FEATURE STORY
Meena: An Indefatigable Spirit
Article written by Katyayani Upreti
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No one in this village dares to drink, says Meena, the leader of a hugely successful anti-liquor campaign.
Weve have made them leave drinking. Let someone indulge in it for once start a fight; he shall with out fail be brought to his senses by our Mahila Mangal Dal.
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DHARI VILLAGE, PITHORAGARH, UTTARANCHAL:
Men addicted to the bottle are advised to stay clear of Dhari village in Pithoragarh, Uttaranchal.
Meena, a courageous woman of 30-35 and a resident of Dhari village, Chana Gram Paqnchayt in Pithoragarh district of Uttaranchal, has a slim constitution, average height, not too fair a color, bright eyes filled with irresistible magnetism. She also happens to be fluent and eloquent speaker. But this is Meenas present avatar; she didnt possess this zeal and spirit eight months ago. Liquor was proving to be her greatest enemy.
She journeys back to her past and says, All of us were we living a life full of thorns. Husbands would come home drunk and fight each and every day. I went to my fathers home after one such fight and lived there cursing my fate for several months. Then, Id to come back. A home might not have food, but liquor it certainly had! Even the relatives had stopped visiting us.
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Pitambar Joshi, a retired aeronautical engineer from army recalls, The first one was opened by Jogiram, after returning from Delhi. People could not do any thing against him. After it, thirteen bhatties were opened and a situation came when women would work as wage laborers the whole day and their whole earnings were devoured by these bhatties. |
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This small village had at one time thirteen illegal distilleries, a situation prevailing for 9-10 years. Village people relate how finally some people could take no more of it and formed a Mahila Mangal Dal. It made some meager efforts; but could not evolve in to broad based group and ultimately got defunct. Meena and other women of the village say, We didnt know anything about this group as to who organized it and when. We found it out during our own campaign.
 Meenas campaign started with a complaint lodged with the Customs & Excise Department and immediately raids were made at the village. They caught canisters and canister of liquor and took away some bhattiwalls as well. Other women of the village came to us and said why we hadnt called them also. Immediately, 30-32 women got together, recalls Meena. However, after five days, few of the bhattiwalls got released. Meena took the whole group to SDM & DM. They were surprised by our consistency and advised us to form a Mahila Mangal Dal. Keeping in view the situation prevailing at the village, they also sent two constables with us. Now, we launched a systematic campaign. A whistle went and all women got together in a group. Some 4-5 boys also accompanied us. On 6th, we destroyed 7 canisters of liquor.
Opposition to this initiative was, of course, inevitable and at one point the situation at the village was quite tense. Meena herself faced abuses and threats from the men folk and especially the bhattiwallas. However, the women were so enthusiastic, that they eventually backed off. Pitambar Joshi who provided his support through the whole campaign, says, These women did wonders. They kept a constant vigil at night and hunted for bhattiwallas and drunks and if they founded some one staggering, out went a whistle and all women got together immediately and beat him with bichchupani (a plant that causes immense irritation and pain if touched to body in a wet state).
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Nirmaladesh Pandey, the president of the village Mahila Mangal Dal, has the same daring. While campaigning against the bhattis, she even picked up a quarrel with the police. She says about this campaign, Our movement was so powerful that even my husband has to support us though he himself used to drink. Meenas husband also supported us. |
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According to Meena, We would traverse ten kilometers for making it to Pithorgarh at nights. Sometimes, we would get some vehicle; sometimes we had to travel with out ticket and sometimes had to go on foot. Women would accompany us leaving even their siblings back at home. While doing this, we looked out for drunks and fined them 50 rupees. After some time, local MLA Prakash Pant got the Mahila Dal constituted even on papers. All the bhattis were dismantled in some days. It is better that we didnt break them ourselves. First, we tried to persuade the men folk not to drink; and if the better sense did not prevail, we resorted to touch them with bichchupani. It is obvious that a person thus punished would not dare to drink openly for even the drunks want to have some social respect, she says laughingly. |
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Now, Meena and other women of the village are happy. Though the families of the bhattiwalls are not on talking terms with her and the Dal; but she too does not accuse them. We took away their livelihood, so their getting begrudged is natural. Their women folk did not side with us for it was they who used to distill liquor. Some literate and educated women too kept a distance because they thought we did not approve of our rough methods.
