Small investments, big transformations: Lessons from 24 villages in 30 days

By Bharat Dogra

I have been visiting villages in India regularly for several decades so that my writings on development, peace, and the environment can benefit from what I learn from local communities and activists. Despite all my reading and writing of books and scholarly papers, wherever I go I find that I still have so much to learn from villagers and grassroots workers.

Recently, I visited about 24 villages across three states—Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh—over the course of a month to study various development initiatives and hold group discussions with community members. While I have written separate reports on these visits that have already been published, I am writing this piece to record some strong impressions of the overall situation.

I was deeply impressed by how small, well-planned investments directed toward neglected and poorest communities can make a significant contribution to reducing distress at relatively low cost. In Jogipura village of Karauli district, for example, an investment of just sixteen lakh rupees (less than 20,000 US dollars) in water conservation transformed both the immediate and long-term prospects of the entire medium-sized village, with benefits extending to two neighboring villages as well.

I compared this with the money a friend had recently spent on buying a typical middle-class flat in Delhi—five times more than the cost of this water project. I saw several such examples where modest, participatory investments greatly reduced distress and deprivation. Clearly, more funds and donations should be directed toward such initiatives.

Unfortunately, I also witnessed how huge sums are often wasted on poorly planned or even harmful projects. This has been a matter of great concern and distress for me. If we could ensure that more funds are allocated to carefully selected, beneficial works while avoiding wasteful expenditures, it would greatly help in reducing suffering.

After returning from these villages, I keep remembering the people I met who were experiencing severe hardship. There was Jhumli Bai, an elderly woman in a village of Udaipur district who lives alone and wanders from house to house hoping someone will give her food. There was Naru Lal in a neighboring village, suffering from mining dust-related ailments in old age without receiving any help. And there was an eighty-year-old woman with steadily diminishing vision who still goes daily to graze goats in the hills. Surely, there should be regular arrangements to support such people in distress, particularly the elderly and those living with disabilities.

At the same time, I also remember those who are engaged in brave struggles to overcome difficult circumstances. Kenti Bai, a fragile and physically weak woman from Karauli district, responded to reduced family income following her husband’s illness by cultivating a rocky piece of land. Today, it is a flourishing garden of vegetables, fruits, and grains.

Then there is activist Bhanvar Chauhan of Udaipur district, who suffered 32 fractures in a recent accident yet found the strength to return to work in remote villages where his presence is needed.

These experiences highlight another important learning: our villages are home to hardworking people with immense practical wisdom and strong aspirations for development. Their efforts can bring remarkable improvements to rural life. What is less recognized is that much of this sustainable village development can also contribute significantly to climate adaptation and mitigation.

We must therefore create enabling conditions and policies that allow this potential to be realized in the form of durable improvements for villages and their people. Such policies should prioritize justice, peace, and environmental protection.

The immense development potential of our villages can be best realized through unity and cooperation within communities—based on equality of all people and the complete rejection of discrimination on the basis of caste, religion, gender, or any other identity.

---

The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include When the Two Streams Met, Man over Machine, Navjeevan, A Day in 2071, and India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food

Comments

MG-NREGA: A global model still waiting to be fully implemented

By Bharat Dogra When the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) was introduced in India nearly two decades ago, it drew worldwide attention. The reason was evident. At a time when states across much of the world were retreating from responsibility for livelihoods and welfare, the world’s second most populous country—with nearly two-thirds of its people living in rural or semi-rural areas—committed itself to guaranteeing 100 days of employment a year to its rural population.

Gram sabha as reformer: Mandla’s quiet challenge to the liquor economy

By Raj Kumar Sinha* This year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a two-day PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 23–24 December 2025. The event marks the passage of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), enacted by Parliament on 24 December 1996 to establish self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas. Scheduled Areas are those notified by the President of India under Article 244(1) read with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for a distinct framework of governance recognising the autonomy of tribal regions. At present, Fifth Schedule areas exist in ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The PESA Act, 1996 empowers Gram Sabhas—the village assemblies—as the foundation of self-rule in these areas. Among the many powers devolved to them is the authority to take decisions on local matters, including the regulation...

Concerns raised over move to rename MGNREGA, critics call it politically motivated

By A Representative Concerns have been raised over the Union government’s reported move to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), with critics describing it as a politically motivated step rather than an administrative reform. They argue that the proposed change undermines the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and seeks to appropriate credit for a programme whose relevance has been repeatedly demonstrated, particularly during times of crisis.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Rollback of right to work? VB–GRAM G Bill 'dilutes' statutory employment guarantee

By A Representative The Right to Food Campaign has strongly condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–GRAM G) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major rollback of workers’ rights and a fundamental dilution of the statutory Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a statement, the Campaign termed the repeal of MGNREGA a “dark day for workers’ rights” and accused the government of converting a legally enforceable, demand-based employment guarantee into a centralised, discretionary welfare scheme.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

From jobless to ‘job-loss’ growth: Experts critique gig economy and fintech risks

By A Representative Leading economists and social activists gathered in the capital on Friday to launch the third edition of the State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 , issuing a stark warning that the rapid digitalization of the Indian economy is eroding welfare systems and entrenching "digital dystopia."

Search This Blog