However an important factor which obstructs such involvement is that while the possibility of change is most identified with electoral politics, this has become so corrupt and manipulative in many places that the most sincere voices for genuine change are often lost in this. Even when some very sincere persons manage to cross the first few barriers because of their hard work and determination and that of their colleagues, they find their further path blocked by systemic obstructions. The entire process often turns out to be so discouraging that it puts off many people from trying again, although their sincerity is very much needed to bring real change.

However there can be a different approach which is likely to maintain morale at high levels and bring better results in due course. This is to keep a political movement constantly at a high level of activity and engagement with people, regardless of election cycles, on the basis of commitment to the truth, with truth being understood as the most sincere, uncompromising, evidence-based understanding of the existing (and recent) situation and the changes most needed in this situation. Further, such a political movement seeks change not only in the wider system but also among people, particularly in its own members, so that more and more people are also encouraged and enabled to become better human beings. Thus while electoral breakthroughs may be delayed due to systemic factors, even in its early stage this movement starts contributing to creating a better world and its own members also start experiencing a reduction of their distress and a strengthening of their commitment and capability.

To try to explain more clearly, the mobilisation I am suggesting here consists of several important aspects. Firstly, the movement creates a statement on the basis of extensive consultation regarding the state of the world (and any particular country), important aspects and causes of distress and high risks and the way forward for reducing these. Although this remains open, on the basis of past experience it may be stated very broadly that what is likely to emerge from extensive consultation is a path based on the precepts of justice and equality, peace and non-violence, protection of environment and biodiversity, transparency and democracy, decentralisation and cooperation, and these precepts will have to be applied in various situations to find satisfactory and meaningful solutions.

Secondly, these precepts and the skills of applying them in various situations to find solutions to various problems must be spread widely among people on a constant basis. Education must be understood more and more in this context.

Thirdly, and this is a very important but neglected aspect, this movement also creates encouraging and enabling environment for its members and supporters to make such changes in their life as will contribute to reducing their distress while increasing their capacity to contribute more to wider social change. To give an example, a person may be suffering distress in his life due to avoidable violence in his thinking and actions, various kinds of addictions and substance abuse, loneliness, breakdown of important social relationships etc. This social movement creates enabling and encouraging conditions for people to apply its precepts to their own life to get rid of many problems and causes of distress, while at the same time creating possibilities of very constructive engagements of its members at local levels and community gatherings, enlivened hopefully with music and dance.

Fourthly, when various election opportunities for public office emerge, whether at local at higher levels, then the political front of this movement participates in these, or independent candidates supported by the movement participate, in an energetic but calm way, not showing any signs of desperation. Regardless of electoral success or not, without being affected too much by it, the movement  continues on its journey of truth as perceived and understood by it, a journey which is constantly improving social life and also contributing to a better life of its members and supporters.

Fifthly, I think of all this more in terms of worldwide change with the movements in various countries and places being supportive towards such change.

Sixth, these movements should concentrate more in terms of providing and advancing alternative paths instead of expanding most of their energy on the criticism of others. The overall approach should, as far as possible, be polite and not too aggressive, avoiding use of very strong language in the context of being critical towards others. In other words, the movement should always tell the truth as understood by it but as far as possible in relatively polite ways. Instead of insisting too much on inflicting very harsh punishments on those guilty of big misdeeds, the movement should place more emphasis on remedial actions and if those guilty of misdeeds are willing to accept their guilt and try to make up for this in various ways, then as far as possible this should be accepted.

Seventh, instead of merely speaking about alternatives, this movement should try, to the extent possible, to create examples of sustainable community life, natural farming, renewable energy, crafts and cottage industry, self-reliant rural life, eco-friendly urban life, equality based community life, cooperation among people in various ways for taking forward big tasks. All such efforts will help to increase hope and lead to further creative initiatives.

In keeping with the precepts it advances, this movement should be peaceful, non-violent, transparent and democratic. All its members need not agree with all decisions of the movement, or its political front. Members can continue to state publicly their differences on certain issues, while maintaining their unity with the movement at a wider level.

Ninth, despite remaining non-violent and polite, when the members of this movement face repression and violence, there should be arrangements for providing prompt help to them by the movement. There can also be wider arrangements for helping members in distress and systems of mutual support. When external efforts are made to harm the movement by planting hostile agents, there should be democratic methods in place for identifying and checking such harm at an early stage.

While more attention can certainly be given to issues closer to home, the movement should have universal concerns to create a safer, happier world and reduce distress and high risks at world level.

The movement should be able to attract and maintain support of people at various levels of involvement. Some may be able to give only less time, while some may be in a position to give most of their time. Some may lead from the front in peaceful agitations that can face repression, while some may contribute only in some low-risk constructive activities. The movement should be able to accept and appreciate whatever big or small support it gets from various supporters and members in terms of their ability to contribute. It should include a wide range of activities, all aimed at creating a better and safer world, so that various members and supporters can choose from several available avenues to make their contribution.

(The author writer is honorary convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now; his recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, A Day in 2071, India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food, A Day in 2071, Earth without Borders and Man over Machine—A Path to Peace)

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The first of these Shaheed (1965) can lay claim to a place in any listing of the greatest films made in Hindi, particularly in the context of films made for social change. This film was based on the life of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his companion freedom fighters, with the role of Bhagat Singh played by Manoj Kumar very effectively. While several films on Bhagat Singh have been made in Hindi, many regard this as the best among these films.

