DNA Jaipur 10th Anniversary: Value social capital, not votes for good governance, says Nikhil Dey

When we started work in Devdungri thirty years ago, moving into a mud hut in a tiny hamlet in central Rajasthan, it was in the midst of a very bad drought. We could see that there was deep distress that affected the whole community, and many families were eating only once a day. People came together easily, and in large numbers, to petition the government, “we are not begging for alms, we want work. If we get work and wages, we will fight the drought with the fruit of our labour, and with our dignity intact.”

Those above the age of 35, and familiar with rural Rajasthan, will remember how every drought would be characterised by thousands of people gathering at the homes of sarpanches, and petty government officials hoping to get work. Wages, would come very late, and would be less than the state minimum wage, and most often a fraction of the famine relief wage rate. Work had been turned into a dole. There would be protests, and fights all over the state, but the vulnerability of being struck off the muster rolls, would push people back into silence. However, there are times when a sustained crisis actually helps produce a social response.

It was these blatantly unjust relationships that gave birth to both the right to information and right to work movements. These movements finally resulted in the passage of two landmark national legislations. The slogan “Har haath ko kaam do! kaam ka pura daam do!” became a clarion call. The inspiration for a demand for a law to guarantee work came from Maharashtra’s Employment Guarantee Act legislated in 1977, but it would not be till almost 30 years later that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is passed. With all its shortcomings – it remains one of the most important and entitlements provided to rural Indians to fight their distress with dignity, while contributing to development and change.

The muster roll was the biggest source of rampant fraud in the drought relief works, and it was the peoples’ demand to see and get copies of the muster rolls that gave birth to India’s celebrated Right to Information movement and the slogan “Hamara Paisa – Hamara Hisaab”. As Jan Sunwais gave birth to institutionalised social audits covering more departments and spheres of governance – another powerful tool of citizen monitoring emerged from ongoing peoples campaigns and struggles in Rajasthan.

So, what has changed in the state because of all this? On the question of drought and employment, there has been a paradigm shift. In 2008, as the MGNREGA was extended across the state, Rajasthan emerged as the most enthusiastic participant in the programme giving employment to almost 70 lakh households, with most workers being women. Rajasthan became a trend setter for systems of worksite management, record keeping, and social audits. 

The RTI movement in the state inspired a national campaign, laws in more than ten states, and a powerful national law that is used by more than 60 lakh people across the country every year.

However, even the MGNREGA, and the opportunity it offers to access large amounts of central resources for employment and development in the state, is floundering, as state officials’ priorities have changed, and its implementation machinery has snuffed out the enthusiasm and undermined its spirit of providing real rights and entitlements for the rural poor.

This mixed picture emerges from many other social sector spheres where the pioneering efforts of Rajasthan’s social movements has provided great directional and progressive change, but the change itself is being challenged.

Sustained demands for better food security (again in a drought) led to many agitations and the landmark PUCL Right to Food case which universalised mid- day meals across the country, and provided a framework for reaching the food we grow to the people who need it most. The National Food Security Act (NFSA) also emerged from these roots. Special packages for primitive tribal groups like the Sahariyas helped them come out of the shadow of bondage and fight widespread and acute hunger. Gains made began to get lost with Aadhar causing havoc in delivery to the poorest people, without the potential advantages of digital governance being converted into a reality.

One of the most encouraging signs of progressive change is the sight of young girls and boys with school bags, off to school. Two decades ago, there were hardly any girls. During a state wide “shiksha ka sawaal” campaign we came face to face with the phenomenal hunger for schooling and education. This has clearly not been matched by adequate state resources or attention. Even today, over 50,000 sanctioned teacher posts in the state remain vacant, and parents scrape together money to send their children to private schools. The “Mahila Atyachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan” of Rajasthan brought all groups together to fight violence against women, and provided the backdrop for the Vishakha judgement which lays down the framework across the country to end sexual exploitation at the workplace.

The continuing shame of caste discrimination is being fought by dalit and tribal groups, who are providing support to the mutinies and revolts of individuals and groups making strong assertions demanding equal treatment. The 2nd April Bharat Bandh was a landmark phenomenon of spontaneous resistance drawing mainstream support to end caste discrimination - now. Unfortunately, some non-dalit reaction, coupled with state collusion in slapping cases against many peaceful protestors, and targeting dalit leadership shows just how far one still has to go.

Animal husbandry that was the backbone of Rajasthans economy and survival for centuries, has been reduced to inefficient “Gau Shalas” and self appointed “gau rakshaks”, who have undermined the pastoral economy, as well as the whole rule of law by providing impunity, and allowing romanticisation of lynch killings in state. 

In the language of the market, “social capital” is the terminology used to identify collective initiatives. Rajasthan has established its capacity to generate such social capital. It is time the governments in the state recognised the value of social movements and their ideas, and realise that there is a great difference between democratic governance with statesmanship, and merely getting the largest number of votes in an election. 

The author is founder member Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan