How to Attract the Human Resource for the Rural Development

It is a well-known fact that development of rural areas remains to be a dead lock for the state government and the central government for several reasons, many of which are complex in nature that require relentless effort from various sections. One among them is the lack of sufficient human resource to serve for the rural development. Among the negative stories, absenteeism of the government employees, their noncooperation, indifference towards critical issues, corruption and noncompliance with the government rules are some of the prominent issues that have become a routine part of news.

Two important areas that need critical attention for rural development are education and health.  To fulfill that doctors and teachers are essential, otherwise quality education and healthy living remain to be a distant dream. When the availability of teachers and doctors are taken into account, their absenteeism or their post remaining to be vacant are highlighted as two prominent matter of concern. The fact remains that most of them are transferred from urban areas. The question remains why doctors and teachers who are appointed in the rural areas have an aversion towards their job location? Recently doctors in Kerala had a protest against the government decision to engage the MBBS students in rural areas for two years after internships. Why even doctors who take Hippocratic Oath to take care of the patients as their paramount duty are reluctant and even protest against their appointment in rural areas for two years? Why teachers do not accept their transfer to rural areas or remains to be absent from their duty till they get appointment in urban location? Why Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and National Rural Health Mission fail to achieve the goals due to lack of staff?

We need to examine if we could put the whole blame on the teachers and doctors alone for their apathy towards rural development and accept their absence as an inevitable part of existing reality. Should we wait for the committed and dedicated doctors and teachers voluntarily spend some part of their life in rural areas? Or should we find practical solution for the issue? And if we want to find an amicable solution, we must analyse the issue to the core. 

There are two aspects that we must take into consideration; one regarding the attitude of the government employees and the other the reality of rural life. Let’s take the latter first and examine it briefly with a view of a person from urban middle class. Indian rural area is known for poor infrastructure that makes travelling and communication difficult, lack of good schools, shopping centers, electricity, entertainment opportunities and many other attractions of a bright city life that makes life in the rural area monotonous and tedious for an urban migrant. Along with that the cultural and attitudinal difference, conventional life style, unchanged value system and over all the unexciting living conditions of rural life take away the interest of the urban middle class to work in the remote areas. In order to justify this reason it is worth examining why the educated youth from the rural areas do not wish to work in their own village. Most of them do not want to come back to their village after spending few years in the city as part of their studies. Now the attitude of the employees that could have inspired them to work against all odds too is alien, expect in the few. The question remains, can we expect the youth living in the midst of cut throat competition and infinite desire for material wellbeing to work in adverse circumstances with a drive to indulge in national development? Did the education system impart values and principles to inspire them to be part of a broader part of humanity? Did anyone, including their parents, inspire them to see success in life lies beyond the material advancement and accumulation of wealth? Did they ever get a chance to realize life is not an isolated course of journey that everyone is interdependent? Did their teachers talked about matters more important or equally important than limiting life on personal gains and satisfaction? The absence of such noble values is an indisputable fact today.

If it is so, the next step is how we can overcome this vicious cycle. Our education system has to be segregated from other commercial enterprises and quality education should be made available to everyone at affordable cost. Higher education should be separated from privatization and government should invest to prepare the young minds to spend their service for the upliftment of the underdeveloped sections without hesitation. Education that needs huge individual investment, values imparted from institutions that are established for profit and students who do not learn the philosophy of service cannot be expected to address the issues of rural development.

Along with that it is essential to ensure the comfort of the human resource assigned for rural development at the best possible extent by the government, not just basic needs, and some incentive to motivate them and sustain their interest in working for the deprived sections of the society. It is absurd to expect everyone to sacrifice their aspirations for social development and accept inhospitable realities with open hands. At the same time considering their needs, aspirations and making arrangements for their comfort will have mutual benefit for the society as well as the employees. For example it would be practical to accept the need of internet accessibility, facility to travel or get electricity important for a doctor or a teacher working in the rural area instead of neglecting it as high expectation of an urban middle class for a luxurious life and asking them to adjust to the hardships until they complete their service. It is necessary to realise that the sudden absence of comforts of city life may not be easily digestible for an urban migrant and it is quiet natural to feel discomfort about it. It is also very necessary for the local people to understand the people from outside come from a very different experience and they should support them in all the possible ways along with the government. If there is a constructive attitude from both sections, the urban middle class may show interest to serve the rural population and stay longer without compulsions. It may sound compromising but a practical solution.

