Hindustan Times, in partnership with Tata Tea, launched the India Awakened series in the beginning of the year to put the focus on ordinary Indians who have battled odds to bring change, innovative entrepreneurs who have made a difference to their local economies, people whose stories inspire others to work for change. This inspiring series featured 25 changemakers across India. From Jamuna Tuddu who has taken on Jharkhand’s timber mafia to protect the forests to Parneet Singh, a passport officer in Jalandhar who is helping women who are victims of marriage fraud; from Coimbatore’s A Muruganantham, whose low-cost sanitary napkin maker is promoting micro-enterprise to Delhi’s Sylvester Peter, the football coach who has saved children from the seedy life of the slum – read about India’s real heroes, for whom the impossible was, and is, part of their everyday.
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24 ■ BANWASI MUSAHAR . . . . . . 20 THE MASTER CLASS Banwasi Musahar has built a school for Mahadalit children in one of the most underdeveloped areas of Bihar. Being unable to continue his own education beyond Class 7 made him even more determined that others would. ■ MAHANTESH GK . . . . . . . . . 24 OPENING DOORS FOR THE BLIND Despite being blind, Mahantesh GK set up a not-for-profit organisation that has helped more than 3,000 disabled people gain education. Losing vision when he was six months old hasn’t slowed down this entrepreneur from Bangalore. ■ WAHID CHOWHAN . . . . . . . . 28 MEET THE SIR SYED OF SIKAR He braved slander by religious conservatives to build the Excellence Knowledge City for Girls in a dusty town in
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Rajasthan. Open to both Muslim and Hindu girls, Chowhan’s school has a unique mix of ‘madrasa’ education with more modern, mainstream subjects. ■ OMKAR NATH . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 POOR MAN’S MEDICINE BABA 649 million Indians have no access to medicine. Omkar Nath is a good samaritan who begs on Delhi’s streets to change that. Crippled at the age of 10, the 75-year-old travels daily by bus and foot from a slum near the Palam airport to collect unused medicines. ■ A MURUGANANTHAM . . . . . 36 HELPING WOMEN STAY FREE His low-cost sanitary napkin maker is improving hygiene among rural women across India and the women-to women business model is boosting livelihoods, improving availability of sanitary pads and spreading awareness as well.
52 ■ RAMBAI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 THE MOTHERING EFFECT A voluntary health worker in rural Chhattisgarh, she is also a role model for women’s empowerment. It is due to her work that the women of her village are opting for hospital deliveries. ■ RAJENDRA MANDAL . . . . . . 44 A LONE DOCTOR FOR ALL SEASONS Posted at the remote Tikiri primary health centre in the impoverished Rayagada district of Odisha, Mandal has singlehandedly brought healthcare and relief to an area that public servants often shun. ■ ILIAS ALI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 THE GOOD DOCTOR Ilias Ali quotes from holy texts to persuade husbands to accept sterilisation without the fear of stigma and allays concerns about their sexual health, one snip at a time. In
56 2011, thanks to Ali’s efforts, Assam has done well on its sterilisation targets. ■ SRIGANGANAGAR . . . . . . . . 52 GIRLS, UNINTERRUPTED The age-old preference for boys persists across the nation. A concerted effort led by various quarters in the northern tip of Rajasthan has shown that the girl child can be a welcome addition to every Indian family. ■ NAKRAGANJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 CROSSING THE BRIDGE Inhabited by 80 tribal families, this village was in one of the most inaccessible areas of Jharkhand. For 10 years, they pleaded with their government to give them a bridge. Last year, led by their enterprising panchayat head, the villagers built it themselves. ■ MATHEWS MUCKADEN . . . . 60 SWEEPING STATEMENT The streets were filthy, so
68 Mathews Muckaden, a retired bank officer in Kerala, decided to pick up a broom and clean them up. At the time, his neighbours laughed at him. Two years down the line, they have joined him and made it their cause. ■ BEZWADA WILSON . . . . . . . 64 THE MAN WHO RAISED A STINK Bezwada Wilson and the Safai Karamchari Andolan are trying to sweep away the indignity of manual scavenging from India. His organisation also works for the rights of sweepers as well as those who clean sewage tanks and railway tracks. ■ MOHAMMED SHARIF . . . . . . 68 GRAVEYARD SHIFT When Mohammed Sharif’s son died, all he got back from the police was his shirt. But he rose above his personal tragedy to perform the last rites of those who had no family, irrespective of faith.
“In the age of cynicism and criticism, rediscovery of the good and gracious in our midst is refreshing. How a drop makes an ocean is wonderfully portrayed in your stories.” — Salman Khurshid, Politician and lawyer
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84 ■ AIRJALDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 TWEETING IN THE HILLS In the hilly Kangra Valley, a team is steadily perfecting its low-cost internet model and giving remote areas a chance to be part of new India. Their efforts have helped schools, monasteries and hospitals of these areas harness the power of the internet. ■ SUPRIO DAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 THE CITIZEN SCIENTIST Suprio Das quit his well-paying engineering job to work on lowcost, low maintenance technologies for the poor. His inventions are not about rocket science but deal with the daily needs of the people, especially the poor. ■ MANOJ KUMAR . . . . . . . . . . 80 CULTIVATING AN INTEREST A gold medallist-turned-farmer, Kumar started a club in Bihar that energised the local economy & taught villagers to
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make low-cost, high-yield organic manure that increased crop yield. Its members now spread the knowledge in neighbouring villages. ■ RASHMI BHARTI & RAJNISH JAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 PIONEERS, STRAIGHT FROM THE HILLS The Avani centre run by former residents of the Osho commune, Rashmi Bharti and her husband Rajnish Jain, brings eco-friendly livelihoods to villages in the Kumaon district. This, they hope, will someday be a reality all over India. ■ GUNARAM KHANIKAR & ANANDA CHANDRA DUTTA . . 88 SONS OF THE SOIL Two men from Assam, who grew up in poverty, have spent their lives spreading their knowledge of medicinal plants and herbal remedies and the manifold benefits they bring to our day-to-day existence.
96 ■ SUBHAS DATTA . . . . . . . . . . 92 ROOTED TO THE GROUND Fighting social and environmental inequities for more than three decades, veteran activist Subhas Datta of Kolkata has made green the colour of his cause. From saving Kolkata’s Maidan to fighting for the environment in court, this crusader leads from the front. ■ JAMUNA TUDDU . . . . . . . . . . 96 LADY TARZAN & THE TIMBER MAFIA Jharkhand lost half of its forest cover to illegal logging in the past 10 years. Muturkham forest was no exception, till Jamuna Tuddu arrived on the scene. With her all-women brigade, she guarded the trees and drove the dreaded loggers away. ■ JAI PRAKASH DABRAL . . . . 100 THE FOREST TRUMP Environmentalist Jai Prakash Dabral began studying law at
100 the age of 55 to fight Garhwal’s timber mafia in court. With the forest cover in Uttarakhand depleting fast, his activism assumes a key role in conserving what remains, despite being on the mafia’s hitlist. ■ MITTAL PATEL . . . . . . . . . . 104 GIVING AN IDENTITY Most of the nomadic tribes of Gujarat, as far as the state was concerned, didn’t exist. With no ration cards or other documentation and fading livelihoods, they were out in the cold. Mittal Patel took it upon herself to change all that and give them an identity. ■ PARNEET SINGH . . . . . . . . . 108 A MESSIAH FOR WRONGED WIVES In Punjab, a state notorious for NRI marriage fraud, a passport officer is making the law look good. Of the 400-plus cases of such fraud registered at the
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Jalandhar passport office, Singh has impounded 84 passports in just the last two years. ■ RADHAKANT SAXENA . . . . 112 THE JAILHOUSE MENTOR As a prison official, Radhakant Saxena helped educate and train prisoners to enable them to reintegrate into society. Today, after retirement, he fights for juvenile justice. The system is bad and there are complexities, but as long as he is able to help even one person, he says he is satisfied. ■ SYLVESTER PETER . . . . . . . 116 BEST FOOT FORWARD For the children of a Delhi basti, Sylvester Peter’s My Angel’s Academy is not just a local football club. It has taught them life skills. And Peter is not just their football coach, but their counsellor and mentor: the man who saved them from entering the downward spiral of drugpeddling and crime.
