An Apeal to the friends and sympathysers
Dear Friends,
Development in the third world is becoming increasingly more complicated as we embark on overly glorified journey of economic reforms. The impact of reform has been uniformly lopsided in that they have been invariably unhelpful to the historically marginalized communities. While some governments have claimed to have made some efforts to lend a human face to the reforms, it has not translated into any benefits for the marginalized, to say the least. While governments celebrate their swelling foreign exchange reserves, the marginalized are getting increasingly more marginalized.
In this light, it is largely agreed that political mobilization of the communities in order to enable them to demand their fundamental rights and to help them act collectively towards their shared goals is the only way out. However, it is not easy to undertake this kind of work amongst the poor communities not least because of the unsupportive attitude of the state agencies, mainstream media, and the mainstream political parties. Some groups of self motivated citizens have nevertheless continued working on this difficult agenda of strengthening local capacities and holding the state accountable for its actions or a complete lack thereof. Such groups have however, refused to chase institutionalized funding which often comes with strings attached to it. I seriously believe that it is the duty of the conscientious global citizens to support such groups by mobilizing both intellectual and material resources. This will have to be a purely personal effort even if that means that our contribution is small. In the years to come I hope that we will be able to bring together a big group of such conscientious citizens that could then mobilize resources for several such groups working in the remote nooks and corners of the developing countries. However, with this letter I request you to mobilize resources for one such group working in the tribal areas of Rajasthan in Western India.
The group concerned is called Jagruk Yuwa Sangathan actively working with the tribal communities of Kherwara block of Udaipur district. Most of the youth members of the group are local tribal youths. They have so far survived by collecting monthly or occasional issue based funds from the local friends and supporters. Local peasants, workers, youth, and women, though poor, have supported the group as far as possible by contributing in kind (wheat, vegetables and other daily necessities). The youth in turn, have sacrificed the comforts of their homes, and have worked relentlessly to build communities capacities in dealing with the state, police, media, and local politicians. There work has been effective in checking corruption in government offices, and the demeaning treatment that the local police meted out to the tribals. I was told that a policeman returned the bribe amount back to a poor tribal after he came to know of the person’s association with the Sangathan. The group is bringing out a local NewsViews Paper, pamphlets and booklets on issues of local concern as opposed to the projects work done at very operational costs by NGOs that we are usually familiar with.
However, as we all realize this very challenging work can get even more challenging because of the personal constraints that the young tribals working full time with the group face. At this point in time, Jagruk Yuwa Sangathan is also going through a sort of crisis:
(1) Most of the youths working for the group are about to get married. While they want to continue this work, they will need to fend for their families. This means that they can no longer continue working purely as volunteers, which has been the case so far.
(2) As the group expands its geographical coverage, it has to bear increasing costs of local transportation and other related expenses.
(3) At the same time, local political leaders and corrupt bureaucracy, whose vested interests are at stake, have seriously started plotting conspiracies against the group leadership by implanting false police cases etc.
(4) It also happens to be a critical juncture for the group, as it is in the process of establishing firmly in the region. While it has made concrete impact, organization itself has been operating with such thin resources that its material basis is insignificant.
(5) Overall, it is a crucial time for the organization where it needs all kinds of support.
Please consider what kind of support you may be able to extend to Jagruk Yuva Sangathan and the people working with them. Small amounts of financial contributions at individual level will go a long way in helping continue this work in an area which badly needs a group that can stand independently and work for voicing the concerns of the marginalized.
Prakash Kashwan
kashwan@gmail.com
Ph.D. Student (Public Policy)
School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA),
Indiana University, Bloomington
Development in the third world is becoming increasingly more complicated as we embark on overly glorified journey of economic reforms. The impact of reform has been uniformly lopsided in that they have been invariably unhelpful to the historically marginalized communities. While some governments have claimed to have made some efforts to lend a human face to the reforms, it has not translated into any benefits for the marginalized, to say the least. While governments celebrate their swelling foreign exchange reserves, the marginalized are getting increasingly more marginalized.
In this light, it is largely agreed that political mobilization of the communities in order to enable them to demand their fundamental rights and to help them act collectively towards their shared goals is the only way out. However, it is not easy to undertake this kind of work amongst the poor communities not least because of the unsupportive attitude of the state agencies, mainstream media, and the mainstream political parties. Some groups of self motivated citizens have nevertheless continued working on this difficult agenda of strengthening local capacities and holding the state accountable for its actions or a complete lack thereof. Such groups have however, refused to chase institutionalized funding which often comes with strings attached to it. I seriously believe that it is the duty of the conscientious global citizens to support such groups by mobilizing both intellectual and material resources. This will have to be a purely personal effort even if that means that our contribution is small. In the years to come I hope that we will be able to bring together a big group of such conscientious citizens that could then mobilize resources for several such groups working in the remote nooks and corners of the developing countries. However, with this letter I request you to mobilize resources for one such group working in the tribal areas of Rajasthan in Western India.
The group concerned is called Jagruk Yuwa Sangathan actively working with the tribal communities of Kherwara block of Udaipur district. Most of the youth members of the group are local tribal youths. They have so far survived by collecting monthly or occasional issue based funds from the local friends and supporters. Local peasants, workers, youth, and women, though poor, have supported the group as far as possible by contributing in kind (wheat, vegetables and other daily necessities). The youth in turn, have sacrificed the comforts of their homes, and have worked relentlessly to build communities capacities in dealing with the state, police, media, and local politicians. There work has been effective in checking corruption in government offices, and the demeaning treatment that the local police meted out to the tribals. I was told that a policeman returned the bribe amount back to a poor tribal after he came to know of the person’s association with the Sangathan. The group is bringing out a local NewsViews Paper, pamphlets and booklets on issues of local concern as opposed to the projects work done at very operational costs by NGOs that we are usually familiar with.
However, as we all realize this very challenging work can get even more challenging because of the personal constraints that the young tribals working full time with the group face. At this point in time, Jagruk Yuwa Sangathan is also going through a sort of crisis:
(1) Most of the youths working for the group are about to get married. While they want to continue this work, they will need to fend for their families. This means that they can no longer continue working purely as volunteers, which has been the case so far.
(2) As the group expands its geographical coverage, it has to bear increasing costs of local transportation and other related expenses.
(3) At the same time, local political leaders and corrupt bureaucracy, whose vested interests are at stake, have seriously started plotting conspiracies against the group leadership by implanting false police cases etc.
(4) It also happens to be a critical juncture for the group, as it is in the process of establishing firmly in the region. While it has made concrete impact, organization itself has been operating with such thin resources that its material basis is insignificant.
(5) Overall, it is a crucial time for the organization where it needs all kinds of support.
Please consider what kind of support you may be able to extend to Jagruk Yuva Sangathan and the people working with them. Small amounts of financial contributions at individual level will go a long way in helping continue this work in an area which badly needs a group that can stand independently and work for voicing the concerns of the marginalized.
Prakash Kashwan
kashwan@gmail.com
Ph.D. Student (Public Policy)
School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA),
Indiana University, Bloomington
posted by JYS at
6:48 PM
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