Visit to RALEGAN SIDDHI

October 31st, 2009

Ralegan siddhi a model village of maharashtra . before 1970 it was just a ordinary village like any other . As it was facing a lots of problems like alcoholism, illiteracy, unemployment ,low agricultural produce  etc .
 But then a man took the responsibility and made all difference . He made a ordinary village to turn into a model village . A man with a difference ‘ANNA HAZARE’ .
Anna Hazare has given 5 principles on which his total concept of model village is established are Nashabandi, Nasbandi,Shramdaan,Tree plantation and to stop animals to graze on fertile lands.
This village is entirely different from others i have ever seen. There was a school for education, a hostel having very good infrastructure and facilities. Plantation of fruits plant was nicely planned and implemented. Organic farming was one of the best examples of educated farming.
One of the most important things was that in this village women are also given equal importance as they handle the cultivation of fruit plants and their sale which gives them an income of Rs. 6 Lakh per annum. This village has touched new heights in milk production which is about 3000 litres/day. So, it is very clear that for constructing wuch a village people will have to come together having a vision to come together having a vision above individual interests.
Building temple, eradication of alcoholism, establishment of Money bank were keys for the development of social scenario. Anna Hazare arranged group marriages for the poor and made several self help groups. He brought a concept of Shram daan in village in which every earner will fully contributes 10 percent of his income for betterment of villages.
At last l would like to conclude with a quotation by Anna Hazare that “One grain has to bury itself alive to give birth to a field of crop. By burying itself the grain does not die. India today needs activists like that grain.”

Visit to AGA KHAN PALACE

October 24, 2009

 This palace was built in 1892 by Imran Sultan Mohamaad Shah Aga Khan III. He was elected as the president of the League of Nations in 1938 and was well renowned in the field of politics and sports. The place was later donated to India by Aga Khan IV in 1969 as a mark respect to Gandhiji and his philosophy. 
The Aga Khan palace is a national monument of Indian freedom movement. Following the launch of Quit India movement in 1942, Gandhiji, his wife Kasturba, his secretary Mahadev Desai was interned at the palace from August 9, 1942, to May 6, 1944. Mahadevbhaiand Kasturba passed away while in captivity at the Aga Khan Palace and their Samadhis are located in the campus situated near the river Mula, the Palace is a simple memorial to Gandhiji’s and his life.
The palace has developed into a national and international place of pilgrimage with over a lakh of visitors every year who come to pay homage to the samadhis here. The palace is surrounded by a sprawling garden. The famous movie Gandhi was shot here.
The management of the museum, samadhis and the palace campus was transferred to the Gandhi Memorial Society in 1980. The society has been trying to make this place living memorial to Kasturba Gandhi by organising a number of activities throughout the year

Visit to the SARHAD

September 26, 2009

““…hum honge kamyab ek din, man mein hain vishwas, poora hai vishwas, hum honge kamyab ek din”.
            As this popular strain fell on our ears, we realized that the spirit of this song was best represented by the children singing it.
            We set off on a Saturday afternoon to Sarhad, a non-governmental social and educational organization that has dedicated itself to peace, humanity and development in the strife-ridden border regions of India, such as Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East. On reaching there, we were welcomed by Mr. Sanjay Nahar, President of Sarhad and, about fifty odd children of varying ages. The programme began with Mr. Nahar recounting a brief history of himself and of Sarhad, followed by an interactive session where participants had an opportunity to raise queries. The children, shy and hesitant at first, slowly came forward and began to speak. Later on, MIT-SOG participants arranged an informal games session. It was delightful to watch both the children of Sarhad and MIT-SOGians participate whole-heartedly in the games. After that, some of the people were persuaded to sing, and in this it can be said without doubt that the children of Sarhad outshone by far, the performers from MIT-SOG. All too soon, it was time to leave.
            The mission of Sarhad is a noble one. It aims at giving children affected by terrorism a chance at having a normal life, that they may spread the message of peace.
The story of Mr. Sanjay Nahar may be said to depict the saga of youth in areas where violence is predominant; one that starts with anger followed by more violence, disillusionment and finally the dawn of understanding. He was one of the fortunate few who realized the futility of furthering a cause through violent means. There are many others who haven’t been as lucky, who have fallen into the trap of terrorism and have reached the point of no return. Then what chance does the present generation of children have of leading a normal life, of knowing the world outside of their four walls of bloodshed, poverty, ignorance and isolation.
            There is an urgent need to bring these children out of such strife-ridden areas into an environment that is wholesome and educational where they are made to realize that they are not so very different from us after all. It is with precisely with this objective that Sarhad was founded. Here’s hoping that it goes a long way in realizing its dream of peace and unity- “There are no boundaries”.