Today Dharis children go to school. Earlier many of them had left their school because of bad domestic environment. Seeing a drunk in the village has become a rare sight. Manohar and Hariram, residents of the village, say, Who would dare to drink. It is not the police, we fear these women more. They laugh along with others. After a pause, Hariram adds, No, they have really done something good and we are with them; had we had some employment as well. There is a tinge of pain in his voice.
Even today, Meenas Mangal Dal is not sitting idle after making their village liquor free. It wrote letters to other neighboring villages and inspired their women for launching similar campaigns. They too formed their women groups and tried to make their villages free of this evil.
Meenas face and her bright eyes speak volumes of the happiness her success has given her. Her group has no facilities, no office, no grants from the Govt, but she is determined that she will continue her movement. Now, it is the development of the village that is on her agenda. But she is an indefatigable spirit and she fears none, I have conquered fear, she says. She smiles and her bright eyes indicate she would not be defeated.
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Please visit our website for more stories of this issue:
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Where Milk Fought Liquor
By Nirmala Putul
Gajipur is a small, predominantly dalit-tribal village in Jharkhands Dumka district. Poverty reigned supreme, not so long ago, because of scarce agriculture. The village attracted the illegal trade in country liquor. The women had very little money and lots of drunken men to contend with.
Today, milk production has replaced liquor in every household. This metamorphosis did not take place overnight. The Mahila Sabha with the Badlav Foundation had to wage a prolonged struggle...
read more
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Widow wears red with pride
By Usha Chaudhary
Kanchan Devi, a widow in Bajad village of Rajasthan, shocked everyone by donning red headgear in the marriage of her son despite objections and opposition of her family and villagers. They didnt approve of her behavior and decided that she should be socially boycotted. But Kancha Devi had no regrets for what she had done. She argues that she has every right to attend her sons marriage, despite being a widow, for she is also a mother...
read more
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MILESTONE
10th Anniversary of Charkha
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As we stand on the threshold of the 10th Anniversary of Charkha, we cannot help but think of the young Sanjoy Ghose whose vision it was such as ours. He is our pride, our inspiration and our guiding force, especially when we have reached our 10th year. Today, Charkha continues its attempt to build a bridge that connects the wide chasm between grassroots activism and the mainline media.
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The challenges have been many and have only grown. Most NGOs know that the continuation of grants is a tedious process. Moreover, social change is more than a collection of figures and statistics; it involves a gradual change of attitudes and understanding. For Charkha, the challenge is more thought provoking, for we need to make people believe in the efficacy of communication as a tool of social change. It is through our work that we can educate people in the same. Over the years, we have delved into a myriad of activities; however, the following have been, we believe, our prime achievements:
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Growth of our Feature Service
The growth of the Hindi Feature Service has been significant, with 85 articles having already been published in regional and national dailies in the year 2004. Similarly, articles written in English and translated from Hindi are regularly being sent to such newspapers and journals as Humanscape, Looking Beyond, Tehelka, Green Hope, Grassroots, I4d, The Pioneer and The Sahara Times, among others. We have entered into collaboration with Civil Society, a new monthly magazine, to regularly carry development features and stories, as part of the Giving Voices to the Un-heard.
The Establishment of Fellowship Awards to rural writers and social activists for success stories on local initiatives of Peace and Development
As most of the coverage given to Jammu and Kashmir is usually dismal, revolving around acts of terror, political upheaval and border tensions, we felt that the stories highlighting positive and constructive aspects of the development get lost or remain unheard.
