Report of the Martyr's Day meeting held in Kuthambakkam on 30th January, 2003 at J.C. Kumarappa Rural Technology and Enterprise Centre, Kuthambakkam
Participants:
Panchayat Leaders and members of the Cluster villages in Thiruvallur District
1. Shri. Kumar, Koduvelli Panchayat
2. Shri. Chidambaranathan, Athigathoor
3. Shri. Jagadeesan, Grandline
4. Smt. Senthamizhchelvi, Kondancheri
5. Shri. Bhaskaran, Azhinjivakkam and others from Vadakarai and Kakkavakkam.
Friends and well-wishers
of the network economy efforts
1. Shri. T.M.Mukundan, Sanjeevani Ayurveda Clinic
2. Shri. A.L. Rangarajan, Gandhi Peace Centre
3. Shri. V. Krishnan
4. Smt. Akila Sunderavadivelu
5. Smt. Renu Bhatia
6. Shri. Ramasubramanian, SAMANVAYA
7. Smt. Rama, SAMANVAYA
8. Smt. Priya, SAMANVAYA
9. Shri. Chintan
10. Smt. Denny Subramaniam
Agenda:
1. Introduction to the centre and its work
2. Presentation on the Network Economy concept
3. Interaction session of the participants
First things first:
A programme originally scheduled for about 2 hours over shot by 2 more
hours. It is no exageration to state that this was mainly due to the enthusiastic
participation of all those present - Panchayat leaders and outsiders.
Demonstration: The
visitors were given a walk through of the village industrial centre by
Shri. Elango and a demonstration of the various machinery and their utility.
Meeting: The meeting
started with a welcome message by Shri. Elango followed by self introduction
by all the participants.
Shri. Elango then made a presentation on the current economic situation
of the villages. Talking about the process of development, he outlined
how the government driven development has its own agenda in creating basic
infrastructure and how this does not still answer the needs of economic
stability of the people. He spoke of the market forces that dictate the
economy of the village from remote urban centres and how the little money
generated from the land in the villages flows from the village to the
nearest town and then on to the cities. He said that unless the villages
can initiate efforts to retain some of these cash that leave the village,
there is no possibility of investment in the villages, towards this it
is important that the villagers produce at least partly the major consumables
of the village.
He detailed the money flow
for 2 consumables - soaps and rice. He spoke of how the detergent and
bathing soap consumed in Kuthambakkam and 2 surrounding villages alone
if produced by a unit with an initial investment of Rs.1.25 lakh is adequate
to employ about 22 people in these villages and after the re-payment of
the loan and meeting all expenses they would be in a position to make
about Rs.2,500/- per person.
He spoke of making the best
use of schemes such as SGSY, etc. designed for the Self-Help Groups (SHG)
in the villages.
Similar to the soaps, he
spoke of the rice consumed in the village and how a series of mini-rice
mills which could process rice for the villages alone could easily employ
130 people in 3 villages directly and profitably. He outlined the strength
of voulmes in the villages and how the village products and produce should
leverage on this strength.
He also touched upon the
failure of education system in first of all retaining the interest of
the students and secondly providing any knowledge to the student that
would allow / empower him to actively initiate/ participate in the economic
upliftmint of the villages. He said that unless the Panchayat leaders
think and act in the sphere of education too and re-design education system
to reflect the village priorities the system would not change.
Talking about the health
and hygiene aspects in the village, Elango pointed out that the traditional
system of medicine about which there was knowledge in the villages is
slowly disappearing and how if only people in the villages could be made
to remember this and practice, the health of the villagers would improve.
Talking about the core issue
of economic initiatives at the village level, Elango pointed out that
most men in the villages and majority of women are today weak and demotivated
to do any thing mainly because they do not have a way of making ends meet.
He pointed out how the mindless method of technology implementation in
various employment spheres including agriculture (as tractors first and
harvestors now) had wiped out employment opportunities for the rural poor
and said that unless we are aware of the technological advancements and
our dependency on them and ensure that we plan our initiatives based on
this understanding we will be reduced to being mere spectators.
Outlining the impact of a
locally initiated effort, Elango mentioned that if people could be made
to feel confident of producing what they need, they could go on to create
a larger economic prosperity as was the case a few centuries back. Talking
about the decline of the village industry, he pointed out how the colonial
intervention had played havoc in the midst of the villages and made them
dependent on the government as some slaves do to their masters. He said
that if the gathered Panchayat Leaders were to intiate efforts and do
their part within the next 4 years changes of significant proportions
can be brought in this district and a tangible change for everyone to
see.
He spoke of how leadership
is the need of the hour and how there is a need for the leaders to take
a few risks, particularly with the government. If the Panchayat leader
loses some money through his initiatives or is even imprisoned for daring
to do what is not prescribed / promoted by the Collectorate, he said,
the Panchayat leaders should not be afraid of these. Pointing out that
any changes of significance in this country cannot be achieved without
going to prison, he said, that such imrisonments or reprimands from the
collectorate should not be taken seriously at all and to be taken as a
part of the life by the leaders.
T.M.Mukundan spoke about
the decrease of traditional medicinal knowledge in the villages and how
this is leading them to a state of dependency on urban doctors who many
times prescribed medicine that are unnecessary and expensive. He mentioned
how traditonally most villages used to be able to take care of their health
and hygiene needs. Particularly, he highlighted the need for the villages
to revive the traditional system of child birth and train the new generation
of women in this. This would avoid unnecessary cesarian operations, here
he mentioned that Chennai has the maximum number of cesarian operations
conduced in the world.
A.L.Rangarajan mentioned
about the state of the urban poor is far worse than that of the rural
poor and many of them live in conditions not fit for any living thing.
He pointed out how the need to understand the larger macro issues such
as migration to the urban areas and other effects along with the micro
initiatives. He requested the Panchayat Leaders to respond to the presentation
of Elango.
Interaction by the Panchayat
Leaders The Panchayat leaders interacted with the guests and amongst themselves
based on the presentation made by Elango. Unanimously all of them felt
that the initiatives of Elango had to be replicated in their own in all
their villages. They spoke of many problems in their villages and how
it would be overcome through this mode.Details of other Panchayat Leaders
within the network and their initiatives soon in these pages.
Ramasubramanan, Chief, SAMANVAYA
spoke about the interest generated by the initiatives of Kuthambakkam
amidst the right thinking people from across the country and also Indians
living elsewhere. He said that his organisation would continue to be a
bridge in information exchange for the Panchayat leaders as well as be
their voice in different fora. He pointed out to the need for the Panchayat
leaders to be aware of some of the larger happenings and how it would
impact their life, he particularly pointed out to the complaint made by
many Panchayat leaders that there were un-explainable health problems
after being administered medicine in recent times and how this could have
been because of a large consignment of contaminated medicine shipped to
India last year. He assured the contineous support of his organisation
towards the initiatives of all the Panchat leaders.
Denny Subramaniam spoke about
how she has seen contentment when she lived with the villagers despite
poverty and this was a very important quality and at all cost how this
has to be retained by the villagers.
Chintan spoke about how the
economics, religion and culture are 3 aspects of development and how all
these have to be concentrated on.
Contact in the village:
At the J.C.K. Centre - 26811247
The Panchayat Office - 25016595
Elango (mobile): 9841113814