By M H Ahssan
An Overview
The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers great opportunities to marketers. Two-thirds of countries consumers live in rural areas and almost half of the national income is generated here. It is only natural that rural markets form an important part of the total market of India. Our nation is classified in around 450 districts, and approximately 630000 villages, which can be sorted in different parameters such as literacy levels, accessibility, income levels, penetration, distances from nearest towns, etc.
Few Facts
70 % of India's population lives in 627000 villages in rural areas. According to the NCAER study, there are almost twice as many 'lower middle income' households in rural areas as in the urban areas.
At the highest income level there are 2.3 million urban households as against 1.6 million households in rural areas.
Middle and high-income households in rural India is expected to grow from 80 million to 111 million by 2007.
In urban India, the same is expected to grow from 46 million to 59 million. Thus, the absolute size of rural India is expected to be double that of urban India.
Opportunity
The above figures are a clear indication that the rural markets offer the great potential to help the India Inc which has reached the plateau of their business curve in urban India to bank upon the volume-driven growth.
The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers a huge opportunity that MNCs cannot afford to ignore. With 128 million households, the rural population is nearly three times the urban.
As a result of the growing affluence, fuelled by good monsoons and the increase in agricultural output to 200 million tonnes from 176 million tonnes in 1991, rural India has a large consuming class with 41 per cent of India's middle-class and 58 per cent of the total disposable income.
The importance of the rural market for some FMCG and durable marketers is underlined by the fact that the rural market accounts for close to 70 per cent of toilet-soap users and 38 per cent of all two-wheeler purchased.
The rural market accounts for half the total market for TV sets, fans, pressure cookers, bicycles, washing soap, blades, tea, salt and toothpowder, What is more, the rural market for FMCG products is growing much faster than the urban counterpart.
Features of Indian Rural Markets
Large and Scattered market: The rural market of India is large and scattered in the sense that it consists of over 63 crore consumers from 5,70,000 villages spread throughout the country.
Major income from agriculture: Nearly 60 % of the rural income is from agriculture. Hence rural prosperity is tied with agricultural prosperity.
Low standard of living: The consumer in the village area do have a low standard of living because of low literacy, low per capita income, social backwardness, low savings, etc.
Traditional Outlook: The rural consumer values old customs and tradition. They do not prefer changes.
Diverse socio-economic backwardness: Rural consumers have diverse socio-economic backwardness. This is different in different parts of the country.
Infrastructure Facilities: The Infrastructure Facilities like roads, warehouses, communication system, financial facilities are inadequate in rural areas. Hence physical distribution becomes costly due to inadequate Infrastructure facilities.
The rural bazaar is booming beyond everyone's expectation. This has been primarily attributed to a spurt in the purchasing capacity of farmers now enjoying an increasing marketable surplus of farm produce. In addition, an estimated induction of Rs 140 billion in the rural sector through the government's rural development schemes in the Seventh Plan and about Rs 300 billion in the Eighth Plan is also believed to have significantly contributed to the rapid growth in demand. The high incomes combined with low cost of living in the villages have meant more money to spend. And with the market providing them options, tastes are also changing.
Problems in the Booming Rural Marketing
Although the rural market does offer a vast untapped potential, it should also be recognized that it is not that easy to operate in rural market because of several problems. Rural marketing is thus a time consuming affair and requires considerable investments in terms of evolving appropriate strategies with a view to tackle the problems.
The major problems faced are:
Underdeveloped People and Underdeveloped Markets:
The number of people below poverty line has not decreased in any appreciable manner. Thus underdeveloped people and consequently underdeveloped market by and large characterize the rural markets. Vast majorities of the rural people are tradition bound, fatalistic and believe in old customs, traditions, habits, taboos and practices.
Lack of Proper Physical Communication Facilities:
Nearly fifty percent of the villages in the country do not have all weather roads. Physical communication of these villages is highly expensive. Even today most villages in the eastern parts of the country are inaccessible during the monsoon.
Media for Rural Communication:
Among the mass media at some point of time in the late 50's and 60's radio was considered to be a potential medium for communication to the rural people. Another mass media is television and cinemas. Statistics indicate that the rural areas account for hardly 2000 to 3500 mobile theatres, which is far less when compared to the number of villages.
Many Languages and Dialects:
The number of languages and dialects vary widely from state to state, region to region and probably from district to district. The messages have to be delivered in the local languages and dialects. Even though the number of recognized languages are only 16, the dialects are estimated to be around 850.
Dispersed Market:
Rural areas are scattered and it is next to impossible to ensure the availability of a brand all over the country. Seven Indian states account for 76% of the country's rural retail outlets, the total number of which is placed at around 3.7 million. Advertising in such a highly heterogeneous market, which is widely spread, is very expensive.
Low Per Capita Income:
Even though about 33-35% of gross domestic product is generated in the rural areas it is shared by 74% of the population. Hence the per capita incomes are low compared to the urban areas.
Low Levels of Literacy:
The literacy rate is low in rural areas as compared to urban areas. This again leads to problem of communication for promotion purposes. Print medium becomes ineffective and to an extent irrelevant in rural areas since its reach is poor and so is the level of literacy.
Prevalence of spurious brands and seasonal demand:
For any branded product there are a multitude of 'local variants', which are cheaper, and, therefore, more desirable to villagers.
Different way of thinking:
There is a vast difference in the lifestyles of the people. The kind of choices of brands that an urban customer enjoys is different from the choices available to the rural customer. The rural customer usually has 2 or 3 brands to choose from whereas the urban one has multiple choices. The difference is also in the way of thinking. The rural customer has a fairly simple thinking as compared to the urban counterpart.
The 4A Approach
The rural market may be alluring but it is not without its problems: Low per capita disposable incomes that is half the urban disposable income; large number of daily wage earners, acute dependence on the vagaries of the monsoon; seasonal consumption linked to harvests and festivals and special occasions; poor roads; power problems; and inaccessibility to conventional advertising media.
However, the rural consumer is not unlike his urban counterpart in many ways.
The more daring MNCs are meeting the consequent challenges of availability, affordability, acceptability and awareness (the so-called 4 As).
Availability
The first challenge is to ensure availability of the product or service. India's 627,000 villages are spread over 3.2 million sq km; 700 million Indians may live in rural areas, finding them is not easy. However, given the poor state of roads, it is an even greater challenge to regularly reach products to the far-flung villages. Any serious marketer must strive to reach at least 13,113 villages with a population of more than 5,000. Marketers must trade off the distribution cost with incremental market penetration. Over the years, India's largest MNC, Hindustan Lever, a subsidiary of Unilever, has built a strong distribution system, which helps its brands reach the interiors of the rural market. To service remote village, stockists use auto-rickshaws, bullock-carts and even boats in the backwaters of Kerela. Coca-Cola, which considers rural India as a future growth driver, has evolved a hub and spoke distribution model to reach the villages. To ensure full loads, the company depot supplies, twice a week, large distributors which who act as hubs. These distributors appoint and supply, once a week, smaller distributors in adjoining areas. LG Electronics defines all cities and towns other than the seven metros cities as rural and semi-urban market. To tap these unexplored country markets, LG has set up 45 area offices and 59 rural/remote area offices.
Study on buying behaviour of rural consumer indicates that the rural retailers influences 35% of purchase occasions. Therefore sheer product availability can affect decision of brand choice, volumes and market share. Some of the FMCG giants like HLL took out project streamline to significantly enhance the control on the rural supply chain through a network of rural sub-stockists, who are based in the villages only. Apart from this to acquire further edge in distribution HLL started Project Shakti in partnership with Self Help groups of rural women.
Affordability
The second challenge is to ensure affordability of the product or service. With low disposable incomes, products need to be affordable to the rural consumer, most of whom are on daily wages. Some companies have addressed the affordability problem by introducing small unit packs. Godrej recently introduced three brands of Cinthol, Fair Glow and Godrej in 50-gm packs, priced at Rs 4-5 meant specifically for Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh - the so-called `Bimaru' States.
With large parts of rural India inaccessible to conventional advertising media - only 41 per cent rural households have access to TV - building awareness is another challenge. Fortunately, however, the rural consumer has the same likes as the urban consumer - movies and music - and for both the urban and rural consumer, the family is the key unit of identity. However, the rural consumer expressions differ from his urban counterpart. Outing for the former is confined to local fairs and festivals and TV viewing is confined to the state-owned Doordarshan. Consumption of branded products is treated as a special treat or indulgence.
Hindustan Lever relies heavily on its own company-organised media. These are promotional events organised by stockists. Godrej Consumer Products, which is trying to push its soap brands into the interior areas, uses radio to reach the local people in their language.
Coca-Cola uses a combination of TV, cinema and radio to reach 53.6 per cent of rural households. It doubled its spend on advertising on Doordarshan, which alone reached 41 per cent of rural households. It has also used banners, posters and tapped all the local forms of entertainment. Since price is a key issue in the rural areas, Coca-Cola advertising stressed its `magical' price point of Rs 5 per bottle in all media.LG Electronics uses vans and road shows to reach rural customers. The company uses local language advertising. Philips India uses wall writing and radio advertising to drive its growth in rural areas.
The key dilemma for MNCs eager to tap the large and fast-growing rural market is whether they can do so without hurting the company's profit margins. In case of nestle, company's product portfolio is essentially designed for urban consumers which cautions companies from plunging headlong into the rural market as capturing rural consumers can be expensive.
Role of Rural Retailing
Retailing is the final phase of the distribution channel and it is clear by now that it is availability and distribution that drives growth in rural Indian markets. Hence retailing will be significant and will undergo greater organisation and maturity as is being witnessed in the urban markets, even in the rural markets. Innovative retail models which take into account the nuances of rural markets is the way forward.
Format
Chaupal Sagar cannot be shoehorned into any of the existing retailing categories. At 7,000 square feet, it is too small to be a mall.
It has opted for self-service, stocking its merchandise on shelves lining the neat aisles, it stocks a breadth of products no supermarket can. It offers almost everything - from toothpastes to televisions, hair oils to motorcycles, mixer-grinders to water pumps, shirts to fertilisers... It defies pigeonholing. It is just a very sharply thought-out rural store.
Most of the brands it sells are national such as Marico, LG, Philips, torches from Eveready, shirts from ITC's apparel business, bikes from TVS, and tractors from Eicher.
Facilities
Spread over 5 acres of land at Sehore in Madhya Pradesh: -
Rural shopping malls will be open from 6 am to 9 pm.
Features and facilities at these ITC malls can overshadow those in the metros. The ITC store sells everything that a rural consumer may ask for - sarees to kurta-pyjamas to shirts (in the range of Rs 99-500), footwear, groceries, electronic durable from TVs to microwaves, cosmetics and other accessories, farm consumption products like seeds, fertilisers, pumps, generators and even tractors, motorcycles and scooters.
Banking and automated teller machines will be standard at the malls.
Insurance products for farmers.
Entertainment facilities, restaurants, public facilities and parking space will also be available.
There is even a fuel pump in tie-up with BPCL and a cafeteria.
Parking lot for 160 tractors.
There will be a primary healthcare facility to be serviced by a private healthcare service provider.
Information centres: The company will create the facility for providing online information on commodity rates and weather.
Shopping malls will have a training facility on modern farm techniques.
Farmers can come and log on to the Internet and check the pricing and sell their commodities.
There will also be godowns for storing the wheat and soybean and also for stocking products retailed at the mall.
Business Model
The business model of Chaupal Sagar is linked closely with the E-chaupal initiative of ITC.
Role of ITC is to create infrastructure such as space, computers, and building.
ITC will charge a fee for the services and items sold at the mall.
E-CHAUPAL: E-Chaupal is the backbone of these rural malls. While the first layer (E-Chaupal) provides the farmers necessary information about weather and prices, this hypermarket initiative will provide them another platform to sell their produce and purchase necessary farm and household goods under the same roof.
The e-Choupal model required that ITC to make significant investments to create and maintain its own IT network in rural India and to identify and train a local farmer to manage each e-Choupal.
E-Choupal combines a Web portal in the local language and PCs with Internet access placed in the villages to create a two-way channel between ITC and the villagers. The project started with a pilot in June 2000 in Madhya Pradesh with Soybean farmers. Currently, it covers six states, and multiple commodities like prawns, cotton and coffee with 4000 Choupals.
Plans are to reach 15 states by 2010, covering 100,000 villages with 20,000 Choupals.
Each e-Choupal (equipped with a PC with Internet connectivity, printer and UPS) typically housed in the farmer's house, is linked to the Internet via phone lines or, increasingly, by a VSAT connection, and serves an average of 600 farmers in 10 surrounding villages within about a five kilometer radius. Using the system costs farmers nothing, but the host farmer, called a sanchalak, incurs some operating costs (The IT part of each e-Choupal costs about Rs 1.3 lakh, each e-Choupal is estimated to pay back for itself in 4.5 years) and is obligated by a public oath to serve the entire community; the sanchalak benefits from increased prestige and a commission paid him for all e-Choupal transactions. The farmers can use the computer to access daily closing prices on local mandis, as well as to track global price trends or find information about new farming techniques-either directly or, because many farmers are illiterate, via the sanchalak. They also use the e-Choupal to order seed, fertilizer, and other products such as consumer goods from ITC or its partners, at prices lower than those available from village traders; the sanchalak typically aggregates the village demand for these products and transmits the order to an ITC representative. At harvest time, ITC offers to buy the crop directly from any farmer at the previous day's closing price; the farmer then transports his crop to an ITC processing center, where the crop is weighed electronically and assessed for quality. The farmer is then paid for the crop and a transport fee. "Bonus points," which are exchangeable for products that ITC sells, are given for crops with quality above the norm. In this way, the e-Choupal system bypasses the government-mandated trading mandis.