Living Between Eating and Wasting Food

Today’s newspaper brought a ‘shocking’ news: India home to a quarter of world’s hungry population. The news further goes as the number of hungry people in the world was estimated at 842 million in 2011-13 in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) released recently even as world cereal production was estimated at a near record level of 2,489 million metric tons a few days ago. Quite often we come to know about the malnourished, undernourished, high mortality rate of children and starvation death in general. We are also aware of the poverty eradication programmes, and development projects prevailing prominently in the mainstream discussion and debate. We also hear about right based approach, empowerment of the vulnerable and sustainable development. ‘Teach to catch fish and make the hungry independent’ is the most proclaimed theory accepted across the world in the context of poverty eradication. 

There were two different moments I had recently that reminded me of the value of food and how we should avoid wastage of food. It is worth mentioning the news that struck me on 12^th of September. One third of the food produced worldwide is wasted, costing the global economy around US$750 billion a year, report by the UN food agency. The Food and Agriculture Organization said some 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted every year when 870 million people go hungry every day. 

It was the wee hours of a Saturday. I was walking through the road and it was an industrial area. Suddenly I heard the sound of a vessel falling on the road and I turned back. I found a man struck on the middle of the road beside his lunch scattered on the road. He must be going to work in one of the factories in the area. His lunch box had slipped from the career of his bicycle. I could feel the tormenting pain of the strange person as he was embarrassed, shocked and stuck for a long time in front of his lost lunch. Finally he could regain himself and began to ride forward carrying his empty lunch box.

It was a coincidence to witness another incident related to the value/ deprivation of food the next Saturday. I was standing beside a tea shop( tappri in local language) while a young man in shabby dress came towards the shop. He begged for something to eat desperately for some time (but he did not snatch the snacks displayed barely in front of him). I could hear him mumbling to himself in great hopelessness as the shop keeper ignored him. No sooner did his eyes stuck on two sammoosa laying under the table he had grabbed both and began to eat. He also took a piece of some snack on the road.  Meanwhile the shopkeeper watched it with a sense of relief.

Donating food is not a perpetual solution for poverty and also one part of the population should not be living for the mercy and charity of the well off. At the same time it is a crime to waste food, at least morally wrong, being insensitive and indifferent to the starving population across the world and to the people who are just able to earn for their daily bread. 

It is undeniable that capitalism has given new dimension, meaning (meaningless?) to life and all its transactions. It has created a new sense to every aspect of our life. Thus the food is not a stuff for your healthy existence. Shelter is not a place to accommodate you with safety and security. Your clothes are not just for protecting your body. All these are beyond basic needs and are an expression of your status, celebration and luxury of life. The principles of commerce, marketing, profit making and completion have penetrated to the very existence of human being.  The theory of market forces does not encourage you to be concerned about the other part of the unfortunate population. In such a society food is wasted in five star parties of the elite class and in marriage party of a middle class family. It is wasted every day at home as well.

But we have to face the reality. We can’t deteriorate beyond an extent. Each member of the ‘civilized’ society must face several tough questions. Am I eating for a healthy life? Am I aware of the right quantity and quality of my food? How much food I waste food every day? Do I remember the value and significance of food in life? Shouldn’t justice prevail for the millions of starving population?

Poverty eradication is not just the responsibility of the state, NGOs or generous individuals. It is the collective responsibility of the civilized society that realizes the true civilized life begins with realization that each individual has greater role in creating a better world to live in where justice, peace, love, cooperation and interdependence prevails. For such response for a great cause one should be conscious of his/her action. Such awareness will emerge with the questions mentioned in the previous paragraph.  

Let’s not forget India is a country of its population suffering from malnutrition and over nutrition as well.

Why not the Right to sleep and shelter?

It is the age of right based schemes and development approach. We have Right to Education, Right to Food, Right to Information and Forest Rights etc. for the emergence of a just society. Why can’t we have the Right to sleep or Right to shelter? Those who have experienced sleepless nights at any circumstances must be aware of how horrendous it is to be awake when people around them are fast asleep. One may go annoyed and even wild when one is unable to sleep at midnight. People suffering from illness, having night shift duty, those who happened to be at emergency situations and those who could not obtain confirmed train tickets and many other people in various situations in life are destined to go through the awful experience of sleeplessness. Besides that there are millions of people who are homeless across the world for whom every night is an excruciatingly dreadful experience. It is irrational to find one section of the society having shelter, safety and security and the other section wandering on the street with uncertainty and fear. It is true that the history and the research have dug deep into the issue and provided with statistics and analytical perceptive for such unjust imbalances.