This success was partly due to the very deep commitment of Manoj Kumar to this subject and his deep emotional involvement in it. In part the great popularity is also due to the great popularity of the songs of this film and the tremendous impact these songs have created over the years. Six decades later, these continue to be the most sung solidarity songs and freedom movement songs. The great lyricist Prem Dhawan and top singers like Mohammad Rafi combined their skills to create very memorable songs, and Manoj Kumar ensured the very moving and inspiring filming of these songs. Most pertinently, rare as this is, Prem Dhawan, was the lyricist as well as the composer of these songs. At times he has picked up a few lines of well-known freedom songs, such as from the poetry of Ramprasad Bismil, but developed this in his own creative style so that this these songs then resonate easily among people in their rhythm being which was then closer to contemporary times.

Ae watan, ae watan, humko teri kasam is a song sung by Bhagat Singh in this film in a very determined voice at a time when his palm is burning due to a pledge he is taking of sacrificing his life for the freedom of the country. This song was sung by Mohammad Rafi in a voice which is restrained yet emits a deep sense of commitment and determination.

The second song Sar Faroshi ki Tamanna uses some famous lines penned by Ram Prasad Bismil, who too had sacrificed his life in the freedom movement, very effectively in the scene where Shahid Jatindra Nath Das is dying after a very long fast in the jail.

Rang de basanti chola is again a very popular song from the freedom movement which is still sung whenever the spirit of sacrifice for a great cause is evoked. In this film this song, punctuated with slogans, and has been used in a very memorable way in the sequence in which the three great martyrs Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev are hanged. This has been sung jointly by Mukesh, Mohammad Rafi, Rajendra Mehta and Lata Mangeshkar.

Ultimately the credit for assembling such great team work to create a truly great film, which still continues to be an inspirational film 60 years later, goes to Manoj Kumar.

The second film of enduring significance from Manoj Kumar is Upkar (1967). While in terms of quality of film making and deep emotional impact this film may not be in the same class as Shaheed, in terms of raising the spirit of the country in difficult times, in an inspirational way, this film is important in the history of Hindi cinema and must be seen by students of sociology of cinema in this context too.

After watching and admiring Shaheed, the then Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri, for whom people had great affection, had suggested to Manoj Kumar that he should create a film around the theme ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, a slogan Shastri had given to the country in the middle of increasing security risks to ensure the security of the country’s borders as well as to ensure food self-reliance so that the country is not dependent on food imports. Manoj Kumar, the sensitive young man that he was, took the message to heart and immediately plunged into this task, completing the well-made film rather quickly. Despite this, Shastri was not alive to see the film that was born from his suggestion. This remained a matter of lasting regret for Manoj Kumar.

However Upkar proved to be a highly popular film that really captured the imagination of the country at that time. As a child growing up in Delhi Cantonment I still remember the great enthusiasm for this film, first the efforts to buy the ticket to see the film in the only cinema we had there, and then the endless discussion that followed about the film. At least for some months, Manoj Kumar was the most celebrated film personality back then.

His role was greatly admired, and in addition the famous actor Pran in an entirely different role from the one he had been playing since and after, was also greatly appreciated.

Manoj Kumar went on to make popular films like Roti, Kapda our Makaan, Kranti and Shor, but these two (Shaheed and Upkar), I feel, represented the high point of his cinematic achievements at a rather early stage of his career.

The writer has jointly authored a book with Madhu Dogra titled ‘Hindi Cinema and Society’. His collections of stories and poems include A Day in 2071, Navjeevan and Kathin Daur Mein Ummeed.

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Initially there were some indications of not just some changes for the better but even of the possibility of a few big breakthroughs. However by and large these hopes have been belied.

The ceasefire in Gaza in January, while certainly welcome, appeared too fragile vulnerable to raise high or durable hopes, and the enduring aggressiveness of Netanyahu-led Israel, this leader’s own close identity and comfort with highly aggressive policy as well as the continuing support for this from leading western countries has led to the Palestinians again being faced with almost the same extremely high risks as before.

In the case of Ukraine-Russia war, the hopes that arose earlier this year for peace were of great significance as these also involved the increasing possibilities of more friendly and peaceful relations emerging at a wider level between the USA and Russia, as the Ukraine war had started against the background of the USA and some of its important NATO allies using Ukraine as a proxy against Russia to weaken Russia. However, at the time of writing this, these peace prospects have weakened somewhat although some hopes still remain. Ending this war as early as possible, preferably on a note of durable peace and goodwill, must remain one of the highest priorities of our deeply troubled world.

The overall humanitarian crisis in the world, which was a deeply worrying one at the end of 2024, appears to be worsening with the situation being particularly grim in the Democratic Republic of Congo and some neighbouring areas, Myanmar, Sudan and its neighbourhood.