Farmers benefit from more accurate weighing, faster processing time, and prompt payment, and from access to a wide range of information, including accurate market price knowledge, and market trends, which help them decide when, where, and at what price to sell. Farmers selling directly to ITC through an e-Choupal typically receive a higher price for their crops than they would receive through the mandi system, on average about 2.5% higher (about US$6 per ton). The total benefit to farmers includes lower prices for inputs and other goods, higher yields, and a sense of empowerment. At the same time, ITC benefits from net procurement costs that are about 2.5% lower (it saves the commission fee and part of the transport costs it would otherwise pay to traders who serve as its buying agents at the mandi) and it has more direct control over the quality of what it buys.
By building a network of warehouses near the production centres and by providing inputs to the farmers and test output at the individual farm level, ITC is able to preserve the source and quality information of produce purchased. By helping the farmer identify and control his inputs and farming practices and by paying better for better quality, ITC is able to improve the quality of produce that it purchases. In the commodities market, these two combine to help ITC create the differentiator that it set out to establish in the beginning.
ITC gains additional benefits from using this network as a distribution channel for its products (and those of its partners) and a source of innovation for new products. It is also being used to provide services like rural market research to those interested.
Strategy for Success
Use of ITC warehouses
This will help in cost control as well as better utilisation of space in these warehouses. It will also provide convenience and familiarity with the target customer.
Targeted at Farmers selling to ITC warehouse through E-chaupal
With its network of e-chaupals, ITC communicates its latest commodity prices to the farmers via the Internet or VSAT lines. If they find these attractive, they sell their produce to ITC. The sanchalak (the person who operates an e-chaupal; most of them are farmers) of villages near these malls reckons that half the farmers in his village deal only with ITC. Now, by setting up the mall next to the warehouse, ITC is trying to monetise the footfalls from farmers; that is every time sanchalaks- and farmers visit ITC's soybean factories in MP to sell their produce, they also have the opportunity to spend their freshly earned cash.
ITC realised that the farmers had just got money, that they would spend it anyway, and that they had an empty vehicle with which they could lug the stuff back.
ITC intends to capture the rural folks' out-of-village shopping
The warehouse is one bulwark of its strategy, obviously. But the farmers will come here only after every harvest. To ensure that they keep coming to Chaupal Sagar even at other times, the company is offering a slew of other goodies. Another building is coming up next to the main warehouse. When completed, it will house a bank, a cafeteria, apart from an insurance office and a learning centre. ITC has tied up with agri-institutes to offer farmer training programmes. Then, plots of land have been earmarked to display large agricultural machinery like threshers. Other parcels of land have been earmarked for pesticide and fertiliser companies for demonstrating their products. A petrol pump is coming up as well.
To attract footfalls during the lean season, ITC plans to organise various activities and events including melas,training programs, demonstrations.
The hubs are strategically located to attract suburban crowds as well.
Retail channel for its own brands as well as for other brands
Working through the sanchalaks, ITC first pushed its own products, like salt, into the hinterland, and then invited others like Parachute and Philips to ride on this distribution chain. Today, it plans to similarly create revenue streams around its warehouses.
Financing Scheme
ITC is investing initially Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million) in each such shopping mall. However it is working out a strategy to make it cost-effective for them.
To keep its own investment to the minimum, ITC is encouraging the samyojak - a local broker or middleman co-opted by ITC - to pick up equity and manage these shops as part owners.
Assisted by four ITC salesmen, the samyojaks will assess demand, ensure just-in-time delivery, manage customer service and keep accounts.
Uniqueness Of the Model: lies in the fact that it works equally well for ITC as the buyer of farm produce and ITC as the seller of desirables.
Charge fees from the brands being showcased at the mall as well as for the services being provided at the Mall.
Results & Expectations
During the peak season, a hub sees traffic of about 200 tractors per day on an average, as farmers come to sell their crops at the hubs.
Initial response: On the first day the store notched up a business of about Rs 70,000-80,000. Footfall of about 700-800 people on weekdays and soaring to 1,000 on weekends with conversion levels of 35%.
Future Plans
ITC chairman Yogi Deveshwar has promised his shareholders that the company would open 1,000 rural malls in India. This is the first one to have come up.
Encouraged by its image as a fair and reliable buyer of farm produce, ITC decided to invest in 5-acre malls, costing between Rs 3-5 crore each, across 15 states. The first five - four in Madhya Pradesh and one in UP - will be inaugurated by March 2004.
The first shopping mall is being set up near Sehore, and the second one will come up in June near Itarsi in Oshangabad district.
ITC is planning to set up 40 rural shopping centres in those. states where it has a presence through its e-chaupals and IT hubs spread across rural Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Haryali Bazaars Bring Organised Retailing to Farmers
Having successfully pioneered a new concept of Haryali Kissan Bazaars in 2002 in Hardoi, agri-inputs focused DCM Sriram Consolidated Ltd. (DSCL) opened eight more (Ladwa in Haryana, Ferozepur in Punjab, Kota in Rajasthan and four locations in UP).
The store complex is spread over 2-3 acres and caters to all the farmers requirements (both DCM Sriram products & other sources): farm inputs ((fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, animal feed), farm implements, spare parts, irrigation equipment, spraying equipment. Further, the uniformed salesman, an agricultural graduate, gives free agricultural related advice in personal interactions or through mobile phones (averaging 20 calls a day). Twenty such stores, each catering to 100 villages, are planned by 2005.
Innovative Rural Retail Models
Indian FMCG firms with rural experience have typically used three rural retail methods--direct distribution structures, van operations and super-stockist structures. Each of these methods need to be evaluated taking into consideration the current network, cost impact of the proposed structure and quality control issue associated with each of these structures.
Direct Retail/Distribution Structures
Project Shakti
Project Shakti - Hindustan Lever Ltd's (HLL) rural self-help group initiative to push the penetration of its products to reach areas of low access and low market potential.
Objective
HLL's conventional hub-and-spoke distribution model, which it uses to great effect in both urban and semi-urban markets, wouldn't be cost-effective in penetrating the smaller villages.
The effort is to create a WIN-WIN SITUTAION.
Through a combination of micro-credit and training in enterprise management, women from self-help groups have turned direct-to-home distributors of a range of HLL products and helping the company plumb hitherto unexplored rural hinterlands.
Concept
The Project is a retail/distribution model that HLL established in late 2000 to sell its products through women self-help groups who operate like a direct-to-home team of sales women in inaccessible areas where HLL's conventional sales system does not reach.
Strategy for Success
1. Social Angle
Create "income-generating capabilities for underprivileged rural women by providing a sustainable micro-enterprise opportunity".
To improve rural living standards through "health and hygiene awareness".
2. Commercial Angle
For HLL, it is "enlightened self-interest".
Creating opportunities to increase rural family incomes puts more money in their hands to purchase the range of daily consumption products - from soaps to toothpastes - that HLL makes.
It also enables HLL access hitherto unexplored rural hinterlands.
How Does It Work?
To get started the Shakti woman borrows from her SHG and the company itself chooses only one person. With training and handholding by the company for the first three months, she begins her door-to-door journey selling her wares.
A Shakti entrepreneur receives stocks at her doorstep from the HLL rural distributor and sells direct to consumers as well as to other retailers in the village.
Each Shakti entrepreneur services 6-10 villages in the population strata of 1,000 - 2,000 people.
Typically,a Shakti entrepreneur sets off with 4-5 chief brands from the HLL portfolio - Lifebuoy, Wheel, Pepsodent, Annapurna salt and Clinic Plus. Other brands which find favour with a rural audience are: Lux, Ponds, Nihar and 3 Roses tea.
The women avail of micro-credit through banks. Some of the established Shakti dealers are now selling Rs. 10,000 - Rs. 15,000 worth of products a month and making a gross profit of Rs. 700 - Rs. 1,000 a month. Each Shakti dealer covers 6-10 villages, which have a population of less 2,000. The company is creating demand for its products by having its Shakti dealers educating consumers on aspects like health and hygiene.
HLL-SHG Business Model
Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) India's largest consumer goods company has a large distribution network comprising 5,000 re-distribution stockists and 40 C&FAs (Clearing and Forwarding Agent). Yet this network covers only 75,000 villages directly out of the total 6,00,000 villages in India. A tie up with SHGs can take HLL products to many more villages directly.
Trading opportunities with stable companies with established rural brands (Lifebuoy, Lux, Wheel, Clinic and 3 Roses tea etc) could be a boon to women members of SHGs.
How Does It Work?
A pilot project (christened Project Shakti) was launched in Nalgonda in December 2000 in a small cluster of 50 villages with 50 SHGs and 3 MACTS (Mutually Aided Co-operative Thrift Society, a federation of around 20 SHGs).
There are 3 partners and their roles are: -
MACTS/SHGs: sell/retail HLL products
HLL: supplies products, provides marketing and promotion support
MART: facilitates the process, provides business training inputs
Capacity Building of MACTS and SHGs
Achievement Motivation Training programmes have been conducted to create a desire among women for starting their own business.
Formal training of group leaders and other members have been conducted to help them become successful entrepreneurs.
Level 1: Basic orientation to HLL business and brands.
Level 2: Enterprise management and marketing.
Animators have been appointed (stipend paid by HLL) to promote sale.
'Shakti Day', an artificially created market place in the village with specially devised communication kits is conducted regularly where special discounts and schemes are offered to increase sale.
Results & Expectations
Accounts for 10-15 per cent of HLL's rural sales. The statistic assumes significance as the rural market constitutes over 40 per cent of HLL's total sales of about Rs 10,000 crore.
HLL has seen 15 per cent incremental sales from rural Andhra, which contributes 50 per cent to overall sales from Andhra of HLL products.
Lot of consumer understanding and insights comes from an exercise like Project Shakti, which in turn can lead to product innovation.
I-Shakti', an IT-based rural information service that will provide solutions to key rural needs in the areas of agriculture, education, vocational training, health and hygiene.
Future Plans
Given the success of the model piloted in Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh in 2001, the company has plans to expand Project Shakti in 400 districts by 2006. By the end of 2004, it plans to cover 100 districts. At the moment, it reaches about 10,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka and works through 800 self-help groups (SHGs).
The company intends to extend the model across Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and UP and TamilNadu markets. The Shakti vision, is to have by 2007 at least 10,000 Shakti dealers, covering a lakh villages and touching at least 100 million consumers.
Company is in dialogue with non-competing companies like Philips (bulbs) for a partnership to distribute their products through the network that HLL has established. The company is in talks with insurance companies such as ICICI Prudential and Max New York Life to sell policies through its `Shakti dealers'. Sources said that a battery maker is also in talks with the company as it is not a product in the HLL portfolio.
Super-Stockist Channel
Project Streamline
The company had earlier also launched Operation Streamline to further increase its rural reach with the help of rural sub-stockists. It had appointed 6,000 such stockists, the distribution network directly covering about 50,000 villages reaching about 250 million consumers. HLL conceptualised Project Streamline to enhance its control on the rural supply chain through a network of rural sub-stockists based in these villages. This gave the company the required competitive edge, and extended its direct reach to 37 per cent of the country's rural population.
Key Points
To increase the reach in rural areas.
Rural Distributor will have around 20 stockists attached to him who performs the role of driving distribution in villages using unconventional means of transport such as tractor, bullock, etc.
This gave the company the required competitive edge, and extended its direct reach to 37 per cent of the country's rural population.
This strategy has supposed to increase the market share of HLL in rural areas by about 3%.
Control on the rural supply chain through a network of rural sub-stockists, who are based in the villages only.
Others
Marico launched a major initiative into rural markets by appointing 2,400 sub-stockists in the last two years. Recently, Dabur also finished a pilot project for its super-stockists in Patna and has now rolled it out in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Reckitt has also adopted the super-stockist system in Tamil Nadu and plans to set up such a system all over the country in the next year, with the target of covering one million outlets in the next three years.
Van Operations
Project Bharat
In 1998 HLL's personal products unit initiated Project Bharat, the first and largest rural home-to-home operation to have ever been prepared by any company. The project covered 13 million rural households by the end of 1999.
During the course of operation, HLL had vans visiting villages across the country distributing sample packs comprising a low-unit-price pack each of shampoo, talcum powder, toothpaste and skin cream priced at Rs 15. This was to create awareness of the company's product categories and of the affordability of the products.
The personal products unit subsequently rolled out a second phase of the sampling initiative to target villages with a population of over 2,000.
Project Bharat, a massive rural sampling initiative in two phases. They have carried out one of the largest sampling exercises for this purpose to overcome barriers like lack of brand awareness, ignorance of product benefits and complete absence of any first-hand experience of usage.
Recommendations
The business model for rural retail can be successful only when integration between the profit and social motive is apparent. The social angle needs to be pronounced for it to be acceptable.
Empowerment in terms of economic power, purchasing power, knowledge and information dissemination is crucial for rural retail ventures to succeed. The model should empower the rural consumer and at the same time take advantage of this empowerment through creation of demand for its own products and that of its partners.
The level of penetration except for certain products, has been negligible so far. However, so far as the rural share in consumer expendables like cooking oil, tea, electric bulbs, hair oil, shampoo, toilet soap, toothpaste, washing cakes and washing powder is concerned, their share on an average, is much higher than consumer durables. Though the rural-urban differentials are not so pronounced in the case of durables, the rural market penetration is low with respect to urban areas. However, in case of health beverages and cosmetics like shampoos, nail polish and lipsticks, large gaps exist. Hence these products provide substantial opportunity to enter the rural markets.
Definitely there is lot of money in rural India. But there are hindrances at the same time. The greatest hindrance is that the rural market is still evolving and there is no set format to understand consumer behaviour. Lot of study is still to be conducted in order to understand the rural consumer. Only FMCGs with deeper pockets, unwavering rural commitment and staying power will be able to stay longer on this rural race and hence should venture into this territory.
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Monday, June 15, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Focus: Will 'Aam Aadmi Party' Deliver The True 'Swaraj'?
Ever since the AAP's win in Delhi, there have been a spate of articles on right wing websites, questioning the rationale of issues that form the core of the AAP's political ideologies.