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FOREWORD
Making a difference NEWSPAPER is not just about political heavyweights or big ticket events. We launched the India Awakened series on January 16 to put the focus on ordinary Indians with extraordinary achievements, people who have battled odds to bring change, innovative entrepreneurs who have made a difference to their local economies, people whose stories inspire others to work for change. This inspiring series featured 25 ordinary Indians who took it upon themselves to bring change into the lives of those around them. Each feature was more than just a tribute to them. We highlighted their often humble beginnings, the challenges — personal, economic and cultural — they faced in their daily lives, and how they overcame them to go on to make significant changes to improve the lives of fellow Indians. The India Awakened series was an attempt to acknowledge India’s real heroes, for whom facing challenges that are seemingly impossible to overcome was, and continues to be, part of their everyday lives. Each of our stories deals with change in various aspects — a change of mindsets, of overturning old mores, ways of livelihood, ways of thinking and being. Our change-makers are people who did not accept the social or economic reality they found themselves in but intervened to do what they could to change things, sometimes at great personal cost and risk to their lives. For example, Radhakant Saxena, a former jail superintendent of Rajasthan, turned the jail into a place for reform; Jamuna Tuddu, a simple Santhal housewife, dared to take on the dreaded timber mafia of Jharkhand and guard the local forest; motivational speaker Sylvester Peter put his marriage on the line to dedicate his life to turn boys and girls from slums into footballers; Omkar Nath, a 75year-old cripple, thought nothing of his handicap to beg on the streets for medicines to be distributed among the poor of Delhi; Dr Ilias Ali braved a fatwa from religious leaders for advocating male sterilisation in Assam; Suprio Das quit his well-paying engineering job to work on low-cost technologies for the poor in West Bengal. The future of this country is its people, and we have seen it. In our daily experience of putting together our paper, we come across remarkable people from every corner of India - in culture, politics, medicine and every other sphere of public life. Some are trailblazers, charting paths of individual brilliance. Some take it upon themselves to lead from the front and change the lives of others, but
A Sanjoy Narayan Editor-in-Chief
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quietly and self-effacingly. The overwhelming support we got from our readers showed that such stories do strike a chord. Readers wrote to us with words of encouragement, offering material help or simply to let us know how they would like to replicate the model that had empowered others. Sia Mantra, a reader, wrote: “I am a regular reader of your newspaper and appreciate deeply all the initiatives that you take to bring change in society. I would also like to say that in our family, Hindustan Times has been read for generations.” “Thank you so much for providing India Awakened as a regular feature in your newspaper. It is a great service to the nation and humanity. Much more interesting and inspiring than most of the other news items,” said Mukesh Jindal from Jaipur. Do-gooders, in many ways, are not difficult to find. But we were clear about the kind of people we wanted to focus on. Our features on initiatives by ordinary Indians encouraged others to dream and to think of taking similar risks. Hindustan Times, as a brand, places a great deal of importance on focusing on issues that our readers would like to connect with. This series was another window to reach out to our readers and listen to their suggestions. Of our 25 change-makers, we featured three whom our readers had nominated. We have, in the past, published features highlighting the achievements of the common citizen — in 2009, we did a series entitled ‘India Can, India Will’; in 2010, we did ‘Re-imagining India’. We have continuously and consciously themed such features on ordinary people who have made a big difference. This series was new and innovative, but on the same lines as our features in the past: to bring into the mainstream the countless alternative efforts by remarkable citizens who take it upon themselves to make a difference to people’s lives — people for whom few show concern or care otherwise. We realise the value, appeal and reach of Hindustan Times as a platform and make all our efforts to leverage that to highlight people who are true agents of change. This will remain our constant endeavour.
“Each of our stories deals with change in various aspects — a change of mindsets, of overturning old mores, ways of livelihood, ways of thinking and being.”
Sanjoy Narayan Editor-in-Chief
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E S S AY
Silent revolutions Rajesh Mahapatra ■
alph Waldo Emerson, the 19th century American essayist and poet, once wrote: “Every revolution was first a thought in one man’s mind.” Twenty years ago, brick-maker Banwasi Musahar in the impoverished Akorhi village of Bihar thought of changing the reputation of his hamlet — Musahartola. Local officials called it “a village of thieves,” where grinding poverty, lack of economic opportunities and government apathy had made its residents vulnerable to committing petty crimes. Education, Musahar thought, could be the way out for his community that derives its name from its diet of rats and lives off working in brick kilns and as farm labourers. So the Class 7 dropout began to teach, holding lessons in Hindi, Mathematics and English in a makeshift hut. From near-zero literacy, Musahartola today boasts of two graduates and dozens of matriculates. At least 200 children in the area are currently pursuing education. The mahadalit hamlet may still be battling poverty and the lack of any help from the government, but its 100-plus families have surely set out on a transformational journey, led by Banwasi alias Banarasi — their leader. Banwasi Musahar’s is not a story in isolation. Across India, there are unknown warriors who are scripting silent revolutions, helping this nation of 1.2 billion people stay on the path to progress, myriad challenges notwithstanding. From spreading education to protecting the environment, fighting social injustice to restoring human rights, they are bridging the widening gap between the growing aspirations of our people and the imagination of our leaders. They are helping new India overcome its old challenges. It is time we celebrate their endeavour, and their success. India Awakened: Agents of Change, our special editorial project, sought to do just that. We searched across the length and breadth of the country for examples of ordinary people who thought of doing extraordinary things; people who decided to be the change they wanted to see; people whose grit and determination inspired others to question the status quo. We reached out to them, profiled them in our newspaper and decided to preserve their stories in what you are holding now — a coffee table book with a difference. In the following pages, you will read 25 such narratives that, as a reader said, make a refreshing rediscovery of the good and the gracious, in the midst of cynicism and despondence. Musahar’s fellow travellers through the pages of this book, come from all classes, and all shades. The challenges they faced were also not the same. Unlike Musahar, who is revered within his
R “India is a land in which great suffering and injustice co-exist with a million initiatives of kindness and resistance. It is wonderful that HT is telling the story of these million revolts. India’s story lies not in its grand narrative. It lies in the narratives of those million shoulders which help uphold and defend what is good and just.” — Harsh Mander, member, National Advisory Council
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DEPUTY EXECUTIVE EDITOR
“I believe that this initiative will bring enlightenment and awareness in the nation since any kind of progress needs a new perspective.” — Kailash Kher, playback and folk singer
Educationist Wahid Chowhan’s school for girls in Sikar, Rajasthan, is a unique mix of ‘madrasa’ education with more modern, mainstream subjects.
“I congratulate HT on the useful and timely compilation of Agents of Change. Transformational agents are the need of the hour.” — MS Swaminathan, member, National Advisory Council
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“Hindustan Times is truly doing great work by recognizing the immeasurable contribution made towards the welfare of our society by these people and thereby motivating many others to do their bit.” — Dhruv Shringi, CEO& Co-founder, Yatra.com
“This initiative sensitises the collective inertia of a large consciousness. I believe in Aamir Khan’s succinct approach; “Jab dil pe lagegi, tabhi baat banegi”. This initiative of HT has the potential of becoming an anthem that counter poses the road-rage syndrome of our times.” — Yogesh Kochchar, Director (strategic engagement), Microsoft
“To make a difference in this world you need to start somewhere...These are truly inspiring stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We can all make a difference in the lives of others no matter how small your contribution may be. Let’s take a pledge to make our country a better place for future generations to follow.” — Shiv Kapur, golfer
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community, Wahid Chowhan had to brave attacks and slander by religious conservatives when he wanted to build a knowledge centre in the dusty town of Sikar in Rajasthan. But the mason-turnedentrepreneur never gave up. Open to both Muslim and Hindu girls, Chowhan’s 15-year-old school offers a unique mix of ‘madrasa’ education with modern and mainstream subjects. Some of its students are on their way to graduate from the country’s top colleges for medical and business studies. Then there are people like Mahantesh GK who, despite being blind, has created opportunities for the disabled, including a BPO and a disabled-friendly school. Losing eyesight to a bout of typhoid at the age of 6 months hasn’t slowed down this Bangalore-based entrepreneur. HE WORKS of Mahantesh, Chowhan and Musahar seek to fill a void left by the state’s inaction, its failure to ensure universal education — a pledge we made while embracing the Constitution of independent India six decades ago. Just like education, or the lack of it, our inability to invest enough in healthcare and make it affordable is another impediment to building an inclusive society. This is where the work of Dr Rajendra Mandal and Dr Ilias Ali holds out hope. Convinced that it is necessary to target males to bring down India’s burgeoning population, Ali and his team at the Gauhati Medical Centre has motivated 33,000 men till date to get sterilised, despite criticism from religious groups. Mandal, on the other hand, has made sure that he is always available for tribal patients in Odisha’s poverty-afflicted Rayagada district, helping them fight malaria and diarrhea outbreaks. The two doctors have upheld the nobility of their profession by going the extra mile. Like them, the mitanins, or community health workers, are a godsend to mothers in rural Chhattisgarh. Picked from among the tribals, they work to get children of their community immunised and help women deliver under the watch of trained midwives. We showcase their efforts through the story of Rambai, a mitanin in the remote Korea district of Chhattisgarh. If it is the lack of infrastructure that affects healthcare in rural areas, in the cities the spotlight often falls on the prohibitive costs that deprive patients of the treatment they need. Omkar Nath, the ‘medicine baba’ of Delhi, saw the need and decided to fulfill it — by begging for unused medicines and distributing them at the capital city’s private clinics and hospitals for the treatment of poor people. All of these change-makers share one belief — that a better world is possible, and that each individual has a role in making that happen. It is this belief that guided retired bank officer Matthews Muckaden to pick up the broom and start cleaning the streets of Changanassery, a town in Kerala’s Kottayam district. Initially, his neighbours laughed at him. Two years on, they have made it their cause. Displaying a similar spirit, Jalandhar’s passport officer Parneet Singh and jail superintendent Radhakant Saxena in Rajasthan used their official positions to wade through red-tape and help people. While Singh impounded the passports of NRI grooms from Punjab who deserted their wives or were booked in dowry cases, Saxena’s reformist practices helped jail inmates change their lives. Being a change-maker is often not a choice you make. It just happens, as it did with Mittal Patel. Patel wanted to be a journalist. But, as destiny would have it, she is busy fighting for the identity rights of nomadic and de-notified tribes of Gujarat. Rashmi Bharti, a mathematics graduate, wanted to
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“Chronicling the unknown warriors who keep India’s democracy vibrant, this series is a tribute to the hundreds of individuals, who have changed their reality and in doing so, fostered the spark of nation-building. By recognising their achievements, HT has, once again, shown us what journalism ought to be like.”
Ilias Ali, a doctor in Assam, has motivated thousands of men to undergo sterilisations and improve sexual health through the No Scalpel Vasectomy programme
“Little keys open big locks, simple words reflect great thoughts — your mission is definitely a mile stone for the younger generation. Champions are not made in playgrounds; they are made from something deep inside them...a desire, a dream, a vision.”
