Daughter's Day... What's that?

Footloose & Fancy Free: the uncensored version

This weekend the ‘jolly pages’ of a local English daily tried to tell us that the hep and happening creatures were busy planning mega splurges for Daughters’ Day.

And when’s that? This Sunday, of course. Some people dreamed up this idea around the year 2011, to celebrate a new ‘daughters’ day’ in India on the fourth Sunday of September, and of late, the sellers of soaps, shampoos, baubles and Barbie dolls have yet another excuse to pick parents’ pockets.

So what’s this ‘daughters day’ tamasha all about? Who should know better than the women in the NGO sector? So one phoned Bihar’s most prominent women’s organization, the Bihar Mahika Samakhya Society. “Daughters Day on Sunday? You’re not serious? We already have a women’s day, a day for the girl child, the One Billion Rising Campaign, and we initiated the Celebrate your daughter days all over the state. Whose idea was this one? Not the government of India, otherwise there would have been a circular to that effect!” That was their answer.


Thinking that UNICEF would probably be the best place to get an answer, one diligently rang up Nipurnh Gupta, the rights and media point person. If anyone should know about daughters days in the offing, it had to be Nipurnh. Anyway in the past week, she was behind a workshop for kids and cinema, and a two day regional conference that stressed the duty of the media to inform everyone about prompt and regular immunization of babies, especially daughters. Ms Gupta, hemmed and hawed a bit, and then said that if anyone came up with the idea of having a daughter’s day it was a good thing. “The more the idea that one should cherish daughters is brought into the discourse, somewhere it will impact the adverse sex ratio. Let’s ask parents whether they have really made sure that their baby daughters have received all the immunization? Has the child received DPT three times before she reaches 7 years of age? Has she received two doses of immunization for Japanese encephalitis before she reaches two years? What about Hepatitis B vaccine before her first birthday celebration?”



So, I decided to do a quick pop survey. Out popped my phone and I did a bit of screen tapping, and waited for the results.


Professor Muniba Sami what’sapped: “Daughter’s Day- this Sunday? For us every day is our daughter’s day.” Media professional Ann Mary John messaged, “Till date haven’t celebrated it, heard it was on the 28th, and I’m not sure that many of us are aware of this day. Marketing ploy?” Mehraz Haque, currently doing a PHD from Banaras Hindu University messaged: ‘Had no idea about this. Great. Wonderful opportunity to demand something from Daddy dear.”


So now, what's Daughter’s Day about? For the few with expendable incomes, it’s another reason to splurge and party; for those in the social work sector, it is another opportunity to drive home the point that daughters are not expendable, and to combat what they perceive as patriarchy and misogynist traditions; for the businessmen it’s a potential market to be exploited. For the harried middle class urban parents living in boxes called apartments, it’s a beautiful opportunity to stop for a moment and tell their little girls aged 5 to 50… that they are truly special.


Come on ye Fairy Godmothers! Celebrate that hardworking Cinderella. Pull her out of the pantry, wipe her face and give her a pair of glass slippers, take her on a ride to the Mall, waltz her into the food court. Treat her like a princess. Never Mind, she’ll be back among the pots and pans come Monday morning!


Author: Frank Krishner

The beat on the street goes on

Footloose and Fancy Free/ Frank Krishner

He stands with arms held aloft, his face dripping with sweat.  Strewn around him are bodies, still and silent. He cries out in a loud voice, “Main Nahin Chahta Yeh Nafrat Ka Dangal ,Yeh Jalta Shaher, Yeh Maut Ka Mangal… I don’t want this dance of hatred, this burning city, this festival of death…” It’s a pleasant day in February, just following a week of uncertain and inclement weather. The man is a performer, plying his art in the pleasant warmth of a pre-spring afternoon, in front of a cluster of people of all ages on the historic Gandhi Maidan of Patna.

The audience, some sitting on the ground, others standing, are engrossed in the performance. It is a street play about violence fanned by religious bigots, reflecting harsh realities of life. The show is part of a three day festival of street theatre, being held in memory of Jacob Srampickal, a Jesuit who devoted a lot of energy to studying and revival of the ‘theatre of the people’ in Bihar. Twenty five years ago, Srampickal held the first ‘All Bihar Nukkad Natak Festival’ at Ravi Bharati near Sadaquat Ashram.  The festival, an annual event, continues to this day.

