A voluntary organisation works for justice for downtrodden and environment protection in Bundelkhand

The Akhil Bhartiya Samaj Seva Sansthaan and its sister agencies have been working to elevate marginalised Dalits and tribal people and prepare them for progress and leadership. The organisation has also been associated with ensuring better implementation of various government programmes to protect people, particularly women, in relation to land rights, bonded labour, false claims on loan recovery, etc. Bharat Dogra reports

In recent decades, the Bundelkhand Region of Central India has often been in the news, due to serious problems such as prolonged droughts and water stress on the one hand and encouraging developmental initiatives on the other. The name of voluntary organisation ABSSS (Akhil Bhartiya Samaj Seva Sansthaan) has been frequently associated with the latter. Although at times ABSSS has worked in other districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, its core focus is on the Patha area of UP’s Chitrakoot District. However, the impact of the work has gone beyond geographic boundaries, as its founder, Gaya Prasad Gopal, known as Gopalji, has groomed many youth in social activism and they have gone on to play important roles in other places.

Gopalji also contributed in important ways to several state- and national-level networks of other voluntary organisations. ABSSS took the lead in guiding the project work of a number of such bodies under the PACS (Poorest Areas Civil Society) Programme too, further expanding its area of influence. In Patha, ABSSS’s chief contribution is in facilitating land distribution among the landless (particularly those belonging to the Kol Tribal Community), release and rehabilitation of bonded workers, watershed development and other water conservation and minor irrigation works, which have helped reduce water scarcity for thousands of households. Gopalji, however, rates involvement with improving education higher, and says ABSSS has been concerned with this to some extent or the other all through its four decade-long journey.

When ABSSS started working in the Patha area, most government schools were in a dismal state and located far from many hamlets of the weakest sections. Due to the presence of dacoit gangs in the region, many teachers appointed to these schools from outside the area did not attend duty regularly. Dalit and Kol children faced many problems in attending school. Only an estimated 20 per cent of children from Kol households were doing so. ABSSS started educational centres in many hamlets of weaker sections, roping in local youth as teachers. The initiative got a very good response and parents relieved children of household duties so that they could study. By 2000, more than 2,100 students were studying in these schools, almost 45 per cent of them girls.

Some teachers became known for their dedication. When this writer went to report on an attack by a dacoit gang on a hamlet, I was surprised to see that despite the disruption the incident had caused, young teacher Shiv Shankar had started his school on time and his student Phool Kali did not make a single mistake while reciting the 9-times table. Education in these schools is made interesting by using plays, role-play, stories, folk songs and visits to forests, herbal gardens, railway stations and other such places. In some places, the schools start with a group walk, singing songs and raising slogans regarding ethical issues and good habits. Students discussed issues like justice. At a public meeting, a small boy surprised everyone by singing a stirring song against exploitation. Some adults, too, enrolled to become literate.

Thanks to the academic foundation, many Kol and Dalit students from the area started joining college. In response, ABSSS has started mentoring programmes for first-generation college students from these communities. There are special programmes for all-round progress of adolescent girl students also. Several Kols and Dalits have also started emerging as leaders – in the panchayat and in activism. The Sarhat Panchayat area was infamous for ruthless landlords, but when Kol youth Rajan was elected as pradhan (chief), they had to come to him for important sanctions, and this signalled a huge change in the power balance. Booti Kol was also elected to the panchayat, and top district leaders tried to exert pressure on her to vote as per their wishes, but she succeeded in staying true to her convictions. Sanjo Kol, another panchayat leader, could often be seen vrooming to offices and meetings on her motorcycle.

ABSSS has also been associated with ensuring better implementation of various government programmes to protect people, particularly women, in relation to land rights, bonded labour, false claims on loan recovery etc. The volunteers help prepare petitions, hold meetings with officials and help the poor get justice from Courts. They were able to present cases of extreme injustice to women before the National Women’s Commission. When a National Human Rights Commission team (of which this writer was a part) visited the area, ABSSSS put in a lot of work to make available important information helpful in suggesting better policies and for securing relief for victims of injustice.

In the early days of the Right to Information movement, ABSSS helped spread awareness about it and later used the power in its advocacy efforts. Much before the advent of NREGA, the food-for-work programme implemented for the government with help from Gopalji and his colleagues won praise from both the people and authorities. In its early days, while ABSSS and its sister organisations were involved in peaceful mobilisation of forest workers and forest minor produce gatherers to check exploitation, they simultaneously made storage, processing and marketing efforts to secure better prices for the minor produce collected, particularly by Kol tribals. 

Sister organisations like Patha Kol Adhikar Manch and Chingari (meaning ‘spark’) were involved in non-violent struggles for justice too. Chingari, which originated in the Patha area, evolved as an important organisation of women, and spread its wings to other parts of Bundelkhand. Among its many constructive activities, ABSSS has been involved in the spread of natural farming in several villages and afforestation work in many places, including creation of some beautiful gardens. Apart from its direct contribution of over 60,000 trees, ABSSS has been encouraging many households to plant trees and create kitchen gardens.

(The writer is a senior freelance journalist and author who has been associated with several social movements and initiatives. He lives in New Delhi.)