Friday, November 01, 2013
'Happy Birthday Andhra Pradesh': A Sad Day Of Formation And Likely Bifurcation Makes People To 'Think Twice'!
By M H Ahssan / INN Live
'Happy Birthday Andhra Pradesh' has a sad tinge to it today. For this November 1 could well be the last Andhra Pradesh Formation Day that the state is celebrating in its present form. If the Congress has its way, by December, the state would be cut into two to create a new state of Telangana with ten districts while the remaining 13 districts would continue to call themselves Andhra Pradesh.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Telangana People's struggle
Under the British, India was ruled basically by two types of rulers: (a) the British administered provinces of India The Provinces of India were those portions of India ruled directly by officials of the British East India Company and, from 1858 to Indian independence in 1947, by Great Britain. known as British IndiaBritish India
The part of the Indian subcontinent under direct British administration until India's independence in 1947.
.......and (b) 'princely India' or those state governed by princes, maharajas, rajas, and nababs. Among them, Hydarabad was the largest one, which was under the Nizam prince, and Telangana is one out of three linguistic regions--Telagu, Marathwada and Kannada--of Hydarabad. The Telangana revolt began in the middle of 1946 and lasted for five years. It was an armed resistance of women and men to the feudal oppression or against the princely state A princely state is any state under the reign of a prince and is thus a principality taken in the broad sense. The term refers not only to sovereign nations ruled by monarchs but also to lower polities ruled by various high nobles (often vassals in a feudal system). in Telangana. It was a struggle against the autocratic rule of Nizam and the Zamindari system. (1) There were three types of land holding systems--sarf-e-khas (the land controlled by Nizam and his family from where revenues collected were used for their personal expenses) and Jagirs (the land which has given to Jagirdars) and diwani or government land. Jagirdars were those who were loyal to the Nizam enjoying their own police, revenue, civil and criminal systems. They had received Jagirs and become revenue officers or generals in the army. They also had right over forest and fisheries fisheries. From earliest times and in practically all countries, fisheries have been of industrial and commercial importance. In the large N Atlantic fishing grounds off Newfoundland and Labrador, for example, European and North American fishing fleets have long , and exercised police and judicial functions. Having all the power they compelled people to various illegal exactions and forced labours. The peoples' conditions of Jagir areas were far more oppressed a people who were oppressed by tyranny.
2. than in the sarf-e-khas lands; the jagirdars and their agents were free to collect a variety of illegal taxes from the actual cultivators. Jagir lands were even above the jurisdiction of civil courts. There was also the Vetti (free services (O.Eng. Law) such feudal services as were not unbecoming the character of a soldier or a freemen to perform; as, to serve under his lord in war, to pay a sum of money, etc.
See also: Free to the proprietors) system. Every peasant was compelled to contribute Vetti to the Zamindar zam·in·dar also zem·in·dar
n.
1. An official in precolonial India assigned to collect the land taxes of his district.
2. . Only after completing operations on the landlord's fields, peasants and labourers could work for themselves. A tenant and his family had a compulsion COMPULSION. The forcible inducement to au act.
2. Compulsion may be lawful or unlawful. 1. When a man is compelled by lawful authority to do that which be ought to do, that compulsion does not affect the validity of the act; as for example, when a court of to leave food in their plate and go to the landlord whenever called.
Women were more suppressed under this rule. Women were not allowed to feed their babies while working in the landlord's field. Women were repressed re·pressed
adj.
Being subjected to or characterized by repression. , not only in the field of free work or Vetti, but also sexually harassed and exploited. There were many examples of such suppression; if the landlord fancied a woman, she was taken as a consort. Sleeping with the landlord on the first night was a compulsion to newly married women. It was the landlords' prerogative An exclusive privilege. The special power or peculiar right possessed by an official by virtue of his or her office. In English Law, a discretionary power that exceeds and is unaffected by any other power; the special preeminence that the monarch has over and above all others, . So, peasant women, along with men, came into the Andra Maha Sabha (AMS AMS - Andrew Message System ) and started an armed struggle against the 'oppressive feudal system and the fundamentalist fundamentalist
An investor who selects securities to buy and sell on the basis of fundamental analysis. Compare technician. militia of the Nizam--the Razkars".
In 1928, people established Andhra Maha Sabha converting it from the Andhra Jana Sangam For other uses of Sangam see Sangam (disambiguation).
Sangams were Tamil academies, which according to Tamil legends, enabled poets and authors to gather periodically to publish their work.[1]. , which was established in 1921 with the objectives of social and cultural uplift of the Telugu people Telugu people are an ethnic group primarily located in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India and neighbouring areas such as Pondicherry, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Orissa (the areas bordering Andhra Pradesh). . It changed not only the name but also the objectives from socio-cultural to political activity. Earlier, it was common organization to all--The RSS (Really Simple Syndication) A syndication format that was developed by Netscape in 1999 and became very popular for aggregating updates to blogs and the news sites. RSS has also stood for "Rich Site Summary" and "RDF Site Summary. , Congress and even to the nonpolitical--who wanted change in society. In 1930, the Andra Mahila Sabha and, in 1937, the Mahila Nay Jivan Mandal had formed in co-ordination with AMS. These organizations are credited to bring women into the movement. During 1940-42, some important leaders of the AMS went under the communist leadership and assumed AMS into the character of a mass organization. AMS went into an armed struggle with decision made in November 1946. The struggle was extended form of grass root level resistance, using local weapons to resist against the regime. The movement was also considered in which "the Mao's thought was first put into practice out of China" (Louis 2002:49). The first struggle took place to support Ailimma, a women who was threatened by landlord's Goondas, taking up of local arms e.g. lathis, slings and stones for volunteers and pounding sticks and chilly powder for the women as well. Later, volunteer squads were not only formed but also trained in using these kinds of weapons. They started to make local weapons professionally. They even used modern weapons. Several struggles took place between squads and Nizam's supporters. The rebels seized arms 'raiding police stations and landlord's houses'. But women did not leave their strategy to use local means to defend themselves against the police. Women used to attack the police with pots full of chilly powder.
Ruler's oppression was not a single cause of women's participation in the revolt. Women-oriented programmes of Sanghams were other reasons; when such women's issues like wife-beating, early marriage of child age come up, the Shangam immediately called the people concerned, held debates and resolved the matters. Misbehaviour MISBEHAVIOUR. Improper or unlawful conduct. See 2 Mart. N. S. 683.
2. A party guilty of misbehaviour; as, for example, to threaten to do injury to another, may be bound to his good behaviour and thus restrained. See Good Behaviour.
3. to the women was started to be severely punished. These rules were practiced even in their organization which attracted women to join the Shangam. For instance, Shankar, a member of organization was accused of raping and mismanaging the party funds, and faced the firing squad. According to according to
prep.
1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.
2. In keeping with: according to instructions.
3. them, these punishments were declared by the people themselves as the correct line of action.
"Large number of peasants spontaneously participated in the struggle directed against the government, landlords and their agents. The insurgents Insurgents, in U.S. history, the Republican Senators and Representatives who in 1909–10 rose against the Republican standpatters controlling Congress, to oppose the Payne-Aldrich tariff and the dictatorial power of House speaker Joseph G. Cannon. had neither firearms This is an extensive list of small arms — pistol, machine gun, grenade launcher, anti-tank rifle — that includes variants.
: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
A-91 (Russia - Compact Assault Rifle - 5.
nor training but were required to use them. A few volunteers' corps had come into existence, which were not so much well organized guerrilla squads, but ad hoc For this purpose. Meaning "to this" in Latin, it refers to dealing with special situations as they occur rather than functions that are repeated on a regular basis. See ad hoc query and ad hoc mode. formation in response to the situation. Initially the revolt was spasmodic spasmodic /spas·mod·ic/ (spaz-mod´ik) of the nature of a spasm; occurring in spasms.
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spas·mod·ic
adj.
1. Relating to, affected by, or having the character of a spasm; convulsive. " (Dhanaghare 1983: 195) and later it became regular and usual between the people and state security forces when the rebellion received support from all, especially the women. By such enthusiastic participation both men and women, they were able to carry some social transformations in the society. They ousted several police stations from the village, Vetti was abolished and thousands of acres of land distributed, debts to be paid were dismissed. The struggle could not reached in the aim of the organizer; when the Indian union armies were deployed against the Nizam, the movement also started to face lots of troubles. After the Nizam surrender in September 1948 to the Indian Army, the communists and the movement became the target of the Indian Union Army. Then, the party and its cadre (company) CADRE - The US software engineering vendor which merged with Bachman Information Systems to form Cayenne Software in July 1996. were compelled to leave the villages. Party tried to organize the tribal people for fighting against the local governmental institutions e.g. forest officials and moneylenders "who subjected them to exploitation". However, it was not an alternative to continue emergency. The politburo politburo, the former central policy-making and governing body of the Communist party of the Soviet Union and, with minor variations, of other Communist parties. of the party, finally, took the decision on 21 October 1951 to call off the struggle citing "the increased repression by the Indian union army."
The Maoists Movement in Nepal
The Maoist insurgency in·sur·gen·cy
n. pl. in·sur·gen·cies
1. The quality or circumstance of being rebellious.
2. An instance of rebellion; an insurgence.
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insurgency, insurgence
1. , for the last ten years, spread all over the country. Some 15,000 people have already lost their lives since 13 February 1996. The cost of reconstruction of development infrastructure, until 2003, that was destroyed by the Maoists, is estimated to be NRs. 200 billion (2). Developmentalists argue that the Maoist insurgency 'is basically a social and economic issue and is produced and sustained by failed development' (Pandey 1999:12). It is true that the epicenter and heartland of the Maoist insurgency is Mid-west hill districts--Rolpa, Rukum, Salyan, Dailekh, Jajarkot etc.--which the Human Development index categorizes as the lowest rank districts of the country (NESAC NESAC National Electronic Switching Assistance Center (AT&T) 1998: 264-65). Not only this but also some political exclusions and brutal human rights violations are also fostering factors for the insurgency.
The involvement of women in the People's War People's War (Chinese language: 人民战争), also called protracted people's war, is a military-political strategy invented by Mao Zedong. The basic concept behind People's War is to maintain the support of the population and draw the enemy deep into (PW) lacks reliable data to determine the actual%age of women in different roles within the organization. Even statistics given by the Maoists are different from leader to leader. Hisila Yami Hisila Yami, alias Parvati (born June 25 1959 in Gorkha District), is a Nepalese politician and architect. She is a politburo member of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and a former president of the All Nepal Womens Association (Revolutionary). , the central committee member of the Maoists, has given tentative data by writing, "the participation of the women in people's liberation army People's Liberation Army
Unified organization of China's land, sea, and air forces. It is one of the largest military forces in the world. The People's Liberation Army traces its roots to the 1927 Nanchang Uprising of the communists against the Nationalists. are from 30 to 40 per cent" (Yami 2006: 66). For Sapana, company commander, more than 40 per cent are women in the People's Liberation Army (Mulyankan, Bhadra 2061: 14), and for Uma Bhujel, a central member who broke Gorkha jail and came back under open sky, the ratio is approximately 40 per cent in army and more than 50 per cent in other field (Ibid: 16). This is more closer to the number of figures in party and militia comprising approximately 40 per cent and in autonomous government and in industries, the number is above 50 per cent (Janadesh 2006: 8).
Here, a question must be raised about the causes, which inspired or compelled Nepali women to join the movement. It is said that some women are forced to join the Maoist movement by the Maoist and some are compelled to join by misbehaviour of the security forces. For example, Ganga and Sobha Thapa, who were 16 years old each and studying in grade nine in Satakhana School of Surkhet district Surkhet district, a part of Bheri zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Birendranagar as its district headquarters, covers an area of 2,451 km² and has a population (2001) of 288,527. , were abducted abducted Distal angulation of an extremity away from the midline of the body in a transverse plane and away from a sagittal plane passing through the proximal aspect of the foot or part, or away from some other specified reference point by the Maoist on 29 September, 2005 (3). Shanti
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Shanti (from Sanskrit शािन्त śāntiḥ) can mean:
Inner peace
Ksanti, is one of the paramitas of Buddhism
16, Resmi 16 and Binita 15 are the examples of how the security personnel irritated ir·ri·tate
v. ir·ri·tat·ed, ir·ri·tat·ing, ir·ri·tates
v.tr.
1. To rouse to impatience or anger; annoy: a loud bossy voice that irritates listeners. the students and general people. (4) Brutal suppressions of security forces have also encouraged young girls to join the militia either for their own security or for taking revenge. Being revengeful after the murder of their relatives by the security forces, women have participated in the Maoist organization. Sarita is a perfect example to support the argument. She took gun after her innocent brother was killed by the army (Paudel,2004:14). For the sake of revenge, she joined the movement. Low success in school leaving certificate The School Leaving Certificate is the final exam in Nepal secondary school system and is commonly called the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) Examination. Every student must appear in this exam after they complete grade 10th of their study before they join the higher examination and lack of training options for engaging students failing their school level examination is another main factor for their joining the Maoist movement in order to escape idleness and frustration (Karki and Bhattarai 2003:5)
Apart from that, propaganda of women's liberation Women's Liberation
Noun
a movement promoting the removal of inequalities based upon the assumption that men are superior to women Also called: (women's lib) , equality in the Maoists organization in opportunity, in award and promotion, the hope of all kinds of emancipation, and on-going women related social reform programmes like anti-alcohol, anti-gambling campaigns, anti-sexual violence programmes, anti-women exploitation programmes are the main attractions for women participate and support the movement. Some are there only for "romance, pleasure, and luxury". But, there is a consensus that the credit has to be given to the Maoists for "widespread women's awareness in the Nepalese history" (Mulyankan, August-September 2004: 13).