“Street theatre is people-friendly. The dynamic and mobile nature of street theatre makes it possible to go to people where theatre is not accessible:  like streets, markets, slums, villages, schools, office complexes, parks, residential areas. It is a free show for everyone:  paan wallah, officer,  labourer, housewife or  student. Therefore, it never has a limited or ‘repeat’ audience. With actors moving at the same level as the audience, there’s no hierarchy . The simple and direct performance gives it power to reach people. There are no tickets as the aim is not to make profits. Rather, the audience is asked for contributions,” explains Prabha, a social activist from Buxar who has used the humble ‘nukkad natak’ (street corner play) to raise awareness among women on issues of income generation.

How has street theatre changed over the years? Birendra Kumar, a trainer with Ravi Bharati points out that television and reality shows have had an impact on the form and content. The format has evolved. Today some street theatre groups use costumes and basic make-up, he says. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because street theatre reflects the situation of the people, and today, the common man is highly influenced by the idiot box. Street Theatre reflects the idiom of the people, and raises contemporary issues.

Some trace the history of street theatre  to the 19th century when labourers and party workers wrote and did plays during the Industrial Revolution in Europe. Women  produced plays like "how the vote was won" during the suffragette movement in London in the 1900’s. The Soviet  Revolution spawned its own kind of street theatre to reach the unwashed masses. During World War II, street theatre played a role in fanning anti-war sentiments.

The history of ‘modern’ street theatre in India can be traced to Indian People's Theatre association (IPTA), formed in 1943, the first organised body to adapt the form to a more political end raising issues of imperialism and inequality. IPTA is regarded as the pioneer of the people's theatre movement in India.

HOW DEEP IS YOUR COMMITTMENT TO REFLECTING LIFE... OR ARE WE JUST PAWNS OF ESTABLISHMENT?

Shamsul Islam, a prominent theatre activist and writer notes that he first of the street theatre troupes came into being around 1967 in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. Many of these troupes are still alive and active. He says that street theatre came into being at a time when India was beset with decline and degeneration in political, economic, social and cultural institutions. Street theatre appeared and  questioned the rot.

Hassan Imam, who needs no introduction to theatre enthusiasts in Bihar once told me that  street theatre as a genre was a reaction to the established theatre of the time. This new theatre emerged as a platform for the anti-establishment forces, providing opportunities to experiment and to express their dissent.  The nukkad is more than mere alternative theatre. It has a political message; to change the world, to encourage plurality, to promote an egalitarian society.

The establishment struck back. Shamsul Islam maintains that in Kerala, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh street theatre was banned; performers like Prabir Dutta, Rajan and Safdar killed while performing.  In the mid ‘80s at Basti in Uttar Pradesh, a woman street theatre activist was picked up by the police from the midst of a performance and raped in order to teach her a lesson. In most of the cases, state repression was let loose in the name of combating Naxalism, he says.

Today, street theatre is a recognised art form and has gained legitimacy. Groups like Asmita and Bihar Art Theatre regularly attract youngsters who enthusiastically take to street theatre as a stepping stone to careers on stage or on television. Some old timers complain that the multinationals and the government have turned this form of protest into a new form of propaganda, but that is a topic for another day.

In the meanwhile, at the Gandhi Maidan, some 150 street theatre artistes and trainees have converged from several districts to raise contemporary issues: rising prices, intolerance, domestic violence, patriarchy, the unequal distribution of wealth, and so on.  The beat of the street goes on and on…

 

Author: Frank Krishner

In Search of Gandhi

FRANK OPINIONS/ FRANK KRISHNER

In Search of Gandhi

The famous Ajanta caves in Maharashtra are worth a visit, but a few kilometres away, there’s a fascinating quiet place called Jalgaon. Here, located in a property called the Jain Hills, is a phenomenon that has already found echoes in distant north Bihar. But first, a story:

It was 1985. A farsighted industrialist wanted to set up a factory to manufacture resin, the raw material for PVC pipes. It was the ‘license raj’. So he needed a licence. The file arrived in New Delhi. The project was  accepted. All it needed was one crucial signature, that of the minister. The minister called the businessman to Delhi to discuss the deal. The ‘cost’ of the signature was 5 crore rupees. The man said that all his life he had accomplished everything on merit, and he had never paid a single rupee as bribe. He told the minister that if there was merit in the proposal , then there was no reason to pay the bribe. The signature never went on the file. Fifteen days later, a license was granted to a competitor. The man who refused to pay a bribe was Bhavarlal H. Jain, whose group became the undisputed king of PVC pipes a decade later.

