In recent decades the Bundelkhand region of Central India has often been in news due to serious problems like prolonged droughts and water stress on the one hand and several encouraging development initiatives on the other hand. Whether it is in terms of bringing relief to weaker sections during drought years or in terms of watershed schemes that have won prestigious awards, the name of a voluntary organization ABSSS (Akhil Bhartiya Samaj Seva Sansthaan) has been frequently heard.
Although at times the ABSSS has also worked in other districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (like Banda, Sonbhadra and Tikamgarh), its core work area has always been in the Patha area of Chitrakut district. However the impact of this voluntary organization has been much wider as its founder Gaya Prasad Gopal, generally called Gopal Ji, played a valuable role in grooming many youth in social activism and they went on to play an important role in other parts of Bundelkhand and elsewhere. He also contributed in important ways to several state-level and national-level networks of voluntary organizations. Later, under a program called PACS (Poorest Areas Civil Society) the ABSSS played a lead role in guiding the project work of a number of voluntary organizations, and hence in a more formal way also its work-experiences could benefit a wider area.
Within its core work area the most important contribution of the ABSSS has related to facilitating land distribution among the landless (particularly those belonging to Kol tribal community), release and rehabilitation of bonded workers and watershed development as well as other water conservation and minor irrigation works which have helped to reduce water scarcity for thousands of households.
While this has been generally regarded as the most important part of the many-sided achievements of the ABSSS, Gopal Ji says that his involvement with improving education has been even deeper and to some extent or the other the ABSSS has remained involved with educational work right through its journey of over four decades.
When the ABSSS started working in Patha area most of the government schools were in a dismal state and located quite a long distance away from many hamlets of the weakest sections. The kol tribal community children and dalit children faced many problems in attending schools. It was estimated that at that time only about 20 per cent of children from kol households were going to school. Due to the presence of several dacoit gangs in the region many teachers appointed to these schools from outside this area were most unlikely to attend to their teaching duties with any regularity.
In these conditions the ABSSS started educational centers in many hamlets of weaker sections with local youth as teachers. These schools got a very good response and parents relieved children from family duties so that they could study. By the year 2000 over 2100 students were studying in these schools, almost 45 per cent of them were girls.
In some places the schools started with a group walk, singing songs and raising slogans regarding various ethical issues and good habits. In these schools students also discussed issues like justice and injustice. At a public meeting a small boy surprised everyone by singing a very stirring song against exploitation.
Some teachers became known for their deep dedication to their work. When I went to report on an attack by a dacoit gang on a hamlet, I was surprised to see that despite all the disruption this had caused, the young teacher Shiv Shankar had still started the school in time and his student Phool Kali did not make a single mistake while reciting the table of 9. Education in these schools was made interesting by using plays, role-plays, stories, folk songs and visits to forests, herbal gardens, railway station and other such places. Some adults also enrolled for literacy.
Due to this base work, many kol and dalit students from this area started joining college. Hence in more recent times the ABSSS has started mentoring programs for those students who are generally first generation college students from their communities. There have been special programs for all-round progress for adolescent girl students also.
With education and support several kols and dalits started emerging in leadership roles-- as panchayat leaders and social activists. Sarhat panchayat area was known for its big landowner dabangs or ruthless persons, but when kol youth Rajan was elected as pradhan they had to come to him for important work and his approval signatures and this signaled a very big change in power relations. Booti Kol also got elected in panchayat elections and top district leaders were vying for her vote at district level. They also tried to exert pressure on her but she succeeded in exercising her voting right independently. Sanjo Kol, another panchayat leader, was often seen roaring away to various offices and meetings on her motorcycle.
The ABSSS was involved at times in very strong advocacy efforts to ensure better implementation of various government programs and schemes and to protect people, particularly women and weaker sections, from various injustices. Whether it was a case of protecting those who were struggling for land rights or for release from bonded labor, whether it was a case of poor people being harassed for recovery of loans they had never taken, or whether it was a demand for better implementation of various development programs, the ABSSS was involved in a lot of advocacy work ranging from helping in preparing petitions, holding meetings with officials and helping the poor in getting justice from courts. The ABSSS and its activists tried to advance the cause of many-sided justice for the poor in many ways. They were able to take to the National Women Commission cases of extreme injustice suffered by women which had not been taken up by anyone else, and many of these women could get justice. Similarly when a team of the National Human Rights Commission visited the area, (this writer too was a member of this team) it was clear that the ABSSSS had really put in a lot of work to make available a lot of important information to the team in the context of giving suggestions for more just policies that are needed as well as for securing relief for several victims of injustice.
In the early days of the right to information movement, the ABSSS also contributed to spreading awareness of the importance of this right and later also used this right quite effectively in its advocacy effort. At the time of implementation of PACS project the advocacy effort of the ABSSS had become particularly strong. In addition its work for strengthening and improving panchayati raj was also strengthened during this phase. Several emerging panchayat leaders, particularly women and those from weaker sections, were helped by the ABSSS to take up their new responsibilities more effectively.
In times of drought and floods the ABSSS has taken up relief and rehabilitation work which has been widely appreciated. Much before the advent of NREGA, the food for work program implemented for the government helped by Gopal Ji and his colleagues had won widespread praise from the people as well as the authorities for keeping away hunger in very difficult conditions.
The ABSSS has followed a balanced mix of struggles and constructive work which often support each other. In its early days while the ABSSS and its sister organizations were involved in peaceful mobilization of forest workers and forest minor produce gatherers to check their exploitation, at the same time they also made storage, processing and marketing efforts to try to get a better price for the minor produce collected by kol tribal households in particular.
Sister organizations like Patha Kol Adhikar Manch and Chingari (meaning ‘spark’) were involved in several struggles for justice. All these struggles were non-violent, committed to achieving justice with peaceful methods. Chingari emerged as a very important organization of women involved in taking up several issues of justice with firmness and determination. In due course this organization also spread in other parts of Bundelkhand but its origin and early growth were in Patha area with an important role being that of a supportive relationship with the ABSSS.
Among its many constructive activities, the ABSSS has been involved in the spread of natural farming in several villages (particularly in collaboration with SRIJAN organization) as well as in afforestation work in many places, including creation of some beautiful gardens. Apart from its direct contribution of over 60,000 trees the ABSSS has been encouraging many households to take up tree planting work and create kitchen gardens.
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The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include "Protecting Earth for Children", "Man over Machine", "Navjeevan" and "A Day in 2071"
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