Devi confronted the school headmaster and sarpanch on the issue of scholarships for primary school children. They harassed her, even pushing and abusing her, upon which she lodged a complaint with the Basantpur police station. She mobilised other elected women representatives of the area who supported her on the issue and held a dharna against the sarpanch. He was forced to admit his mistake, and publicly apologised. Since then, scholarships have been distributed properly. Ramsakhi Devi managed to dissuade two women from resorting to sex-selective abortions. She motivated pregnant women to go in for regular ante-natal check-ups and inoculations. She has helped eight extremely poor people avail of housing under the Indira Awas Yojana, and has facilitated the getting of old age pensions for several elderly people. Ramsakhi Devi is motivated by a larger purpose: “If I am not useful to women, the poor and vulnerable, what meaning is there in my winning an election,” she asks. To organise the Noniya community, Ramsakhi Devi held a two-day workshop on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and other livelihood options. At the workshop, a government functionary trained the Noniyas on their labour rights. They were also made aware of their right to information and other rights. The first day, 35 people, all from the Noniya community, took part; the second day the number climbed to 40. Ramsakhi Devi’s workshop was held in Basantpur school, 15 km from the village. She says: “If the training had been in the village, upper caste men would have fired at the meeting!” Indeed, the powerful upper castes are worried that dalits will take over village politics. People soon became acquainted with their rights, and are better equipped to confront the upper caste landowners. Ramsakhi Devi says: “Now nobody can use force to exploit another person in our panchayat. Earlier, the sarpanch paid no attention to what I said. But now the sarpanch and secretary offer me a chair to sit on, and discuss issues with me. Everybody feels that if Ramsakhi is powerful enough to organise her whole community, then she can do anything!” Through her work, Ramsakhi Devi hopes to overturn existing unjust and unequal power equations. Although she has received threats to her life, she says: “I am not frightened. I am doing nothing wrong. They have exploited us for centuries, so it is time for them to worry. I do not want to spread any hatred based on caste. I only want to make dalit castes aware of their basic rights. People from other castes too support us in our struggle.” She adds: “Things are changing, slowly. Noniyas are refusing to do work in the fields unless they are paid proper wages.” **** Dayavati Saket, 37, is sarpanch of the Chhibora gram panchayat, Rampur Baghelan block, Satna district, Madhya Pradesh. She has studied up to the primary school level, and won the panchayat elections on a post reserved for scheduled castes. Like Ramsakhi Devi, Dayavati Saket too had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do as an elected representative of the people. Her husband used to do all the panchayat work. But, after joining a few training sessions at Aagaz Academy she gained knowledge and confidence and began taking on the work herself. She helped link needy women with appropriate development schemes for housing, health, rations, widow pensions, etc. Through her efforts, the panchayat was sanctioned a primary health centre, but the collector, succumbing to vested interests, got it transferred to another panchayat. Dayavati Saket protested about the injustice to the collector. He simply threw the letter away. Saket did not take the insult lying down. She went to the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and complained. The minister reprimanded the collector who later apologised to Saket. This dramatic action won her recognition and respect in the panchayat. Dayavati Saket won an Aagaz Fellowship which she utilised for the challenging task of battling social discrimination against dalits and adivasis, and linking poor women of these sections with relevant development schemes. Having faced caste discrimination all her life, she was highly motivated. “In our village no upper caste person will sit with dalits or adivasis. If an upper caste person happens to touch a dalit/adivasi, she/he will go home and immediately take a purifying bath.” Saket went from house to house identifying single, widowed, disabled and homeless women in dalit and adivasi neighbourhoods. She made a list of 66 poor working women who were barely able to make ends meet. To bring them together on common issues and rights she formed four women’s groups that chose their own office-bearers and discussed possibilities for self-employment and income-generation. The women began attending gram sabhas and raising their issues there. They brought up the problems of untouchability, land rights, housing, health services, electricity, water, rations, roads, widow pensions and disability pensions. Saket then organised a meeting between women of all castes and communities. At the meeting she stressed the need to overcome caste prejudice, sit and eat together, and create a harmonious social atmosphere. The women at the meeting all shared this sentiment. They decided to organise a community meal for every family in the village. It was held in April 2008, in the harijan basti. Around 500 men and women participated in this completely new experience -- people from all castes and classes sitting and eating a meal together. After the success of this event, Saket held a meeting with representatives from every ward in her panchayat on how to end untouchability. She got posters and pamphlets printed and put up, explaining the need to leave behind such inhuman practices and move forward into a better future. Saket believes that with women becoming more aware, change is coming about slowly but surely. She says with a touch of humour: “We are not neech (lowly), we are netas (leaders)!” Given the dominance of the upper castes in the area, Saket is not very confident that she will be elected on an open seat. She says: “After my term is over I will not be able to do much. So I am doing the maximum possible during my five-year tenure.” Like Ramsakhi Devi and Dayavati Saket, thousands of dalit women have been elected to panchayat posts, and many are moving effectively to bring about real change in power relations at the grassroots level. In Ramsakhi Devi’s Sewan district, other ward members like Chameli Devi (Saryan Srikant gram panchayat, Basantpur block), and Meera Devi (Mirjumla gram panchayat, Bhagwanpur block, both of whom were elected to posts reserved for scheduled castes, have also had remarkable success. Chameli Devi has organised dalit women’s groups in her village that take up issues of discrimination against girls, alcoholism, witch-hunting and livelihood generation, while Meera Devi focuses on spreading awareness and fighting for women’s property rights. Indeed, for poor dalit women, property ownership can sometimes spell the difference between life and death. (Deepti Priya Mehrotra is a Delhi-based writer) InfoChange News & Features, April 2009 |