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— Guru Jitendra Maharaj, Kathak Guru
— Biraj Patnaik, principal adviser to the Supreme Court commissioners on the Right to Food INDIA
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“These are inspirational stories. I have a rather pessimistic view of the nation, so it’s nice to know that there are people out there who don’t wait for change. Thanks for bringing these remarkable feats to light.” — Kunaal Roy Kapur, actor
“I congratulate HT and all the achievers selected under ‘India Awakened 2012 — Agents of Change’ which highlights the little known but extremely significant achievements of the common man — achievements that bespeak their motivation, courage, spirit of innovation and sincerity to their work, overcoming all obstacles.” — Shovana Narayan, Kathak Guru, Padmashree & Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee
“It is inspiring to do something that leaves a perpetual impact on everyone. Unparalleled efforts and extraordinary work of a common man in pursuit of an inclusive society will bring a positive transformation in the lives of millions of people across India. We salute these heroes and congratulate Hindustan Times.” — Atul Punj, Chairman, Punj Lloyd Group
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run away from the rat race in Delhi. So she headed for the hills and co-founded, with her husband, the Avani Centre in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand that provides sustainable livelihoods to hundreds of rural women and their families. Bezwada Wilson’s story is also not very different. A visit to see how the less-privileged members of his community earn their living changed his plans for life — he decided to begin a campaign to stop manual scavenging. The decision of Mohammed Sharif in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, to take up the task of performing the last rites of unclaimed dead bodies came after his son’s death in 1992. The cycle mechanic uses his meagre earnings and donations from well wishers for the noble cause. OMETIMES THOUGH, change-makers become what they are by design. Coimbatore’s A. Muruganantham, Suprio Das of Kolkata, Manoj Kumar of Mustafaganj and Michael Ginguld of Dharamsala made the choice to innovate for social change. Das, a true-blue citizen scientist, is making low-cost, easily-maintainable inventions available to the poor, while Muruganantham’s indigenous sanitary napkin maker not only improved hygiene among rural women, but also empowered them with new livelihoods. A gold medallist-turned-farmer, Kumar started a club in Bihar that energised the local economy and taught villagers to make low-cost, high-yield organic manure. Ginguld, an Israeli who has made Dharamsala his new home, and his AirJaldi team, are making the internet — a necessity of modern life — available and affordable in the remote hilly tracts of the Kumaon and Garhwal regions. Then there are people like Sylvester Peter who make unconventional forays to usher in change. Peter trains young kids from a slum in Delhi’s Vikaspuri area in football, keeping them away from the world of drugs and rag-picking. Alongside these stories, we feature the work of five green crusaders who are saving the environment in their own ways, sometimes putting their own lives at risk. Jamuna Tuddu and her band of women have taken on the timber mafia in the Muturkham forests of Jharkhand to stop illegal logging and regenerating forests. Kolkata’s Subhas Dutta has fought to create a green bench in Bengal’s high court — a first of its kind. Corporate executive-turned-activist Jai Prakash Dabral’s decade-long struggle has saved thousands of trees in Uttarakhand, but has also earned him a permanent spot on the timber mafia’s hitlist. Sons of the soil Gunaram Khanikar and Ananda Chandra Dutta of Assam, belong to a rare breed of self-taught botanists who share their knowledge freely, ‘feeling the heartbeat’ of everything that stands on roots. In the process, they are helping preserve the region’s rich biodiversity. When it comes to change, individual initiatives often evolve into collective action. We portray this with two examples — the people of Nakraganj village in Jharkand who built a bridge on their own, rather than wait for an apathetic government; and Sriganganagar in Rajasthan, where residents got together to fight against female foeticide. The narratives of our heroes in this book also underscore the fact that change is not always topdown; more so at a time when our leaders are perceived to be failing in living up to the expectations of the people. It is time to search and celebrate new faces that will make, or are making, change happen. New India needs a million such silent revolutions that this book seeks to pay a tribute to.
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“I would like to begin with congratulating Hindustan Times for introducing a distinctive initiative like India Awakened. These heroes with limited resources but unlimited passion and aspirations have led to the reawakening of the masses, thus inspiring and mobilising the society to achieve the impossible.”
Football coach and counsellor Sylvester Peter runs an academy for slum children. Called simply ‘bhaiyya’ by the over 80 children he teaches, he has helped keep many off the streets
“When will you awaken, change your thinking? Wasted your life sleeping, try to be like those who have realised their dreams.” — Surendra Sharma, Hasya Kavi
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— Melt Van Der Spuy, Managing Director, Eli Lilly and Company INDIA
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“I want the children to become educated and change the destiny of our community.” — Banwasi Musahar
Banwasi Musahar makes sure classes start at 7am and wind up by 9am. He trudges to the brick kiln to make bricks after that. His transistor plays in one corner, blaring news bulletins.
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The master class Banwasi Musahar
| BHABUA , Bihar
Banwasi Musahar has built a school for Mahadalit children in one of the most underdeveloped areas of Bihar. Being unable to continue his own education beyond Class 7 made him even more determined that others would. TEXT
Prasun K Mishra ■
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HERE WAS a time the Musahar community at the Akorhi Mahadalit basti, 200 km southwest of Patna, rarely got to meet an official. When it did, it was never good news. Officials, on their part, had a name for this village. They called it the ‘village of thieves’. For 20 years, Banwasi Musahar, a 58-year-old brick kiln worker, had been trying to bring literacy to the area to change that reputation. And he has succeeded to a significant extent. Located in the Ramgarh block of Bhabua town in Kaimur district, the basti is inhabited by 70 families who live off farming and making bricks. Official apathy, grinding poverty and no educational facilities had, however, made the area vulnerable to petty crime. Male members of the community used to be rounded up by the police after every local robbery. “I want the children to become educated and change the destiny of our community,” vowed Musahar, the first person to clear Class 7 in his otherwise illiterate settlement. But his dreams died young. He had to work in the fields to fend for his family after his father expired. But he did not give up. He could not finish school, but others would. Gulabi Kuanr, a widow and a neighbour, is full of praise for him. But educating children instead INDIA
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“Wealthy families wanted me to send my sons to work at their homes as domestic help. I refused. With Musahar’s school, who knows, they might make something of themselves.” — Gulabi Kuanr, Neighbour BHABUA (BIHAR)
SOCH BADLO Udaybhai started “Ahmedabad no Rickshawalo,” a unique gift concept, on 21st October 2010, the auspicious day of Dussehra. The best thing about his auto-rickshaw is that the meter always reads zero because the passenger before you has already paid for your travel, ensuring that you can be of help to any person known or unknown. So when you need his services urgently, he is always around with his auto-rickshaw. You don’t need to pay for the services if you can’t. Udaybhai’s auto runs not on fuel, but on love. Posted by Ayush Aggarwal on www.jaagore.com
Population: 50,000 Density: 16,667 per Area: 3 sq. km
sq. km
Bhabua is the headquarters of the Kaimur district, a hilly, forested region of Bihar. Government jobs and agriculture are the mainstay of its people. Wheat and paddy are its main crops. Akorhi basti, one of the poorest areas of the district, is 35 km north of Bhabua.
GOOD WORK Banwasi Musahar, a potter, earns R 2,500 to R 3,000 per month from brick making. Despite these meagre earnings, he teaches around 22-30 children in the age group of 5-12 in his school. He even gives the children chocolates every Saturday, to encourage them to continue their studies. Four students of his school — Ranjay Musahar, Ram Pyare Musahar, Vrishna Musahar and Dharmendra Musahar — are studying B.A. Part-II and will become graduates in 2013. This will be the first batch of graduates from his school.
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Musahar dreams of making his granddaughter a doctor in the hope that she would attend to the area’s Mahadalits, the most backward of the Dalits, of which the Musahars are a sub-caste.
of sending them to the fields to work as labourers was really tough on their families, she added. “Well-to-do families wanted me to send my sons to work at their homes as domestic help. But I refused. With schooling, who knows, they might make something of themselves?” Twenty years ago, on a Saraswati Puja day, Musahar gathered some children and started a school outside his thatched hut. Convincing the children and their parents to make time for school took some doing, but he did it. He also wants Kiran, 7, his grand-daughter, to become a doctor in the hope that she would attend to the area’s poor. Musahar has similar hopes from his school. It will perhaps be the beginning of a change in the destinies of the local Mahadalit children, he feels. Mahadalits are the most backward of the Dalits of which Musahars are a sub-caste, a community that derives their name from their diet of rats or musa. There are other factors pulling the community down. Lack of economic, and hence social, power leaves them at the mercy of the powers that be. Indrajeet, the son of Musahar’s nephew, said “not a single student in our Mahadalit basti had been given a bicycle under the Mukhyamantri Cycle Yojna. Our headmaster said we would get the cycles later.” Ranjay, a student, said he had met the welfare officer of Bhabua on March 16 to inquire about scholarships. He was told the scholarship for Ramgarh block (under which Akorhi falls) had been already sent to their bank accounts. “But it was not there till March 23, when I inquired with the Bank Of India branch at Ramgarh,” said Ranjay. Such repeated disappointments have become the lot of the children of this basti. At present, 22 boys and girls attend Musahar’s school. He makes sure classes start at 7am and wind up by 9am. He trudges to the brick kiln to make bricks after that. His beloved transistor plays in one corner, blaring news bulletins. “I have an interest in political developments in the country and also in current affairs and quiz programmes. This helps me brush up the children’s general knowledge,” he said. So far, he has succeeded in the ‘making’ of two graduates and several matriculates from his community.
Banwasi Musahar teaches Hindi, English and Mathematics to students upto Class 3. But he is struggling with the coursework of the higher classes
QA &
Why did you terminate your studies? Having to leave my studies after passing the Class 7 examination was the most painful moment of my life. But acute poverty and the need to earn for the family after the early death of my father forced me to do so. Has your school bettered the life of your village? It may help a few. I certainly cannot claim to have changed the lives of my fellow villagers. A meal of rice, pulses and vegetables is still a dream for the Mahadalits of the Akorhi Musahar basti, who usually have to do with salt and rice.