In several countries in several important contexts the situation is deteriorating. However it is important to emphasize that often the change is not from good to bad, but from bad to worse. In the USA, for instance, criticism of ongoing onslaught on public welfare and civil liberties reflects a worsening situation, but the situation had been highly unsatisfactory and deteriorating for years or decades earlier too. The arbitrary and unjust resort to tariffs should be condemned, but we should not forget that the international trading system and the WTO regime as well as several bilateral and free trade agreements had been unjust earlier too. Germany’s resort to increasing militarism is deeply worrying but some of the country’s earlier policies too had raised troubling questions. Britain’s stand on international issues has been reflecting a growing distance from real needs, and this has increased further. The President of France likes to speak of things grand and great without having roots in reality, a tendency that has increased further in recent times.

Unfortunately, there is little to suggest that the big changes that we have been seeing in recent times are in any way taking us closer to resolving the most serious and significant problems of our world. These changes reflect the narrow thinking of world leadership based on narrow agendas. These have no vision of resolving the most important and threatening problems while there is still time to do so. If anything, the world appears to be moving further away from the most important objective of resolving the most serious, life-threatening problems in time.

The overwhelming and most important reality of the word today is that the basic life-nurturing conditions of the world are threatened at two levels—firstly the accumulation of weapons of mass destruction and secondly, a dozen or so serious environmental problems that, on their own and together with each other, can be very threatening.

Resolving these life-threatening problems in time requires increased cooperation of all the world’s people and nations for according top priority to this and then working together to resolve these as early as possible within a framework of justice, peace and democracy. Unfortunately the world as it is structured and governed today appears to be more and more incapable of achieving this highest priority task of great urgency for saving this and future generations, our children and grandchildren. Hence today a great mobilization of the world’s people who are committed to justice, peace, safety and environment protection is needed more than at any other point of history to save life on earth while working within a framework of justice, peace and democracy.

(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, A Day in 2071 and Earth without Borders)

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• At the age of 26 a youth from the poorest landless community took it upon himself to do the impossible task of breaking a huge mountain to the extent of carving out a life-saving path that thousands of villagers needed urgently.
• He toiled tirelessly for 22 years, yes 22 (1960-82), no less, and finally succeeded in his objective.
• Acclaim followed, but instead of just basking in glory he undertook an 800 km journey on foot to Delhi to mobilise efforts for resolving various problems of his village ad nearby areas.

This brief summary of the work of Dashrath Manjhi, also called the Mountain Man, may give an indication of his deep determination and social commitment which won admiration at the highest levels in India, but by itself this does not do full justice to the nobility of his ideas and life, as this writer discovered during a recent visit to his village and work-area in Gaya district of Bihar.

I located elderly persons who had known him and seen him at work, and the picture that emerged from these discussions is that he was a follower of Sant Kabir, the bhakti movement’s famous poet-saint of medieval times, who has remained one of the strongest and most revered voices since then of spirituality based on justice, truth, non-violence, being helpful to others and leading a simple and pious life free from all hypocrisy and falsehoods. Sant Kabir remained true to his principles, convictions and truth in the middle of many difficulties, attacks and threats. His poetry and teachings inspire his followers to continue their noble work even in the middle of other people discouraging or even ridiculing them, and to maintain the steadfastness and continuity of their work and mission in the middle of all the ups and downs.

All this this can be seen in the life and work of Dashrath Manjhi. Born in 1934, he lived in Gehlaur village of Mohra block. As Satyanarain, who had known Dashrath well, told me–Dashrath was very polite to others but at times when needed he could tell some bitter truths of life without being rude. People from the manjhi community to when I spoke, said that whenever they went to mountains they found him at work just carrying some sattu in his jhola (bag), a legume based powder which could give some energy and coolness when taken mixed with water, something he would have really needed while working in the mountains here which can become very hot in the summer.

In 1960 Dashrath had gone to work on the mountain and his wife Phalguni Devi injured herself badly while carrying food and water for him. Looking at her injuries, he took a pledge to create a path in the mountain that may become a life-saver for many people. This would give a safe path to everyone going to the other side, and in addition would bring much closer the health, educational and other facilities of the nearest town to the people on this side of the mountain (the distance could come down from about 55 km to just about 15 km or so).

Contrary to some publicised accounts, several villagers told me that Phalguni Devi did not die from these injuries but instead continued to be very helpful to her husband and the pledge he had taken. She died some years later.

Using the simplest tools like hammer and chisel, Dashrath embarked on his great journey that was to be completed in 22 years. Initially people ridiculed him and some even called him ‘mad’ to take up such a huge task and to work so devotedly for this. Undaunted, Dashrath continued this work on regular, daily basis.

Here we must not forget that he came from the poorest community, called mahadalit in Bihar, and had to also earn his livelihood to support his four member family (which included a son and a daughter).

Initially most villagers had ridiculed or neglected Dashrath, but once his work of a few years started showing some signs of leading to success, some villagers also started lending a helping hand now and then.

Finally in 1982 Dashrath succeeded in creating a path which was wide enough for a bullock-cart to pass. Later the government helped to widen this and build a proper road.

Dashrath now decided to go and meet big government officials in Delhi to take up several development works much needed by his village and neighbouring communities. Education and health were emphasized by him.

However as he could not buy a rail ticket he was asked to get down from the train after covering a short distance. He now decided to walk to Delhi along the railway track, hoping that this would perhaps draw even more attention to his objectives of promoting development work in his village and neighbouring villages.

An elderly farmer of a neighbouring village told me that Dashrath had managed to meet the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi and had shared with him a press clipping of this.