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The Sanjoy Ghose Fellowship for Peace and Development, supported by the Unniti Foundation (India) and the National Foundation for India, initiated for the year 2003-2004, is an attempt to encourage writers working with development issues at the grassroots in the Kashmir Valley. Moreover, it is an attempt to get the message across that the people of Kashmir themselves desire peace and harmony and are steadfastly working for it. |
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Development of Alternative Media Comics for Social Change
One of our most innovative efforts, Comics for Social Change is an expression of people, by themselves, of their problems and issues relating to development through cartoons and comics. This initiative explores the immediate impact of the images and pictures that are so much louder than words successfully used in villages through posters and wall magazines.
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We were able to assist in the establishment of the Mizoram Forum for Advocacy and Learning (MFAL)
This body of intellectuals, academicians, media persons, PR experts, artists and writers will work in synergy with Charkha in our efforts to explore the potential of communication linkages in Mizoram and consequently providing us an opening to other states in the Northeast region. Charkha believes that this region is a much-neglected area and deserves media attention not only on the issues of political insurgency, but also with regard to the constructive aspects of social development and peoples initiative.
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We believe that the vast and the myriad forms of communication have been rather underused as a tool of development. We have used for our purposes an interesting blend of appropriate media ranging from print media to wallpaper, comics for social change, community radio, folk theatre, puppetry and the Internet. Over the next five years, we will be exploring further the use of audio-visual media, while strengthening our base in print media.
Looking back, we realize we have come a long way. This 10th year offers us an opportunity to sit back, evaluate our programmes and activities and strategize a better future. Over the years, the paths have been traced and re-traced and yet the mission remains the same to enable the voiceless and marginalized people of rural India to speak for its own, on its own. In the mean time, we only hope to evolve and to grow as facilitators or catalysts to influence the lives of these people in a small yet significant way.
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CHARKHA PARTNERS MEET
Charkha organized an inaugural meeting of our other Charkha organizations in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bangalore in September 2004 in the sylvan premises of Sanskriti Prathisthan, New Delhi. The objective of the meeting was to re-visit the basic visions and the mission of Charkha and to explore together the areas of convergence. It is interesting to note that each autonomous organization has carved a unique space for itself.
- Charkha was initiated in Gujarat in 1995 with the objective of developing faith and positive attitude in the civil society regarding development efforts and social change. With more than 20 regular writers, it channelises its support base into activities such as Vikaas Goshthi and issue-based writing competitions, among others. For further information, please contact Sanjay Dave at charkhaguj@icenet.net.
- The Charkha programme in Maharashtra, as part of an autonomous organization, Sampark, delves into media advocacy. It has introduced a unique concept of Charkha barefoot journalists, who form the link between the poor and the local media. Having a strong database of policy related information Charkha Maharashtra has the skills to mobilize the media around the assembly sessions of state legislature. For further information, please contact Baliram Balsaraf at mitra@bom3.vsnl.net.in.
- The Charkha programme in Bangalore, in association with Communication for Development and Learning, is a media driven programme that utilizes media for the development of the marginalized people. Focusing on Kannada and English feature services within Karnataka, Charkha Bangalore plays an important part in media research, issue analysis and consequently into publications. It is interested in a building further a unique concept of water journalism. For further information, please contact Shangon Dasgupta at cdlblr@bgl.vsnl.net.in.
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LAUNCH OF CHARKHA VIKAS SAMVAD
An initiative marking the 10th Anniversary of Charkha, Ms. Kiran Aggarwal, a member of the Charkha Board, inaugurated the e-Newsletter on August 19 2004 at the Charkha office. Also present on the occasion, was Mr. Mathew Cherian, also a Board Member, and our associates and friends Goutam and Nandita- from Yellow Brickroad.
On the occasion, Ms. Aggarwal congratulated us on this new initiative. Also, Mr. Cherian offered us lists of further contacts, to which we could send our e-Newsletter. Both were extremely supporting and appreciative of our new endeavour. We hope we come up to the expectations of our friends and family!
