NGO performs in city to bring about social change in villages
Ankita Bhatkhande TWEETS @aanks
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Through street plays and traditional dances, the Jharkhand group is urging people to make calls to officials and help solve grievances of rural folk, whose complaints are uploaded on their website
A group of Gond adivasis, from Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, are performing in the city to spread an initiative of CGNet Swara, a Jharkhand based NGO that works for the welfare of advasis, and to bring about social change in maoist affected villages of central India.Through street plays and traditional dances, the group is spreading the initiative “Chattis se Trisath“, that emphasises on looking at each other rather than looking away, and hopes to bridge the communication barrier between urban and rural India.
The initiative was the brainchild of Shubhranshu Chaudhary, a journalist born and brought up in Koriya District, Chattisgarh, where there was a huge disparity between people, the administration and the government.This was not only a result of the power equation and hierarchy, but also arose from the language barrier.While the initiative was launched five years ago, it is only recently that the group began visiting urban areas to spread the message. They will be performing in Mumbai till mid-September.
“Most officials did not understand what tribals said, and people were unable to voice grievances. They started befriending maoists as they knew the language, but it did not help solve problems of food, water and shelter. I wanted to devise a communication system that would be free and solve the issues of distance and language for the people. Thus Swara was born,“ said Chaudhary.
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
Villagers can call Swara's toll free number and record grievances in their own language. They will be prompted to give contact details of the official in charge at the administrationgovernment level. The grievances will be translated into English by Swara and uploaded on their website. People across the country -and the world -can make calls to the officials to remind them about the villagers' problems. “We realised that adivasis can be trained to register complaints, but sometimes their complaints get trivialised. But if people like you and me make calls, officials will be pressurised to acting,“ said Chaudhary.
THE IMPACT
Over the years, the initiative helped solve various problems, from basic demands for a hand pump, to major issues like not getting pension. People from all walks of life called officials, requesting them to act on complaints.
After having performed in villages, the group is now visiting institutions across Mumbai, urging people through traditional songs, dance and puppet shows to make calls for social change. “We want to bridge the barrier of language and distance, so that the world is a better place for tribals in the remotest parts of India,“ said Pawan Satyarthi, group leader at Swara.
The initiative was the brainchild of Shubhranshu Chaudhary, a journalist born and brought up in Koriya District, Chattisgarh, where there was a huge disparity between people, the administration and the government.This was not only a result of the power equation and hierarchy, but also arose from the language barrier.While the initiative was launched five years ago, it is only recently that the group began visiting urban areas to spread the message. They will be performing in Mumbai till mid-September.
“Most officials did not understand what tribals said, and people were unable to voice grievances. They started befriending maoists as they knew the language, but it did not help solve problems of food, water and shelter. I wanted to devise a communication system that would be free and solve the issues of distance and language for the people. Thus Swara was born,“ said Chaudhary.
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
Villagers can call Swara's toll free number and record grievances in their own language. They will be prompted to give contact details of the official in charge at the administrationgovernment level. The grievances will be translated into English by Swara and uploaded on their website. People across the country -and the world -can make calls to the officials to remind them about the villagers' problems. “We realised that adivasis can be trained to register complaints, but sometimes their complaints get trivialised. But if people like you and me make calls, officials will be pressurised to acting,“ said Chaudhary.
THE IMPACT
Over the years, the initiative helped solve various problems, from basic demands for a hand pump, to major issues like not getting pension. People from all walks of life called officials, requesting them to act on complaints.
After having performed in villages, the group is now visiting institutions across Mumbai, urging people through traditional songs, dance and puppet shows to make calls for social change. “We want to bridge the barrier of language and distance, so that the world is a better place for tribals in the remotest parts of India,“ said Pawan Satyarthi, group leader at Swara.