Later Dashrath also went to meet the Chief Minister of Bihar Mr. Nitish Kumar who gave him a lot of respect.

However at the time of his increasing fame, Dashrath retained his simplicity. A local teacher Virendra Paswan told me that when he was in a train word spread that Dashrath Manjhi is in the same coach and there was a rush of people just to catch a glimpse of Dashrath. However, Paswan said, even at that time Dashrath was wearing dress made from a jute sack, as he often did earlier too.

In 2007 Dashrath was admitted to AIIMS hospital in Delhi where he breathed his last on August 17. A memorial as well as gates were constructed in his village in his honour.

At the same time, however, the people of the Manjhi community and other landless and poorest Dalit community members continue to live in this village in great poverty and several of them told me that even their housing situation is precarious. The government   needs to do much more to help them with a sense of urgency.

Meanwhile the SBI Foundation has taken up an admirable initiative called SAMMAAN with implementation assistance of Sahbhagi Shikshan Kendra to honour the memory of Dashrath Manjhi in the form of many-sided efforts in his village to improve education, health, infrastructure and livelihoods that have been widely appreciated here.

The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071.       

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In post-independence times, various social and environmental movements have made good and effective use of the foot-march. The Chipko movement in Himalayan region was particularly good at this. The famous Kashmir-Kohima foot march initiated by Sunderlal Bahuguna was very useful for knowing more about ecological ruin being caused even in very interior and remote areas as well as for understanding the problems of people of remote villages. The Askot-Arakot march of young activists was also a very memorable and useful experience. Some Chipko activists like Vijay Jardhari and Kunwar Prasun later became equally involved in the movement for saving and conserving diversity of traditional seeds called Beej Bachao Andolan. This was also known for several very useful foot marches leading to collecting not just a lot of information about diversity of traditional sees but also collecting and exchanging these seeds so that their growth on farms could continue or restart.

More recently, foot marches organized by Vaagdhara voluntary organisation in Rajasthan to spread the message of Gram Swaraj have made a good contribution.

However not all foot marches have been equally useful or effective. A review of several foot marches reveals that those foot marches are able to make durable contributions in which the outcomes regarding important desired results are clearly planned, and then activities relating to the achievement of these objectives regularly take place during the course of the march. On the other hand, if there is a lot of walking and just random inter-actions without any careful planning regarding desirable results, then durable benefits are unlikely to be realized.

A recent water conservation march in Bundelkhand region of central India provides a good example of a march that is carefully planned to realise desirable objectives and these objectives have in fact been realized at a relatively early stage when some of the planned follow-up work is still continuing.

This was a march of jal-sahelis or women water volunteers, mobilised by a voluntary organisation Parmarth, who have been playing a widely appreciated role in the region to improve water conservation and drinking water supply. This march was interwoven with a number of dialogues with on route villagers on water and related issues. A lot of attention was given to gathering relevant information on water-related problems.

As a result of such efforts, it has been possible to collect detailed information on water tanks in this region, what kind of problems are faced by them and what sort of remedial actions are needed. The review of these issues published recently provides a lot of useful information regarding which tanks have a seepage problem and which ones have excessive silting, which tanks need deepening and which tanks need cleaning, which tanks are being encroached upon or have already been encroached upon to a substantial extent. This kind of detailed information which could be collected during the march will be very useful when remedial actions are planned.

Parmarth and Jal Sahelis have also been involved in efforts to improve the Jal Jeevan mission. In the course of the recent march, problems could be identified regarding this too. It is now known which habitations are still not receiving water and these are generally located in the upper portions of villages. Similarly the villages or hamlets which are facing problems in terms of the quality of the supplied water not being satisfactory have also been identified and this information too will be very useful for remedial actions.

One of the aims of the march was to tell more villagers of the inspirational work of many jal sahelis so that the people of more villages feel motivated to take up similar work. This expectation of this march too has been more than fulfilled as after listening to the stories told by jal sahelis many women of villages on the route of the march felt highly motivated to do similar work and nearly 400 women have enlisted themselves as future jal sahelis. Similarly contacts with other people were established who are keen to take up water conservation and related work including protection of tanks and rivers. All this will be very helpful for future water conservation and protection work.

In terms of increasing solidarity and empowerment of jal sahelis also the march of the jal sahelis has been a very important experience. Jal sahelis from several different villages could come together for several days, stay together, share their experiences, make future plans, and come in daily contact with a very large number of people. This has certainly added greatly to their empowerment, confidence and capability, and they are better prepared to take up bigger responsibilities.

The march has also enabled activists and jal sahelis to closely observe several situations closely and to listen to villagers regarding what can be done to about this and what kind of difficulties they face while trying to resolve these problems. This has enabled Parmarth and jal sahelis to come up with more specific and detailed recommendations which are more likely to work in real life situations. Several of these recommendations are addressed to governments, departments and water authorities.

At the practical level it is very important for such efforts that people feel that their problems are being reduced and actions to correct existing problems are being taken at the level of the government level and at other levels. Most problems ultimately need government actions for effective solutions to emerge. In this context also the march has been helpful as this has given the jal sahelis a wider and more effective presence and they can approach the authorities for resolving various problems with greater confidence.

Some of the expected good results have already started emerging within a short period of the march and it is hoped that a lot of more follow-up work can be taken up. Certainly a more hope-giving situation has emerged soon after the march.