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DEVELOPMENT DOCUMENTARIES
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Charkha Promotional Clipping
Ershad Ahmad, our Associate Editor, Audio-Visual Division, has recently created a one and a half minute clipping, Spinning Action into Words. Funded from our internal resources, the clipping captures, within a short time, the essence of Charkha mission.
Write to us, for a copy.
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Random Voices in Kashmir
Directed by Dr. Parvez Imam, this film was screened at the Charkha Sanjoy Ghose Fellowship Awards Ceremony. The film was funded by National Foundation for India.
*Price to be provided on request
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Spinning action into words
Directed by Anindya Roy, this 15-minute film captures Charkhas process of empowering village communities in such locations as Pithoragarh (Uttaranchal) and Dumka (Jharkhand).
*Price to be provided on request
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NEW PUBLICATIONS
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Sonu ka Sapna Aage Badhna:
Supported by the Hunger Project and published by Charkha, this colour booklet portrays the need and an increasing importance of the role of women in local governance and participatory democracy. At the same time, it encourages young girls to dream big and realize them.
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Charkha Samvad:
A Hindi Newsletter. This has become a popular platform for exchange of information and issues, carrying feature articles by writer activists. Drawn from the five states, the newsletter serves to be a catalyst in making the voices from the grassroots to be heard.
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WORKSHOPS
A workshop on Community Radio was held in August 2004 in collaboration with Manthan Yuva Sansthan, Jharkhand. The objective of the workshop was to train the people of Bedia community, in the Angada Block of Ranchi, to produce their own radio programme. Funded by World Bank, the workshop was attended by the Station Director of Akash Vani, social activists and local media persons. By the end of it, the participants were able to produce programmes comprising Features, songs, drama and chat shows.
A workshop on the role of Communications in Poverty Eradication was held in Chattarpur of the Bundelkhand region, Madhya Pradesh in August 2004. The objective was to identify and strengthen communication strategies for articulation of issues, accessibility to the media and advocacy efforts for claiming their rights and entitlements. The workshop funded by Development Alternatives under the PACS programme, included other districts in Bundelkhand, including Sagar, Jalaun, Anda, Tikamgarh, Chitrakoot, Lalitpur and Jhansi. In the process, Charkha provided the training component for communication skills and its expertise in the coordination of different forms of media like print, radio, television and the traditional forms.
A one-day meet was held on Network for Development Communication in Barmer, Rajasthan in August 2004 that was funded by NFI. The objective of the seminar was to sensitize the participants about the problems specific to the West and to plan a media strategy through which different mainline media can be sensitized to the issues. Attended by local and regional NGO workers, this Meet is to be followed by other workshops at Jaisalmer, Jalaur, Bikaner and Nagaur.
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CHARKHA STAFF
PRESIDENT & CHIEF FUNCTIONARY
Mr. Shankar Ghose
EDITORIAL
Mr. Aman Namra, Resident Editor
Ms. Pratibha Jyoti, Associate Editor-Hindi
Ms. Sujata Raghavan, Associate Editor-English
ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Sanjay Mishra, Manager Administration
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PROGRAMS
Ms. Sunita Roy, Manager Programs & Projects
Ms. Indrani Dey, Assistant Editor (English), Programs & Projects
ACCOUNTS
Ms. Manju James, Manager Accounts
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ASSOCIATES
Ms. Viji Balakrishnan
An eminent journalist, researcher and consultant on development of proposals, initiating projects and documentation of the same.
Mr. Atanu Roy
A leading illustrator and a creative consultant on visual media.
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Mr. Anindya Roy
An eminent filmmaker on development issues and consultant on the audio-visual media for Charkha.
Mr. Swaraaj Chauhan
Senior journalist who has worked with the Statesman, The Hindustan Times and is now a freelancer. He provides us the essential media linkage.
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CHARKHA: Ground Floor, G-15/11-12, G - Block, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi - 110 017
Email: samvad@charkha.org Phone: +91-11-26680816, 26680688
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By Katyani Upreti an Uttaranchal-based social activist and an independent rural reporter and writes on social and development issues. ...