I happened to witness a police man dealing in a horrifying way with two people sleeping at the Lucknow railway station at 12.30 am. The first scene was the police man on duty slapping on a man’s face while a boy who seems to be his son watching the event with helplessness and fear. I could not find a reason for such a coldhearted action from the circumstances. It all happened in front of the gate to the platform.  Without any resistance or aggression the man left the platform silently holding the boy’s hand. I was just watching the policeman’s next move. Then he stepped ahead and struck a young man sleeping next to an old woman with his boot. The boy got up and the policeman asked something. Before the boy could reply anything, the policeman slapped thrice on the boy’s face. Then he held the boys hair and swirled around and slapped once again. Then he told him something and moved forward. The boy woke the woman up and both of them left the place immediately. The policeman had a good reason to say. “These people sleep here to loot the passengers. They are rich beggars.” I was not surprised. I happened to hear the logic of humiliation towards the vulnerable sections of the society on several occasions. The marginalized are stereotyped, humiliated and crushed by the logic of main stream society as well as the law enforcement agencies. I recollected a warning by Kerala Police displayed on the bus stand. It was asking the passengers to beware of Tamil women who may steal jewelry and money while travelling in the city and while waiting at the bus stand. I also read how ‘Thug’ community in the north India was considered as the community of crime and how they were arrested and punished for every crime in and around their locality by the British and the police of the independent India.

Some irrelevant questions: Why some people sleep on the street? Don’t they deserve fair treatment if they happen to sleep on a plat form? What about the justice when the law is enforced? Don’t the homeless have the right to sleep somewhere?

Epilogue: The next to the boy and the old woman were sleeping many other people well dressed. They were not questioned or disturbed. ‘Appearance is deceptive’, is an old saying.

After two hours I got the mid night edition of the newspaper. The leading news was ‘Lalu convicted in fodder scam.’  The photograph given was of Lalu Prasad Yadav moving to the court with high security. He might enjoy the VVIP status even behind bars.

Reciprocal Altruism and Value of Interdependence - Part II

Following are few examples how we can have a conscious life in our day today life with the realization that we all are part of a bigger world and at the same time every individual is unique. None can be considered as stranger as he or she contributes to our life in one way or the other. 

•  The person who collects the waste from your home and community is an integral part of your life. You can introduce him to your child as ‘the uncle who collects our waste’ not as ‘Kachrawala’ or ‘waste collector.’ You can advise him to put on gloves and even we have a chit chat with him in the morning. 

• When we go to the vegetable shop, instead of selecting the best quality completely you can take at least 10% of good quality along with 90% best quality. Thus other customers also get the best quality and the shopkeeper won’t be in loss when some quantity remains unsold. 

• We can consciously become the customers of small shops in our neighborhood even though you are a regular goer to big shopping malls. On the street it’s a common sight of small and unattractive shop and an old man or a woman sit as a shopkeeper. We can help them by buying something from their shop to fulfill our need. 

• When we find a woman selling vegetable or other things on the street, buying something from her would lead to women empowerment. Let’s also avoid bargaining for a meager amount to women, senior citizens and physically challenged people.

• When we travel by private vehicle, giving a lift to somebody would help the person to reach his destination on time, save him money and also you are able to use fuel at optimum level.

•  When our housemaid is late for few hours a day, you can avoid showing her a long face for the simple reason that she does not enjoy any paid leave. We can think of how she works to meet the both ends.

• We can also make conscious efforts to buy and promote local products even if they cannot beat a branded one as this act has multidimensional ramifications of economic growth and environmental protection. A locally made product consumes less energy than the other.

• When somebody approaches us to find the way, help him as we do to our friend. Our approach can do a lot. It would build trust and tendency for mutual help.

There are myriads of occasions in life where we can behave, act, interact with others with the feeling that we are connected to others and building trust, mutual understanding, and sharing is indispensable for a cohesive society. It enhances the social capital and inspires the people to be responsible to each other. It will definitely minimize the evils and enhance the goodness in all of us. Ultimately we are neither angles nor devils. But then relationship with others is vital part of our life.