“Around 200 Mahadalit and Musahar children are pursuing education in and around my village due to my efforts,” he said proudly. Musahar teaches Hindi, English and Mathematics to students upto Class 3. His students are next admitted to the nearby middle school. But even then he regularly supervises their academic progress and helps them with their homework. But after that? STUMBLING BLOCKS Musahar finds the course material for Class 7 and above difficult to handle. “Even intermediate and graduation level students, whom I have taught earlier, are unable to help me as they reside at Ramgarh, some distance away,” he confessed. No institution or government body has come forward to help his school. District education officer Kaushal Kishor Prasad said there are provisions in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for providing books, stationery and financial help to people like Musahar, who are educating Mahadalit children. But he added a caveat: “We will verify his work and provide him suitable help.” Former students Ranjay Musahar, Ramayan Musahar and Vrishna Musahar, who are studying B.Com, have no finances for advanced studies, he added. His students, naturally enough, swear by him. Ram Pyare Musahar, now doing his B.Com part-II from GB College, Ramgarh, said: “Guruji maati se aadmi bana delan (I was clay, he moulded me into a human being),” he said. But all his education seems to be going down the drain without institutional support. ‘Mr India’, another student, (his father registered the child in school with this name after falling in love with the Anil Kapoor movie) is, however, too young for any such worries. A Class 3 student, he is busy writing the English translations of ‘Main aa raha hoon’ (I am coming) and ‘Woh jata hai’ (He is going) on his slate. He looks towards his teacher to figure out what to do next. That is the big question that confronts Musahar as well. What will happen to his school once he is gone? Even the man who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to change the destiny of This article appeared in Hindustan Times on 12th March, 2012 edition. See page 120 his community has no answer to this one.
What keeps you going?
The determination of my students to keep studying. My happiest moment was when my students Ranjay, Ram Pyare, Vrishna and Dharmendra passed the matriculation examinations in 2008. They were the first matriculates from my basti. Have you been able to educate the children of your own family? Poverty is a vicious cycle and sometimes it feels there is no escape. My nephew Dharmdev could not clear matriculation in 1987 as he had no money to purchase the examination form and the text books. That is my biggest regret. But he is determined to ensure that his son Indrajeet, a Class 9 student, is able to go for higher education. What is your ambition? I want Kiran, my granddaughter, to become a doctor so that she can look after us and other villagers. The problem is she’ll get married and move away.
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Crossing the
Building the bridge has made villagers confident about team work. They have also collectively banned hooch, curbed crime and started a literacy campaign in the area.
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bridge Nakraganj
| Jharkhand
Inhabited by 80 tribal families, this village was in one of the most inaccessible areas of Jharkhand. For 10 years, they pleaded with their government to give them a bridge. Last year, led by their enterprising panchayat head, the villagers built it themselves. TEXT
B Vijay Murty ■
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Samir Jana
HE VILLAGERS of Nakraganj, a remote hamlet on the Jharkhand-West Bengal border, needed a bridge. For 10 years, they petitioned their local politicians and the district administration for help, only to go unheeded. In 2010, led by their young and enterprising mukhiya (panchayat head) Laxmiram Murmu, they got down to work. For six months, they levelled fields, sawed bamboo, chopped wood and forged iron frames to put up their bridge. The community initiative of Nakraganj is a success story that has dwarfed the achievements of many governments. Inhabited by 80 tribal families, this village, 250 km south-east of the state capital, Ranchi, used to be inaccessible. Reaching the market in Baharagora, its nearest town, meant a walk of more than 25 km. Reaching Baliabera, another town and trading centre across the West Bengal border, meant wading across a rivulet impossible to cross in the rains. A two-crop area, Nakraganj buys wheat, livestock, — Laxmiram Murmu, Mukhiya spice, fish and salt from Baliabera. It sells paddy and a few vegetables, mostly cauliflower and brinjal, to Baliabera. “Life has become much easier now,” said Murmu. Building the bridge has made villagers confident about team work. They have collectively banned hooch, curbed crime and started a literacy campaign in the area. The village roads have turned spic and span. The anganwadi centre is now filled with children busy with their books. A functioning library-cum-information centre is being manned by people well-informed about village activities. Under Murmu, the village seems to have found direction. Education had been a key factor in the turnaround. Earlier, the village primary school had just one teacher for 40 students. Murmu managed to find a teacher from a neighbouring village, Mahuli, to teach the children at the village
“Youngsters are now keen on attending high schools, colleges. Government-run schemes are gradually reaching us.”
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“Laxmiram is an able leader. All gram pradhans have extended their support to him in his noble endeavour.” — Gurmohan Murmu, Gram pradhan NAKRAGANJ (JHARKHAND)
SOCH BADLO In the dirty slums of Tikiapara, in Howrah, West Bengal, drugpeddling is a way of life. Even the children here are not spared — their parents use them to hand out packets of brown sugar to customers. But things are changing, thanks to 32-year-old Mamoon Uncle, a librarian in the local school. Mamoon convinced the parents of 400-odd children to not involve them in drug-peddling. Instead, these children now attend school. Posted by Jeenu Cruz on www.jaagore.com The women of Nakraganj crave vocational training to supplement their family’s income. Murmu has formed a women’s self-help group to provide them work.
Population: 360 Density: 181 per sq. Area: 1.60 sq. km
km
Nakraganj is a remote village in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. It is 270 km south-east of the state capital Ranchi. A twocrop area, Nakraganj buys wheat, livestock, spice, fish and salt from Baliabera, a town in West Bengal. It sells to Baliabera, paddy and a few vegetables, mostly cauliflower and brinjal.
GOOD WORK Under Laxmiram Murmu, Nakraganj has found direction. UNICEF has offered to be partners in its progress. Murmu has made education a key factor in the turnaround. Under his leadership, its villagers built a bridge in 2010 connecting their area to Baliabera in West Bengal with which they trade. After Nakraganj, Murmu wants to develop all 12 villages under his supervision.
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school on a token salary. “Developing a human resource is the best service to mankind,” said Tapan Kumar Das, a former medical representative who now coaches students preparing for engineering entrance examinations. “But I can reach the village only because there is a bridge,” he said. “Our youngsters are now keen to attend high schools and colleges. Government-run schemes are gradually reaching us,” said the 35-year-old panchayat head, a former Kolkata Port Trust employee, with pride. Having set a standard in his own village, Murmu said he wanted to develop all 12 villages under his supervision. His good work has also earned him the respect of other villagers. “He is an able and committed leader. All gram pradhans (village heads) have extended their support to him in his noble endeavour,” said the 55-year-old Nakraganj gram pradhan, Gurmohan Murmu. “What Laxmiram Murmu has done with his village should be taken up as a model,” said local legislator Vidyut Varan Mahato. Murmu, however, remains a modest man. “This is my work and I am doing it. Whatever I could achieve was mainly through collective efforts. Had the villagers declined to support my cause, my efforts would have hardly made any difference,” he said. He thinks all his leadership skills would have amounted to nothing had the panchayat system of governance not been revived in Jharkhand. In 2010, Jharkhand held the first panchayat elections in 32 years.“Without the panchayat polls, the democratic system of governance was missing in the villages. Money would seldom flow into the villages from district and block offices. The main reason for underdevelopment of the villages in Jharkhand was that no polls had been held in the past three decades,” he said. However, all is not well. The villagers of Nakraganj may have joined hands to build a bridge, but they also need government-sponsored initiatives for social welfare. Nakraganj, a Santhal village, shares its concerns with most tribal villages of Jharkhand, a state with 26% tribal population. Lack of irrigation facilities has forced its youngsters to migrate to bigger cities for jobs. Its women crave vocational training to supplement their family’s income. As the government has not responded to his plea for providing vocational training to the womenfolk of his village, Murmu has begun exploring
Laxmiram Murmu has always been open to exploring alternative vocational possibilities for his people
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When did you realise there was no alternative to self-development? When the government turned a deaf ear to our problems, we were left with no option but to take up the challenges collectively rather than wait for the government to act. Are you creating a second line of leaders in your village?
The young and old are being educated on social welfare. I would rather create choices for the entire people than mentor a few.
alternative possibilities. He has formed a women’s self-help group to help provide work. “A couple of traders of leather bags and purses from nearby towns have agreed to provide us stitching machines and raw material and also provide training to the women,” Murmu said. The women are excited. “We will prove we are second to none,” said Malti Murmu, a Santhal woman. The mats and brooms they make from of a local variety of grass sell well in the village bazaars. Santhals constitute 91% of the total tribal population of Jharkhand. Their per capita income is as low as R 9,500 per annum. The majority survives on forest produce. Their literacy rate is a low 27.5% and infant mortality is 42 per 1,000 live births. In such a bleak scenario, Nakraganj stands out. The bridge its inhabitants built has certainly made medical facilities in neighbouring West Bengal far more accessible. But Nakraganj is still in dire need of a health centre. With no nearby hospital facilities within Jharkhand, villagers take the ailing to the Tapsia Government Hospital across the West Bengal border, 8 km from Nakraganj, and to the Baliabera Referral Unit, 18 km away, for advanced treatment. Murmu doesn’t want his people to continue to remain dependent on the neighbours, especially for child deliveries and for treatment of minor health problems. He has identified a couple of young literate girls for training in midwifery and has recommended their names to the health department for appointment as auxiliary nurse and midwife. Unicef has recognised Murmu’s leadership prowess and his ability to turn things around through collective effort. “We will be their partners in progress,” said Sanjay Singh, Unicef’s development communication officer in Jharkhand. This article appeared in Inputs from Anbwesh Roy Choudhury
Do you think the panchayat polls after 29 years have given people like you an opportunity to deploy your leadership skills? Yes, they have. Without the polls, the democratic system of governance was missing in the villages. Money would seldom flow into the villages from district and block offices. No polls for the past three decades is the main reason for underdevelopment of Jharkand’s villages. What do you feel when you discover your initiatives are helping the community grow? I believe that I have done my duty as the people’s representative. What all did you have to sacrifice in this mission? This is what I was meant to do, this is my work. There have been no sacrifices. Moreover, whatever I could achieve was mainly through collective efforts. Had the villagers declined to support my cause, my lone efforts would have made no difference. Was it tough to make villagers shun alcohol? It was. It was done in phases with the participation of women and children. Everybody from the school teacher to the elderly folk had to be roped in.