Slogans about 'progressive education' rather than 'bourgeois education' and love/ courtship courtship
paying attention to a member of the opposite sex with a view to mating; occurs in farm animals but is not highly developed other than estral display by the female and seeking by the male, activities that are rather more pragmatic than implied in the definition. is also a vital factor for women's attraction. Orthodox social system towards the widow is another cause for compelling women to join. In Nepal, generally, girls are not allowed to choose their own partners and to decide her marriage; still the society does not tolerate love marriage easily. If the love affair is inter-caste, acceptance is difficult by both, the parents and the society. Increment To add a number to another number. Incrementing a counter means adding 1 to its current value. of Widow population and the unchanged social perception on widow marriage seems another factor, which led women to join the movement. After Maoist movement, 15,000 people are killed; most of them are male leaving behind young widows in the society. However, the society does not accept a widow-marriage easily. In a patriarchal society in Nepal, if people are involved in these activities, a female have to face social degradation in comparison to their male counterparts. In such a situation, the Maoist movement became accommodative to socially mistreated women. It is said that a majority of women in the movement are "influenced by superficial factors (Bhool Bhulaiya) than deep knowledge and understanding of state affairs, political process, gender exploitation, women rights etc" (Adhikari 2006, an unpublished paper). Denying these factors, Hisila Yami, a senior woman Maoists leader said that the women are not recruited for party's "contemporary advantages" but hired because of "their double resistance capacity than man" (Mulyankan, August-September, 2004: 12-18).
To sum up the social reality, which promoted women to join the Maoists movement, we can agree with the argument made by a political scientist Kapil shrestha. He argues, "after democracy in 1990 some positive changes towards women participation in politics has appeared, but sociologically speaking most of the Nepalese women politicians belong to 'the small upper strata of urban, middle class, upper caste caste [Port., casta=basket], ranked groups based on heredity within rigid systems of social stratification, especially those that constitute Hindu India. Some scholars, in fact, deny that true caste systems are found outside India. and educated elite background not from the rural, grassroots or low caste background" (Shrestha 2001).
Comparison
We can compare both struggles on the basis of its objectives, goals and achievements. Apart from that, the paper tried to examine validities and reliabilities by observing available narratives, and data of both the movement. First, the Telengana movement was declared against the Nizam's oppression. The Telengana struggle supported to abolish the Nizam feudalism feudalism (fy`dəlĭzəm), form of political and social organization typical of Western Europe from the dissolution of Charlemagne's empire to the rise of the absolute monarchies. from Telengana. It seemed that the Telengana struggle was more focused on democracy and freedom. However, the Maoist Movement in Nepal has been launched after the restoration of democracy in 1990, which provisioned, at least, freedom to the people. Abolishing the monarchy and establishing the "Democratic Republic" were the said specific objectives of the Maoists of Nepal.
Second, the Telengana movement had supported the independent struggle of India from British colony. If such a disturbance had not occurred in several parts of India, Britain could have taken the independent struggle at face value and they could have tried to use more force against the struggle. People were able to raise slogan against the feudal and brutal regime and able to abolish not only local principality but also it's backbone--the colonial power. Ultimately, the Nizam principality was abolished after the departure of the British from India.
Although the Maoists have shown their eagerness to join the "competitive democracy" and signed different agreements (12-point agreements in November 2005 and Eight points agreements in June 2005) with seven party alliance (SPA), their earlier targets were SPA cadres in the villages undermining democracy. The Maoists killed, injured in·jure
tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures
1. To cause physical harm to; hurt.
2. To cause damage to; impair.
3. and compelled people to leave the village, who were believed to be at least progressive than any feudal regimes. The SPA cadres were not only tortured but also banned from launching political activities in the Maoists-influenced-areas. Apart from such 'undemocratic' behaviours against the democratic forces, the Maoists claimed that they had a "tacit understanding" with King Birendra. These activities of the Maoists compelled the people to be skeptical. The doubt of the people was 'the objectives of the Maoists movement was not to strengthen the freedom and democracy but to support the undemocratic and feudal regime'. The suspicion of the people over the Maoists was obvious because the monarchy itself has been considered as "the main obstacle for strengthening the democracy in Nepal".
The doubt of the people over the Maoists increased, when both Maoists and the king trapped democratic forces or parliamentary parties, in Nepal. On the one hand, as mentioned earlier, the Maoists banned the movements of the parliamentary parties in the countryside, which made the government unable for holding of the parliamentary and local elections. On the other, the king started ruling the country blaming the democratic government for its' 'incompetence' to holding the election and for maintaining the peace and security in the country. It is said that the democratic process was initially disturbed by rampant violent activities of the Maoists; even the democratically elected government was triggered to impose the state of emergency and termed the Maoists as 'terrorists'. The Maoist activities became major 'trump card' for the king to be used in asking support for his autocratic regime.
As a consequence more than forty thousand women's representation in different democratic agencies was directly hit antagonizing them. However, the Maoists defended such antagonism antagonism /an·tag·o·nism/ (an-tag´o-nizm) opposition or contrariety between similar things, as between muscles, medicines, or organisms; cf. antibiosis.
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an·tag·o·nism
n. as the initial compulsion when they were weak. Prachanda, in an interview defended it and said such strategy was there only for "extended political disclose to establish the ideology and to preserve the power when the party was overall weak in ideology, politics, organization and physical power". Now, according to him, they are trying to bring all possible force together because they are now "strong and reached near the strategic aim" (Prachanda in Janadesh 2006: 15-16).
Third, both the struggles, the Maoist movement and Telengana movement have definitely empowered women, sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly. Although the Telangana struggle was called off without success, it has has brought some qualitative changes in women and in their life. After 40 years of the unsuccessful struggle, women still have no guilty feeling for the struggle but they took pride on it. Somaka of Vimpati who participated in Telangana struggle says, "in those days, could we sit and talk to you like this? Today we can do that. If we dressed up well, if we put kumkum The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter.
Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. they used to say, what does she think herself?" (Sangathana 1989: 16). For her, that sort of empowerment was gained by the struggle, although the entire problems were not solved. Another woman participant Kausila was also satisfied by the achieved things. She says, "we didn't know what was behind this wall. We could never go out. Now we go out and look to our agricultural works (Ibid: 16)."
One question may be raised about how the women are empowered by the Maoist's movement. Some direct and indirect factors created by the movement, however, have led the women to be empowered. The Maoists' conflict compelled majority of the male members to leave their home into urban area or escape to the jungle to join the Maoist guerrilla force Noun 1. guerrilla force - an irregular armed force that fights by sabotage and harassment; often rural and organized in large groups
guerilla force . Women have thus been 'compelled to take the responsibility of running households. They have compulsion to go and take part to express their opinion in front of mass and so on. Women were compelled even to plough the field to feed their family members, which was restricted earlier. Engaging more in the public life than ever before, they have become more vocal in community activities.
On the other hand, the active involvement of women in both political and military organizations of the Maoist party has boosted the confidence of the Nepali women as a whole. This has indeed produced a wide-ranging impact on the Nepali state. Now, the government itself has started to recruit women into the Royal Nepal Army. The parliamentary forces also have realized the need to launch more progressive and reformist programmes to increase the role of women in the political participation.
Taking all these factors into consideration, we can conclude that women were sensitized sensitized /sen·si·tized/ (sen´si-tizd) rendered sensitive.
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sensitized
rendered sensitive.
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sensitized cells
see sensitization (2). and made aware about their role in the society. On the other hand, they are affected badly by the ongoing conflict. Women have become double victim due to the People's War. First, they are the direct victims of the security force as they are participants, relatives, wives, daughters and mothers of the rebels. They are continuously threatened, tortured and harassed in the name of inquiry as well as raped, killed, and disappeared as suspects, rebellion and also relatives of rebels. Second, the Maoists also demand lodging, food, money and sex from women any time and any day. Rapes by the Maoists have been frequently reported in the press and field work reports, conducted by individual visitors and human rights groups. The Maoists are also following the security forces' footstep to torture people suspecting them as informers, opponents and class enemies. Third, women are compelled to bear the double burden because of absence of their male members who are either killed or are compelled to flee from their domicile domicile (dŏm`əsīl'), one's legal residence. This may or may not be the place where one actually resides at any one time. The domicile is the permanent home to which one is presumed to have the intention of returning whenever the purpose .
Although, the Maoist claims itself as a radical party but it is also not far from being feudal towards the issue of women. Only two women members--Hisila Yami and Pampha Bhusal--are among the 27 Politburo members. The same women members of the Politburo are also in the 39--member Central Committee. In the case of female leaders, only two women--Pampha Bhusal and Hisila Yami--among the 40% women representation in the Maoist movement--have represented in politburo and central level. In the military wing, there is no single woman in the division commander where most decisions are made. But We have to say that the issue of gender is highlighted and sensitized in the Nepali society.
After having a look on Latchampas elaboration, we can conclude that the women in Telangana struggle faced same problem whatever Nepali women are facing now; the fear of rape and sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. , torture etc. They kept secrets and protected other party workers especially the male by facing all the troubles of the state security (5). But they blamed the party for not being able to evolve any policy regarding the women. The charges over the party by women is not only about its policy towards women in the organization, their main grievances are that the party initially appreciated and welcomed women's support in the movement by wooing, and later it distressed them in the way without any alternatives. Some of them left their husbands, kids and home in the name of 'emancipation', but they got nothing but more trouble. Reminding Party's promise to women thwarted thwart
tr.v. thwart·ed, thwart·ing, thwarts
1. To prevent the occurrence, realization, or attainment of: They thwarted her plans.
2. their involvement in the struggle, Mallu Swaraj, who commanded a guerrilla squad and was a legend in the Telangana, says:
In the party, they will see only what the movement needs ... So
when struggle was withdrawn they told us to go and marry ... we
fought with them. We said that even if the forms of struggle had
changed we should be given some work (Sangathana 1989: 271-272).
But when the movement was called off, the party had not fulfilled its promise by giving work to women. They themselves, who spent their whole active life in the movement, often felt suppressed when the party withdrew the struggle and asked the women to go back and marry. Women are mentally tortured by such an immature decision of party. Priyamvada who spent years in the struggle said that "she often felt like committing suicide" (Sangathana 1989:272)." Sugunamma's observation is an example how they got frustrated frus·trate
tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates
1.
a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: after party's order to women "go back and marry". She says:
They have used us so long and now they say go stay at home. How
could they even understand what the situation was at home? What
mental torture--I was really upset. That was my first taste of
suffering (ibid).
Kamalama and Salama are the examples of exploitation by the party where Kamalama, now, is begging in her village to feed her children and is carrying "liquor and worked as a wage labor to bring up her sons" (Ibid). They themselves are in doubt whether they got some achievements or not because, according to Pesara Sattemma (Sangathana 1989: 221-227), the struggle's initial aim was for land ownership and against the Vetti. Vetti was abolished but women were not successful in getting land on their own name. Women considered that situation as big blow and insult to them. Priyambada, another women participant in the struggle, explained struggle as failed action to address the agenda of women. She says, "after the parliamentary election and police action, these dreams This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.
You can assist by [ editing it] now. were--smashed-crushed like an egg. What a blow it was, after the elections, do we know where we were? Like a proverbial pro·ver·bi·al
adj.
1. Of the nature of a proverb.
2. Expressed in a proverb.
3. Widely referred to, as if the subject of a proverb; famous. rug ... lying exactly where it was through" (Sangathana 1989) Ultimately, when the movement was ended, women neither got land, nor enjoyed other sort of settlement. The slogan 'all sorts of emancipation' remained a fantasy.
Everyone who knows the situation of women after calling off the Telengana struggle has always raised the question, fearing whether the Maoist movement will also go the same way as that of Telengana struggle? The fear is real because there were no women participation at the decision-making level in Telengana movement. The condition remains the same in the Maoists movement because only two women members--Hisila Yami and Pampha Bhusal--were among the 27 Politburo members. No women are there in standing committee, which is the supreme body of the party. And, only three (two representing in politburo also, and another was Uma Bhujel) members are in the 39--Member Central Committee. Now, the Maoist party has dissolved the standing committee and the politburo; all the power has been centralized cen·tral·ize
v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es
v.tr.
1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate.
2. , which according to them, is because of their forth-coming general convention. In the military wing, there is only a single woman, Sapana is the company commander where they claim 40-50 per cent women's are working under them. The party and its women are still eager to raise the agenda of women participation in all the sectors.
After the Janaandolan II (Peoples' movement), the reinstated parliament has unanimously provisioned 33 per cent reservation to women in Nepal. The concern of the people is how this decision of the parliament would be implemented. The decision of 33 per cent reservation to the women seems unique and progressive in South Asia This article is about the geopolitical region in Asia. For geophysical treatments, see Indian subcontinent.
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia . People are having a doubt over its' implementation because of the traditional thinking of all the political forces over women in Nepal; till date, every party has offered the opportunities to the women for fulfilling the quotas. Recently after the Janaandolan II also, the position of the parties on the issues of women remained unchanged. Only a state ministerial portfolio has been given to the women; neither the Maoists nor the SPA sent any women in their dialogue teams, and in the interim constitution drafting committee.
After reading the narratives of the participants of the Telengana struggle, the research has concluded that radical agendas would be harmful for society, if the agendas were raised just to woo the people. It will not only be harmful to the organizer, but also to the individual or participants making them frustrated. Such frustration may possibly direct another revolt. The Telangana movement should be taken as a guide in which the CPI (1) (Characters Per Inch) The measurement of the density of characters per inch on tape or paper. A printer's CPI button switches character pitch.
(2) (Counts Per I called off the movement in 1951 but the party was not able to control its' activists to join another revolt. Those who were not satisfied by both, the achievement and the party's decision to end the struggle, tried to reorganize re·or·gan·ize
v. re·or·gan·ized, re·or·gan·iz·ing, re·or·gan·iz·es
v.tr.
To organize again or anew.
v.intr.