(The author is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Earth without Borders, When the Two Streams Met and A Day in 2071.)              

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With all the rainwater being lost quickly and even carrying away fertile soil, farm productivity around the village dropped to an all-time low, in fact very little could be grown in the rabi season devoid of monsoon rains. Some of the land even remained uncultivated. In this village located in Pichore block, water scarcity remained a constraint not just for farming but also for animal husbandry. Not just villagers and their animals, but wild life also suffered due to acute water scarcity.

Significant migrations resulted. All due to low development prospects in farm and animal husbandry-based livelihoods, people of this village, particularly those from poorer households, became heavily dependent on migrant labour. The work which most of the migrants from here obtained was both frequently exploitative and uncertain. However, due to lack of alternatives, villagers had to resort to this as a survival mechanism despite all the distress and difficulties they suffered.

Four years back something changed.

A number of water conservation steps were initiated in this village. These included the creation of bunds and digging of small ponds in fields and construction of a gabion structure to keep a good part of rainwater in the village. In the two nullahs which drain the rainwater, about 80 spots were selected in consultation with the local villagers for digging measured ditches called dohas which can help to keep rainwater for a much longer period for use by farmers and animals. All these steps helped to conserve rainwater at many places but in addition also increase the overall water level in the village and its wells so that it became possible to get more water more easily from wells and hand-pumps. Now farm animals as well as wild animals can find more water to drink even during dry months. Moisture conservation has resulted in the sprouting of more grass and related greenery, resulting in better grazing for animals.

At the same time, farm productivity has gone up. Now there is more cultivation of rabi crops like wheat. In addition, some of the land left more or less uncultivated earlier has also been brought under cultivation now. With soil erosion being checked too, soil quality is slowly getting better. Villagers have added further to this gain by gradually moving in the direction of natural farming, improving soil quality while also reducing their expenses. More efforts are being made to produce organic fertilizers locally on their farms in self-reliant ways.

Now, as a result of all this the inter-dependence, dependence on exploitative migrant labour has reduced considerably.

The situation in Umrikhurd village has also changed in a somewhat similar way, thanks to the digging of farm ponds and dohas as well as the creation of bunds in farms. An additional livelihood of pond fisheries has also emerged. As women related happily in a recent group discussion, now you can find water at several places where earlier it used to be dry by now. This has also been very helpful for them to take up new initiatives like orchards which would have been very difficult earlier. Hence one sees a situation of emerging new hope in this village.

Another important aspect of recent changes in these two villages has been that significant gains here have been made from the point of view of climate change mitigation as well as adaptation.

Several other villages in Shivpuri district have seen the kind of water conservation initiatives seen in these two villages. These initiatives in the two villages were taken up by SRIJAN voluntary organization with support from Axis Bank Foundation and IndusInd Bank.

Other villages where significant success from better natural resource management generally and water conservation in particular can be seen include Pipraunia (notable for helping tribal communities to reduce dependence on exploitative migrant labour), Mohar, Kakarva Tuhni and Bhyavan.

While the overall model of water conservation in these various villages is broadly similar, in terms of the kind of interventions planned and the methods followed, a key to success is that special or distinct local conditions get the due importance. What is really helpful is that participative methods are followed with the close involvement of communities. Within communities, more emphasis is given to establishing relations of trust with the relatively weaker and more vulnerable sections of society and in particular with the women of these families. A lot of attention is given to careful planning so that better results can be achieved with limited funds and resources.

Such remarkable success that has been achieved for making significant improvements within a short period of about four years with relatively modest economic investment testifies to the high relevance of the work taken up as well as the careful planning and implementation involved in this. The trust of the community is also evident from its willingness to contribute its share of voluntary work as well as some economic resources. These efforts are also living examples of the great importance of water conservation and the very significant contribution this can make to bring important relief to villagers and also to take them further on the path of sustainable development.

(The author is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine, Protecting Earth for Children and A Day in 2071)

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Unfortunately this has not been seen recently in the context of the worsening situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country where millions have perished during the last three decades in conflicts. While there are several worrying factors at work here, the most concern has been regarding an attack in the eastern parts of DRC from the side of Rwanda, killing thousands and displacing perhaps about 3 million people (including those who were already in shelter camps) over a period of slightly over a year.

Disturbing as these figures are, the situation is in fact even more threatening than what is conveyed by them as several old hostilities can be re-ignited by the latest wave of aggression. In the waves of violence here women have suffered a lot (including sexual violence), so this is an additional and very important cause for concern.

DRC’s exceptionally rich mineral wealth has led time and again to exploiting and plundering elements unleashing violence on common people to gain access to minerals. First Belgium and its king caused untold distress to the people of Congo, and when the country became free around 1960, before it could even dream of a new future, it’s most promising leader and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was killed under a joint conspiracy by Belgium and USA’s CIA. This paved the way for the brutal dictatorship of Mobotu Seko who renamed the country Zaire. Mobutu enjoyed the hospitality of top western leaders, including three US Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and Bush Sr. as the west turned away its eyes from his repressions and tortures to enjoy the fruits of mineral exploitation as facilitated by a friendly dictator.