Hindustan Times on 27th Feb, 2012 edition. See page 122
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The Snehatheeram Residents Association which he floated with 44 families was initially cold-shouldered by the rest. Sanitation was the responsibility of the local body, Muckaden was told.
Mathews Muckaden
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The streets were filthy, so Mathews Muckaden, a retired bank officer in Kerala, decided to pick up a broom and clean them up. His neighbours laughed at him. Two years down the line, they have joined him and made it their cause.
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WO YEARS ago when retired bank officer Mathews Muckaden started cleaning the filthy streets of Changanassery, a town in Kottayam district, his neighbours laughed at him. Two years down the line, they have made it their cause. Muckaden, 62, is now a role model for many. He is considered one of the driving forces behind the Kerala government’s initiative to announce subsidy for domestic bio-gas plants. “Nothing goes to waste if tackled right from the beginning,” he said. “Waste is not a bad word either. But one person’s waste should not become another person’s worry.” Now, at least 15 wards of Changanassery municipality, almost half of the densely-populated town, follow his lead. From picking up dry leaves to watering roadside plants, techies, businessmen and government servants all do their bit to keep the town clean. A World Bank study estimates India’s population to be around 130 crore, or 1.3 billion, by 2030. According to rough estimates, in urban areas, 1 kg of urban waste is generated per person daily. Local bodies are ill-equipped to provide an efficient waste-management system, which includes collection, storage, treatment and disposal of garbage, on small budgets. “Many cities are dumping their garbage in nearby rural areas, exposing them to various infectious diseases,” said Muckaden. Mindless land-filling and burning of organic waste deprive the nation of its much-needed energy sources, he added, citing examples to show how other countries have utilised these resources. “Sweden runs the world’s first biogas-powered passenger train between Linkoping and Vastervik, and in the US, an intercity train runs on bio-diesel made from beef byproducts.” In 2010, Muckaden set up a bio-gas plant on his premises and invited his neighbours to deposit their degradable kitchen waste in it. “I spent R 15,000 to build this plant. It gives two-three hours of gas supply,” he said. He also produces organic pesticide with the waste and grows a number of organic vegetables such as lush bittergourds, huge pumpkins and scarlet-red spinach in his backyard. Acceptability for Muckaden and his project did not come easy, though. The Snehatheeram Residents Association — Snehatheeram in Malayalam means ‘Land of Love’ — that he floated with 44 families of his neighbourhood was initially cold-shouldered by the rest. But he slowly convinced the sceptics to join him. “I have visited many countries and seen how citizens join hands for their common welfare. More than any other state in India, Kerala is exposed to the outside world. At least 25 lakh people from this state work in West Asia and another 10 lakh in other countries, but few learn from their experience,” said the retired officer. “This really made me take up the challenge.”
Muckaden produces organic pesticide with the waste and grows a number of organic vegetables in his backyard.
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“Muckaden has shown us a different culture. From religious festivities to personal engagements, we move as a single family now.” — Ravindran Kandaswamy, Neighbour CHANGANASSERY (KERALA)
District Population: 7,80,000 Density: 758 per sq.km Area: 13.50 sq. km Changanassery is a municipal town in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala. It is a gateway to both the high ranges and backwaters of the state. A large percentage of its population is employed in the Gulf, Europe and the USA.
GOOD WORK Mathews Muckaden started his waste disposal drive two years ago. He set up a biogas plant on his premises and invited neighbours to deposit their degradable kitchen waste in it. He enthused his neighbours — techies, businessmen and government servants — to do their bit to keep the town clean. The results are visible. During the weekend, armed with brooms and shovels, they clean the streets, pick up dry leaves and water roadside plants.
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NEIGHBOURHOOD CLEANUP At the crack of dawn, residents, both young and old, can be seen collecting biodegradable waste from their kitchens and heading towards the neighbourhood bio-gas plant. Snehatheeram and its adjoining areas have not reported any case of infectious diseases in the past two years, even as other parts of Kerala have suffered from ckikungunya and viral fever epidemics. “His initiatives have paid rich dividends,” said KC Joseph, the culture minister of the state who belongs to this area: How does the association deal with non-biodegradable items like plastics? By not dealing in them. The association has made its own carrybags out of jute. Saying a big no to plastics, all members carry these bags whenever they go shopping . “Litterbugs will have to remember a cigarette filter takes 10-12 years to rot and melt and a toothbrush takes more than 100 years to merge with the soil. The quantity of waste generated should, therefore, be reduced and recyclable products recycled,” said Muckaden emphatically. Around 70% of nonIn 2010, Muckaden biodegradable items can be recycled, he added. spent R15,000 to set Muckaden has also found novel ways to keep his locality on high up a biogas plant on his premises. He alert. If someone is spotted dumping waste in their area or moving wants the around suspiciously, residents blow whistles, to alert others. “Ever since government to make such plants Snehatheeram came into existence, not a single burglary has been mandatory for reported in the area,” said O A Mathew, a retired headmaster and residential flats and offices. association member. “Muckaden has shown us a different culture. From religious festivities to personal engagements, we move as a single family now,” confirmed Ravindran Kandaswamy, another neighbour. Fifteen other neighbourhoods — Santhitheeram, Punyabhyumi, Mytri, Akshara and Lakshmipuram to name a few — have since tried to emulate Snehatheeram. Muckaden regularly visits and trains its volunteers. “In the civic courses taught in schools, we learn many things but not all of them are useful. We have to include good civic and etiquette lessons in our curriculum and groom our youngsters,” he said. “How to conserve and preserve is an important lesson that has to be learnt.” Muckaden is planning to meet chief minister Oommen Chandy in this regard. He also wants the government to make biogas plants mandatory both for residential flats and offices. “We buy flats and houses investing lakhs of rupees. But how can we dump our waste on the roads so simply and walk away? It is criminal. A miniscule percentage of the total cost of a flat is needed for small plants,” he said. His wife and two sons are fully behind his initiatives. “When he was in service, he wasn’t this busy. But after retirement, he’s busier,” said his wife, This article appeared in Hindustan Times on 2nd April, 2012 edition. See page 122 Sisyamma. “We are happy, it is for a cause.”
Muckaden is one of the prime movers behind the Kerala government’s initiative to announce subsidy for domestic biogas plants
QA &
What really prompted you to take up such an initiative? Look, nature has given us so many things. It is our duty to preserve them, at least for the sake of the next generation. Instead what do we do? We exploit nature. It is time for us to pay back. Each one of us can contribute in a small way. Proper care of domestic waste and keeping our neighbourhood clean is one such way. When I tried to do that, I faced resistance from my own locality members. If an educated and informed Kerala society can behave in this irresponsible manner, I began to wonder what it would be like in other parts of the country? I had no option but to start the drive. What was the initial reaction in Changanassery when you took up the cleanliness drive?
When I questioned people who regularly dumped their waste on roads, they were furious. Some of them even asked whether the roads were my private property. But when I started cleaning their waste daily without uttering a word, they came around. With love and compassion, I think we can win many hearts. Is urban waste posing a big challenge these days? Most urban civic bodies are ill-equipped and fundstarved to handle large-scale migration from villages. The best way to contain urban waste is to tackle it at its source. For this, everyone has to chip in. Residents will have to be trained in generating low volumes of waste. Youngsters can be educated about the urgency of the situation. There should be lessons about conservation in their curriculum.
SOCH BADLO Deafness is a disability that evokes little sympathy. There are no employment opportunities for the deaf. Dhruv Lakra founded a for-profit social enterprise, Mirakle Couriers, in January 2009. Over the last two years, Mirakle Couriers have opened two branches in Mumbai and employ 70 deaf people. Dhruv ensured that his courier business model marries the benefits of commercial returns with social rewards. His work is supported by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University. Posted by Abhijeet Jain on www.jaagore.com
Are you planning a movement on the lines of ‘Snehatheeram’? You have to be a role model first before you can start to preach. I get many calls these days from other resident associations and civic bodies. I want waste disposal to become a big movement. I dream of a healthy environment. My endeavour is a small step in this regard. Five tips to preserve Mother Nature? 1) Generate minimum waste and recycle whatever is possible. 2) Keep your neighbourhood clean. 3) Plant trees. 4) Involve youngsters in all activities. 5) Say goodbye to plastics.
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The man Bezwada Wilson
| DELHI
Bezwada Wilson and the Safai Karamchari Andolan are trying to sweep away the indignity of manual scavenging from India. His organisation also works for the rights of sweepers as well as those who clean sewage tanks and railway tracks. TEXT
Zehra Kazmi ■
PHOTOGRAPHS
Arijit Sen
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HEN HE was 23, a curious Bezwada Wilson asked older members of his community to show him how they worked. At first, they evaded his earnest, persistent requests. When they finally took him along, something inside Wilson broke. With just a bucket and his bare hands as equipment, one of the workers was trying to scoop out human excreta from a pit. Numbed with shock, Wilson started weeping. “I completely lost it then”, he said. Wilson’s community, the Madigas of Kolar, Karnataka — like many other Dalit communities branded as “untouchables” — have traditionally worked as manual scavengers, cleaning human faecal matter from dry latrines with their hands. While many dry latrines have been converted to push-flush ones, 51,963 such latrines still exist in 6 states and 1.3 million people all over the country are engaged in this inhuman work, according to an estimate by Wilson’s organisation, the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA). The practice is thriving in urban centres around Delhi, with Meerut alone having a population of 921 manual scavengers and 4,528 dry latrines, while neighbouring Ghaziabad has 1,225 latrines and almost 300 scavengers. Known as Anna, the bespectacled, mild-mannered 46-year-old Wilson refuses to accept discrimination and indignity with matter-of-factness. From that fateful day, he has led a relentless revolt against the practice of manual scavenging. “I started arguing with the people from my community, asking them why they were doing this dirty work? Why didn’t they just stop?” he said. But he always got the same response — how will they earn their bread thereafter. Sitting in his office in Patel Nagar, Wilson said emphatically: “Liberation cannot wait for everyone’s roti. I wanted them to think — why should they have to clean someone’s shit for food?” On this philosophy, the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) was formed in 1986. The organisation is committed to the eradication of manual
When the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act was passed in 1993, making scavenging illegal, Wilson felt vindicated. But the the Act has remained a paper tiger.