To undergo or effect changes in organization. such a struggle. After being unable to resume revolt by the same party, they tried to form an alternate party Alternate party diversion is an optional feature of telephone services, where a call may be routed to a different number based on time-out and precedence schemes set up by the customer. . Ultimately, in 1964, the split took place in the CPI and CPI (M) was created in the initiation of those dissatisfied members, which again continued armed struggle against the Andhra rulers in 1969 demanding "separate Telangana state" (Mohanty 2005:11-15). So, one can conclude that if some one takes weapon, s(he) rarely will quit the weapons before reaching to his target. Experiences show that all revolutionary parties and their accountable leaders can analyze the entire situation and decide to compromise by suspending and even giving up the armed struggle but applying such theory in cadres and followers followers
see dairy herd. , who took weapons after suppressed and marginalized feeling, has not succeed properly. For them, 'do continue the revolt and die in the battle field' is better than being back before getting something. The leader of the Maoists must think to prevent such possibility, and hopefully that may be the signal of thinking over it by the Maoists supreme commander when he realized that "whatever has supported for successful development of the people's war, it is the both, main possibility and main threat."
It is the desperate need of time to Nepali Maoists leaders to think and rethink about the hindrances those hindrances felt long before by Priyamvada, Sugunamma, Kamalama and Sattemma, and that group which split and re-organized the revolt after the wind up of the Telengana people's struggle. Every top-level leaders of the groups including the Maoists, which raised the radical agendas, must learn lesson from Telengana before they take any step forward.
The part of the Indian subcontinent under direct British administration until India's independence in 1947.
.......and (b) 'princely India' or those state governed by princes, maharajas, rajas, and nababs. Among them, Hydarabad was the largest one, which was under the Nizam prince, and Telangana is one out of three linguistic regions--Telagu, Marathwada and Kannada--of Hydarabad. The Telangana revolt began in the middle of 1946 and lasted for five years. It was an armed resistance of women and men to the feudal oppression or against the princely state A princely state is any state under the reign of a prince and is thus a principality taken in the broad sense. The term refers not only to sovereign nations ruled by monarchs but also to lower polities ruled by various high nobles (often vassals in a feudal system). in Telangana. It was a struggle against the autocratic rule of Nizam and the Zamindari system. (1) There were three types of land holding systems--sarf-e-khas (the land controlled by Nizam and his family from where revenues collected were used for their personal expenses) and Jagirs (the land which has given to Jagirdars) and diwani or government land. Jagirdars were those who were loyal to the Nizam enjoying their own police, revenue, civil and criminal systems. They had received Jagirs and become revenue officers or generals in the army. They also had right over forest and fisheries fisheries. From earliest times and in practically all countries, fisheries have been of industrial and commercial importance. In the large N Atlantic fishing grounds off Newfoundland and Labrador, for example, European and North American fishing fleets have long , and exercised police and judicial functions. Having all the power they compelled people to various illegal exactions and forced labours. The peoples' conditions of Jagir areas were far more oppressed a people who were oppressed by tyranny.
2. than in the sarf-e-khas lands; the jagirdars and their agents were free to collect a variety of illegal taxes from the actual cultivators. Jagir lands were even above the jurisdiction of civil courts. There was also the Vetti (free services (O.Eng. Law) such feudal services as were not unbecoming the character of a soldier or a freemen to perform; as, to serve under his lord in war, to pay a sum of money, etc.
See also: Free to the proprietors) system. Every peasant was compelled to contribute Vetti to the Zamindar zam·in·dar also zem·in·dar
n.
1. An official in precolonial India assigned to collect the land taxes of his district.
2. . Only after completing operations on the landlord's fields, peasants and labourers could work for themselves. A tenant and his family had a compulsion COMPULSION. The forcible inducement to au act.
2. Compulsion may be lawful or unlawful. 1. When a man is compelled by lawful authority to do that which be ought to do, that compulsion does not affect the validity of the act; as for example, when a court of to leave food in their plate and go to the landlord whenever called.
Women were more suppressed under this rule. Women were not allowed to feed their babies while working in the landlord's field. Women were repressed re·pressed
adj.
Being subjected to or characterized by repression. , not only in the field of free work or Vetti, but also sexually harassed and exploited. There were many examples of such suppression; if the landlord fancied a woman, she was taken as a consort. Sleeping with the landlord on the first night was a compulsion to newly married women. It was the landlords' prerogative An exclusive privilege. The special power or peculiar right possessed by an official by virtue of his or her office. In English Law, a discretionary power that exceeds and is unaffected by any other power; the special preeminence that the monarch has over and above all others, . So, peasant women, along with men, came into the Andra Maha Sabha (AMS AMS - Andrew Message System ) and started an armed struggle against the 'oppressive feudal system and the fundamentalist fundamentalist
An investor who selects securities to buy and sell on the basis of fundamental analysis. Compare technician. militia of the Nizam--the Razkars".
In 1928, people established Andhra Maha Sabha converting it from the Andhra Jana Sangam For other uses of Sangam see Sangam (disambiguation).
Sangams were Tamil academies, which according to Tamil legends, enabled poets and authors to gather periodically to publish their work.[1]. , which was established in 1921 with the objectives of social and cultural uplift of the Telugu people Telugu people are an ethnic group primarily located in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India and neighbouring areas such as Pondicherry, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Orissa (the areas bordering Andhra Pradesh). . It changed not only the name but also the objectives from socio-cultural to political activity. Earlier, it was common organization to all--The RSS (Really Simple Syndication) A syndication format that was developed by Netscape in 1999 and became very popular for aggregating updates to blogs and the news sites. RSS has also stood for "Rich Site Summary" and "RDF Site Summary. , Congress and even to the nonpolitical--who wanted change in society. In 1930, the Andra Mahila Sabha and, in 1937, the Mahila Nay Jivan Mandal had formed in co-ordination with AMS. These organizations are credited to bring women into the movement. During 1940-42, some important leaders of the AMS went under the communist leadership and assumed AMS into the character of a mass organization. AMS went into an armed struggle with decision made in November 1946. The struggle was extended form of grass root level resistance, using local weapons to resist against the regime. The movement was also considered in which "the Mao's thought was first put into practice out of China" (Louis 2002:49). The first struggle took place to support Ailimma, a women who was threatened by landlord's Goondas, taking up of local arms e.g. lathis, slings and stones for volunteers and pounding sticks and chilly powder for the women as well. Later, volunteer squads were not only formed but also trained in using these kinds of weapons. They started to make local weapons professionally. They even used modern weapons. Several struggles took place between squads and Nizam's supporters. The rebels seized arms 'raiding police stations and landlord's houses'. But women did not leave their strategy to use local means to defend themselves against the police. Women used to attack the police with pots full of chilly powder.
Ruler's oppression was not a single cause of women's participation in the revolt. Women-oriented programmes of Sanghams were other reasons; when such women's issues like wife-beating, early marriage of child age come up, the Shangam immediately called the people concerned, held debates and resolved the matters. Misbehaviour MISBEHAVIOUR. Improper or unlawful conduct. See 2 Mart. N. S. 683.
2. A party guilty of misbehaviour; as, for example, to threaten to do injury to another, may be bound to his good behaviour and thus restrained. See Good Behaviour.
3. to the women was started to be severely punished. These rules were practiced even in their organization which attracted women to join the Shangam. For instance, Shankar, a member of organization was accused of raping and mismanaging the party funds, and faced the firing squad. According to according to
prep.
1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.
2. In keeping with: according to instructions.
3. them, these punishments were declared by the people themselves as the correct line of action.
"Large number of peasants spontaneously participated in the struggle directed against the government, landlords and their agents. The insurgents Insurgents, in U.S. history, the Republican Senators and Representatives who in 1909–10 rose against the Republican standpatters controlling Congress, to oppose the Payne-Aldrich tariff and the dictatorial power of House speaker Joseph G. Cannon. had neither firearms This is an extensive list of small arms — pistol, machine gun, grenade launcher, anti-tank rifle — that includes variants.
: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
A-91 (Russia - Compact Assault Rifle - 5.
nor training but were required to use them. A few volunteers' corps had come into existence, which were not so much well organized guerrilla squads, but ad hoc For this purpose. Meaning "to this" in Latin, it refers to dealing with special situations as they occur rather than functions that are repeated on a regular basis. See ad hoc query and ad hoc mode. formation in response to the situation. Initially the revolt was spasmodic spasmodic /spas·mod·ic/ (spaz-mod´ik) of the nature of a spasm; occurring in spasms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
spas·mod·ic
adj.
1. Relating to, affected by, or having the character of a spasm; convulsive. " (Dhanaghare 1983: 195) and later it became regular and usual between the people and state security forces when the rebellion received support from all, especially the women. By such enthusiastic participation both men and women, they were able to carry some social transformations in the society. They ousted several police stations from the village, Vetti was abolished and thousands of acres of land distributed, debts to be paid were dismissed. The struggle could not reached in the aim of the organizer; when the Indian union armies were deployed against the Nizam, the movement also started to face lots of troubles. After the Nizam surrender in September 1948 to the Indian Army, the communists and the movement became the target of the Indian Union Army. Then, the party and its cadre (company) CADRE - The US software engineering vendor which merged with Bachman Information Systems to form Cayenne Software in July 1996. were compelled to leave the villages. Party tried to organize the tribal people for fighting against the local governmental institutions e.g. forest officials and moneylenders "who subjected them to exploitation". However, it was not an alternative to continue emergency. The politburo politburo, the former central policy-making and governing body of the Communist party of the Soviet Union and, with minor variations, of other Communist parties. of the party, finally, took the decision on 21 October 1951 to call off the struggle citing "the increased repression by the Indian union army."
The Maoists Movement in Nepal
The Maoist insurgency in·sur·gen·cy
n. pl. in·sur·gen·cies
1. The quality or circumstance of being rebellious.
2. An instance of rebellion; an insurgence.
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insurgency, insurgence
1. , for the last ten years, spread all over the country. Some 15,000 people have already lost their lives since 13 February 1996. The cost of reconstruction of development infrastructure, until 2003, that was destroyed by the Maoists, is estimated to be NRs. 200 billion (2). Developmentalists argue that the Maoist insurgency 'is basically a social and economic issue and is produced and sustained by failed development' (Pandey 1999:12). It is true that the epicenter and heartland of the Maoist insurgency is Mid-west hill districts--Rolpa, Rukum, Salyan, Dailekh, Jajarkot etc.--which the Human Development index categorizes as the lowest rank districts of the country (NESAC NESAC National Electronic Switching Assistance Center (AT&T) 1998: 264-65). Not only this but also some political exclusions and brutal human rights violations are also fostering factors for the insurgency.
The involvement of women in the People's War People's War (Chinese language: 人民战争), also called protracted people's war, is a military-political strategy invented by Mao Zedong. The basic concept behind People's War is to maintain the support of the population and draw the enemy deep into (PW) lacks reliable data to determine the actual%age of women in different roles within the organization. Even statistics given by the Maoists are different from leader to leader. Hisila Yami Hisila Yami, alias Parvati (born June 25 1959 in Gorkha District), is a Nepalese politician and architect. She is a politburo member of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and a former president of the All Nepal Womens Association (Revolutionary). , the central committee member of the Maoists, has given tentative data by writing, "the participation of the women in people's liberation army People's Liberation Army
Unified organization of China's land, sea, and air forces. It is one of the largest military forces in the world. The People's Liberation Army traces its roots to the 1927 Nanchang Uprising of the communists against the Nationalists. are from 30 to 40 per cent" (Yami 2006: 66). For Sapana, company commander, more than 40 per cent are women in the People's Liberation Army (Mulyankan, Bhadra 2061: 14), and for Uma Bhujel, a central member who broke Gorkha jail and came back under open sky, the ratio is approximately 40 per cent in army and more than 50 per cent in other field (Ibid: 16). This is more closer to the number of figures in party and militia comprising approximately 40 per cent and in autonomous government and in industries, the number is above 50 per cent (Janadesh 2006: 8).
Here, a question must be raised about the causes, which inspired or compelled Nepali women to join the movement. It is said that some women are forced to join the Maoist movement by the Maoist and some are compelled to join by misbehaviour of the security forces. For example, Ganga and Sobha Thapa, who were 16 years old each and studying in grade nine in Satakhana School of Surkhet district Surkhet district, a part of Bheri zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Birendranagar as its district headquarters, covers an area of 2,451 km² and has a population (2001) of 288,527. , were abducted abducted Distal angulation of an extremity away from the midline of the body in a transverse plane and away from a sagittal plane passing through the proximal aspect of the foot or part, or away from some other specified reference point by the Maoist on 29 September, 2005 (3). Shanti
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shanti (from Sanskrit शािन्त śāntiḥ) can mean:
Inner peace
Ksanti, is one of the paramitas of Buddhism
16, Resmi 16 and Binita 15 are the examples of how the security personnel irritated ir·ri·tate
v. ir·ri·tat·ed, ir·ri·tat·ing, ir·ri·tates
v.tr.
1. To rouse to impatience or anger; annoy: a loud bossy voice that irritates listeners. the students and general people. (4) Brutal suppressions of security forces have also encouraged young girls to join the militia either for their own security or for taking revenge. Being revengeful after the murder of their relatives by the security forces, women have participated in the Maoist organization. Sarita is a perfect example to support the argument. She took gun after her innocent brother was killed by the army (Paudel,2004:14). For the sake of revenge, she joined the movement. Low success in school leaving certificate The School Leaving Certificate is the final exam in Nepal secondary school system and is commonly called the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) Examination. Every student must appear in this exam after they complete grade 10th of their study before they join the higher examination and lack of training options for engaging students failing their school level examination is another main factor for their joining the Maoist movement in order to escape idleness and frustration (Karki and Bhattarai 2003:5)
Apart from that, propaganda of women's liberation Women's Liberation
Noun
a movement promoting the removal of inequalities based upon the assumption that men are superior to women Also called: (women's lib) , equality in the Maoists organization in opportunity, in award and promotion, the hope of all kinds of emancipation, and on-going women related social reform programmes like anti-alcohol, anti-gambling campaigns, anti-sexual violence programmes, anti-women exploitation programmes are the main attractions for women participate and support the movement. Some are there only for "romance, pleasure, and luxury". But, there is a consensus that the credit has to be given to the Maoists for "widespread women's awareness in the Nepalese history" (Mulyankan, August-September 2004: 13).
