THIS ISN’T ABOUT ME

“How different are our villages from villages of your country” asked my Vietnamese friend on a trip

to rural Vietnam. But before I could reply she said “how would you know, you are a thorough city

bred”. Yes, I have been a city girl all my life, having stayed in state capital cities since I can

remember and now in the national capital. When I decided to work in the development sector

visiting rural areas was a wistful challenge I wasn't keenly looking forward to. Books, newspapers,

reports etc. had shown me the ‘actual’ picture of rural India from their eyes, and it was all but

inviting. However, my first time in a village was a joyful experience, if anything. The dream in the

eyes of the small unclad boy who ran alongside me from the outskirts of the village, the shy smile

of the tiny girl clinging to her elder sister with tightly tied oily hair, the ‘here they come again’

look of men and the questions on the lips of the women greeted me as I looked wide eyed around

myself. Now with 20 years of experience of working in the rural areas in my bag, it is still a

pleasant experience to go to the villages and work with the community on various issues as I

discover their eagerness to learn and accept new things, their love for life new and old, zest to

improve their condition and their wisdom to bring happiness in their lives. I found no difference

existed as it did in me and my other city bred friends and colleagues.

However, my recent visit to the Konta block of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh, months after the TV

crew and newspaper reporters had left post fresh spur of violence, altered my opinion. This part of

India has been at the center of Maoist insurgency for a long time. But government’s “purification

hunt” called Salwa Judum, where local tribal youth were supported and trained by government

forces as an anti-insurgency measure, displaced many families. This right-winged civilian militia

movement herded villagers and tribals in makeshift camps, where human rights abuses were rife.

As Salwa Judum became increasingly violent and out of control more and more people were

displaced, mostly to the south of Chhattisgarh, on the borders of Andhra Pradesh. Though the

movement is officially over, stories of child soldiers, rape and abuse in the camps are still fresh in

their minds.

Some of those affected have crossed over to Andhra Pradesh, and some have shifted to houses in

the land given by government. Tribals, who once enjoyed the luxury of having their closest

neighbor more than a mile away, now live in small houses packed together. Are they happy, is

anybody’s guess. The pain of displacement, fear of abuse, unemployment and hunger is

everybody’s story. Hope is nobody’s friend. Young girls going to the nearby school are afraid to

think of ‘what next’ as they are not sure how long their education will continue; an old woman

talks longingly of the food she used to cook in her old house and a pregnant woman fears that she

will not be able to see her child because of the high maternal and neonatal deaths. Men loiter

around their homes, play cards and fight among themselves on why and who made more money by

displacing them. Dirty surroundings, unclean drinking water, sick and malnourished children and

helpless old are what one sees in the area as HOPE remains the single largest thing that has

disappeared from this area and the people’s life in the last decade. In these villages the small boy

playing marbles looks at me sans dreams, the young girl still gazes at strangers but now with

disinterest, women do not ask any more questions and men only look with apprehension.

Given the sheer magnitude of the cumulative deficit across all dimensions of security, governance

and development, there is little hope that the people of this unfortunate region will experience any

measurable relief from the crushing burdens of deprivation and neglect in the foreseeable

future. Serious confidence building measures are needed on both sides of the table. Just as there is

a need to provide assurance of government schemes including health, education and security,

protection needs to be provided to the potential agents of change like teachers, health workers and

law enforcing agencies from being kidnapped by the naxals.

The role of NGOs is very important in this situation. They can create a bridge between the people

and government. People know and trust the local NGOs and CBOs, who can stay apolitical and still

provide services offered by the government thereby escaping the retribution of naxals and still

assisting the people. There is also a need to improve the skills of Tribals if they are to be

mainstreamed. Appointing locals as health and development workers in government agencies and

schemes can increase their acceptance among Tribals. International NGOs and other development

agencies should immediately start building capacities of the locals to fill up the gaps in education,

health and nutrition.

While my friend’s comparison of villages of two nations marred by insurgency reverberates in my

mind, I question if acceptance of new things and situations to increase happiness quotient in life is

the first martyr or the first learning in such areas; my city girl status notwithstanding.