A hundred years, a hundred pledges

A hundred years, a hundred pledges

For three days, starting March 23rd, Bihar celebrated itself. The epicentre of the centenary celebrations, which transmitted the feel-good vibes to the public at large, was undoubtedly the historic Gandhi Maidan, the central park which is also known as the ‘lungs’ of the state capital.

For three consecutive days, hundreds of thousands visited the site of the Bihar Centenary Celebrations. It was here that the past glory, the present progress and the future goals were represented in the form of tableaus, exhibition stalls, activities and workshops, food stalls, competitions, and cultural displays. People from all walks of life dropped in at the Gandhi Maidan.

In the midst of all the excitement, visitors were attracted by a bold brass bell hanging outside a small pavilion painted in blue. A sign read: “100 years/100 pledges”. This space was for people to make a commitment to contribute to the ‘Beautiful Bihar’ dream.

“Everybody, especially the middle class, agrees that the image of Bihar has improved in the recent past. They say it’s because of the political vision of the Chief Minister and his government. But it’s also true that Bihar is still at the bottom of the development table. Just new tall buildings and shopping malls are no indicators of progress. It is the behaviour of the ordinary Bihari that’s a barometer for the state’s progress,” pointed out Shubraja Singh, the State Project Coordinator of Mahila Samakhya, Bihar. Singh, along with some 3,000 rural women from 17 districts held a convention in five pavilions, celebrating their own development story over the past two decades.

PARTICIPATION AND PROMISES

The blue pavilion, an initiative of the Education Department and supported by UNICEF aimed at ensuring the cooperation of the ordinary Bihari and her (his) participation in environment building for Brand Bihar. The stall “AAO Sapath Len” (Come let’s make a pledge) was for visitors to walk in to take oath for Bihari pride. A certificate photograph and pledge was issued to each individual. 

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister had said,” Citizenship consists in the service of the country.” It was Theodore Roosevelt, once President of America, who had said almost a centenary ago “The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.”

The Bihar ‘100 Years/100 pledge pavilion put forward a simple proposition: Will you do your bit to make Bihar the best state in the country? If so, come and sign on the dotted line.

 A hundred pledges? “Well, let’s say they are a 100 suggestions, very simple and achievable things that a person can do. And you don’t have to do all of them. Just pick one thing to do or not to do and swear to abide by your promise,” a UNICEF facilitator at the stall.

Education is about human resource development. The quality of the human resources will impact programme delivery and effectiveness for any planned intervention.

Says Nalin Mishra, an officer with the Bihar Education Quality Mission, “It is necessary to nurture the resources. If people have a sense of pride and good behaviour, this will make a difference and increase the growth of the state. Bihar has glorious past. Youngsters should be aware of their past and contribute to the further growth of Bihar. Bihar Divas is to instil a sense of pride in belonging to Bihar.”

The eight millennium goals of which education, gender equity, health and sanitation are prominent have been simplified into very common behaviours that can be easily done by the ordinary citizen. By linking each of these behaviours directly with a promise for the betterment of the state, a sense of pride and kinship is evoked.

THE PROCESS

The process began with a pre-event brainstorming session, which led to the selection of the hundred pledges. These pledges were development indicators in fairly simple and easily understood words. A few examples: To encourage out of school kids to go to school; not to spit indiscriminately, to treat visitors to Bihar with respect, to conserve energy, to pay special attention to girls’ education, not to waste food and so on.

A visitor would fill out her (his) name on a ticket, choose an oath, and then go inside the tent. S(he) would then sit in front of a computer fitted with a camera. The operator would immediately affix her(his) photograph on a soft copy of the oath and after a minute, the visitor would receive a beautifully printed and certified copy of the oath.

Having made the pledge, the visitor would ring the brass bell outside the stall: a symbolic announcement of the commitment to God and State.

Anjani Kumar

Space for expression was provided outside the stall, and children were encouraged to write or draw their dreams and hopes for Bihar. People of all ages took part in this creative exercise. They wrote slogans, penned best wishes to Bihar, and expressed their hopes for a future filled with hope for children.

RESPONSE

In all 10,094 people took a pledge. 3,293 of these were women and girls.

Among those who took the pledge were the Bihar Education Minister Hon’ble P K Sahi, who selected pledge number 34- ‘I will never behave in a manner that will bring down the prestige of Bihar.’ Mr Anjani Kumar, the Principal Secretary (Education) signed his name to pledge number 100: ‘I will encourage girls to achieve higher education.’ Dr. Rajesh Bhushan, the State Project Director of the Bihar Education Project Council pledged to make others aware of the glorious history of Bihar. Unicef Chief Dr Yameen Mazumdar took an oath to protect the rights of children.

The most taken pledge was the first on the list, “Encourage out of school children to enrol in school”. 831 men (12 percent) and 672 (22 percent) women took this pledge. The next important issue for women, was girls’ education. 146 women pledged to give special attention to the education of girls. The males’ second focus was the planting of tress ( 248 men, 93 women), followed by giving respect to teachers (226 males, 122 females). Conservation of water was the third most important issue for females, but it ranked 6th for males. The fourth most important pledge for males was number 82: ‘Completing my work with honesty and sincerity’. Higher education of girls ranked 5th on the men’s priorities, but 9th on the women’s after giving aid to orphans, helping the hungry, protecting trees, and standing up against domestic violence. Domestic violence ranked 25th  on the male priority list.

Each visitor could take only one pledge, thus one had to select the most important issue. The exercise was significant because the data collected can be an indicator of the status of advocacy on various issues.

The exercise had a lasting impression away from the Gandhi Maidan as well.

The mother of a college going student looked at her pledge card and remarked, “So you pledge not to discriminate on the basis of gender, you should have taken a pledge number 66- I promise to use my mobile phone sparingly!” Her daughter replied, “Ma, this isn’t a new year’s resolution. It’s a pledge. It has my photograph and signature on it. I’m not going to make a pledge I can’t keep!”

Author: Frank Krishner