Slogans about 'progressive education' rather than 'bourgeois education' and love/ courtship courtship
paying attention to a member of the opposite sex with a view to mating; occurs in farm animals but is not highly developed other than estral display by the female and seeking by the male, activities that are rather more pragmatic than implied in the definition. is also a vital factor for women's attraction. Orthodox social system towards the widow is another cause for compelling women to join. In Nepal, generally, girls are not allowed to choose their own partners and to decide her marriage; still the society does not tolerate love marriage easily. If the love affair is inter-caste, acceptance is difficult by both, the parents and the society. Increment To add a number to another number. Incrementing a counter means adding 1 to its current value. of Widow population and the unchanged social perception on widow marriage seems another factor, which led women to join the movement. After Maoist movement, 15,000 people are killed; most of them are male leaving behind young widows in the society. However, the society does not accept a widow-marriage easily. In a patriarchal society in Nepal, if people are involved in these activities, a female have to face social degradation in comparison to their male counterparts. In such a situation, the Maoist movement became accommodative to socially mistreated women. It is said that a majority of women in the movement are "influenced by superficial factors (Bhool Bhulaiya) than deep knowledge and understanding of state affairs, political process, gender exploitation, women rights etc" (Adhikari 2006, an unpublished paper). Denying these factors, Hisila Yami, a senior woman Maoists leader said that the women are not recruited for party's "contemporary advantages" but hired because of "their double resistance capacity than man" (Mulyankan, August-September, 2004: 12-18).
To sum up the social reality, which promoted women to join the Maoists movement, we can agree with the argument made by a political scientist Kapil shrestha. He argues, "after democracy in 1990 some positive changes towards women participation in politics has appeared, but sociologically speaking most of the Nepalese women politicians belong to 'the small upper strata of urban, middle class, upper caste caste [Port., casta=basket], ranked groups based on heredity within rigid systems of social stratification, especially those that constitute Hindu India. Some scholars, in fact, deny that true caste systems are found outside India. and educated elite background not from the rural, grassroots or low caste background" (Shrestha 2001).
Comparison
We can compare both struggles on the basis of its objectives, goals and achievements. Apart from that, the paper tried to examine validities and reliabilities by observing available narratives, and data of both the movement. First, the Telengana movement was declared against the Nizam's oppression. The Telengana struggle supported to abolish the Nizam feudalism feudalism (fy`dəlĭzəm), form of political and social organization typical of Western Europe from the dissolution of Charlemagne's empire to the rise of the absolute monarchies. from Telengana. It seemed that the Telengana struggle was more focused on democracy and freedom. However, the Maoist Movement in Nepal has been launched after the restoration of democracy in 1990, which provisioned, at least, freedom to the people. Abolishing the monarchy and establishing the "Democratic Republic" were the said specific objectives of the Maoists of Nepal.
Second, the Telengana movement had supported the independent struggle of India from British colony. If such a disturbance had not occurred in several parts of India, Britain could have taken the independent struggle at face value and they could have tried to use more force against the struggle. People were able to raise slogan against the feudal and brutal regime and able to abolish not only local principality but also it's backbone--the colonial power. Ultimately, the Nizam principality was abolished after the departure of the British from India.
Although the Maoists have shown their eagerness to join the "competitive democracy" and signed different agreements (12-point agreements in November 2005 and Eight points agreements in June 2005) with seven party alliance (SPA), their earlier targets were SPA cadres in the villages undermining democracy. The Maoists killed, injured in·jure
tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures
1. To cause physical harm to; hurt.
2. To cause damage to; impair.
3. and compelled people to leave the village, who were believed to be at least progressive than any feudal regimes. The SPA cadres were not only tortured but also banned from launching political activities in the Maoists-influenced-areas. Apart from such 'undemocratic' behaviours against the democratic forces, the Maoists claimed that they had a "tacit understanding" with King Birendra. These activities of the Maoists compelled the people to be skeptical. The doubt of the people was 'the objectives of the Maoists movement was not to strengthen the freedom and democracy but to support the undemocratic and feudal regime'. The suspicion of the people over the Maoists was obvious because the monarchy itself has been considered as "the main obstacle for strengthening the democracy in Nepal".
The doubt of the people over the Maoists increased, when both Maoists and the king trapped democratic forces or parliamentary parties, in Nepal. On the one hand, as mentioned earlier, the Maoists banned the movements of the parliamentary parties in the countryside, which made the government unable for holding of the parliamentary and local elections. On the other, the king started ruling the country blaming the democratic government for its' 'incompetence' to holding the election and for maintaining the peace and security in the country. It is said that the democratic process was initially disturbed by rampant violent activities of the Maoists; even the democratically elected government was triggered to impose the state of emergency and termed the Maoists as 'terrorists'. The Maoist activities became major 'trump card' for the king to be used in asking support for his autocratic regime.
As a consequence more than forty thousand women's representation in different democratic agencies was directly hit antagonizing them. However, the Maoists defended such antagonism antagonism /an·tag·o·nism/ (an-tag´o-nizm) opposition or contrariety between similar things, as between muscles, medicines, or organisms; cf. antibiosis.
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an·tag·o·nism
n. as the initial compulsion when they were weak. Prachanda, in an interview defended it and said such strategy was there only for "extended political disclose to establish the ideology and to preserve the power when the party was overall weak in ideology, politics, organization and physical power". Now, according to him, they are trying to bring all possible force together because they are now "strong and reached near the strategic aim" (Prachanda in Janadesh 2006: 15-16).
Third, both the struggles, the Maoist movement and Telengana movement have definitely empowered women, sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly. Although the Telangana struggle was called off without success, it has has brought some qualitative changes in women and in their life. After 40 years of the unsuccessful struggle, women still have no guilty feeling for the struggle but they took pride on it. Somaka of Vimpati who participated in Telangana struggle says, "in those days, could we sit and talk to you like this? Today we can do that. If we dressed up well, if we put kumkum The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter.
Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. they used to say, what does she think herself?" (Sangathana 1989: 16). For her, that sort of empowerment was gained by the struggle, although the entire problems were not solved. Another woman participant Kausila was also satisfied by the achieved things. She says, "we didn't know what was behind this wall. We could never go out. Now we go out and look to our agricultural works (Ibid: 16)."
One question may be raised about how the women are empowered by the Maoist's movement. Some direct and indirect factors created by the movement, however, have led the women to be empowered. The Maoists' conflict compelled majority of the male members to leave their home into urban area or escape to the jungle to join the Maoist guerrilla force Noun 1. guerrilla force - an irregular armed force that fights by sabotage and harassment; often rural and organized in large groups
guerilla force . Women have thus been 'compelled to take the responsibility of running households. They have compulsion to go and take part to express their opinion in front of mass and so on. Women were compelled even to plough the field to feed their family members, which was restricted earlier. Engaging more in the public life than ever before, they have become more vocal in community activities.
On the other hand, the active involvement of women in both political and military organizations of the Maoist party has boosted the confidence of the Nepali women as a whole. This has indeed produced a wide-ranging impact on the Nepali state. Now, the government itself has started to recruit women into the Royal Nepal Army. The parliamentary forces also have realized the need to launch more progressive and reformist programmes to increase the role of women in the political participation.
Taking all these factors into consideration, we can conclude that women were sensitized sensitized /sen·si·tized/ (sen´si-tizd) rendered sensitive.
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sensitized
rendered sensitive.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sensitized cells
see sensitization (2). and made aware about their role in the society. On the other hand, they are affected badly by the ongoing conflict. Women have become double victim due to the People's War. First, they are the direct victims of the security force as they are participants, relatives, wives, daughters and mothers of the rebels. They are continuously threatened, tortured and harassed in the name of inquiry as well as raped, killed, and disappeared as suspects, rebellion and also relatives of rebels. Second, the Maoists also demand lodging, food, money and sex from women any time and any day. Rapes by the Maoists have been frequently reported in the press and field work reports, conducted by individual visitors and human rights groups. The Maoists are also following the security forces' footstep to torture people suspecting them as informers, opponents and class enemies. Third, women are compelled to bear the double burden because of absence of their male members who are either killed or are compelled to flee from their domicile domicile (dŏm`əsīl'), one's legal residence. This may or may not be the place where one actually resides at any one time. The domicile is the permanent home to which one is presumed to have the intention of returning whenever the purpose .
Although, the Maoist claims itself as a radical party but it is also not far from being feudal towards the issue of women. Only two women members--Hisila Yami and Pampha Bhusal--are among the 27 Politburo members. The same women members of the Politburo are also in the 39--member Central Committee. In the case of female leaders, only two women--Pampha Bhusal and Hisila Yami--among the 40% women representation in the Maoist movement--have represented in politburo and central level. In the military wing, there is no single woman in the division commander where most decisions are made. But We have to say that the issue of gender is highlighted and sensitized in the Nepali society.
After having a look on Latchampas elaboration, we can conclude that the women in Telangana struggle faced same problem whatever Nepali women are facing now; the fear of rape and sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. , torture etc. They kept secrets and protected other party workers especially the male by facing all the troubles of the state security (5). But they blamed the party for not being able to evolve any policy regarding the women. The charges over the party by women is not only about its policy towards women in the organization, their main grievances are that the party initially appreciated and welcomed women's support in the movement by wooing, and later it distressed them in the way without any alternatives. Some of them left their husbands, kids and home in the name of 'emancipation', but they got nothing but more trouble. Reminding Party's promise to women thwarted thwart
tr.v. thwart·ed, thwart·ing, thwarts
1. To prevent the occurrence, realization, or attainment of: They thwarted her plans.
2. their involvement in the struggle, Mallu Swaraj, who commanded a guerrilla squad and was a legend in the Telangana, says:
In the party, they will see only what the movement needs ... So
when struggle was withdrawn they told us to go and marry ... we
fought with them. We said that even if the forms of struggle had
changed we should be given some work (Sangathana 1989: 271-272).
But when the movement was called off, the party had not fulfilled its promise by giving work to women. They themselves, who spent their whole active life in the movement, often felt suppressed when the party withdrew the struggle and asked the women to go back and marry. Women are mentally tortured by such an immature decision of party. Priyamvada who spent years in the struggle said that "she often felt like committing suicide" (Sangathana 1989:272)." Sugunamma's observation is an example how they got frustrated frus·trate
tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates
1.
a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: after party's order to women "go back and marry". She says:
They have used us so long and now they say go stay at home. How
could they even understand what the situation was at home? What
mental torture--I was really upset. That was my first taste of
suffering (ibid).
Kamalama and Salama are the examples of exploitation by the party where Kamalama, now, is begging in her village to feed her children and is carrying "liquor and worked as a wage labor to bring up her sons" (Ibid). They themselves are in doubt whether they got some achievements or not because, according to Pesara Sattemma (Sangathana 1989: 221-227), the struggle's initial aim was for land ownership and against the Vetti. Vetti was abolished but women were not successful in getting land on their own name. Women considered that situation as big blow and insult to them. Priyambada, another women participant in the struggle, explained struggle as failed action to address the agenda of women. She says, "after the parliamentary election and police action, these dreams This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.
You can assist by [ editing it] now. were--smashed-crushed like an egg. What a blow it was, after the elections, do we know where we were? Like a proverbial pro·ver·bi·al
adj.
1. Of the nature of a proverb.
2. Expressed in a proverb.
3. Widely referred to, as if the subject of a proverb; famous. rug ... lying exactly where it was through" (Sangathana 1989) Ultimately, when the movement was ended, women neither got land, nor enjoyed other sort of settlement. The slogan 'all sorts of emancipation' remained a fantasy.
Everyone who knows the situation of women after calling off the Telengana struggle has always raised the question, fearing whether the Maoist movement will also go the same way as that of Telengana struggle? The fear is real because there were no women participation at the decision-making level in Telengana movement. The condition remains the same in the Maoists movement because only two women members--Hisila Yami and Pampha Bhusal--were among the 27 Politburo members. No women are there in standing committee, which is the supreme body of the party. And, only three (two representing in politburo also, and another was Uma Bhujel) members are in the 39--Member Central Committee. Now, the Maoist party has dissolved the standing committee and the politburo; all the power has been centralized cen·tral·ize
v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es
v.tr.
1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate.
2. , which according to them, is because of their forth-coming general convention. In the military wing, there is only a single woman, Sapana is the company commander where they claim 40-50 per cent women's are working under them. The party and its women are still eager to raise the agenda of women participation in all the sectors.
After the Janaandolan II (Peoples' movement), the reinstated parliament has unanimously provisioned 33 per cent reservation to women in Nepal. The concern of the people is how this decision of the parliament would be implemented. The decision of 33 per cent reservation to the women seems unique and progressive in South Asia This article is about the geopolitical region in Asia. For geophysical treatments, see Indian subcontinent.
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia . People are having a doubt over its' implementation because of the traditional thinking of all the political forces over women in Nepal; till date, every party has offered the opportunities to the women for fulfilling the quotas. Recently after the Janaandolan II also, the position of the parties on the issues of women remained unchanged. Only a state ministerial portfolio has been given to the women; neither the Maoists nor the SPA sent any women in their dialogue teams, and in the interim constitution drafting committee.
After reading the narratives of the participants of the Telengana struggle, the research has concluded that radical agendas would be harmful for society, if the agendas were raised just to woo the people. It will not only be harmful to the organizer, but also to the individual or participants making them frustrated. Such frustration may possibly direct another revolt. The Telangana movement should be taken as a guide in which the CPI (1) (Characters Per Inch) The measurement of the density of characters per inch on tape or paper. A printer's CPI button switches character pitch.