“Liberation cannot wait for everyone’s roti. I wanted them to think — why should they have to clean someone’s shit for food?” — Bezwada Wilson
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who raised a stink
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“My mother and father were both engaged in this work and I followed them. But talking to Anna (Wilson) and his volunteers made me realise that this work was inhuman.” — Meena, SKA volunteer DELHI
SOCH BADLO Tanvi Thankur, a 12-year-old from Borivali, puts children under her spell with performances of magic. She learnt her skill from her mother, late Kranti Thankur, and entered the world of magic at the age of six. Since then, she has performed in more than 150 shows, for different audiences, which include cancer patients, physically and mentally challenged kids and children in rural areas. A class 7 student, she knows the importance of studies, but also believes strongly in bringing smiles to the lives of those who are less fortunate and create hope wherever possible. Posted by Vijay Diat on www.jaagore.com
Population: 1,10,07,835 Density: 7,422 per sq. km Area: 1,483 sq.km Bezwada Wilson and the Safai Karamchari Andolan have their headquarters in Delhi, but work all over India, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Manual scavenging is thriving in urban centres around Delhi, with Meerut alone having a population of 921 manual scavengers and 4,528 dry latrines, while neighbouring Ghaziabad has 1,225 latrines and almost 300 scavengers.
GOOD WORK Known as ‘Anna’ (elder brother), Bezwada Wilson has led a relentless revolt against the practice of manual scavenging since his twenties. He refused to accept discrimination and indignity with matter-of-factness. He formed the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) in 1986. The organisation has close to 6, 000 volunteers, most from within the community itself.
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scavenging and the liberation and rehabilitation of those engaged in this work. It also works for the rights of sweepers as well as those who clean sewage tanks and railway tracks. One of the major tasks facing members of the SKA is to convince people from within the community to give up the work and change their entrenched mindsets. “We hide our identity, becoming part of the system that chooses to render us invisible. For the first eight years of her marriage, my sister-in-law did not know that we belonged to the scavenging community,” said Wilson. THE APARTHEID CONTINUES The organisation has close to 6, 000 volunteers now, most from within the community itself, since Wilson feels that “insiders” have more of an impact. Meena, who worked as a scavenger before she was recruited as an SKA volunteer, said: “My mother and father were both engaged in this work and I followed them. But talking to Anna and SKA volunteers made me realise that this work was inhuman.” The severe health hazards involved in the work also opened her eyes. “We should also have a chance to lead healthy, educated lives. Is it written on our foreheads that we are to be scavengers?” she asks. Unfortunately, in a country where caste often dictates your profession and your life, changing your “destiny” is not that easy. “Hoping to find a job, I registered my name at the employment exchange. They heard my caste and automatically registered my name for sweeping and scavenging jobs,” recalled Wilson. Meena has a similar tale. “When I decided I wouldn’t scavenge any more, I tried my hand at dyeing, bindi-making and opening a grocery shop. But without any support and no money, nothing worked out.” But ask her if she will ever go back to scavenging and the answer is an adamant ‘no’. “I will never do that dirty work again and neither will my children. I want my daughter to be educated and become an IAS officer,” she says. When the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition)
Bezwada Wilson continues his activism to wean away his community from manual scavenging
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In the initial years, how difficult was it to garner support for your views on manual scavenging? When I first saw the conditions in which scavengers worked, I was shocked and disgusted. At first, if you say something radical, people think you are mad. But slowly people started seeing sense in what I was saying.
Though Wilson’s organisation does not rehabilitate or fund alternative livelihoods for former manual scavengers such as Meena, it does help secure their rights and changes mindsets through education.
Act was passed in 1993, deeming scavenging illegal, Wilson felt his life’s work was vindicated. But almost two decades later, the Act remains just a piece of paper, which has never been implemented seriously. “We have always asked for total and complete eradication of scavenging. We never tried to organise manual scavengers into a union or ask for their rights or upliftment because our mission will only be complete when there are no manual scavengers,” said Wilson. Perhaps, this is why, SKA is still unregistered. Wilson blames a larger culture, with dismally low standards of sanitation, for the lack of awareness about this issue. “Even educated people look at scavengers with a lens of privilege. They say, “this is their work, they should do it well.” Though SKA does not rehabilitate or fund alternative livelihoods for these people, it does help them secure their rights. Petitioning courts to grant rehabilitation, meeting National Advisory Council members, going into the field to talk to workers, holding meetings with other NGOs, it is no wonder that Wilson sleeps in his office. Does he regret not having a family? “This is my life, this work gives me the satisfaction,” Wilson said, with a serene smile. In 2010, when the countdown to the Commonwealth Games began, he launched a parallel countdown of his own: the end of manual scavenging. The SKA team worked night and day, meeting policy makers, mobilising people and holding events to make sure all dry latrines were demolished. Though that year had started with hope, it ended in despair. They could not meet their goal. “I was very depressed. People would ask me — ‘so, you lost’?” But busy men have no time for gloom. “I felt that this was not a game, it was a movement for liberation. We may not This article appeared in Hindustan Times on 2nd April, 2012 edition. See page 123 have won this battle, but we haven’t lost till we keep struggling.”
There’s a law against scavenging, yet it continues unchecked. Why is that? After 18 years of the passing of the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, no one has been prosecuted under it. In fact, no state promulgated the Act till 2000. Also, under the law, those who give up manual scavenging are entitled to receive loans to begin an alternative occupation, but they have to run around for that money. People want another sanitation facility constructed before they demolish the old one. Even the rail ministry said the cost factor has to be considered before these toilets can be demolished. How widespread is manual scavenging today?
According to the ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the total number of safai karamcharis engaged in manual scavenging is more than 6 lakh. But according to independent estimates, the number exceeds 1.3 million. Is our civil society complicit in the continued practice of manual scavenging? I think, as a society, our civic and sanitation sense is very low. The caste system compounds the problem. Gandhiji glorified the task of manual scavenging comparing it to the service of a mother for her children, but there is no glory in this work.
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Starting out in two of the poorest districts of Kumaon in 1997, the couple aimed to harness solar energy in these areas and create livelihoods around it. In 2005, they founded an association of local artisans.
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Pioneers, straight from the hills Rashmi Bharti and Rajnish Jain
| PITHORAGARH , Uttarakhand
The Avani centre run by former residents of the Osho commune, Rashmi Bharti and her husband Rajnish Jain, brings eco-friendly livelihoods to villages in the Kumaon district. This, they hope, will someday be a reality all over India. TEXT
Aarefa Johari ■
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T THE Avani centre in Pithoragarh, a district in the remote Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, natural living is the norm. Villagers working at this not-for-profit organisation operate solar-powered appliances, produce natural dyes and soaps from locally-grown plants, manufacture eco-friendly textiles and feed waste water to the vegetable garden where they grow the food they eat. For Rashmi Bharti and her husband Rajnish Jain, who together set up Avani 14 years ago, this is the life, they hope, will someday be a reality all over India. “We went to work in the mountains because we could not fit in the rat race of Delhi,” said Bharti, 45, a mathematics graduate from Delhi University. She met her husband during her two-and-a-half-year stint at the Osho commune in Pune. “This is where I imbibed the notion of integrating one’s life and work creatively, as a form of meditation,” she said. In 1991-92, Bharti and Jain spent two years working for Chirag, a
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PITHORAGARH (UTTARAKHAND)
The shawls, saris, home furnishings and toys are marketed by Avani in India and abroad. Six of Avani’s naturallydyed silk fabrics have received the UNESCO Seal of Excellence.
Population (district): 4,85,993 Density: 68.4 per sq.km Area: 7110 sq.km Carved out of Almora district in 1960, Pithoragarh is a district in Uttarakhand. It is known as the gateway to the Himalayas from the north, as pilgrims trek through this town to Mount Kailash.
GOOD WORK In 1996, Avani was founded by Rashmi Bharti and Rajnish Jain, as a social venture dedicated to rural development in two of the poorest districts of the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. Its work is now spread across 70 villages in the five poorest districts of the region and touches the lives of more than 25,000 people. In 2005, Avani started an association of over 100 weavers who share the profits. Avani’s turnover last year was R1.3 crores.
