Happy New Year !

First of all, I must apologize for this long silence! My friends and well-wishers have been asking what has come off me.... Why haven't I updated my blog. Well, for two reasons I suspended my habit of writing the blog. One, the year 2010 was very hard.... and I found it difficult to say a Happy New Year ! And second, I needed a reason to be happy about.... And I found one. So, a Very Happy New Year 2011 to all my friends, benefactors, well-wishers in India, Germany, United States, Netherlands, Belgium and many other parts of the world !

I have a reason to be happy. In December 2010 I worked hard to start an SMS based early warning alert system for India that could be sent out in some of the regional languages as well. And we succeeded ! On 1 Jan 2011, I could inaugurate and test the system through unicode technology in five Indian languages (Hindi, Bangla, Nepali, Tamil and Telugu) other than English. The English services began on 1 July 2010.

The second success came by way of my support to some of the Self Help groups of women in parts of Uttar Dinajpur district, around Raiganj. Since these women's groups had been dropped from support by Social Welfare Insititute, the animators of these groups asked me several times to help them and guide them. And I am glad to announce that there are now about 80 women's groups who are a well-knit unit, and I am supporting them personally for the remuneration of some of the field staff, and with technical support from a friend's non-profit. The groups have registered themselves with a Trade License, so that their products can be sold in the open market. I am absolutely proud of the activities and work of lady animators like Mrs. Jayanthi Pramanik and Mrs. Anita Roy.

The third success is on the way.... But I am not going to tell that in this! Wait for the next blog.

Vagabond

The last months since May 2010 have gone quickly, with pains, burdens, relief and a sense of humor. The months passed all too quickly, without writing much in my blog through the year. But the year also gave me opportunity to explore myself. Two great things I learnt really make sense to my life. I had left South India while barely I was touching 16, after reading for several years about the plight of the people in the North, in the states of Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. At that time I just wanted to "do something" for them. Over the years, specially in late 90's and early part of this decade I was being sucked into systems that focused on administration. I remember still very well how I had dreamed to be a mendicant going around assisting people to regain their dignity. I have done all that and much more, from positions of power and influence. But, the higher I grew, the farther I was pushed from people. I am not sure if this the tragedy of working for the people!

The last months have brought me back into LIFE! I travel. Travel a lot.... I travel in passenger trains to reduce the cost of travel, like any other ordinary mortal, I travel in public jeeps and buses, I do not grumble about lost time, I leave early, I talk to people to understand their pains, I offer them helping hands. And whenever I am not giving a training or not having someone invited me, I ensure to be in a over-night bus or train. And so I get a place to sleep! Waaw! In the process, the first of my learning is about the vanity of space. There is so much of scam and scandal going on in the country relating to occupying land. Well, all this is vanity! All that you will have is a space of 6 ft x 2 ft for about 90 years or so on this earth, if you live long.

The second learning is beginning to dawn on me. How important is religion set against the poverty, vulnerability and hunger of people that I see all around. Or, I would place it this way. How much is my religion and religiosity relevant to the needs of the poor? To put it plainly, what is more important among the two? It is beginning to hurt. I have lived long enough immersed in religion. (I do not question faith. Faith is perfect.) But what has my religion done to the poor to lift them out of their bondage in spite of all the wealth and resources it owns? Has it done at all? Yes, it has. Could it have done better? A lot more. Did my organized religion come in the way of me doing more for the poor? True. There is a clog....a huge one.

Obama is Here

For the convenience of all my friends in the U.S.A., your President Barack Obama is here in India. He arrived on Saturday morning Indian time, in the financial capital of India, Mumbai and then moved on to Delhi for meetings with the President and Prime Minister of India. Statistically speaking:

• The President's entourage included over 240 businessmen from the U.S. The U.S. government
• This is the longest that the U.S. President has stayed outside the United States in a single country!
• He signed business deals worth over 10 billion USD, which is expected to create 54,000 jobs in the U.S.
• In Mumbai he stayed at the Taj Hotel which was attacked during the Mumbai terrorist attack.
• The U.S. has removed controls on India for transfer and use of dual-use nuclear technology (which means, nuclear technology and products that can be used for both energy and nuclear weaponry)
• Several Indian defense related organisations have been removed from the export controls of the U.S. so that these organisations can trade with U.S. companies
• The President announces that, India has emerged as a key player in the globe, against hitherto remarks, "India is emerging as a global player".
• An U.S. navy ship, several navy boats, armed men, 8 dogs, and of course the Air Force One, the presidential cadillac were all brought from the U.S. besides the unprecedented air, navy and ground security given by the Indian government.
• Cost of the entire travel: according to media reports, it is 900 crores per day x 3 days. In other words, the U.S. government spent 240 million dollars each day, and so over 750 million dollar is said to have been spent on the President's visit to India.
• He also announced that the U.S. would support India's bid to have permanent membership in the UN Security Council.
• He mentioned that "safe havens in Pakistan for terrorists" must be dismantled, and refused to internationalize the Kashmir dispute bringing cheers to the Indian media.