(2) (Counts Per I called off the movement in 1951 but the party was not able to control its' activists to join another revolt. Those who were not satisfied by both, the achievement and the party's decision to end the struggle, tried to reorganize re·or·gan·ize
v. re·or·gan·ized, re·or·gan·iz·ing, re·or·gan·iz·es
v.tr.
To organize again or anew.
v.intr.
To undergo or effect changes in organization. such a struggle. After being unable to resume revolt by the same party, they tried to form an alternate party Alternate party diversion is an optional feature of telephone services, where a call may be routed to a different number based on time-out and precedence schemes set up by the customer. . Ultimately, in 1964, the split took place in the CPI and CPI (M) was created in the initiation of those dissatisfied members, which again continued armed struggle against the Andhra rulers in 1969 demanding "separate Telangana state" (Mohanty 2005:11-15). So, one can conclude that if some one takes weapon, s(he) rarely will quit the weapons before reaching to his target. Experiences show that all revolutionary parties and their accountable leaders can analyze the entire situation and decide to compromise by suspending and even giving up the armed struggle but applying such theory in cadres and followers followers
see dairy herd. , who took weapons after suppressed and marginalized feeling, has not succeed properly. For them, 'do continue the revolt and die in the battle field' is better than being back before getting something. The leader of the Maoists must think to prevent such possibility, and hopefully that may be the signal of thinking over it by the Maoists supreme commander when he realized that "whatever has supported for successful development of the people's war, it is the both, main possibility and main threat."
It is the desperate need of time to Nepali Maoists leaders to think and rethink about the hindrances those hindrances felt long before by Priyamvada, Sugunamma, Kamalama and Sattemma, and that group which split and re-organized the revolt after the wind up of the Telengana people's struggle. Every top-level leaders of the groups including the Maoists, which raised the radical agendas, must learn lesson from Telengana before they take any step forward.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The silent revolution
By M H Ahssan
Despite the severe social and political constraints in our country - caste system, feudal setting, patriarchy, illiteracy, uneven development - the last 10 years have witnessed notable progress in women holding office in panchayats and municipalities.
More than 10 years ago, on December 23, 1992, when Parliament amended the Constitution (the 73rd and 74th Amendments) making the panchayats and municipalities "institutions of self-government" - reserving not less than one-third seats for women in these bodies - it was hailed as the beginning of a silent revolution.
The two constitutional amendments became laws on April 24 and June 1, 1993 respectively. In 1994, all Indian states passed the Conformity Act reshaping their Panchayati Raj system according to the new amendments. Today, thanks to these amendments, out of 3,200,000 members elected every five years to the panchayats and municipalities, more than 1,000,000 are women. Women head one-third of all the local bodies. Quite naturally, April 24 is celebrated as women's political empowerment day in India.
Stories of empowerment can be found in many states. Geeta Rathore (44) belongs to Jamonia Talab gram panchayat, Sehore district, Madhya Pradesh. She was elected sarpanch in 1995 from a reserved seat; but in 2000, the village people rewarded her for her admirable work by electing her again - this time to a non-reserved seat. From a humble housewife, Geeta has grown into a leader displaying political farsightedness - she has harnessed the collective energy of her panchayat to renovate water tanks, build a school building, construct village roads, fight against domestic violence and atrocities against women, create environmental awareness, encourage afforestation and water management in her village.
But in the same state, there was Sukhiya Bai - the tribal sarpanch of Gubrail panchayat in Betul district. A year ago, she died in a hospital in Bhopal with 80 per cent burns. Sukhiya tried to struggle against the corrupt officials who demanded a cut for releasing money for development work. Simultaneously, she was under pressure from the villagers who demanded the money due to them for their labour. She had even borrowed Rs 4,000 from a relative to pay the panchayat secretary who had been demanding a bribe for releasing the money for a well that had been constructed by the villagers. Unable to bear the constant tension, she set fire to herself.
In Tamilnadu, Leelavathi contested the Madurai municipal elections in 1996, promising to bring water to the ward. She was elected as councillor and within six months water came to the area. This threatened the mafia of the water tanker owners, who had a flourishing business in the area. Within days of her victory to get water in the area, Leelavathi was murdered by those who lost their water business.
After the decadal journey, although leaders like Geeta Rathore have emerged, the big concern is the way this silent revolution is being threatened by the same forces it set out to defeat - patriarchal violence, inequality and discrimination. Why did the journeys of Sukhiya and Leelavathi have to have a violent end? They contested the elections according to the Constitution of India, occupied the constitutional positions and attempted to discharge their duties as per the law of the land.
But despite the severe social and political constraints in our country - caste system, feudal setting, patriarchy, illiteracy, uneven development - there are several aspects we can be proud of. The last 10 years have witnessed a steady progress as far as the inclusion of excluded sections of Indian population in the decision-making process from the village to the district level is concerned. About 3 million women are contesting the elections to panchayats and municipalities. This is no mean achievement in a hierarchical and male-dominated society.
With this, we have shown to the world that Indian women are not politically passive or uninterested in public life. Today, many women who fight the elections are from poor economic and backward social backgrounds; breaking social, cultural and economic barriers.
The notion that women's political connections matter and only the kith and kin of known leaders or those connected to them will enter the local bodies has been proved wrong in the recent past. The common refrain that it is the menfolk in the families who control the women elected members may be partly true; but studies show that the situation is rapidly changing. Some state governments have already taken measures to ensure that sarpanch patis (husbands of women office bearers) don't interfere with their wives' duties.
The number of women getting elected from general constituencies (defeating men) is also increasing. For instance, in Karnataka, 43 per cent women are now getting elected to local governments. Taking advantage of the new ethos, innovative and creative experiments in local governance involving women, like gender budgeting and self-help groups, are taking place in several states.
However, there are structural and systemic problems that women face. For instance, if women panchayat presidents do not yield to pressures from powerful landowners or contractor lobbies, no-confidence motions are moved and they are removed from office.
In some cases, the women panchayat members have had to face violence, intimidation and harassment for questioning male dominance and asserting their rights as elected representatives. Although society has by and large accepted the concept of women in the panchayats, women sarpanches in socially conservative areas face obstacles every day in their work.
Further, several states have passed legislations whereby those having more than two children cannot hold office and if a child is born when they hold office, their membership in the panchayats or municipalities ceases to exist. This is a discriminatory law, only applicable to panchayats, and women in the villages are at the receiving end.
In certain areas, male officials do not hold elected women members/presidents in high esteem because of their low social status. Women are thus doubly disadvantaged: carrying the burden of household chores and demands from the community as well as the office they hold.
Ten years is a short journey. Even if the representatives have not worked wonders, they have made small but significant beginnings. And even for these small beginnings, they have had to pay a huge price. We cannot and must not allow the sacrifices and dreams of the Sukhiyas and Leelavathis to fade away, although the insensitive would like to have it that way.
This is the biggest challenge facing India today: can she turn the present phase of women becoming victims of oppressive structures into one of gender equity and create a public life with dignity for all? It is encouraging that enlightened citizens, NGOs and media are taking the initiative to meet this challenge with some measure of success. If the trend continues, India will soon have Geeta Rathores occupying 50 per cent of public offices and positions of power.
Despite the severe social and political constraints in our country - caste system, feudal setting, patriarchy, illiteracy, uneven development - the last 10 years have witnessed notable progress in women holding office in panchayats and municipalities.
More than 10 years ago, on December 23, 1992, when Parliament amended the Constitution (the 73rd and 74th Amendments) making the panchayats and municipalities "institutions of self-government" - reserving not less than one-third seats for women in these bodies - it was hailed as the beginning of a silent revolution.
The two constitutional amendments became laws on April 24 and June 1, 1993 respectively. In 1994, all Indian states passed the Conformity Act reshaping their Panchayati Raj system according to the new amendments. Today, thanks to these amendments, out of 3,200,000 members elected every five years to the panchayats and municipalities, more than 1,000,000 are women. Women head one-third of all the local bodies. Quite naturally, April 24 is celebrated as women's political empowerment day in India.
Stories of empowerment can be found in many states. Geeta Rathore (44) belongs to Jamonia Talab gram panchayat, Sehore district, Madhya Pradesh. She was elected sarpanch in 1995 from a reserved seat; but in 2000, the village people rewarded her for her admirable work by electing her again - this time to a non-reserved seat. From a humble housewife, Geeta has grown into a leader displaying political farsightedness - she has harnessed the collective energy of her panchayat to renovate water tanks, build a school building, construct village roads, fight against domestic violence and atrocities against women, create environmental awareness, encourage afforestation and water management in her village.
But in the same state, there was Sukhiya Bai - the tribal sarpanch of Gubrail panchayat in Betul district. A year ago, she died in a hospital in Bhopal with 80 per cent burns. Sukhiya tried to struggle against the corrupt officials who demanded a cut for releasing money for development work. Simultaneously, she was under pressure from the villagers who demanded the money due to them for their labour. She had even borrowed Rs 4,000 from a relative to pay the panchayat secretary who had been demanding a bribe for releasing the money for a well that had been constructed by the villagers. Unable to bear the constant tension, she set fire to herself.
In Tamilnadu, Leelavathi contested the Madurai municipal elections in 1996, promising to bring water to the ward. She was elected as councillor and within six months water came to the area. This threatened the mafia of the water tanker owners, who had a flourishing business in the area. Within days of her victory to get water in the area, Leelavathi was murdered by those who lost their water business.
After the decadal journey, although leaders like Geeta Rathore have emerged, the big concern is the way this silent revolution is being threatened by the same forces it set out to defeat - patriarchal violence, inequality and discrimination. Why did the journeys of Sukhiya and Leelavathi have to have a violent end? They contested the elections according to the Constitution of India, occupied the constitutional positions and attempted to discharge their duties as per the law of the land.
But despite the severe social and political constraints in our country - caste system, feudal setting, patriarchy, illiteracy, uneven development - there are several aspects we can be proud of. The last 10 years have witnessed a steady progress as far as the inclusion of excluded sections of Indian population in the decision-making process from the village to the district level is concerned. About 3 million women are contesting the elections to panchayats and municipalities. This is no mean achievement in a hierarchical and male-dominated society.
With this, we have shown to the world that Indian women are not politically passive or uninterested in public life. Today, many women who fight the elections are from poor economic and backward social backgrounds; breaking social, cultural and economic barriers.
The notion that women's political connections matter and only the kith and kin of known leaders or those connected to them will enter the local bodies has been proved wrong in the recent past. The common refrain that it is the menfolk in the families who control the women elected members may be partly true; but studies show that the situation is rapidly changing. Some state governments have already taken measures to ensure that sarpanch patis (husbands of women office bearers) don't interfere with their wives' duties.
The number of women getting elected from general constituencies (defeating men) is also increasing. For instance, in Karnataka, 43 per cent women are now getting elected to local governments. Taking advantage of the new ethos, innovative and creative experiments in local governance involving women, like gender budgeting and self-help groups, are taking place in several states.
However, there are structural and systemic problems that women face. For instance, if women panchayat presidents do not yield to pressures from powerful landowners or contractor lobbies, no-confidence motions are moved and they are removed from office.
In some cases, the women panchayat members have had to face violence, intimidation and harassment for questioning male dominance and asserting their rights as elected representatives. Although society has by and large accepted the concept of women in the panchayats, women sarpanches in socially conservative areas face obstacles every day in their work.
Further, several states have passed legislations whereby those having more than two children cannot hold office and if a child is born when they hold office, their membership in the panchayats or municipalities ceases to exist. This is a discriminatory law, only applicable to panchayats, and women in the villages are at the receiving end.
In certain areas, male officials do not hold elected women members/presidents in high esteem because of their low social status. Women are thus doubly disadvantaged: carrying the burden of household chores and demands from the community as well as the office they hold.
Ten years is a short journey. Even if the representatives have not worked wonders, they have made small but significant beginnings. And even for these small beginnings, they have had to pay a huge price. We cannot and must not allow the sacrifices and dreams of the Sukhiyas and Leelavathis to fade away, although the insensitive would like to have it that way.
This is the biggest challenge facing India today: can she turn the present phase of women becoming victims of oppressive structures into one of gender equity and create a public life with dignity for all? It is encouraging that enlightened citizens, NGOs and media are taking the initiative to meet this challenge with some measure of success. If the trend continues, India will soon have Geeta Rathores occupying 50 per cent of public offices and positions of power.
Monday, March 03, 2014
Audacious Rural Girls Talk Power And Politics In Tamilnadu
The small village of Thazhaiyattam in Gudiyattam panchayat in Tamil Nadu’s parched district of Vellore is likely to be overlooked as yet another nondescript rural hamlet that dot the state. But an intriguing political initiative is taking shape here, giving a new spin to the term ‘grassroots politics’.
A group of young women have come together to spread the message of democracy and rights in Thazhaiyattam and its neighboring villages like Ananganallur, Melallattur and Gudanagaram, among others. They get young people to speak about the promises they want their political leaders to fulfill, initiate lively discussions on the various social and governance problems they are up against, and even motivate them to come forward and join local panchayat bodies.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
TAMILNADU'S PARADOX - Alarming malnutrition pushing children out of school - II
By M H Ahssan
NGOs have fared better than the government in tackling iron deficiency in poor children. Activists, policy analysts and funders want a convergence of various departments as opposed to boxing nutrition into the health-sector alone.
Community-based outreach
Where the juggernaut of the government faltered, voluntary organisations have prevailed. The few of them that have focussed on public health communication campaigns have had better success in reducing iron deficiency anaemia. Nalamdana Trust's five year project in the fishing hamlet of Urur-Olcott Kuppam, in south Chennai has shown that with mere information and without the free supplements it is possible to improve nutritional status.
