…ahhh its interesting ..I am back to our Gwalior office ( from the 2 and half days village stay and field visit of JEEVIKA at Shivpuri)! I see here a big cooler in my room, a table , proper bed and last two nights it was open sky..natural wind bit painful but a solid good rock bed…I am thinking in few minutes here I will get a cup of tea..and there we have walk a ( 1 km) to fetch water from a repaired hand pump ( repaired through the initiative of JEEVIKA with a prastav in Gram Sabha) and …..here in my room attached batroom and toilet is there…but there open sky is your bathroom ( although its difficult to take bath daily..infect I have not taken for last two days…as there is only one hand pump for 58 households and too operates quite slow)…..this all is life of Sehriya tribes in Shivnagar village of Shivpuri District of Madhya Pradesh!
Yes from outside and from living point of view you may say good mud houses are there, but when temperature rises to 47 degree no mud house work…..they have good culture of playing music..singing traditional songs and entertain them self..but in all this one will find the pain of –bonded labour …hungerness , caste and poverty! When you interact with them with bit love and affection they broke in tears that how they have been denied for entering in to temples, how just for INR 100 they have worked as bonded labour for years and years…..its was really painful…pinching and indeed beyond inhumanity…..
Onion, salt and wheat aata chapatti is their main food ..i too had only that for two days and once in a day….I was thinking I have an athletic body I can survive with one time meal…but how they survive without any athletic body…..
They said to me that they have shifted here 10 years back, but just with the efforts from JEEVIKA team they have participated in Gram sabha on 26th Jan 2013…given a prastav for electricity..did several meeting with government officials and now just few days back electricity has came their house..they thanked me…. For all JEEVIKA initiatives… ( I was feeling happy…but I think this thank was mainly for the cluster coordinators who look these village and on daily basis empower them)….
They were very happy that someone first time in their village came and stayed with them….and were quite open to share not only the pain but happiness also..I think I am good establishing and understanding human relations with more affection and love…I also feel not only Sehariya but in the entire tribal belt any where in India , most important is not the schemes and plans for tribes..importnat is being with them..with love and care…..probably more than schemes..they need love…as they have been neglected from the society from many years and the pian indepth would in their heart! Probably government could think on this aspect also. That how with love even issues of naxals could be addressed!
Yes in last 6 months with CARITAS INDIA JEEVIKA initiatives we are able to bound them together with two SHGs ( not for saving and credit merely, but to take collective actions) one farmer club ( although they have very small patch of land , but could increase productivity through organic cultivation)…..25 families received the benefits of Mukhya mantri Awas Yojana ( construction is on…)..only hand pump ( one and only one source of water in village) with gram sabha prastav has been repaired ….but still many aspects to work on with Sehariya community….food security in relation with the livelihood is one of the major aspect ( although malnutrition cases are less)..survival with basis facilities of sanitation, water is another core concern….but its not that everything should be on charity basis important is how Sehariya community owns this development, then only it will be
sustainable!
About Sehariya tribes:Saharia, Sahar, Sehariya, or Sahariya is an indigenous Munda-speaking tribe in the Madhya Pradesh province of India. he etymology of " Saharia " is uncertain but many possibilities exist. Some believe that the tribe's name means "companion of the tiger", where SA means companion, and HARIA means tiger. The most common view is that the present designation of tribe name is said to given by some Muslim rulers (probably by Ruler of Shahbad) who found them residing in the jungle: the Arabic word 'sahara' means 'desert' or 'wilderness'.
The history of the Saharia tribe is dotted and in many places, completely lost. The older generations of known Saharia tribespeople fail to give any account of their history, and written records of ancestry are virtually nonexistent. Although traditionally they trace back their beginnings to the days of the Ramayana and even beyond. They trace their origin from Shabri of the Ramayan. Another theory suggests that 'Brahma, the creator was busy casting the Universe. He made out a place to seat all persons. In the centre of the place he placed one Sahariya who was a Simpleton. As others came, they also began to sit and gradually pushed the Sahariya to the further end of the square. By the time all had come, the Sahariya was pushed to an extreme corner or khoont...' The story goes on to say that an annoyed Brahma chided the Sahariya for his inability to cope with the pressure and decreed that he would henceforth live in forests and such other out of the way places. Others claim descent from Baiju Bheel, a worshiper of the Hindu god Shiva.
With my two day with them I experienced important is love for marginaloised..lets give them a Payar ki Jhapi…before any development initiative!
You can see field and status of Sehariya and caritas India experience at http://www.facebook.com/jeevika.caritas/photos?collection_token=100004018438588%3A2305272732%3A6
Regards
Vinod with Sehariya’
…ahhh its interesting ..I am back to our Gwalior office ( from the 2 and half days village stay and field visit of JEEVIKA at Shivpuri)! I see here a big cooler in my room, a table , proper bed and last two nights it was open sky..natural wind bit painful but a solid good rock bed…I am thinking in few minutes here I will get a cup of tea..and there we have walk a ( 1 km) to fetch water from a repaired hand pump ( repaired through the initiative of JEEVIKA with a prastav in Gram Sabha) and …..here in my room attached batroom and toilet is there…but there open sky is your bathroom ( although its difficult to take bath daily..infect I have not taken for last two days…as there is only one hand pump for 58 households and too operates quite slow)…..this all is life of Sehriya tribes in Shivnagar village of Shivpuri District of Madhya Pradesh!
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