Visit to the Hivre Bazar

September 19, 2009

“Today the human kind discusses security, equality and social development but at the time of action he becomes pessimistic as if he never had thought of possibilities before. But there are exceptions to it, who have changed the face of history, who have given a new way of life to the world and setting the standards by their sheer hard work.
In Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, a village named Hivre Bazar is setting an example of the above. As it is called as a “Model Village”, it proves its worth as a glowing diamond and a feather on India’s cap. The facilities one can see in this village are the ones practised in towns. But this wasn’t the story of this village until Shri. Popat Rao Powar who is the Sarpanch of the village had put in untiring efforts. We have to have an historical perspective to actually understand his initiatives. The face of the village was different then. Issues like shortage of usable water, unemployment led villagers to migrate for the sake of work. The decline of value system began as people started consuming liquor.
There’s a famous saying that when the world is full of evils, a human superpower takes birth to make over the destroyed. The rise of Shri Popat Rao Pawar is no different than this. His sincere efforts brought about radical changes in the village. Sidelining the geographical conditions of the village, today there is enough water for the people under the ‘Water Conservation Plan’ which is sufficient for the means of ploughing as well as domestic purposes. To have the social stability he took up projects like building schools, temples, mosques and gymnasium
for the youth. He not only advocated for the safety of the village, but also for the nearby forest with the help of the local Forest Department. The unity of the people of the village is real gift to the nation as they come forward voluntarily for every such activity. Social transformation also included eradication of usage of liquor or drugs, controlling noise-pollution which is rare even in urban India.

The efforts of Shri Popat Rao Powar is accepted the world over today. He had been to different countries on the ground of his social reformations.  The changes of Hivre Bazar have been an example for the best of the countries as they visit this small locality quite often.
I request to all you reading this article to have the will power to initiate an act, the path will be discovered too. As the saying goes, “Charity begins at home”- let us come forward and commence the work of progress right from our own houses, societies, villages and towns. Then we can entitle it as a sincere initiative for the human race.

Visit to the village Nidhal

September 12, 2009

“India lives in villages”, the first field visit of the MPG-05 (2009-10) was to a village Nidhal in Satara district of Maharashtra proved that this statement of the father of our nation is true in every sense. The three and half hour journey from the busy city of Pune to the landscape of Nidhal was a refreshing and thought provoking experience for the budding leaders of MPG-05. The villagers extended a warm welcome to the MIT-SOG team. The first visit was to the Hanuman Vidhyalaya, a school started in 1983 in the village. The School Principal Mr. S.S. Jadhav together with the entire staff and students welcomed the MIT-SOG team and detailed about the school and its academic performance since the last 25 years. The school got 100% S.S.C   result in 1999-2000 and “Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil” award in 1993. The school has lot of committees to cater to the various needs such as Public Work Samiti, Advisory committee, Poor Student Help committee, etc. The MIT-SOG team congratulated the entire school management and staff for their tireless efforts to provide discipline and quality education the village students and bringing communities participation in their each and every initiative. The MIT-SOG participants’ interaction with the school children enables them to feel their spirit and the dreams of their future. The visit and interaction with the Sarpanch in the Grampanchayat office equipped the participants to know the functioning of a Grampanchayat. Smt Lalita Kumbhar, the unopposed Woman Sarpanch of the village interacted with the students and clarified the day to the day functioning of the Grampanchayat.  She informed that there are 35 self help groups in the village and women are actively participating in Village Development committee.  The Deputy Sarpanch Shri. Chandrakant Khuspe and Gramsevak Shri S.S. Gawde answered to the students queries in the interactive sessions. In the next visit to Nilkanteshwar Nari Pat Sanstha, a small credit bank, Mr. Mullah detailed the participants about the working of this bank and how this self help group cater to the needs of villagers in different ways.  He discussed the variety of credit facilities available for the villagers under various schemes. The success of this initiative is very transparent as the village been declared as the “Bachat Gram”

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The entire villagers considered Mr. Chandra Kant Dalwi as their role model who is the current Deputy Collector of Pune, who hail from this Nidhal village and who initiated all developmental activities. The village is very famous for its watershed development. The Nidhal Watershed Development project covering 2001 hectares of land with 12 check weir and 6 check dams are running very successfully enriching the Nidhal village which enable this village to be different from others. The visit to this watershed development area portrayed how a drought prone area has been converted to a well irrigated place and has won first prize in the state under &nSaint Gadgebaba Gram Swachta Abhiyan The Indo-German Watershed development program and other water conservation techniques used by the villagers are efficient and economical one. The donations and Shramadans of the villagers are noteworthy in the success of the watershed development program of this village. The village has good drainage and sewage system and villages are well aware of the health hazards of the time. The village is known for lowest population growth and family planning programs.

The visit to the 200 acres of fruit garden is astonishing to the MIT-SOG team, as most of those who come from urban background.  Witnessing variety of agricultural products  which they have seen only in shops such as Amla, Potatoes, Onions, Sunflower, Peanuts, Rajma, Pomegranates  etc and understanding the scientific methods used in this villages is informatory to the budding leaders of MIT-SOG. Captain Dalwi, a retired army officer who owns a Garden in this village informed the group about the different varieties of fruits and vegetable available in the villages, the harvesting and marketing techniques, group farming system and the cost of production and price details of the farm products.  The visit to the wind mill area in the nearby Aundh village provided the participants the first hand information about the alternative energy creation technique and its implications. 

The various programs in Nidhal village such as Social Capital building program, Afforestation, Crop cultivation were successfully implemented in Nidhal village to fulfill their mission of Enriching the living condition of Nidhal Community. Nidhal model is a successful model which we can apply in many other villages in India. But for these two important factors which are important as per the Nidhal experience, the people’s participation and the dedicated leadership. When the participants returned from Nidhal the key learning is this: A single dedicated leader can change the destiny of thousands of villagers.