Hence the emergence of democratic institutions and traditions in initial years of freedom was strangled, while several discontents instead got channelized in the emergence of armed groups who could also seek assistance from neighbouring countries to carve out their own areas of control over mineral wealth, whether gold and diamonds, or the increasing valuable industrial minerals like cobalt or coltan. In due course of time, China also got increasingly involved in the DRC economy.

The 100 day genocide in the neighbouring country of Rwanda in 1994 in which extremist Hutus assisted by armed forces killed about half to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus was an extremely tragic and shocking event of this region. In addition it had wider impacts which continued to rock the region over a longer time. Rwanda’s attacks on neighbouring eastern parts of the DRC, for example, were attributed to protecting the Tutsis experiencing discrimination or injustice here, or else to targeting the genocide perpetrators some of whom had escaped here. In addition, however, there was always the lure of trying to capture and control some of the gold mines here. Similarly forces came from Uganda for objectives like helping the Rwandan forces in the stated objective of protecting Tutsis, but getting involved in gold mines as well, something emerging in competitive rather than friendship roles with the Rwandan forces. Meanwhile, the DRC authorities kept protesting against all such foreign intrusions.   During the late 1990s these and other factors led to two big wars and the second one (1998-2003) proved to be particularly very destructive as many countries of Africa became involved on one side or the other. It has been estimated that in the actual fighting and the ensuing humanitarian disaster and denial of basic needs nearly 5 million people died in this war.

Even later when the wars were over and there was leadership change, several resentments lingered on as it was widely believed that Rwanda and Uganda were obtaining significant amounts of gold from DRC’s eastern mines.

It was against this background  that alarm bells started ringing when last year again the Rwandan militia M23 started making advances in the eastern parts of DRC and more recently this advance became very rapid with the capture of Goma and Bakavu cities and threats appearing to other cities and mining areas. It has been alleged that this rapid advance is possible because the militia is being helped by regular Rwandan armed forces. Complicating the situation is a senior DRC former official now emerging as a rebel leader and assisting the attacking force with the goal of unseating the current DRC President. There are other senior former leadership figures including former presidents who would like a leadership change. In addition there are serious internal dissensions within the DRC army and a proliferation of other armed groups. Keeping in view the fragility of his own position, the DRC President Tshisekedi, in keeping with the spirit of these times, has made an offer of giving high control to USA over mineral wealth in return for security guarantee. However before rushing in USA and allies have to protect their existing good relations with Rwanda too, while DRC too may be keeping open the option of making a similar deal of some other powerful or influential country.

On the whole, there are several factors which make the situation here highly volatile, and there is great urgency for peace steps to be scaled up here and strengthened. The UN has been present here for all these decades with its peace keeping mission now called MONUSCO, but the UN has to play a much more important role in attending to not just rescue and rehabilitation but also to contribute to more durable peace. Without engaging all the stakeholders in much higher commitment to peace, the existing situation can more easily deteriorate further than it can improve. Hence the United Nations assisted by all countries should play a much bigger role in securing peace at a relatively earlier stage as well as in increasing and improving the humanitarian aid effort.

The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Man over Machine, Earth without Borders, A Day in 2071 and Planet in Peril.       

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This was the situation in several villages of Bali block in Pali district of Rajasthan inhabited by the Garasia tribal community about a decade back. Women were deeply troubled by the increasing drift towards alcoholism which was partly triggered by the proliferation of illegal selling joints in remote villages in addition to the extension of legally sanctioned liquor selling shops or thekas.

In contrast, however, one positive development had also emerged. In recent times an increasing number of self-help groups had been organized in many of these villages, particularly involving women of the Garasia tribal community. While the more obvious aim was to promote savings and economic security, at the meetings of these groups the women also discussed their other serious problems and concerns and whenever they discussed serious problems including violence against women and economic crisis situations, the growing alcoholism emerged as an important cause of these problems in these discussions.

Can we do something to check this ever-increasing problem, these women asked each other in their group discussions, and in the course of these deliberations, some kind of a plan began to emerge.

The women increasingly felt that only small village-level efforts will not be adequate, a bigger impact must be created by planning something that will reveal the depth of their feelings regarding the increasing menace.

After considering many suggestions the women decided that they will get together to organize a very long march covering most of the area over which their villages are located.

To symbolize their unity and their determination for a joint effort, they decided to prepare a pink dress that they would all be wearing in the course of this march. It was also decided that other social reform issues such as reducing child marriages and preventing domestic violence will also be raised during the march to impart a wider social reform dimension to this march, although the core issue will remain that of checking the increasing alcoholism.

This decision of women from weaker section households was very courageous as the legal and illegal sellers of liquor were known to be among the most powerful and violent persons of this region.

Starting early in morning this march of women covered a distance of nearly 25 km and ended at night. As many as about 2000 women participated in this long march.

On the way they smashed up several illegal liquor making bhattis (joints) and illegal selling units. They stopped in front of legal liquor vends and shouted slogans against opening liquor shops even in remote villages.

This march made a big impact on people. The courage of the women in confronting the powerful liquor lobby and mafia was widely appreciated. The increasing drift towards alcoholism could be checked. In addition, there was a reduction in domestic violence.

There was also a lot of follow-up- action in the form of sending representations to the authorities for shutting down illegal liquor selling joints and also making community level efforts for this. There was a continuing dialogue on the highly adverse impacts of increasing alcoholism on the community. All this helped to check the increasing spread of alcoholism.