This Gandhian industrialist, now chairperson of the largest irrigation systems manufacturing group in India, that has gifted the world one of the most amazing tributes to the Mahatma, the first ever dedicated multimedia Museum named ‘Gandhi Teerth’.

A walk through the museum takes about three hours. On entry, the visitor is handed an electronic gadget with a set of headphones. The guest can choose to receive the narration in Hindi or English. In the first gallery, ‘Wants and Needs’, the guest is confronted with a touch screen  and asked to make an ‘avatar’ of himself- to choose the house, clothes, and lifestyle he wants from a set of visuals. The next exhibit shows his face (recorded by the camera) and along with it his lifestyle and the how ‘cost-effective’ it is for Mother Earth. This is the first of eleven stages of the ‘Gandhi Pilgrimage’:  the childhood, influences, student life, journey to England, then India, then South Africa, then the return to India and Champaran and so on. Each gallery has surprises, experiences and new learning opportunities. Mahatma Gandhi’s school leaving results, for instance, is an eye opener. He didn’t even make it to forty percent! Paintings, sculptures, replicas of lifestyle items, actual artefacts used by Gandhi, and audio-visual magic that transports you to the sights and sounds of the late 19^th and early 20^th century: it’s an experience to remember and cherish.

But that’s not all. Before you leave, witness the work being done across India by different ‘Gandhians in action’, people using their skills and knowledge to make India’s villages work.

GANDHI 'EXAMINATION' FOR PRISONERS BY GRF

Gandhi Research Foundation, founded by Padmashree Bhavarlal Jain, (the industrialist in the story) is an international academic and research organisation that doesn’t limit itself to armchair philosophy. It is actively involved in helping surrounding villages grow organic crops, adopt water harvesting, improve the condition of their schools, and aspire to a better economic status through small income generation measures that will be linked to viable marketing strategies.

In Bihar, Bhavarlal Jain, through the Gandhi Research Foundation, has offered technical support to the Gandhi Shodh Sansthan in a sleepy undiscovered corner of West Champaran. Every week, scores of school kids from neighbouring schools go to this ordinary looking building to experience Gandhiji and admire replicas and material made possible by the GRF. They also learn to spin thread on a charkha. This is not all.

Several young people between the ages of 21 and 32 are already making their way to Bhitiharwa. They are educated, articulate achievers from across India, with one vision: to develop an environment friendly, humane, responsible and Gandhian approach to rural development in one of Bihar’s most backward districts.

Mahatma Gandhi, on 20 November 1917, had established his second basic school at Bhitiharwa. His development work was based on education, sanitation, and health. In his autobiography, he expressed his regret that his work in Champaran was left unfinished, because of the lack of committed local volunteers. It is just possible, that 95 years on, the youngsters of Bihar will rise to the occasion and by 2017, Champaran will show signs of a vibrant ‘gram swaraj’.

 

Author: Frank Krishner

Pre-marital testing and HIV

In my humble opinion ( IMHO) , Premarital HIV Testing cannot bemandatory if it were, then it would be a form of coercion certainlynot 'voluntary'. It would definitely infringe the rights of anindividual. There are very serious issues around disclosure inan 'arranged marriage' situation that have to be addressed.
One may even argue that in north India, and perhaps also in otherparts marriage itself is really a 'non-voluntary' thing with 80percent of the brides and grooms pushed around the fire by theirfamilies.
Premarital HIV testing no doubt could be desirable if the coupleconcerned wish to do some concrete planning of their lives together.Premarital HIV testing in itself is no guarantee that in `arranged'and often forced marriage extramarital heterosexual and homosexualliaisons will not occur that risk behaviour will be kept away thatthe risk of infected blood transfusion will be any less
The argument that the testing is desirable because it willsomehow 'protect' the 'innocent' bride from HIV/AIDS is alsopreposterous I would say it's a typically myopic middle-classargument on the one hand there are a lot of women activists who arescreaming themselves hoarse that one in five girls in this country[more so in the villages] are victims of sexual abuse and on theother hand, there are ample independent surveys on sexuality andpsycho-sexual behaviours in rural India in recent times whichindicate that voluntary pre-marital sex is as much a part of theadolescent girls' life as it is a part of the boys'.
This talk of pre-marital HIV/AIDS testing sounds very much liketrying to re-introduce the chastity belt it's cumbersome, woman-unfriendly, and rusty.
IMHO, the argument for compulsory HIV/AIDS pre-marital testing is asasinine as the so-called 'ban' on foetal sex-determination it'sreally a self-defeating exercise.
What's needed is an upgrade on how the middle class in this countrylooks at issues around sex and sexuality, and reproduction andhealth. First accept that sexual behaviour exists. then accept thatit is by and large enjoyable.
Also accept the fact that all people - adolescents, young, and oldhave sexual rights irrespective of their 'marital' status, then workon how to make sexual behaviours as risk-free as possible. [and yes,one of the methods is definitely don't do it unless you're marriedor over 65!]
All that mandatory Pre-marital HIV/AIDS testing will achieve is morepaper work, more government control over private individuals andmore opportunities for corruption to spread.