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community-based NGO in the Kumaon hills, to experience a non-urban way of life. Bharti’s job at the organisation involved creating audio-visual presentations for their health awareness programme, while Jain worked on a farming project. The couple eventually returned to the city, but missed the mountains. They wanted to return to Kumaon and work for rural development but needed help figuring out the practical dos and don'ts. In 1994, a friend introduced them to Bunker Roy, founder of the Rajasthan-based NGO, the Barefoot College. Under Roy’s mentorship, the couple moved to Pithoragarh in 1996 and set up Avani as the Kumaon chapter of the College. Starting out in two of the poorest districts of Kumaon in 1997, the couple aimed to harness solar energy in these areas and create livelihoods around it. In 2005, they founded an association of local artisans, the Kumaon Earthcraft Self-reliant Co-operative with more than 1,000 local families. Now better known as Earthcraft, it is managed as a decentralised set-up. All employees within the cooperative are paid monthly wages; as shareholders, they share its profits. The shawls, saris, home furnishings and toys they make are marketed by Avani in India and abroad. Nearly 98% of the artisans —who may not even be educated but can now support their families — are women. Bharti acts as their conduit on the international stage. She has showcased their work at the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris, the Ethical Fashion Forum in London and the sustainable textile collection at the London School of Fashion. Six of Avani’s naturally-dyed silk fabrics have received the UNESCO Seal of Excellence for quality, uniqueness and eco-friendliness. Avani's philosophy is simple - empower the local. “There was need for local power production, so we brought in more than 3,000 solar lights for domestic use to the villages and trained local residents in
SOCH BADLO Eighteen-year-old Palak Muchchal uses her beautiful voice to sing only for charity. From the age of six, she has raised crores of rupees to fund heart surgeries of hundreds of children. She usually sits with a child that is being operated on and chants the Bhagwad Gita and recites the Nav Kaal mantra. She has been honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Award 2005 and Pogo Amazing Kids Award but what really delights Palak is when doctors tell her, “Badhai ho Palak! Tumhara bachcha bach gaya.” Posted by Rachita Jain on www.jaagore.com
operation and maintenance,” said Bharti. But the poorest families couldn't pay the monthly installment of R30 for the lights. “That’s when we realised the need for income-generation programmes and began reviving traditional handicrafts of the region,” she said. Today, more than 20,000 people across 101 villages in the area are associated with Avani. The villages, inhabited mainly by the Bora-Kuthalia community, were traditionally involved in making handspun mats from hemp. The couple began working with local women, getting them to spin and weave fabric with Tibetan wool and silk. “Many single women have been able to stand on their own feet and feed their families. This has also given them the confidence to opt out of early marriages,” said Bharti. For 26-year-old Deepa Bhauryal, who joined Avani as a weaver when she was 18, the organisation has changed her household income, and her personality. “Before I started training, I never ventured out. Now, as president of Earthcraft, I confidently travel and talk to people,” said Bhauryal. She supports her family with her salary of at least R3,000 a month. Empowering and pioneering entrepreneurship among rural women is one-half of Avani's success story, for which Bharti was awarded the 2011 Jankidevi Bajaj Puraskar by the women’s wing of the Indian Merchants’ Chamber in Mumbai. The other half is that of pollution control, preservation of natural resources and healthy living. Avani's latest products to be released in the Indian urban retail market include organic detergent made from aritha (a nut traditionally used to wash hair and silk fabrics) and non-toxic crayons and paints from flower pigments and soya or beeswax. If successful, Bharti believes this could propel the growth of more livelihood opportunities in the mountains, with small farmers cultivating these plants and flowers on their fallow land. Avani has also launched a new energy project in which they aim to harness the destructive energy of Himalayan pine needles — they tend to spark forest fires when they fall from the trees in summer — to generate electricity for rural domestic and industrial use. In the power plant that Avani has set up, 1.2 kg of pine needles can generate up to 1 KWh of electricity. But the couple knows their journey is far from over. The next three years are going to be a great challenge as they intend to multiply their annual turnover by at least five times. “We need more buildings and machinery and are looking for funds in order to scale up,” said This article appeared in Hindustan Times on 9th Feb, 2012 edition. See page 123 Bharti. “We still have a long way to go.”
Rajnish Jain, co-founder, Avani, lives by the organisation’s philosophy. Empower the local, he says
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You’re not native to the Kumaon region. Was it difficult to break the ice with the villagers? In the beginning, the villagers were suspicious. They watched us bring in solar lights for about a year before they finally started interacting with us. After that, our work became almost like a movement, with locals lining up in long queues to get solar lamps. Was it easier to reach out to rural women than men?
We never thought of reaching out to either men or women or even people of a particular caste. But in their culture, weaving is largely considered a woman’s job. We do have some male weavers, but now there are many cases of women earning more as weavers than men. In what ways has self-reliance changed the social fabric in Kumaon villages? We have seen women grow more confident. They are bringing technology to their homes, making financial decisions and handling cash. Are traditional Indian hand-woven garments disappearing from rural markets today? What needs to be done at a national level to save them? Hand-made garments are disappearing and all kinds of synthetic materials are available in rural markets. Polyester saris are cheap now, but not many people know that they are all made from petroleum-based products. To sell hand-woven materials within the country, we have to pay the same amount of tax as one does for synthetic materials — sometimes as high as 12.5%. The government should reduce this tax. What are Avani’s biggest challenges? Our biggest challenge is to attract talent for various managerial roles.
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Lady Tarzan Jamuna Tuddu
| MUTURKHAM , Jharkhand
Jharkhand lost half of its forest cover to illegal logging in the past 10 years. Muturkham forest was no exception, till Jamuna Tuddu arrived on the scene. With her all-women brigade, she guarded the trees and drove the loggers away. TEXT
B Vijay Murty ■
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Parwaz Khan
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LEVEN YEARS ago, Muturkham forests, lying southeast of the capital Ranchi, used to be the timber mafia’s busy workplace. It was no different from the rest of the state, which has steadily lost 50% of its forest cover to illegal logging. Until 1999, when Muturkham’s jungle mafia met
Lady Tarzan. Jamuna Tuddu, 32, a short, stout woman belonging to the Santhal tribe, led a band of tribal housewives to form the Van Suraksha Samity (Forest Protection Committee) and registered it with the state forest department. The women patrolled the forests in three groups, collared illegal loggers — usually hired hands from nearby villages — and handed them over to the forest department. Word spread that the trees were not to be touched. The 50-hectare forest in East Singhbhum district, which had turned barren (the mafia had chopped down every tree over three meters) now has one lakh trees. There is a kendu, eucalyptus or an acacia tree every 6 feet; the gap between two trees 10 years ago used to be more than 24 feet. Several species of reptiles and avians, wild boar, hare and the elephant have since made this forest their home. “We tribals are very close to nature. Forest conservation is in our genes. A forest range officer, A P Singh, played a pivotal role in inspiring us to continue the good work. He got us all possible assistance from his department,” said Tuddu. The local initiative could well be the model for protecting the 23.6 lakh hectares of Jharkhand’s rich jungle cover — 16 times the size of Delhi — from timber cartels.
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“Forest conservation is in our genes. Today, anyone caught felling trees is made to pay a fine and then handed over to the forest department.” — Jamuna Tuddu
& the timber mafia Jamuna Tuddu’s Van Suraksha Samity now has 70 women members. The older women guard the foothills with village dogs to prevent illegal lumberjacks from escaping.
“The summers are no longer unbearable. We now have shade. Jamuna Tuddu and her team of women have made a big difference to our lives” — Kanu Ram Hansda, Muturkham youth MUTURKHAM (JHARKHAND)
Population: 415 Density: 179 per sq. Area: 2.31 sq. km
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Muturkham is a village in the Bahragora tehsil in East Singhbum district in Jharkhand. It is 186 km southeast of the state capital Ranchi.
Muturkham has been rewarded for its brave enterprise. A smooth road now connects the village with the ChakuliaTata Main Road. A water tank ensures 24-hour supply to every household.
GOOD WORK Jharkhand has lost 50% of forest cover to illegal logging. In 2001, Jamuna Tuddu, aka ‘Lady Tarzan’, a 32-year-old Santhal housewife, led a band of 25 tribal women to form the Van Suraksha Samity (Forest Protection Committee) and registered it with the state forest department. The women patrol the forests in three groups, catch illegal loggers, fine them and hand them over to the forest department. Thanks to Tuddu’s efforts, the 50hectare forest in East Singhbhum district now has one lakh trees.
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Tuddu, who worked as a mason to supplement the family income, claims the reasons for forming this committee were prompted by basic economics: there was no firewood in her kitchen. “In the summers, there was no shade. We had no firewood, no fodder for our cattle and water levels were dipping across a 15-km area,” she said. “Today, anyone caught felling trees is fined R501 and handed over to the forest department.” The amount is deposited in the Samity’s fund, utilised for community welfare work and to purchase mobile phones for better networking during patrols. Muturkham has been rewarded for its brave enterprise. A smooth road now connects the village with the Chakulia-Tata Main Road. A water tank ensures 24-hour supply to every household. There is also a well and a check dam on a hill stream. There is a school building, a generator set and machines to make leaf plates. The forest department has acknowledged the Samity’s achievements with packages under the World Food Programme and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
SOCH BADLO Umesh Chandra Singh Bisht is doing good work in the Chaukhutia and Syaldey blocks of Almora, Uttarakhand. Born and brought up in the remote, rural area of Jaurasi, he studied at the village school. People of his area were, and are, financially weak. Lack of employment opportunities in the region has led to large-scale migration from the area. From 2007, Umesh began to conduct a written test every year for students of Class 9 and 10 across the 47 schools under the Chaukhutia and Syaldey blocks. He also helped the top 10 students with cash. Posted by Sheela Bisht on www.jaagore.com
Initially, the other women of Muturkham were reluctant to join in Tuddu’s initiative. Today, it has taken the shape of a movement. As for Tuddu, the empowerment came with recognition, enabling her to abandon her mason’s job in 2010 to enroll for a course at a beautician’s training institute in Chakulia town, 10 km away. Within six months, while still pursuing her course, she was ready with her ‘Jamuna Beauty Parlour’ — a first for Muturkham and the only such parlour catering to the requirements of the fairer sex from at least 20 adjoining villages. Tuddu also started training young, literate girls at her parlour. Tuddu’s women, who have so far nabbed more than a dozen illegal woodcutters, say their forest duties do not affect their household and farming responsibilities. “My husband has been a big support,’’ Tuddu said, adding other women have also seen similar support come their way. The Samity membership has now grown to 70 women. The youngest is Bahamayee Tuddu, 13, and the oldest is Malati Tuddu, 70. The older women guard the foothills with village dogs to prevent illegal lumberjacks from escaping. At night, some men accompany the patrol team. The village head, Charu Charan Tuddu, acknowledges the entire village is in their debt. “Now the summers are no longer unbearable. We have shade,” said local youth Kanu Ram Hansda, 28. Women who earlier had no means of earning their keep now make plates from sal leaves with hand-operated compressors and earn up to R12,000-R15,000 a year selling them in nearby marketplaces. The state government has recognised the committee’s achievements with cash awards. The forest department has adopted Muturkham as a model village. But the work has its perils. Last November, Sister Valsa John, a 52-year-old nun from Kerala, was hacked to death with spears in Pakur district for protecting tribal rights and forests. Tuddu, however, isn’t scared. It is 6 am and ‘Lady Tarzan’, is tightening the strings of her bow. A group of around 12 women, some with children in their arms, quietly assembles outside, each carrying This article appeared in Hindustan Times on 16th Jan, 2012 edition. See page 124 traditional weapons for the daily patrol. Tuddu leads them to the forests.
