areas of Himachal Pradesh for the last few weeks (1st to 30th
June, 2017) was a different experience for a person who hails from the plain
regions of south India. The pattern of social life in the rural areas of
Himachal Pradesh is different in terms of the same in the southern parts. The
geographical factors have a tremendous influence on the effectiveness of access
to the basic facilities for the people. The walk on the road leading to the
lower part of Ranfua Jabrog village was difficult especially during the rains.
The empathetic view induces me to correlate the hardship involved in the daily
lives of people living in the lower parts of the villages.
The villages are
structured in such a way that the upper part is for the upper caste and the
lower part for the Dalits. There is no pattern of mixed housing in neither of
the villages visited. Here comes the dominant role of caste which again hinders
the entire process of development. Development cannot be simply confined to
delivering the financial benefits through various Government programmes. Such
initiatives become futile when the shift in perception with respect to the
caste hierarchies do not happen at a reasonable pace even after 70 years of Independence.
Majority of the respondents are comfortable having a caste system. Discrimination
does undertake in schools, community and during marriage functions. The Dalits
are separately seated while having food during marriage functions of upper
caste people. The Dalit students are seated in a separate queue during the mid
day meals in schools. The level of reluctance from the part of the villagers was
very high when questions with respect to caste discrimination were asked.
Somewhere down the line there is an element of fear instilled among the dalits
caste to express the difficulties faced by them. Applicability of this analysis
cannot be restricted to the villages surveyed here.
a documentary titled “Kakkoos” directed by Divya, a law graduate,
in our college a couple of months ago. The documentary focuses upon the extent
of manual scavenging in Tamil Nadu and the caste dominance in this arena. The
representation of inhumane treatment of lower caste people (Dalits) is depicted
clearly in the documentary. Caste is an epidemic which is rooted in the
mindsets of people and community as a whole. Still den, some of the villagers
were feeling free enough to express their discomfort zone towards the existence
of caste system in the society. Gender disparity is another aspect which could
be observed throughout the visits. There was only one post graduate in Ranfua
Jabrog village and she is unemployed. She stated that she has to take care of
the children and family and it would be difficult to go for job in such a
situation. But I could figure out an attitudinal shift in her with respect to
caste. She said that all human beings have to be treated equal irrespective of
the caste they belong to. The villagers commented on the drama which often
takes place during the time of elections. The ultimate result after the
elections would be utter negligence. The intensity of issues varies according
to different regions. But the issues are in effect one and the same. There is a
need to attract more people into the development sector to stimulate the
process of making positive changes in the society.
PAPN was indeed aplatform to explore a smaller version of the ground realities in the villages
within a short span of time. The life at PAPN was pretty work friendly and
motivated me to think independently. I end this learning note with a deep
motivation to know the social realities and its influence on people and
community. The willingness to take part in addressing and resolving the social
problems have to be strengthened among people so that there can be a well
acceptance for the initiatives taken by the development sector and organizations
working at the grass root levels.
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