Author: Frank Krishner

Teachers don't Count Cattle no more

Ask a government teacher what hinders the delivery of quality education, and pat comes the answer, “Non-teaching assignments ordered by the local District magistrate”. Having interacted with scores, if not hundreds of government primary school teachers across Bihar over the years, this is their number one excuse for not getting their jobs done: how can we teach when we are ordered out of our classrooms to count animals?

The one fundamental excuse that a teacher in a state- run school has for not teaching is census and poll-related duties, and it has been around for over four decades. They say that instead of teaching kids in the classrooms, they are forced to traverse all over the countryside counting buffaloes, chickens, people below the poverty line... in fact anything that the state government wants counted is on the teachers' slates.

Frank Krishner at a 'Primary School' in Bodh Gaya 2010

The Bihar government has finally applied its mind to the problem and come up with the concept of a creating pool of ‘statistical volunteers’. These ‘volunteers’ will be unemployed educated youth having a ‘mathematics and commerce background’ according to the Bihar minister for planning and development Narendra Narayan Yadav.

One suspects that the person behind this idea is Principal Secretary of the department Vijay Prakash, who is well aware that having teachers go out and count animals, trees, and humans when they should be in school has always been a very stupid idea. Vijay Prakash has a communication style  that is simple and straightforward. This plan is in line with the Supreme Court’s directive that government school teachers should not be sent around on non-teaching assignments.

The teaching fraternity and educationists have pointed out that there was any number of educated and unemployed youth hanging about the place who could be drafted to do statistical work on a part-time basis.

These volunteers will be known as Accredited Statistical Volunteers (ASV), and a panel will be created for every block. Bihar has a total of 534 blocks, 8,071 Panchayats, and about 46,000 villages. This exercise would create about 80,000 part time jobs for educated and unemployed youth who have the requisite skills. Shortlisted and successful candidates are to be given a proper training in data collection and compilation, and receive an identity card. Their work will be remuneration based. In other words, they will be paid whenever there is census and statistical work .

This is a welcome move. The government teachers will have one less excuse for not doing the job of teaching. However, whether this will make a discernible impact on teaching quality is doubtful. Quality teaching needs dedication, intellect, compassion, and the ability to communicate well with kids. That can’t be addressed by statistical volunteers, accredited or otherwise. 

Author: Frank Krishner

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

Then there was Utthan...

The Utthan Programme has been regarded as an innovative venture in the ongoing push for the speedy and complete coverage of all Bihar’s children under the umbrella of Elementary education.


The programme, first piloted and supported by UNICEF in 2007, initially focussed on those among the Dalit communities who had the least indicators of development. Following the success of the pilot intervention and initial replication in selected districts, the state Government through BEPC decided to roll it out throughout Bihar. The target population was out of school children of primary school-going ages from the ‘Mahadalit’ castes. The range was soon expanded when the State Government extended the ‘Mahadalit’ nomenclature some relatively better off caste groups .

The programme has resulted in a significant increase in the enrolment numbers of Dalit children from the most depressed classes and in retention and performance statistics as well.

The programme has also faced varied challenges due to geopolitical and socio-cultural factors.

This review looks at the programme implementation at ground level, assess its strengths and opportunities and looks at its implications in the light of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the RTE Act 2009.

here's the link: this is a 40 page report....

BRIDGE TO SCHOOL

Frank Krishner

July 2009

Author: Frank Krishner