The Power of Collectivism: A Showcase

Having tasted victory once and having experienced the power of collectives, the women of Sundro village are unstoppable…they are better informed about their rights and entitlements and speak as one, demanding changes and challenging corruption in public services

I t was a bright day on 24 June 2016 when the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies of Jharkhand, Shri Saryu Roy, visited the small village of Sundro. For the first time, women’s collectives and community level institutions took on the powers that be and demanded the regularization of the Public Distribution System (PDS).

One woman from a small tribal hamlet in Sundro stood in front of more than 100 villagers and various functionaries, and courageously enumerated the struggles of the people. She spoke of the disappointment and dissatisfaction of the villagers at how rations were being distributed and how people were being treated by the dealer. What she said was not just bold but a strong statement against all the humiliation and mockery that the women of the collectives, including she herself, had been subjected to when they walked to every house to gather the support of the people in their struggle to regularize PDS.

Background

Sundro has about 140 households and is located in Jaridih block of Bokaro district, Jharkhand. There are three main hamlets in the village—Gotwari, Mahali and Neeche tola. All houses in the hamlet, barring a couple, are kuccha. Of the 12 sub-divisions of Santhal tribes, some common ones in the village are Hembrom, Murmu, Tudu and Soren. The major language spoken in the village is Santhali, because the village is dominated by Santhal tribes.

Agriculture, livestock rearing and wage labour are the livelihood options in the village. To earn a living, the men migrate from the village to the cities. The age group of the men, who migrate, is between 20 and 35 years.