September 21 24, 2007
The participants accompanied by MIT-SOG staff visited Katewadi on 21st September 2007 for a period of 4-5 days. The participants stayed with the residents of the village. They visited the Sharada Dairy and learned about co-operative efforts at milk collection, milk processing etc. Later they visited Shri Chhatrapati Co-operative Sugar Factory at Bhawaninagar, Taluka Indapur. They studied the entire process of sugar manufacture. The office bearers of the factory welcomed the participants and felicitated them. MITSOG participants also felicitated them. Next visit was to the Zilla Panchayat School where the teachers and officials gave all the information.
On 22nd September 2007 the participants visited Shri Ajit Pawar’s residence and saw the Pawar Dairy Farm as well as the vermiculture project.
On 23rd September 2007, visit to “Vasundhara”- community radio center – was a great learning experience. The participants understood the importance of this concept and also broadcasted a message through it to the residents of Baramati. Visit to Shri Ajitdada’s residence and interaction with Mrs. Sunetra Pawar was the highlight of the day. The “Rajdharma” team interviewed her. This was followed by a visit to Winery Plant. The owner explained process of making wine and then the participants visited the Dynamix Dairy. This dairy procures 12 lakh Litres of Milk everyday which then gets processed into various products. Nestle, Britannia, Tropicana etc are some of the clients of the dairy.
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Lastly, the participants visited Vidya Pratishthan campus, which was very impressive. A state of the art educational facility makes this a great educational hub. Mrs. Pawar as well as other officials of the institute took the participants around the campus. Visit to the Sharad Pawar Museum enlightened the participants about the multi faceted personality of the great leader. The Bio Tech Park in the campus was a unique concept.
Last day was a day of Agro Tourism. The participants visited the Agro Tourism Centre at Malegaon. It was a very enjoyable experience. For the farmers this was a means to earn additional income. The food offered was simple but very wholesome. Finally, it was time to come back to MIT campus Pune.
Local Field Visit: MPG 03
November 21 2007
The participants of MPG 03 visited the Pune Municipal Corporation on November 21 2007 to attend the General Body Meeting. The participants gathered at the Commissioner’s Office. Shri. Pravin Singh Pardeshi – the Municipal Commissioner during his interaction described the working of the General Body Meeting. He spoke about the budget of PMC and how it is utilised for the civic works. Next, the participants gathered in the gallery of the PMC Hall in which the meeting was to take place. On that day, the meeting got adjourned due to the passing away of an eminent political leader – Shri Pramod Nawalkar. Later, the Raj Dharma (MIT-SOG newsletter) team went and interviewed the Mayor of Pune Mrs. Rajlaxmi Bhonsale.
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Local Field Visit: MPG 03
November 22 2007
The MPG participants of the 3rd batch of MIT- SOG visited the village of Hivre Bazaar in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district on November 22nd, 2007. The revolutionary changes that have taken place in the village resulting in its rapid development over a short period of time have made it an ideal for villages all over India. Under the enigmatic and visionary leadership of Popatrao Pawar, Hivre Bazaar has emerged from being a village that people fled from to a village people migrate to. Shri Pawar gave them first hand information about all the changes that had taken place in the village as well as about all the challenges he had faced in bringing the village up to its present state of development. Taking help of some pictures, he showed to the participants how the village has been transformed from an arid, drought-prone village to a prosperous, lush green village. He emphatically stressed on ensuring people’s involvement in the developmental process.
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Hivre Bazaar lies in a rain shadow area and receives less than 400mm of rainfall per annum. Most of the rainfall that the area received wasn’t stored properly prior to the development efforts by the villagers.
In 1993, with local labour donations, the panchayat built 40,000 contour trenches around the hills to conserve rainwater and recharge groundwater. Residents took up massive plantation and forest regeneration activities. From 1995- 2005, the village invested all its development money for water conservation – on recharging groundwater as well as creating surface storage systems. As a result of these efforts, the village prospered. Farm produce and milk production increased substantially, soilerosion reduced and the water table has gone up. In 2006 the per capita income from agriculture was Rs 1,652/ month, which is almost double of the average Rs 890/ month income level of the rural population in 2004- 05. There are only 3 families below the poverty line in the village where earlier there were 168 families out of 226 below the poverty line. . The participants were surprised to know that there are some families in the village who earn a monthly income of Rs. 60,000 to 70,000. The model of development followed by the village of Hivre Bazaar truly inspired the participants of MIT- SOG who spent an enjoyable day interacting with Mr Pawar as well as seeing the sights of the area. It is to be hoped that these young future leaders succeed in replicating the socio- economic development of Hivre Bazaar in their respective states. The participants requested Mr. Pawar to visit MIT-SOG as they were eager to learn more from him.