No one knows, exactly how much did India spend on the President's visit.

Let us end this post on a lighter note. Lot of people in Mumbai and Delhi visited the airports to see the Air Force One. When they were asked why they were so interested in the hi-tech plane, one of them said, "because his Presidential carrier has been better than his career" as President. Another joke says: President Obama will never visit Bangalore. Because, it says, "those buggers in Bangalore will force him to outsource even his presidency, that too at $ 10 per hour!"

Tragedies of the Future

A new trend in tragic accidents seem to be taking the form of disasters. The State of Orissa has reported more deaths due to lightning than any other natural disaster for the year 2009. In West Bengal, the cyclone Aila that hit 18 districts, affected over 6.5 million people left only139 dead in May 2009; but the single capsize of the boat in Muriganga river (in the Sunderbans, West Bengal, India) on Saturday, 30 October seem to have over taken that, although only 67 bodies have been found so far. It is feared that since the accident site is on the mouth of the river meeting the Bay of Bengal, the bodies might have been carried into the sea.

Allegedly there were about 240 persons, mostly women and children on a boat that can carry a maximum of 80 persons, with actual capacity for 50 or so. Similar tragedies, with smaller number of deaths seem to happen almost every month in some part of West Bengal, mostly in the Sunderbans where transport by water is the common mode of travel. The people seem to have not learned the lessons from previous disasters: everyone wants to go by the first boat available, even if that meant risking lives. The boat owners and boatmen have never learned a lesson, as there has been no criminal action initiated on any of them in any of the past tragedies. And then, there are what is called as the Ghat Management Committees. They maintain the arrival and departure of boats. I have traveled hundreds of times in the Sunderbans. I have invariably noticed that these committees seem to have only two tasks: a) Collect the toll from the passengers and the boats; b) Arrange for a big Durga Puja pandal during the Pujas! These bodies must be legalized through the local government bodies (They are currently mostly let out on lease!), and must be charged with criminal negligence in future tragedies if such tragedies take place due to over-crowding. Then you have the policemen. In the case of the Saturday tragedy, the people from the south western islands of South 24 Parganas district had gone to attend a religious festival in Hijli Sheriff in the eastern coast of Purba (East) Medinipur district, and they were returning from the festival. There were at least couple of policemen in Hijli Sheriff who were near the site of embarking into the boat. What were they doing? Cases on criminal negligence must be started on all policemen on duty at Hijli Sheriff. Only such enforcement of law will send out strong warning to callous people around.

Well, after all, we are in a country where the railway minister makes huge noise against the ruling party, but her ministry has not prosecuted even one single person in the tragic rail accident that took place at Sainthia three months ago. Be on the opposition or in the ruling party, rule of law and enforcement of it are essential for good governance. God save West Bengal!

The North Bengal Odyssey

The week starting from 18 Oct was entirely spent in North Bengal. I visited Raiganj, Kaliyaganj, Bolaigaon, Chopra--all with a plan to meet women self help groups so that poverty can be eradicated from some of the villages. Couple of friends from Netherlands reached Bagdogra airport on 19 Oct, and I accompanied them to a tea production company as well. Our discussions centered around jute products prepared by women and marketing of the same so that the women can get fair price for their products. It was also soothing to note how I am growing up as a person...without many tags! People used to expect from me so many things. But now all that they want is my guidance, support and ideas. I also got some time to research on improving the SMS based early warning system that I started. It needs a lot more effort and support.

In the form of a human person

While walking on the street last afternoon I heard a rickshaw-wallah speaking to another in Bengali, "We are not humans. We only have the form of humans." May be they were grumbling about the hot weather at the noon hour and their predicament to pull the rickshaw. But there is something more to it. Are they really living with the dignity of humans? While I travel around the state, which I do a lot more than before, I see children, women, aged persons and at times even younger ones--all living a form of the humans, with least semblance to living with dignity. It hurts. It hurts to see poverty. It spurs your emotions. It makes you feel how vulnerable you are. It also exposes your helplessness in handling such issues of poverty and indignity. God help them!

