I Don't know How She Does It

A forceful advocate for women's rights and champion of the disadvantaged; founder of a voluntary organisation; life long activist; wife and mother and a brilliant cook -Mrs Putul Kumari doesn't conform to any easy stereotype and she certainly has a lot of energy.

Putul Kumari started teaching some girls in her village when she was only 15 years old because there was no school for them to go to. She went on to train as a teacher and has always seen education as a vital liberating force. Educated in the Gandhian tradition by her father, she then went on to marry another activist.

The 70s were a time of political upheaval in India and both Mrs Putul and her husband were greatly influenced by J P Narayan, a prominent socialist follower of Gandhi. JP was an inspirational leader of the radical movement which was demanding major social change in Bihar. However the couple decided to stay in their own area and work to improve the lives of local people rather than become more involved in the movement for change at state level. And this is what they have done with remarkable results.

Gaya District in Bihar is an area characterised by extreme poverty, often brutal treatment of the poor by the landowning class, and a political system which has been hijacked by those with money and power. People with no land work as agricultural labourers for local landowners. They are paid in kind for each working day - a few kilos of rice plus breakfast, and a midday meal. This amounts in value to about 70p in UK terms. It's worth remembering that 70p a day is the World Bank's definition of extreme poverty but for some labourers in Bihar it's all they get to support themselves and their families, and then only on the days when they actually work. For landowners payment in kind helps ensure a near-feudal system with poor people virtually outside the economy and unable to afford travel to the nearest town to look for work.

Together with a group from AVI, I visited the Village Development Centre which Mrs Putul founded in 1981 and has run ever since. On the evening we arrived we went to a small village, far from the main road and with no electricity supply. After dark the only lights were small lamps glimmering in one or two houses.

Mrs Putul was greeted warmly by the residents. The villagers used to live in the same village as the landowners but had decided to move to a new site so they would have more independence. They had found a site but on two occasions their work to build new houses was sabotaged by the landlords who, in order to have more control over workers, preferred them living nearby. Finally with Mrs Putul's support they moved to their new homes under cover of darkness, established themselves there and were left in peace by the landowners who they continued - out of necessity - to work for.

This is a typical situation for the poor. These are Mushars - people at the bottom of the caste hierarchy - members of the so-called Scheduled caste, or Dalits, considered to be low down the social scale. Mrs Putul comes from the Rajput caste but I never felt when we travelled with her that she had social barriers related to caste. Perhaps she is a very unusual person, but she just seemed to be welcomed by villagers, loved and respected for all she had done. She has, however, had to face a lot of criticism from her own caste for her work with the poor.

The Village Development Centre - Gram Nirman Kendra

With the assistance of some funding from Oxfam, Mrs Putul started the Village Development Centre. A small number of paid staff and many volunteer activists work with local groups in the villages and the surrounding area. But what does the Village Development Centre do to help people?

State primary schools in India are often overcrowded and poor children get less attention than children from better-off homes. So Mrs Putul has started a large number of non-formal education centres where children can get extra help with their studies and are encouraged not to drop out of the school system.

Women's self help groups have also been a major aspect of GNK's work. As readers of Village Matters will know, these organisations act as savings groups and ensure that women do not need to get involved with moneylenders. Loans from the group can also enable women to start small businesses. Very importantly too, the groups give women an opportunity to get together and share problems.

This year, on 8 March, International Women's Day, Mrs Putul and some group members also travelled to Patna, the state capital, and were able to share their concerns with Mrs Rabri Devi the Chief Minister of Bihar. I can only feel envious and full of admiration. In spite of attending numerous demonstrations I've never managed to get an audience with any of the various occupants of 10 Downing Street!

The countryside in which the Village Development Centre is situated is dry and there are few trees. GNK is restarting a tree planting programme, providing saplings at low prices to local people. Not only this will help improve the environment, but trees supply much needed wood and often fruit which will give an additional source of income for their owners. At one time the government gave money to support this type of programme but funding has been greatly reduced. Now though, with money raised by GNK the scheme is being re-launched.

GNK is also campaigning for an end to child labour which is widespread in Bihar in spite of being outlawed by the Indian Government. The organisation encourages parents to send their children to school and GNK has started a centre where working children can go when they are free and get involved with a range of activities such as music, art and sports.

Lastly, GNK has promoted one crucially important vehicle of social change - Panchayati Raj. Recent changes in local government have sought to devolve power down to elected representatives at village level. One third of these representatives must be women. Mrs Putul and all involved with GNK have been very active in ensuring that full advantage is taken of this new system so that those elected have the true welfare of the community at heart and are not simply carrying out the wishes of the rich.

Not much time for cooking you might think? But if you stayed with Mrs Putul you'd find that producing delicious meals is just one more of her many attributes. I certainly don't know how she does it.

Mary Holmes

The Village Development Centre is a member of the NBJK Network and is one of the groups supported under NBJK's Small Groups Programme. The outside funding comes from Barnes One World Link, a small voluntary group in West London. The Link has been contributing £660 to help fund one of the groups in the Small Groups Programme - currently GNK - for a number of years. The money goes to help with staff salaries and other work. This year the Link has also supplied £500 to GNK's tree planting programme.