The key learning of this trip is that with effective leadership having a clear vision, commitment and unflinching determination can transform adversity into prosperity by ensuring peoples’ involvement into the developmental process
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Local Field Visit: MPG 03
16th to 24tj October 2007
THE FIRST DAY: TUESDAY, 16-10-2007
MPG-03 participants accompanied by Faculty and other staff members reached Sardar Patel Seva Samaj, C.G. Road (A’bad) by 10.30 pm where CS-DAG (Centre for Social Development & Governance) staff welcomed them and informed about the schedule and the objective of the visit.
THE SECOND DAY: WEDNESDAY, 17-10-2007
Early morning MPG participants left for Sabarmati Ashram & Abhay Ghat (the crematory place of a veteran Gandhian and the former Prime Minister of India Shri. Morarji Desai). Mr. Sankalp gave brief information about Mr. Morarji Desai and his contribution to the country and his days of glory during ‘Janata Party’ regime. After Abhay Ghat, the participants visited Sabarmati Ashram, which is at a walking distance from Abhay Ghat. It was the residence of Mahatma Gandhi and it was from here that he started the Dandi March in 1930. Also known as Gandhi Ashram, it is located on the Western banks of Sabarmati River, in Northern Ahmedabad. This ashram originally was established in the Kochrab area of Ahamdabad in 1915. In 1917, it was shifted to the banks of Sabarmati river. It also is known as Harijan Ashram, or Satyagraha Ashram. Sabarmati Ashram has ‘Hrudaykunj’, a house where Gandhiji lived. It has a small room to its southeast where Gandhiji would sit and talk to the leaders of freedom struggle. The Ashram has a prayer area where Gandhiji would meditate and pray along with his followers. In 1930, Gandhiji left Sabarmati Ashram with an oath that he won’t return to the Ashram unless and until he frees the country from British clutches.
MIT SOG participant visited places like Udyog Mandir, Meera Sadan and Gandhi Museum. They were informed about various historical events associated with the Asram by Mrs. Kinnari Bhatt.
The participants then went to Gandhinagar to conduct the pre-election survey of Gujarat. An appointment was fixed with Shri. Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the Secretariat. In an interactive session for about 45 minutes he informed the participants about the various schemes by the Gujarat government such as Jyoti Gram Yojana’ for electrification of rural area, ‘Chiranjeevi Yojana for safe deliveries, Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana for tribals, Bori Bandh for irrigation’ etc. Meeting with Mr. Narendra Modi was very inspiring.
In the evening, a lecture by Prof. Dinesh Shukla on political scenario of Gujarat was arranged for the participants. After giving a brief historical overview of Gujarat, he spoke about the current political scenario. He discussed the issues such as Hindutva, caste basis of political parties, development, Narmada Dam and leadership in Gujarat etc. He patiently answered various questions from the participants.
THE THIRD DAY: THURSDAY, 18-10-2007
MIT SOG participants visited the largest women’s co-operative movement of Gujarat i.e. SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association). SEWA was started in 1972 by Smt. Elaben Bhatt. It has been promoting an integrated approach to livelihood security of women in the formal sector, for the past three decades. SEWA comprises of over 11,000 grass root producer groups, 200 co-operatives and 11 federations in 7 states of India. SEWA’s model of self-reliance is based on organizing women to gain full employment and to create sustainable livelihood strategies for the poorest of the poor women producers. Mrs. Pratibha Pandya gave a PowerPoint presentation on the organizational structure and functioning of SEWA.
In the afternoon, the participants met Shri. Amit Thakar, National President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He is a young and dynamic personality. He himself sets an example of how a youth can create a balance between his political and socio-economic life. He inspired the participants by inviting them to join constructive politics.
In the evening, the MIT-SOG participants a gain went to H.K. College to hear Shri. Hemant Shah on political situation in Gujarat. He decoded the myth of Vibrant Gujarat by criticizing the fake propaganda by the Modi government.
THE FOURTH DAY: FRIDAY, 19-10-2007
In the morning, participants visited Santaram Mandir. Santaram Mandir is like any other Hindu temple run by a trust. The trust also has various social & educational outfits. The fascinating thing about it is the main hermit who once ascends the throne of the temple trust is not supposed to live the campus in his entire life. The MIT-SOG participants were accompanied by Dharmendra Bhai and Prabhudasji Patel. Dharmendra Bhai gave us a brief idea about the temple and the working of the trust. The trust management then served us breakfast in the community dinning hall of the temple.
Then the participants left for Kanjiri Village for survey. It is a minority village constituting Muslims. It has a population of 15000 people. The surveys conducted in Kanjiri were self-explanatory on the background of 2002 communal riots in Gujarat.
The MIT-SOG participants visited Sardar Patel University where they met the Vice-Chancellor Dr. Bharat Patel. He informed us about the university and interacted with the team leaders of the 6 groups.