Jamuna Tuddu’s initiative could well be the model for protecting Jharkhand’s rich jungle cover from the timber cartels
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Who inspired you to take up the forest conservation work?
We tribals are very close to nature. Forest conservation is in our genes. A forest range officer, A P Singh, played a pivotal role in inspiring us to continue the good work. His department assisted us with development projects in lieu of our work. Being so popular, why don’t you try your hands in politics? I had contested for the panchayat mukhiya post in the polls held last year, but lost by only 17 votes. What next? Will you contest a poll with bigger stakes? I don’t know what the future holds for me. Elections have become very expensive. I do not like to daydream. But this much I know, politics has gone out of the reach of the poor people in Jharkhand. Did your family stand by you when you took up the perilous work of taking on the dangerous timber mafia? My husband has been a big support right from the day we set off for to guard the forest. This is noble work and he has always been around to inspire and support me in all my endeavours. How did you manage to inspire the women to join you in this mission? Initially, they were reluctant. But as the results started being visible — free and more firewood for the kitchen, a school, road and a water tower as gifts from the forest department — more and more women joined me in the mission. Today, it has taken the shape of a movement.
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Best foot forward Sylvester Peter
| DELHI
For the children of a Delhi basti, Sylvester Peter’s Academy is not just a local football club. It has taught them life skills. And Peter is not just their football coach, but their counsellor and mentor. The man who saved them from the seedy life of the slum. TEXT
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Raj K Raj
P Every morning, the young footballers, which include four girls, assemble at the park for practice. In 2012, three students of his academy were selected for the FC Barcelona camp in Delhi.
AST A flat bed of municipal waste and clogged drains is Indira Vikas Camp No. 4 at Vikaspuri in west Delhi. Recently, this bustling basti — home to 600 migrant families from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh — had an unexpected guest: Xevi Marce, director of FC Barcelona’s youth club, the feeder school to the football club’s youth academy. His destination: My Angel’s Academy — freelance holistic trainer, motivational speaker and counsellor Sylvester Peter’s labour of love and passion. Marce spent a couple of hours with Peter, 38, and his pack of young footballers, at the Academy’s camp, a fenced-off area inside a Delhi Development Authority park, testing their technique, stamina and attitude. He went back impressed with Peter’s coaching and his young wards’ skills. However, the Academy is not just a local football club. Begun in 1992, its importance and impact on the lives of the slum’s children and young adults is much deeper. Thanks to Peter, who is lovingly called bhaiyya by the slum’s residents, many of the young have not been sucked into drug peddling, anti-social activities, rag-picking or petty politics. He fulfils an important role — that of a guide — often missing in the lives of underprivileged children. — Sylvester Peter “We are busy throughout the day working, earning
“The adverse situation of these children moved me. Sacrifice is a sad word. I am doing this because I love it.”
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“Bhaiyya is their father and mother. He takes care of them throughout the day. In fact, whenever there is a problem, they call him up first and ask for his advice.” — Jaitunissa, Slum dweller DELHI
SOCH BADLO Hari Chakyar of Kerala is a writer and an avid trekker. But more than that he is ‘a green foot soldier’. His ‘Project 35 trees’ is about planting a tree in every state and union territory of India. Hari doesn’t want the sea to eat up his favourite spots in Mumbai — Marine Drive and Bandra — and his home in Kerala. Posted by Upesh Vaity on www.jaagore.com
Population: 1,10,07,835 Density: 7,422 per sq. km Area: 1483 sq. km Cricket and football are very popular in India’s capital city, Delhi. Ambedkar Stadium, the only football stadium in Delhi, can hold 20,000 people. The popularity of the sport has increased tremendously in the past few years, with the stadium attracting large crowds.
GOOD WORK When Sylvester Peter was in college, he decided that he would work with the children of the slum. He started with three children and now has 80 (3-22 year-olds) under his wing. The football team of My Angels Academy has participated in various camps, and have trained with Indian footballers. Three footballers of the Academy attended a FC Barcelona camp on scholarship. Not just a football club, Peter’s Academy has prevented scores of children from indulging in anti-social activities, ragpicking and petty politics.
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two meals. Most of our children are left alone or with neighbours in the slum. Naturally, they fall prey to anti-social elements. Bhaiyya is their father and mother. He takes care of them throughout the day. In fact, whenever there is a problem, they first call him up and ask for advice,” said Jaitunissa, 48, a mother of 10. Her son, Shakeel, is one of the best footballers of the Academy. Peter fulfils an But the reformation of the children did not start with football, important role that is but with something more basic: changing attitudes and inculcation of often missing in the important life skills. “Earlier, they would not take a bath for days on and wear lives of underprivileged clean clothes. But now that’s not the case because no one is allowed to enter children — that of a guide. He is ‘bhaiyya’ the premises of the Academy without a proper scrub bath. Using abusive to the 80 students language, even while playing football, is a strict no-no,” said Peter. that he supports in his academy. To reach the Academy, a 10 feet x 10 feet room, one has to take the ‘main road’ of the congested slum: a thin, semi-concrete strip that runs through narrow, dark lanes, past rough-and-ready homes, a tailor shop and a grocery store. In one corner, is a desktop computer that Peter got for the children. It is inside this small space that children study and organise rehearsals for their annual programme. Last year, the programme was organised at St Marks School, a local school, with a proper programme schedule and even an emcee. The children from the slums did plays and skits all taught by Peter. NOT JUST AN NGO The Academy (“It’s not an NGO”, insisted Peter repeatedly) springs to life after the children come back from school. Peter is also around for guidance, a quick chat or some advice. “My daughter wanted to leave school when she was in Class 6. But bhaiyya convinced her not to,” said Radha Devi, the mother of 13-year-old Pooja, who aspires to be a designer. The children are passionate about football and despite the odds, they have been keen students of the game. After Marce went back to Spain, three Barcelona FC coaches came to India for conducting paid coaching camps. Three young footballers from the slum — Kishan, 11, Tanjeer, 15, and
QA &
Delhi’s Sylvester Peter is a trainer, counsellor and a football coach
What made you start the academy? I was in Class 4 when one of my classmates confided in me that it was his birthday that day. I asked him about the gifts he would get from his parents and where would the party be held that evening. To my surprise, he told me that his parents would take him to a nearby temple and there would be no gifts. It was a revelation for me. When I was 13, I started my journey of helping poor children near my home. Since then, I have been working for them. How many kids are there in the academy now? At present, there are 80 students. What do you think is the best achievement of the academy?
Shakeel, 16 — were chosen to attend it for free. “Even though they did not have fancy boots, they held their ground thanks to their discipline, commitment and skills,” recounted Neel Shah, director, Liberio Sports India, a sports management firm. It was Shah who took Marce to the Academy. In fact, Tanjeer, who was one of the best footballers, was a ragpicker before Peter took him under his wings. Peter’s journey with the children started when he was in school. But it was in college that he decided to do this fulltime. “When I started to come to this slum, the children would stay away. They would call me saab. But now after being with them for so many years, saab has become bhaiyya,” said Peter. The journey has not been easy. There was initial opposition from his family, threats from political leaders and the police. One of the toughest challenges came when well-to-do families of the area tried to stop the children from practising at the park. But Squadron leader RK Tewari, who is incharge of the facility, would have none of it. “Peter’s children are a motivated bunch and they keep the park clean,” he said. Peter’s work is also not restricted to any one community in the slum. “There are many Muslim families in the slum but bhaiyya makes no distinction, he comes to our homes and even eats with us,” said Afsana, a Class 9 student. But at the Academy nothing comes for free, everyone has to ‘earn’ whatever they want. “I always set small tasks for them, because they should never get used to charity,” Peter added. Unfortunately, his round-the-clock engagement with the children has taken a toll: his marriage broke up because of his work. But Peter refuses to say that he has sacrificed anything. “Sacrifice is a sad word. I am doing this because I love it,” he said with a This article appeared in Hindustan Times on 8th March, 2012 edition.See page 125 warm smile.
The biggest achievement is that my students are not just playing but becoming true sportspersons. They are disciplined, they lead by example and have a fair approach towards life. Three students from my academy — Kishan, Tanjeer, Shakeel — were selected for the Barcelona camp in Delhi. Tanjeer, for instance, was a ragpicker when he joined the Academy. He used to sit inside MCD dumpyards and collect things. It took almost four years to reform him. Three girl students — Aarti, Pooja and Jyoti — have received statelevel soccer certificates from their school What are your future goals? I want to build a permanent boarding school . What kind of help does the academy need? A large amount of my earning goes into buying soccer balls, seeing to the nutrition and transportation expenses of my wards. But more than anything else, I need money to set up a permanent home for the children because there is always the threat of slum demolition.
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Hindustan Times, in partnership with Tata Tea, launched the India Awakened series in the beginning of the year to put the focus on ordinary Indians who have battled odds to bring change, innovative entrepreneurs who have made a difference to their local economies, people whose stories inspire others to work for change. This inspiring series featured 25 changemakers across India. From Jamuna Tuddu who has taken on Jharkhand’s timber mafia to protect the forests to Parneet Singh, a passport officer in Jalandhar who is helping women who are victims of marriage fraud; from Coimbatore’s A Muruganantham, whose low-cost sanitary napkin maker is promoting micro-enterprise to Delhi’s Sylvester Peter, the football coach who has saved children from the seedy life of the slum – read about India’s real heroes, for whom the impossible was, and is, part of their everyday.
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