After the peak of this activity had passed, these women and their groups continued their efforts to check the spread of alcoholism at a smaller level in later years. The result has been that the earlier trend of fast drift towards alcoholism could be checked on a more stable and permanent basis. A recent visit to these villages and conversations with women here revealed that the problem has reduced compared to the worst period seen before the women’s anti-liquor march was undertaken.

Meanwhile these women and their groups have also continued to be active in taking up a range of other important social issues. They continue to remember the march as a very inspirational part of their efforts, one indication of which is that group members have permanently adopted the pink colour dress prepared at the time of the march as their regular dress by which the group members are recognized even now.

The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, A Day in 2071 and Man over Machine.   

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When he breathed his last some time back, homages poured in from far and wide including the state and the national government. However when I visited his wife Vimla Bahuguna and daughter Madhu Pathak soon after this, they emphasized that what is most important is to honor his ideas and vision. Since then they have continued to work for this cause and their most recent effort is in the form of the book being discussed here. Titled ‘Paharon ki Peera’ (The Agony of the Mountains) this Hindi book containing 43 essays, memoirs and articles of Sunderlal Ji reminds us of the unique writing skills and style rooted in his unending travels ( including very long foot marches all over the vast Himalayan region) and struggles. In her introduction Madhu Pathak has acknowledged the help and encouragement she received from her mother Vimla and from her husband Dr.Bhuvan Chandra Pathak. Kumar Prashant has written an engaging foreword.

This book has Sundrlal Bahuguna’s writing on environment and forests, several pages of his diary, his recollections of various struggles, biographical sketches of great inspirational persons with whom he worked ( including Sridev Suman, Sarla Behan and Mira Behan, as well his observations on various issues of interest and importance. Parts of the book bring back vivid memories of the numerous campaigns and struggles with which he was associated.

The veteran environmentalist and Chipko ( hug the trees movement) activist was also a freedom fighter and regarded Mahatma Gandhi as his most prominent teacher and mentor. He devoted his life to applying principles of non-violent struggles in the context of increasingly important tasks of protecting forests and rivers.

Along with his wife Vimla ( who was more formally trained in Gandhian principles and methods by Sarla Behan, the famous European disciple of Gandhi) , several deeply committed Gandhian activists and villagers of Garhwal region of  Western Himalayas he was involved in many struggles to protect trees marked for felling and to prevent the construction of gigantic dams widely exposed for their serious risks and hazards by senior scientists and experts.

Born in a village along the bank of the Ganges river in Tehri Garhwal , as a schoolboy he met Sridev Suman , a famous freedom fighter who later sacrificed his life during a jail sentence, and decided to follow his example of a deeply committed social life.

After independence Sunderlal and Vimla settled in the remote village of Silyara to serve the villagers of surrounding areas, leading an austere life.

Following the Chinese invasion leading Gandhian  Vinoba Bhave called upon  Gandhian social workers in the Himalayan region to play a wider social role and so now  Sunderlal started travelling more widely  in many parts of Uttarakhand, particularly the Garhwal part. This led to increasing involvement with social and environmental concerns.

Both Sunderlal and Vimla were involved in anti-liquor movements and rights assertion movements of weakest sections which challenged various forms of discriminatory practices. Enduring relationships were established with several younger activists like those in Henvalghati region.

Around the late seventies a series of Chipko movement activities centered in Henvalghati region were launched for saving forests like those of Advani and Salet which generated a lot of enthusiasm. The action shifted then to even more remote forests like those of  Badiyargad, where Sunderlal Bahuguna went on a long fast in a dense forest area in very  difficult conditions and Vimla also followed him there. During a visit to this region to report on this movement, I learnt that Madhu, brave daughter of brave parents, had also plunged into a forest closer to Silyara Ashram to protect the trees being felled there.

Side by side Sunderlal maintained a dialogue with senior persons in the government. The then prime minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi in particular had very high respect for him. Very big success was achieved as the government agreed to stop the green felling of trees in a vast Himalayan area.

Following this success Sunderlal went on a very long and difficult march from Kashmir to Kohima, including Bhutan and Nepal, covering a vast part of the Himalayan region to spread the message of saving forests and environment with the involvement of people. During this march, taken up in several stages, several times he faced threat to life but did not stop and completed the march. This march helped him greatly to known the conditions of people and environment in the Himalayan region to a much wider extent.

He emphasized protection of sustainable livelihoods along with protection of environment. He was involved closely in resisting displacement and organizing forest workers. He was also involved in several constructive activities relating to regeneration of degraded forests.

Soon he was in the thick of the movement for opposing the harmful social and environmental aspects of dam projects in Himalayan region particularly the gigantic and highly controversial Tehri dam project, which was described as a project of unacceptably high hazards even by officially constituted committees. This proved to be a very long and difficult struggle. Sunderlal Bahuguna left his ashram in Silyara and camped on the bank of the Ganges river for a very long time, accompanied by Vimla.

Although this long struggle did not succeed in stopping the high-risk dam, it certainly helped to spread awareness of these important issues far and wide.

Sunderlal Bahuguna became an inspiration source for forest protection and environmental struggles in many parts of India and even abroad. In the Western Ghats region, for instance, he was an important inspiration source for the great Appiko movement for saving forests. He visited the region and this proved to be an important turning point in the mobilization for the movement.