Sardar Patel University also runs a private Radio Station, which recorded a program on MIT School of Government for broadcasting to their listeners. In that program, MIT-SOG staff and the participants were interviewed by Dr. Amrapali, a senior faculty at Saradar Patel University. They wanted to broadcast this program so that their students are encouraged to enroll in MIT School of Government.
From Sardar Patel University, participants went to the Maharaj Sayaji Rao University to attend a lecture by Shri. Priyavadan Patel, who is a political analyst working with CSDS. He briefed us about how to conduct scientific surveys based on representative samples. He also discussed the political scenario of Gujarat.
In the evening, MIT-SOG participants arrived at Padra Town to conduct the survey. Padra is a taluka with population of approx. 20000 people. It is a good business centre. The people were very kind enough to give us information and express their views whole-heartedly.
THE FIFTH DAY: SATURDAY, 20-10-2007
Meetings with dissidents from BJP Shri. Suresh Mehta, former Chief Minister and Shri. Keshubhai Patel had been organized. It was a great experience to meet Shri. Suresh Mehta who frankly answered all the queries of the participants.
Shri. Keshubhai Patel, in spite of his ill health agreed to meet the MPG-03 participants. Later MIT-SOG participants left for ‘Panchal’ a small village in tribal area. It is a small village with its people carrying out various farming activities. Most of them are from lower income group. The official wages that the women get in this area is Rs.30/- a day. The MIT-SOG participants realized that the tribal people were not happy with the working of present government and they felt themselves being alienated from the development process.
THE SIXTH DAY: SUNDAY, 21-10-2007
21st October 2007 being the ‘Dashera’ day. Participants greeted each other and remembered the victory of Lord Ram over the evil.
Shri. Bharat Bhai Solanki, Member of Parliament and President of Gujarat State for Indian National Congress Party invited us for lunch at Hotel West End, Ahmedabad. He interacted with the MIT-SOG participants enthusiastically. After briefing about the current political scenario in Gujarat, he also revealed the Congress party’s strategy in the coming assembly elections. He also spoke about the Jan Mitra Yojana to access common person.
THE SEVENTH DAY: MONDAY, 22-10-2007
In the morning, participants visited Shri. Arjun Modvadia, the leader of opposition for Congress party in Gujarat Assembly. His simplicity and the way he talked moved them all.
When asked about the lacking of Congress party of charismatic face and the next chief minister of Gujarat, Modvadia replied and Congress is a democratic party and the elected members of assembly would elect their leader.
Participants visited step well- Adlaj ki Bav. It is a classic architecture. It is an example of ancient - medieval art and culture. Visit to Pirana (a mosque taken care by Hindus) was breathtaking. It is a classic example of Hindu Muslim unity.
THE EIGHTH DAY: TUESDAY, 23-10-2007
Group Presentations were held in the hall of Indian Society For Community Education. They were assessed based on the following criteria: Content, Teamwork and Style of presentation. Presentations included introduction of the subject, findings of the survey, systematic analysis of the data followed by suggestions & advice with conclusion. All the groups succeeded in putting forth relevant data. They also analyzed the data largely.
Team Red won the first prize & team Green won a special prize.
THE NINTH DAY: WEDNESDAY, 24-10-2007
MIT-SOG participants for Pune from Ahmedabad by Jodhpur Express.
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As part of the course curriculum for the Institute of Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies, the MPG 03 participants visited Bhiwandi, which is a conflict prone and the communally sensitive area in Maharashtra. Participants interacted with the Deputy Commissioner of Police, the Mayor, representatives of BJP, Congress and Rashtravadi party, Lawyers, Media persons and the common people. In Bhiwandi majority of the residents are migrants mostly they are workers in the power looms and textile industry and there is an equal proportion of Muslims and Hindus. The economic and social infrastructure is very poor and huge numbers of people are living in slums. All the people interacted were informed the relevance of Muhalla committees in Bhiwandi as a mechanism to resolve conflict. The role of police in maintaining peace through Jana Sabha and various preventive measures are also worth mentioning. The analysis uncovered the involvement of vested interests and partys’ role in instigating conflicts in Bhiwandi. The lack of effective leadership either to instigate the conflict or to maintain peace is also clear. There are two opinions about the Muhalla committees; one view is that it is the platform to curb unrest from the bud. Another view is that it is only used to get the paid khabri (informer) or dalal of the police to identify the dangerous elements. The participants also visited power looms, temples and mosques and interacted with the common people in their visit. The relevance of media’s role in Bhiwandi both in curtailing and also in activating the riots was also discussed. The field study concluded with the key learning that riots in Bhiwandi is not only rooted in communal tensions, it is more economical and socially based and politically motivated. The solution to this is education, social awareness and economical and social development of the area and most importantly political will of the leaders. |