Threat on the Wheels

An incident at the Baghajatin railway station, about 10 kilometers from Sealdah in Kolkata, made me write this. I had just arrived at the station after a meeting with UNICEF and Ramakrishna Mission officials, to leave for Sealdah, and then to look for a train to go to North Bengal. When I reached there on the Platform No. 1, I saw an old man, a lady in her thirties and a child of 4 years old, getting down from the same platform on to the track, crossing it, walking towards platform No. 2, so that they can climb it. This is a short cut that thousands of people take in Indian railway stations, specially I have come to see it a lot in northern states. Suddenly, I heard people shouting, and I turned back to look. I saw the horror coming! A local electrical train was fast approaching platform No. 2. The train was trying to pull herself up on the platform, the child was still on the tracks and the old man was just in the middle, not knowing what he would do. Suddenly, someone pulled the man to the side, and took the child and jumped on the platform. And the woman had been given a helping hand. And the train passed them, and came to a halt. It all happened in about 5 – 7 seconds. I began to wonder. What was all this about? Why do people risk their lives to catch a train? In last month alone at least 4 persons have died in three different train accidents in Kolkata suburbs. In all three, the persons were talking on cell phone, had crossed the rail-crossing although the gate was closed, and walked on the track without realizing that the train was coming. In one of the accidents, an young college going girl died, trying to save her friend, taking the death toll to four! What a tragedy! What priorities have come about? What is more than life and love?

Yudhya (War) and Ayodhya (No War Zone)!

On 28 September, my friends from Netherlands enquired about the verdict on Ayodhya- a place of worship under legal battle for over 60 years, a bone of contention between Muslims and Hindus, and a vile concoction of politics and religion in the hands of politicians looking for cheap issues other than poverty reduction and development. The place is called Ayodhya, which itself means “A place of No War”! It was the place of big battle almost 20 years ago, when the tower of the mosque was brought down by the right wing Hindu fundamentalists. It also lead to the death of hundreds of Muslims and Hindus in various riots across the country for the next two years in separate incidents. It led to distrust between the two communities over a long period, which was further strengthened due to various international terrorist activities and the infamous Mumbai attack couple of years ago. Why should a No-War zone turn into a War Zone? And become a cause of death and spilling of blood of hundreds of people, and leaving many crying? In the land of Gandhi and Buddha, we have not learned to forgive. In the land that taught ahimsa (non-violence), we have learnt to fight for what we consider as dharma, and we were taught to fight for dharma by some of our deities. Look at most of our deities. They all spilled blood, to take revenge…to establish justice. More like the Old Testament! But, dharma is something that binds together. In the name of fighting for dharma, (what should unite us together), alas, we have divided ourselves. Religion has taught us wisdom. We have rejected wisdom and religion and have given into revenge and bloodshed. Call it, Murder!

Suggestions for Risk Reduction

I traveled a lot into the Sunderbans and in Paschim Medinipur, one of the most backward districts in West Bengal (currently known for notorious attacks by the left wing extremists, known as Maoists). In my travels I found two of the benefits intended to help the poor have not done good. I wish someone takes note of them: a) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (Prime Minister's Rural Roads Scheme). This is supposed to help the backward villages to get connected through a metal road with the nearest State or National Highway, so that they can be linked, and receive benefits of transportation and communication. While working on the Chaulkuri plan in West Medinipur, people said that the contractors do not want to do the road work because carrying cost is so high that they do not benefit in any way. I realized it badly while visiting villages in Sunderbans, where the roads are mostly brick-laid, or just mud roads, although the villages are densely populated. There is a need to review the "per kilometer" cost approved within the scheme. b) My second observation, which I had indeed observed long ago, and I begin to feel the difficulty of the people as I work more and more in the deep villages of the Sunderbans is to revamp the Rural Ambulance Scheme. According to the project, an ambulance jeep is provided to the local primary health center or to a non-profit organization, either from the government directly or through Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), so that the jeep can be used for transportation of persons in serious illness or emergency for medical care. But, the people in Sunderbans are living in islands. There are hardly any roads, and even the brick-laid roads are just about 2 meters wide. Secondly, most islands do not have hospitals! So, how to transport these people? By a jeep? What these people need is high speed good boat ambulances that can take them from one island to another, or to the main land for emergency care and services. May be I should start acquiring one or two and show how it can be used. Any one listening? (I had the experience of driving a speed boat around Tapps island, in WA.... Ha... I saw so many speed boats there. I should steal a few! Ha...ha...ha...)

Planning for a Village

Part of August and a large portion of September: I spent time in Sabang block of Paschim Medinipur district. UNICEF asked me to help the local panchayat to help them plan for development and disaster risk reduction. While working in Raiganj I have seen how my staff used to be involved in preparing some disaster related plan. Some of them were accepted by the local government (called panchayat), and some were not. Often those were "0" budget plans, which did not involve any financial commitment from the local government. But, now, I am making a very detailed plan running into its 30th page already, with lots of data. Hah...talking of pages! Do not be afraid. It is all in simple boxes covering tens of subjects within seven major category. (I can not share the plan now with anyone, as this plan is to be accepted by the government at the local level and at the Block.) The acceptance of the plan would mean, the government is willing to act on the plan. I am really happy with the way it has come about. Soon, it should be ready: with some GIS maps, beautiful graphics, and excellent suggestions for development. Thanks to all of you for waiting so patiently!