He was honored with several prestigious awards, including the Padma Vibhushan.

He contributed to many constructive causes such as the Bhoodan (gift of land) movement for making available some farmland to landless rural households.

He played a very important role in evolving an alternative development strategy for the Himalayan region rooted in a combination of combining environment protection with sustainable livelihoods.

Some more information on the book (in Hindi)—Paharo ki Peera by Sunderlal Bahuguna ( Selected writings compiled and edited by Madhu Pathak), 266 pages, Price INR 350, Paperback, Published by Samay Sakshay, 15 Faltu Line , Dehradun—248001, India.

The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Vimla and Sunderlal Bahuguna—Chipko Movement and the Struggle Against Tehri Dam Project, Man over Machine-A Path to Peace, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071.

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In particular it is important for countries of the global south to evolve creative responses that are in tune with their need for strengthening communities as well as their sustainable livelihoods (instead of getting trapped in big business driven false solutions that can be disruptive for communities and their livelihood base).

In this context a recent national dialogue organised in Delhi has raised hopes regarding some interesting and significant possibilities which if followed carefully and in the right spirit can help in evolving a climate response from India that is not only more in keeping with our needs and strengths (particularly in the context of rural areas) but in addition can evoke the interest of many other communities not just in the global south but perhaps also in the north.

This dialogue took place from January 7 to 9 at India Habitat Centre, Delhi, and was formally titled ‘Swaraj Samvad (Dialogue on Swaraj)—Integrating Traditional Knowledge to Enhance Resilience to Climate Change’. This dialogue was organized by Climate Rise Alliance and Vaagdhara, with participation from all over the country.

It is interesting that the dialogue made an effort to create a wider framework within which many aspects of climate response (mitigation as well as adaptation aspects) including agro-ecology, strengthening of rural communities, protection of biodiversity and seeds and traditional knowledge relating to health and nutrition etc. can be included in integrated ways. This framework is based on the concept of swaraj and related thinking, and so this concept needs to be explained in some detail, particularly as despite its Indian origin it is useful and interesting for rural communities in other countries as well.

The word swaraj is used rightly in dialogues like this to mean greater self-reliance for rural communities to use their capabilities in better ways for sustainable livelihoods and climate response in tune with local conditions in decentralized ways. However some information on historical context is also needed.

The word swaraj goes back to the freedom movement of India with its literal meaning of self-rule. Although this word was being widely used even before the advent of Mahatma Gandhi in the freedom movement, he imparted a much wider meaning to this concept which is more relevant to the present times.

Mahatma Gandhi thought not just about freedom from British rule but also a lot about how the Indian self-rule after freedom will be able to meet in much better ways the real needs and aspirations of people. To prepare for this, he involved millions and millions of people in a range of constructive activities which are partly based on reviving traditional wisdom and good practices but also partially based on resisting the very harmful burden of some traditional thinking such as that relating to social discrimination. The overall result of what he sought to achieve would be unity based on equality and dignity for all including particularly the women and weaker sections. An attempt would be made for people to be free of all intoxicants such as liquor and related problems to the extent possible. Such communities, Mahatma Gandhi believed, are best suited to take up self-rule in the sense of trying to be as self-reliant as possible in highly creative ways, recognizing the dignity of physical work as well as skills of farmers, workers and artisans, in tune with local conditions for highly decentralized and sustainable progress, emphasizing peace, social harmony, meeting needs of all, protective attitude towards environment and all forms of life. The related concept of khadi helps to advance this thinking by exploring and advancing industrial activity more as cottage and small-scale efforts to meet various daily needs, to the extent possible and practical, and avoiding the kind of excessive mechanization that destroys livelihoods.

This swaraj is seen as essentially a very creative task of peaceful cooperation among many people, but if this is stopped or hindered in unjust ways, then this must be resisted and opposed in non-violent ways.

Various aspects of swaraj were highlighted in the recently organised dialogue in Delhi. These included conceptualizing swaraj in terms of agro-ecology, seeds, water, health, energy, governance and other important contexts. There were several inspiring narratives of very useful work taken up in many villages in tune with the swaraj approach. Senior civil society leaders and grassroots activists provided many valuable insights which can be very helpful in taking this forward.

However the effort probably fell short of providing a holistic vision of swaraj and it also appeared that segmented projects devoid of a holistic understanding cannot go very far on their own. However the very fact that nearly 500 delegates from all parts of the country expressed their commitment broadly to the swaraj approach is a very encouraging sign, particularly in the context of relating the swaraj approach to climate response.

This dialogue was perhaps the first such national-level effort to look at climate response in terms of the swaraj approach. This makes it a very significant initiative.

In the post-independence years many activists and scholars have sought to take forward the swaraj concept in numerous ways, as seen in several social movements and a lot of very creative, constructive work. The efforts of linking swaraj to climate solutions must be seen as a significant step forward in this direction and this opens up many more creative possibilities. The concept of swaraj provides many more possibilities of reducing the burden of fossil fuels in village as well as for strengthening climate adaptation, with its emphasis on sustainable livelihoods and strengthening of rural communities.

The possibilities opened up by this dialogue must be carried forward carefully and in the right spirit.

(The author is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine, and A Day in 2071)

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