Nithya Balaji, Executive Trustee of Nalamdana, says her project used the popular medium of theatre to introduce behavioural changes and ownership for health and nutrition projects. “At Urur kuppam, initially we got a private donors to add an additional Rupee per child per day to the ICDS expenditure to add a few locally available vegetables, dhal and oil. The children's growth charts showed an impressive increase in the first two months of nearly 1.5 kg. This scheme is currently being supported by local sponsorship, but can easily be transferred to the parents if the state permits it," she says.
The other target group of the project was adolescent girls. “As a pre intervention indicator, we measured the anemia levels of 95 girls and held regular meetings for 8 months. The sessions covered issues of understanding one's body, pre-puberty issues, reproductive health and importance of nutrition. Only accurate information had been given- no doles, no tablets. Their Hb levels had increased from 8 and 9 to 11 and 12, respectively. They had adopted better hygienic practices, started eating breakfast and also included greens, vegetables and one affordable fruit in their daily diet," says Nithya.
When the project was evaluated in 2004, after a year of information and education campaigns, Nalamdana found that haemoglobin count increased by an average of 1.5 and in girls with severe anaemia up to 5.6 counts. In a second project area in Subbu Pillai Thottam (in Central Chennai), both adolescent boys and girls were targeted with information and education campaigns done mainly through one on one interaction and street theatre. There again, the Hb levels increased by an avearage of around 2 counts. The scheme implemented in partnership with other NGOs is being continued despite the original donor agency withdrawing from the project.
Nalamdana's findings are anecdotally affirmed by the Anganwadi staff. Tamizhagi says mere supplementation showed only marginal improvement in the moderately anaemic adolescent girls. “The eating habits have changed drastically in the last two decades, moving towards a rice-based diet. Traditional iron-rich food like drumstick greens thovaiyal or curry leaf thovaiyal have become devalued and pushing those through the nutrition eduation programme often backfires with adolescents," she adds.
Nalamdana circumvented this issues by involving the community in their own nutritional improvement. Recipe clubs were formed in the study area with the women being given basic information about nutrition dense food. With help from nutritionists and students, the women innovated their own healthy recipes, thus making their integration into daily diets an easy affair, says Nithya.
Juxtapose this with a study by the National Nutrition Monitoring Board that came to the conclusion that national nutrition programmes have failed in achieving their goals largely due to lack of nutrition education with poor outreach. A study of Vitamin A deficiency among rural preschoolers done in 2007, established high prevalence of subclinical deficiency largely due to poor nutrition and that nutrition education component covered a mere 14 per cent of the target population.
No night-blindness, but Vitamin A deficiency still high
In the rural survey, NNMB, an arm of the Indian Council of Medical Research, found that nearly half the children in the under-five age group were found to have sub-clinical VAD or vitamin A level of less than 17 micrograms per decilitre. This is despite that clinical Vitamin A deficiency (night blindness, Bitot's spot and conjunctival xerosis) is prevalent in less than 0.5 percent of the children in this age group, in part due to the massive dose Vitamin A supplementation in the neonatal period (at birth) and near total institutional delivery.
In their book, Gillespie and Goddad say Vitamin A deficiency causes increased morbidity and mortality among infants, children and pregnant women, poor growth of children. It also contributes to anaemia, they say. The NNMP survey results linked poor nutritional habits and weaning food choices to the sub-clinical deficiency.
Interestingly, this study linked the higher prevalence of clinical manifestations of Vitamin A like Bitot's spot in the eye to the mother being illiterate and to populations without access to sanitary toilets. Ascaris and hookworm infestation are often leading causes for Vitamin A deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia in the state.
Poor sanitation undermining nutrition thrust
All nutrition interventions have to go hand in hand with improvements to sanitation and access to protected drinking water, believes Dr Devashish Dutta of UNICEF. “As much as 83 percent of rural homes in Tamilnadu, according to NFHS-3 surveys, do not have access to sanitary toilets and defecate in the open. ‘Sanitary toilet’ refers to one where is not just clean inside, but also where refuse is cleanly disposed off, as in through a septic tank, sewerage.
A large percentage of students do not use footwear while going to school. Hookworm enters the body through the feet of the person walking on an area contaminated with faecal matter. The worms anchor onto the small intestine and the blood loss over a period of time also leads to anaemia," he says. Though the state has its deworming programme, it could be scaled down and resources used elsewhere if people were to wear footwear before the stepped out of their homes, he adds.
Even in urban areas, only 33 per cent have access to flush toilets that are connected to sewerage, septic tank or pits, according to NFHS-3. A whopping 40 per cent have seen no improvement since the last survey of 1998 and continue to use toilets which are either shared between households or have no flushes/poured flushes. Twenty-six per cent continued to use open spaces for toilets.
This was no different even in targeted nutrition interventions like the ICDS. According to 2000-2001 study by TN-FORCES of the Anganwadis in 150 areas in Chennai showed that 87 percent of them had no access to toilet, an overwhelming 90 per cent did not have potable water, 90 per cent had no electricity and only 50 per cent were well ventilated with windows. “Often, the centres are right next to public toilets or sometimes right next to garbage collection points, making hygienic Anganwadis a rarity," says Shanmughavelayutham of TN-FORCES.
In their 2007 study of 45 best practice Anganwadis, the State ICDS Project Office reiterated their older study: 26.7 per cent had no toilets, 20 per rcent had no access to drinking water, 22 per cent had furniture for early development activities, 20 per cent had no separate kitchen and 4 percent used classrooms for cooking, 62.2 per cent had asbestos sheets for roof and 33 per cent had no indoor and outdoor space marked for grossmotor activities for the 0 to 3 age group. “This is the state in the best 45 of the 10,000-odd Anganwadis in the state. There are no norms or standardisations, no child-friendly toilets or safe areas or even adequate ventillation, says Shanmughavelayutham.
And that is why activists, policy analysts and funders alike say nutrition cannot be just a health-sector issue and have been working with the government in bringing about a convergence of various service delivery departments. All sectors like health, social welfare, nutrition, school education, women's development, civil society, water and sanitation, rights groups, universities and colleges, elected peoples representatives and the media at all levels need to make anaemia a priority as its effects are widespread, contributes significantly to a huge number of preventable deaths and illnesses and is expensive to deal with during pregnancy alone.
UNICEF is also working with the government in scaling up projects that link poverty alleviation to better nutrition. “The simple fact is a person who is born with low birth weight, goes through childhood being undernourished will do poorly in school and perhaps drop out. When he is not educated, he will make poor choices for his family about nutrition and will perpetuate the cycle," adds Shanmughavelayutham.
Others agree. Iron tablets and nutritious mix are welfare-based schemes, and at best they can be a temporary solution to a problem that needs an inter-sectoral solution.
(Click here to read - PART-1)
NGOs have fared better than the government in tackling iron deficiency in poor children. Activists, policy analysts and funders want a convergence of various departments as opposed to boxing nutrition into the health-sector alone.Community-based outreach
Where the juggernaut of the government faltered, voluntary organisations have prevailed. The few of them that have focussed on public health communication campaigns have had better success in reducing iron deficiency anaemia. Nalamdana Trust's five year project in the fishing hamlet of Urur-Olcott Kuppam, in south Chennai has shown that with mere information and without the free supplements it is possible to improve nutritional status.
Nithya Balaji, Executive Trustee of Nalamdana, says her project used the popular medium of theatre to introduce behavioural changes and ownership for health and nutrition projects. “At Urur kuppam, initially we got a private donors to add an additional Rupee per child per day to the ICDS expenditure to add a few locally available vegetables, dhal and oil. The children's growth charts showed an impressive increase in the first two months of nearly 1.5 kg. This scheme is currently being supported by local sponsorship, but can easily be transferred to the parents if the state permits it," she says.
The other target group of the project was adolescent girls. “As a pre intervention indicator, we measured the anemia levels of 95 girls and held regular meetings for 8 months. The sessions covered issues of understanding one's body, pre-puberty issues, reproductive health and importance of nutrition. Only accurate information had been given- no doles, no tablets. Their Hb levels had increased from 8 and 9 to 11 and 12, respectively. They had adopted better hygienic practices, started eating breakfast and also included greens, vegetables and one affordable fruit in their daily diet," says Nithya. When the project was evaluated in 2004, after a year of information and education campaigns, Nalamdana found that haemoglobin count increased by an average of 1.5 and in girls with severe anaemia up to 5.6 counts. In a second project area in Subbu Pillai Thottam (in Central Chennai), both adolescent boys and girls were targeted with information and education campaigns done mainly through one on one interaction and street theatre. There again, the Hb levels increased by an avearage of around 2 counts. The scheme implemented in partnership with other NGOs is being continued despite the original donor agency withdrawing from the project.
Nalamdana's findings are anecdotally affirmed by the Anganwadi staff. Tamizhagi says mere supplementation showed only marginal improvement in the moderately anaemic adolescent girls. “The eating habits have changed drastically in the last two decades, moving towards a rice-based diet. Traditional iron-rich food like drumstick greens thovaiyal or curry leaf thovaiyal have become devalued and pushing those through the nutrition eduation programme often backfires with adolescents," she adds.
Nalamdana circumvented this issues by involving the community in their own nutritional improvement. Recipe clubs were formed in the study area with the women being given basic information about nutrition dense food. With help from nutritionists and students, the women innovated their own healthy recipes, thus making their integration into daily diets an easy affair, says Nithya.
Juxtapose this with a study by the National Nutrition Monitoring Board that came to the conclusion that national nutrition programmes have failed in achieving their goals largely due to lack of nutrition education with poor outreach. A study of Vitamin A deficiency among rural preschoolers done in 2007, established high prevalence of subclinical deficiency largely due to poor nutrition and that nutrition education component covered a mere 14 per cent of the target population.
No night-blindness, but Vitamin A deficiency still high
In the rural survey, NNMB, an arm of the Indian Council of Medical Research, found that nearly half the children in the under-five age group were found to have sub-clinical VAD or vitamin A level of less than 17 micrograms per decilitre. This is despite that clinical Vitamin A deficiency (night blindness, Bitot's spot and conjunctival xerosis) is prevalent in less than 0.5 percent of the children in this age group, in part due to the massive dose Vitamin A supplementation in the neonatal period (at birth) and near total institutional delivery.
In their book, Gillespie and Goddad say Vitamin A deficiency causes increased morbidity and mortality among infants, children and pregnant women, poor growth of children. It also contributes to anaemia, they say. The NNMP survey results linked poor nutritional habits and weaning food choices to the sub-clinical deficiency.
Interestingly, this study linked the higher prevalence of clinical manifestations of Vitamin A like Bitot's spot in the eye to the mother being illiterate and to populations without access to sanitary toilets. Ascaris and hookworm infestation are often leading causes for Vitamin A deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia in the state.
Poor sanitation undermining nutrition thrust
All nutrition interventions have to go hand in hand with improvements to sanitation and access to protected drinking water, believes Dr Devashish Dutta of UNICEF. “As much as 83 percent of rural homes in Tamilnadu, according to NFHS-3 surveys, do not have access to sanitary toilets and defecate in the open. ‘Sanitary toilet’ refers to one where is not just clean inside, but also where refuse is cleanly disposed off, as in through a septic tank, sewerage.
A large percentage of students do not use footwear while going to school. Hookworm enters the body through the feet of the person walking on an area contaminated with faecal matter. The worms anchor onto the small intestine and the blood loss over a period of time also leads to anaemia," he says. Though the state has its deworming programme, it could be scaled down and resources used elsewhere if people were to wear footwear before the stepped out of their homes, he adds.
Even in urban areas, only 33 per cent have access to flush toilets that are connected to sewerage, septic tank or pits, according to NFHS-3. A whopping 40 per cent have seen no improvement since the last survey of 1998 and continue to use toilets which are either shared between households or have no flushes/poured flushes. Twenty-six per cent continued to use open spaces for toilets.
This was no different even in targeted nutrition interventions like the ICDS. According to 2000-2001 study by TN-FORCES of the Anganwadis in 150 areas in Chennai showed that 87 percent of them had no access to toilet, an overwhelming 90 per cent did not have potable water, 90 per cent had no electricity and only 50 per cent were well ventilated with windows. “Often, the centres are right next to public toilets or sometimes right next to garbage collection points, making hygienic Anganwadis a rarity," says Shanmughavelayutham of TN-FORCES.
In their 2007 study of 45 best practice Anganwadis, the State ICDS Project Office reiterated their older study: 26.7 per cent had no toilets, 20 per rcent had no access to drinking water, 22 per cent had furniture for early development activities, 20 per cent had no separate kitchen and 4 percent used classrooms for cooking, 62.2 per cent had asbestos sheets for roof and 33 per cent had no indoor and outdoor space marked for grossmotor activities for the 0 to 3 age group. “This is the state in the best 45 of the 10,000-odd Anganwadis in the state. There are no norms or standardisations, no child-friendly toilets or safe areas or even adequate ventillation, says Shanmughavelayutham.
And that is why activists, policy analysts and funders alike say nutrition cannot be just a health-sector issue and have been working with the government in bringing about a convergence of various service delivery departments. All sectors like health, social welfare, nutrition, school education, women's development, civil society, water and sanitation, rights groups, universities and colleges, elected peoples representatives and the media at all levels need to make anaemia a priority as its effects are widespread, contributes significantly to a huge number of preventable deaths and illnesses and is expensive to deal with during pregnancy alone.
UNICEF is also working with the government in scaling up projects that link poverty alleviation to better nutrition. “The simple fact is a person who is born with low birth weight, goes through childhood being undernourished will do poorly in school and perhaps drop out. When he is not educated, he will make poor choices for his family about nutrition and will perpetuate the cycle," adds Shanmughavelayutham.
Others agree. Iron tablets and nutritious mix are welfare-based schemes, and at best they can be a temporary solution to a problem that needs an inter-sectoral solution.
(Click here to read - PART-1)
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